February 18, 2004

SENATE APPROVES SAFE-TEA, AWAITS HOUSE ACTION Despite the threat of President Bush’s first veto since taking office, the U.S. Senate voted 76-21 on February 12, 2004, to pass S. 1072, a six-year $318 billion transportation bill to fund highway, mass transit and safety programs.??

The Senate rejected, by 56-42, an amendment to the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act (SAFE-TEA) that would have required states to enact primary enforcement seat belt laws or forfeit federal highway funds. The Senate measure also does not include motorcycle safety objectives proposed by Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, though similar pro-motorcycle language will hopefully be amended into a version of the bill now making its way through the House of Representatives.

Once passed by the House, both versions of the bill will go to a conference committee to iron out any discrepancies between the two, and a final bill will be submitted to President Bush for his signature or veto. Bush has indicated that he would veto the legislation if costs exceeded $300 billion, and the White House has proposed an alternative $256 billion reauthorization package.?

EX-CONGRESSMAN JANKLOW JAILED FOR KILLING BIKER As South Dakota’s Attorney General he prosecuted criminals, and during his four terms as governor he built prisons?now former Congressman Bill Janklow will be spending time behind bars for an auto accident that killed a biker and likely ended a political career that spanned three decades.

On January 22, Janklow, 64, was sentenced to 100 days in jail and ordered to pay $10,400 in total fines after being found guilty on December 8 of second-degree manslaughter, speeding, reckless driving and running a stop sign, causing the collision that took the life of 55-year-old Minnesota motorcyclist Randy Scott at a rural intersection near Trent, S.D. on August 16, 2003.

South Dakota does not require minimum sentences, so Circuit Court Judge Rodney Steele was free to impose anything from no jail time and no fines to a total of 10 years in prison, 14 months in jail and $11,400 in fines.

Janklow’s resignation from Congress took effect two days prior to his sentencing date, and he began serving his time in the Minnehaha County Jail in Sioux Falls on February 7. After 30 days of incarceration, Janklow will be allowed to leave jail on a work release program during the day for up to 10 hours to perform community service. After he completes his jail term, he will be on probation for three years, during which he will not be allowed to drive. Janklow also received a suspended imposition of sentence, which means if he completes his jail time and a term of probation the felony conviction will be removed from his record.

The former Republican congressman plans to read while in jail and will probably do some work preparing to defend himself against a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Scott’s family.

ROW, ROW, ROW Even before the tragic death of motorcyclist Randy Scott at the hands of lead-footed Congressman Bill Janklow, many states began pushing for stricter sentencing guidelines for drivers convicted of felonious acts resulting in the death or severe injury of a motorcyclist or pedestrian. Known as right-of-way laws (ROW), motorcyclists’ rights organizations are sponsoring such legislation across the country to put offenders behind bars and get the public to pay more attention to riders on the roadways.

A great idea recently surfaced in North Carolina, where Concerned Bikers Association (CBA) Legislative Director Sam Nobles is putting together a unique lobbying tool — a leather riding vest made solely of “In Memory Of” patches to help make a statement about their ROW bill when he testifies before the state legislature!

“This year when our Legislature takes up the Right of Way Bill, they will get to see for themselves what their failure to pass the bill has cost us,” said “Cotton” Tedder, CBA President and member of the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM) board of directors.

“I want it covered with names as a tribute to all of the brothers and sisters we have lost,” explains Nobles. “I’ve still got a lot of leather left to cover, so if you have a memory patch that you would like included, please send it in. They don’t need to have died on their bike, and they do not even have to be from North Carolina. The vest is symbolic — the names are to show just how many of us have been lost. It will make a dramatic statement to all the legislators who see it.”

And the CBA is willing to share their memorial vest with those in other states who are lobbying for increased penalties against right-of-way violators.

“This is a way to have your lost brothers and sisters remembered one more time, in a setting where they can indirectly contribute to our cause,” said Nobles.

If you have a patch to donate, please drop it in an envelope and mail it to Sam Nobles at P.O. Box 411, Chadbourn, NC 28431. The patches cannot be returned, but will make a lasting impression on legislators nationwide and may help enact laws to make us all safer on the road.

RIDING ABREAST Only a handful of states prohibit motorcyclists from riding two abreast, but in Wyoming it’s even illegal for two motorcycles to stop side-by-side for a traffic light. That’s why State Representative Wayne H. Johnson of Cheyenne has introduced HB0024 at the request of ABATE of Wyoming to allow “no more than two (2) motorcycles to be operated abreast in a single lane by consent of each operator.”

In addition to removing statutory restrictions on lane sharing, HB0024 would also require a motorcyclist passing another motorcyclist in the same traffic lane to first match the speed of the motorcycle being overtaken.

