NCOM News Bytes
Image and Content Copyright 2009
National Coalition of Motorcyclists
January 20, 2009
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THE AIM/NCOM MOTORCYCLE E-NEWS SERVICE is brought to you by Aid to Injured
Motorcyclists (A.I.M.) and the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM), and
is sponsored by the Law Offices of Richard M. Lester. For more information, call us at 1-(800) ON-A-BIKE or visit us on our website at http://www.ON-A-BIKE.com
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NCOM BIKER NEWS BYTES
Compiled & Edited by Bill Bish,
National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM)
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NATIONAL MOTORCYCLE CRASH STUDY UNDERWAY
Southern California motorcyclists who crash their bikes may play an
unintentional role in improving motorcycle safety nationwide, as the pilot
portion of the federal government's much-anticipated Motorcycle Crash
Causation Study kicked off at various locations throughout Los Angeles in
December.
Data will be compiled from LAPD accident reports and information recorded by
mechanical sensors and cameras placed at intersections until at least 27
accidents have occurred and are documented -- a milestone that will likely
be reached by March.
According to Doug Hecox, spokesman for the Federal Highway Administration,
the Department of Transportation entity managing the pilot study, the pilot
is "purely to test the methodology" that will be applied to the broader
Motorcycle Crash Causation Study, which is expected to kick off in about a
year in a handful of different states. Final results of which won't be
available until at least 2013.
Much has changed since the last such motorcycle accident study, the 1981
Hurt Report; about 11 million street bikes have been sold in the U.S. The
average rider's age has increased from 27 to 41, and the overall rider
population has grown to roughly 7 million. Traffic mix, driving/riding
laws, and more powerful motorcycles are some other variables.
In 2005 Congress authorized over $2 million to fund a new motorcycle crash
causation study under a federal transportation reauthorization bill (a.k.a.
SAFETEA-LU), with the caveat that federal funds be matched from a
nongovernmental source. Much of the matching funding has come from national
motorcycle organizations, some of which hail the report as long overdue and
necessary for planning safety countermeasures, while other groups fear yet
another typically lopsided anti-motorcycle government report.
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FEDS DECLINE TO INCREASE TARIFFS ON EUROPEAN MOTORCYCLES
U.S. trade officials have decided not to include motorcycles on their
lengthy list of European products that will soon face increased tariffs in
retaliation for a European Union ban on imports of hormone-fed beef from
America.
In public comments submitted to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
opposing the possible 100% import duties, many motorcycle organizations,
industry groups, manufacturers, dealers and others pointed to the extensive
economic impact on businesses and jobs affected by such retaliatory tariffs,
as well as a hardship for motorcycle enthusiasts. Also, motorcycle usage
should be encouraged for fuel efficiency and easing traffic congestion and
parking.
U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab noted her office received
approximately 600 comments regarding which of more than 100 European goods
should be subjected to the tariffs.
"An interagency committee of trade experts and economists reviewed the
public comments and provided recommendations to the USTR with respect to
modifications that would result in a more effective action, while taking
account of effects on the U.S. economy, including consumers," she said
regarding the list of European Union products slated for tariff increases
beginning March 23; but their beef with the EU will no longer threaten to
double the price of imported Euro motorcycles and scooters.
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MYRTLE BEACH SAYS NO TO BIKERS
Myrtle Beach has launched a website and printed brochures advising visitors
that from the city's perspective, the May motorcycle rallies are over.
The Website bears a message from Mayor John Rhodes stating that the
"Harley-Davidson Dealers Association Spring Rally and the Atlantic Beach
Memorial Day Bikefest will not be held in Myrtle Beach", and lists 15 new
laws the City Council has passed to discourage bikers from coming to town.
Designed by the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce, the top of the site
proclaims; "effective 2009, Myrtle Beach, SC will no longer host motorcycle
rallies."
To deter bikers, the city implemented stricter noise and muffler rules, will
be enforcing a municipal helmet law, require eye protection while riding and
a variety of restrictions on vendors, parties and motorcycle parking. The
city passed a property tax increase to fund the anti-rally campaign.
But the Myrtle Beach Bike Week website counters this, saying that the
rallies have not been cancelled. The Myrtle Beach Harley-Davidson website is
still encouraging motorcyclists to come. It states that 90% of the events
and most of the businesses that cater to the 500,000 bikers who come to the
region during three weeks in May are in Horry County, which has not adopted
any new ordinances and welcomes riders to the 69th annual event, scheduled
for May 8th - 17th 2009, if the rally goes on.
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MAKING NOISE ABOUT NOISE
Numerous communities around the country are attempting to regulate noise,
and specifically loud motorcycle exhausts. Although enforceability is
questionable, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania is planning a controversial new
ordinance to curtail incessant noise.
Town officials haven't fully explained why the ordinance is necessary, other
than to acknowledge that neighboring municipalities have similar
regulations, but the borough does not. "We ought to be regulating our noise
pollution," said one Councilman.
"How do you pull over 50 motorcycles when one is being loud?" said police
chief Joe Dougherty. "It's violating someone's constitutional rights."
When asked if the department owns noise equipment, Dougherty quipped: "I'm
sure we do, but I don't know where it's at. If I looked for it, I could find
it, but we only have one person trained to use the equipment."
The ordinance is currently being reviewed for legal sufficiency, including
enforceability.
