COAST TO COAST BIKER NEWS
Compiled and edited by Bill Bish, Ride On Magazine
National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM)
BIKERS SUPPORT BROWN IN HISTORIC SENATE VICTORY
Scott Brown captured the national spotlight in his bid to replace the late Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, and he is a modern American success story, rising from relative obscurity to be the first Republican in decades elected to the U.S. Senate in the most liberal Democratic state in the country.
Paul Cote of the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association joined newly-elected Senator Scott Brown at his victory celebration at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston following his shocking election upset. The MMA worked with Sen. Brown?s campaign in gratitude for his support of motorcyclists? legislation over the many years he has served in the state legislature.
?Since last September, when the Massachusetts Motorcycle Political Action Committee (MMPAC) supporters started gathering signatures to get Scott Brown on the ticket for the US Senate Special Election, we have knocked on doors, stood outside grocery stores and even ?hung out at the landfills? to get Scott elected,? said Rick Gleason of MMPAC.
Not only is Brown a biker-friendly politician, but he rides a Victory motorcycle!
S.C. SUPREME COURT HEARS MYRTLE BEACH HELMET LAWSUITSSouth Carolina’s highest court heard oral arguments Wednesday, February 3 over whether a city can require motorcycle riders to wear helmets, despite the lack of a state law requiring the practice. State law doesn’t require riders 21 and older to wear helmets, but in an effort to get rid of two bike rallies held there each year, the Myrtle Beach city council voted unanimously in 2008 to pass 15 ordinances intended to dissuade bikers from coming to town, including the controversial mandatory helmet law for motorcycle riders and passengers of all ages.
Justices peppered an attorney for the city with questions over what they seemed to view as the intent of the ordinance — not to make Myrtle Beach’s roads safer for bikers, as had been argued, but to drive the bike rallies away from the Grand Strand.
Representing his brother Bart, who leads a pro-bike rally group of business-owners and is challenging a ticket he received for not wearing a helmet, State Representative Thad Viers argued to the five justices that a state law governing traffic ordinances spells out what local governments are allowed to do regarding traffic laws. Viers filed more than 30 pages of briefs containing multiple sections supporting his various legal arguments against the city helmet ordinance.
But Virginia-based A.I.M. Attorney (Aid to Injured Motorcyclists)Tom McGrath, who argued before the court representing 49 helmet law protesters who were ticketed, filed a much shorter brief, saying, among other things, that most of the arguments don’t matter because the city’s ordinance is at odds with state law, and for that reason alone it should be tossed out.
“The gist of the city’s arguments is that it has the right to do whatever it wants to do as long as it declares something to be a public nuisance and decides to abate it,” McGrath’s brief begins. “…If the ordinances conflict with state law, the ordinances are void. If the ordinances are void, their underlying merits are irrelevant.”
Now it remains up to the State Supreme Court to decide the issues, and it may take months to render a ruling. McGrath has his hopes up; ?Based on the questions the Justices asked the attorney for the City it seems the Court likely will render a favorable opinion for freedom. Hopefully, we won?t be disappointed.?
MOTORCYCLE CLUB WILL SEND PATCH INTO SPACE
The South Houston chapter of the Los Carnales / La Familia law enforcement motorcycle organization has been given the opportunity to send items into space on the Space Shuttle Mission STS-134 on July 29th this year.
It will be the first motorcycle club represented in space. The club has developed a special patch for the occasion. It has Los Carnales / La Familia Nation with both the state of Texas and California on it.
INDUSTRY REPORTS BAD YEAR FOR CYCLE SALES
2009 was a bad year for bikes, with the Motorcycle Industry Council reporting the lowest sales in a decade. The MIC noted a 40.8% drop in sales from the 2008 season, with roughly 520,502 bikes sold in 2009 compared to 880,000 that were sold in 2008.
The MIC reports monthly sales of most major motorcycle manufacturers, including: BMW, Harley-Davidson, Buell, Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, Triumph, Yamaha, Suzuki, Victory, and the Piaggio Group. The MIC also creates estimates on all non-reporting manufacturers.
With non-reporting sales included, the total sales for 2008 was 1.1 million according to the MIC, and though last year?s total hasn?t been tabulated yet, it is expected that 2009 will break a six-year streak of sales above the 1 million mark.
The biggest drop in sales occurred in the scooter category. Scooters boomed in 2008 as gas prices reached record highs.
As the economy begins to stabilize again, the MIC predicts that motorcycle sales will begin to increase.
TENNESSEE ?LEMON LAW? MAY SOON INCLUDE MOTORCYCLES
Tennessee’s “Lemon Law” may soon be extended to include motorcycles, if the legislature takes action on a measure sponsored by Representative Vince Dean, of East Ridge.