Meanwhile, a bill recently introduced in New Hampshire would prohibit
motorcycle exhaust modifications, reduce permissible motorcycle noise
levels, increase fines for motorcycle noise violations, and requires all
motorcycles to have functioning tachometers.
House Bill 95 authorizes fines of up to $500 for operating a motorcycle that
has aftermarket mufflers installed, or does not have a working tach.
A similar law was enacted in Denver that requires motorcycle mufflers to
have a factory-issued U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sound-test stamp.
But some who have protested the ordinance since it took effect in July 2007
have gone as far as to take the issue to court, arguing that the ordinance
is vague and unenforceable.
One "victim" of the ordinance is Jeffrey Lubbert, who was pulled over on his
motorcycle in August 2007 when an officer testified that he heard exhaust
pipes that were "louder based on my training and experience," according to
court documents.
Lubbert fought the citation that he was issued, making it the "test case"
for the ordinance, according to his lawyer, Colorado Aid to Injured
Motorcyclists (A.I.M.) Attorney Wade H. Eldridge.
Factory-issued pipes come with the EPA stamp and meet the 82-decibel
standard. But aftermarket mufflers may not come with the stamp, while still
meeting the 82-decibel standard, argues Eldridge. It is nearly impossible to
have the pipes certified and officers do not carry decibel readers.
"It's unreasonable to stop someone and say your pipes are louder than normal
when you don't know what normal is," argues Eldridge, who specializes in
defending bikers. "That just doesn't cut it."
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GANGING UP ON BIKERS
In an ongoing effort to reduce crimes committed by criminal street gangs,
many states have passed or are considering anti-gang laws that loosely
define "gangs", violate Constitutional protections and can be used to harass
and intimidate motorcycle clubs and mainstream motorcycle groups.
North Carolina recently joined with California and Ohio in enacting tough
gang legislation that enhances penalties by adding years onto the sentences
for those convicted of a crime who are members of a gang.
The N.C. Street Gang Suppression Act is the state's first attempt to legally
define a street gang, and it makes membership against the law. The law
defines gangs as "any ongoing organization, association, or group of three
or more persons" that has a primary activity of committing felony acts, has
members involved in gang activity and has a common name, identifying sign or
symbol."
It also gives law enforcement and government the authority to seize property
associated with gang activity.
Likewise, the Michigan legislature has enacted a set of "Gang Bills" and
sent Senate Bill 291 to the governor's desk on January 6th. Based upon a
similar definition of a "gang", the bill states that "If a person who is an
associate or a member of a gang commits a felony or attempts to commit a
felony and the person's association or membership in the gang provides the
motive, means, or opportunity to commit the felony, the PERSON is guilty of
a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 20 years."
In Utah, a newspaper ad for a Toys For Tots event and flyers distributed by
the Vagos Motorcycle Club spurred one Garland, UT citizen to form a
Neighborhood Watch and spearhead a grassroots effort to toughen state gang
laws, resulting in five bills being introduced to toughen punishment for
involvement in gang activity and to make associating with or being a member
of a criminal street gang illegal in the Beehive State. The latest in a
spate of gang legislation, the sponsor of the bills along with gang
investigators spent months researching other states' gang laws to find ideas
that may be effective in Utah, such as anti-gang loitering legislation and
declaring gang-free zones.
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WEIRD NEWS: NIGERIAN RIDERS WEAR FRUIT TO COMPLY WITH NEW HELMET LAW
As many as 98% of Nigeria's motorcyclists shunned the new national helmet
law when it went into effect January 1st, leading to scores of arrests,
near-riots and sometimes violent confrontations with traffic police.
Professional motorcycle taxi drivers called Okada have now resorted to
wearing fruit shells, pots or pieces of rubber tied to their heads with
string to avoid arrest and impoundment of their vehicles.
In the state capital of Kaduna, hundreds of motorcyclists staged protests
against the crash helmet directive, storming major roads chanting war songs
and causing panic and traffic jams. In Lagos, at least 2,500 violators of
the directive have so far been arrested as the Federal Road Safety
Commission intensified the enforcement campaign for both riders and
passengers. In Osun State, the Nigerian Tribune reported that no fewer than
73 motorcycles have been impounded by the FRSC because their operators
failed to abide by the use of crash helmet.
The regulations have caused chaos around Africa's most populous nation, with
motorcyclists complaining helmets are scarce, too expensive, dirty and some
passengers refuse to wear them fearing they will catch skin disease or be
put under a black magic spell.
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2009 NCOM CONVENTION IN RENO
The 24th annual NCOM Convention will be held Mother's Day weekend, May 7-10,
2009 at the Nugget Casino & Resort in Reno, Nevada. This annual gathering
will draw bikers rights activists from across the country to discuss topics
of concern to all motorcyclists, so reserve your room now for the special
NCOM rate of $89.00 by calling (800) 648-1177.
Meetings, seminars and group discussions will focus on safety issues, legal
rights, legislative efforts and litigation techniques to benefit our right
to ride and Freedom of the Road.
Registration fees for the NCOM Convention are $75 including the Silver Spoke
Awards Banquet on Saturday night, or $40 for the Convention only. To
pre-register, call the National Coalition of Motorcyclists at (800) 525-5355
or visit www.ON-A-BIKE.com.
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QUOTABLE QUOTE:
"You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot
strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about
prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by
pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by
inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away
people's initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by
doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves."
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), sixteenth President of the United States
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Copyright 2009,National Coalition of Motorcyclists
© 2009
Illinois Motorcyclists Rights Association, Inc
All Rights Reserved