Dean says motorcycle buyers should have the same rights as people buying cars and trucks that don’t perform properly. He says any mechanical and structural problems can be more dangerous for motorcycle riders.
The measure moved forward in a House Committee in early February, and a companion bill is awaiting consideration in the Senate Transportation Committee.
WASHINGTON BILL ADDRESSES BIKER PROFILING
In a monumental and historical vote, the Washington State House of Representatives passed HB2511 – a bill addressing ?Motorcycle Profiling? – by a margin of 96 to 2. This landslide vote provides an indication that legislators are actually getting the idea that profiling is real and needs legislative relief, while the lack of opposition was seen as a silent show of support from Law Enforcement.
During the legislative process, ?It was remarkable to hear the legislators mention the organized and well presented information from the motorcycle community,? reports Donnie ?Mr. Breeze? Landsman, Legislative Affairs Officer for ABATE of Washington.
“Motorcyclists aren’t looking for special rights,” Landsman said. “We want the same rights that are afforded to every other section of the population as American citizens and as citizens of Washington State. We aren’t being given that.”
The group found a champion in Rep. Steve Kirby (D-Tacoma) who introduced a bill that would force local law enforcement agencies to adopt a written policy designed to condemn and prevent the profiling of motorcyclists and to institute training to address the issue.
It?s illegal to profile minorities, it should be illegal to profile motorcycle riders, the bikers said. The Washington State Patrol uses a training brochure called ?Basic Biker 101? that starts with the statement ?Bikers are dangerous? and gives instructions on how to gather information about them during traffic stops, according to David Devereaux of the Outsiders Motorcycle Club. To further substantiate their claims of harassment, Devereaux said that when bikers showed up en masse last year their annual ?Black Thursday? lobbying day to find sponsors for the anti-profiling bill, state troopers surreptitiously took down all their license plate numbers.
Next, the bill goes over to the Senate for consideration and will be assigned to a hearing committee, most likely Judiciary.
?This has been a very good year for ABATE of Washington and the US Defenders of Washington,? said Landsman. ?We have worked together to make this happen, and are truly on the same page.?
OREGON RIDERS CONVERGE ON CAPITOL
Motorcycle club members, independent riders and even non-riders alike came together in solidarity in Portland to protect rights specific to bikers. The first ?call to action? by the US Defenders motorcycle group brought out over 70 bikes to the Oregon State Capitol recently, making a positive statement of unity between clubs and independent riders. Quiet Mike, the Information Officer for US Defenders said he was pleased with the show of bikes, ?It was an excellent turnout, the most motorcyclists we?ve had here for a long time.?
US Defenders is a movement formed from within motorcycle clubs from individual states to implement and support motorcycle rights. The grass roots organization is supported through the Confederations of Clubs across the country, and is composed of state ?citizen biker manpower? from Motorcycle Clubs and Coalition of Independent Riders (C.O.I.R) representatives.
Quiet Mike, who also serves as Vice-Chairman for the Oregon Confederation of Clubs said this was a well-planned event. ?We set up in the capitol so people could come and meet with their state representative or state senator. Several people set up appointments in advance, and they were able to express their concerns about how bikers? rights are being affected.?
Many people were there to discuss helmet laws, others for civil rights where profiling motorcycle club members is concerned, and some brought up that motorcyclist fatalities caused by car drivers should carry more serious charges than just a traffic fine.
ADULTS IN KANSAS COULD BE FINED FOR KIDS RIDING WITHOUT HELMETS
Adults could soon be fined in Kansas for allowing minors to go without wearing helmets while driving or riding a motorcycle.
It is already illegal in Kansas for anyone under 18 to operate a motorcycle without wearing a helmet, but currently it is the youngster who gets a ticket. Under provisions of the new Senate bill, it would become illegal for owners of a motorcycle or motorized bicycle to permit a person under 18 to drive or ride on their vehicle without wearing a helmet, so the adult would receive a citation too.
Use of motorcycle helmets has been on the rise nationally, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which reported that 67% of motorcyclists wore a helmet in 2009, compared to just 48% in 2005.
SAVE THE DATE – MAY 6-9, NCOM CONVENTION
The 25th annual NCOM Convention will be held Mother?s Day weekend, May 6-9, 2010 at the Orlando Airport Marriott, 7499 Augusta National Dr., Orlando, Florida. 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) 380-6751.
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 25th Annual 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.
QUOTABLE QUOTE:
“For the saddest epitaph which can be carved in memory of a vanished liberty is that it was lost because its possessors failed to stretch forth a saving hand while yet there was time.”
–U.S. Supreme Court Justice George Sutherland (1862- 1942)