FEELIN’ BLUE? South Dakota has joined a short list of states that allow motorcyclists to use “Blue Dot” taillights; so-called because a small blue plastic lens insert creates a purplish hue when the brake light is actuated. Riders argue that the after-market lighting device enhances safety through increased visibility.

The new law allows that “A motorcycle may display a blue light of up to one-inch diameter as part of the motorcycle’s rear brake light,” and it passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 69-1 on January 31, and the Senate 34-1 on February 9. Governor Michael Rounds signed HB 1151 into law on February 13, joining Minnesota, Nevada and Washington with similar laws on the books. Most states only allow blue lights on the rear of road maintenance and emergency vehicles.

Pennsylvania is currently pursuing such legislation through the introduction of HB 2133, by Representative Kerry A. Benninghoff of Bellefonte, which reads; “Auxiliary lighting may be added to a motorcycle to protect the driver, including blue dot illumination, standard bulb running lights and various colors of valve stem caps, light-emitting diode (LED) pods and strips, light wire, neon tubes and strobe lights.”

LET THERE BE LIGHTS Three new laws passed the Oregon legislature last year that will allow motorcyclists to become more visible to other highway users.

“Visibility is especially important for motorcyclists,” said Stan Porter, manager of Motorcycle Safety and Vehicle Safety Standards Programs for the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).?

Effective January 1st, the three new changes are:

— Motorcyclists can now use three headlights on their motorcycles; whereas in the past, two was the maximum allowed.

— Motorcyclists will also be able to use auxiliary lights, either fog lights or driving lights, at all times if the auxiliary lights are no brighter than the headlight and the auxiliary lights are aimed correctly. All other vehicles in Oregon must turn off their auxiliary lights during times when the law requires drivers to dim their high beam headlights.

— Motorcyclists may use an intermittent pulsing or flashing brake light, as long as the flashing does not interfere with the rear turn signal function.

These new regulations were passed at the request of the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Motorcycle Safety, the Oregon State Police Motorcycle Unit, the TEAM OREGON Motorcycle Safety Program and by Oregon motorcyclists.

“All three of these new laws will allow the motorcyclist to be more easily seen by other highway users,” Porter said. “The addition of one more headlight and the use of auxiliary lights at all times will allow the motorcyclist to see better at night and during times of limited visibility. The flashing brake light will certainly gain the attention of those highway users behind motorcyclists.”

Porter added, “The Legislature was very supportive of enhancing the ability of motorcyclists to become more visible to other highway users. With the help of legislators that are motorcyclists themselves, these new options were passed and signed by Governor Ted Kulongoski.”

TEXAS COP FIRED FOR TACKLING MOTORCYCLIST A police officer who was videotaped tackling a motorcyclist off his bike after a high-speed chase has been sentenced to two years’ probation, fined $600 and ordered to undergo anger management counseling. A patrol car videotape of the Sept. 6 chase shows Garland police officer Glen Shaw running up to a seated Randall James Ling, then knocking him off his parked motorcycle before falling out of the camera’s view. Shaw, who along with two other officers was fired Jan. 14 after an investigation by the Texas Rangers, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge. Shaw also permanently gave up his Texas peace officer’s license as part of the plea deal, Pat Batchelor of the Dallas County district attorney’s office told The Dallas Morning News. Garland Police Chief Mitch Bates said he hoped the firings would protect his department’s integrity. The two other officers, William Mott and Demarcus Banda, were fired for making “untruthful” reports about the case, Bates said. The motorcyclist, Ling, was indicted on a felony for fleeing authorities.

WEIRD NEWS: SUSPICIOUS BIKER JACKET SPARKS ALARM As the United States raised its terrorism threat level to orange alert, the second-highest of five color-coded levels of alert, a female passenger was removed from a Paris-to-Cincinnati flight just before take off from France because of suspicious looking wires poking out of her leather motorcycle jacket.

As it turned out, the biker jacket was designed to heat up like an electric blanket to keep the wearer warm while riding, said security officials, who later determined the woman was not a security threat.

However, as a precaution, Delta Flight 43 was kept about a mile away from the terminal at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport after it landed in a secured cargo area used for Air Force One during presidential visits, and U.S. officials re-screened passengers and baggage.

FLYIN’ HIGH A Harley-Davidson flag now flies above Mt. Everest in Nepal, over 29,000 feet high in the Himalayan mountains, as Hiroyuki Okouchi, an employee of the Tanashi Harley-Davidson dealership in Tokyo, Japan, carried the flag to the top of the peak to help commemorate the Motor Company?s 100th anniversary.

QUOTABLE QUOTE: “The greatest Glory of a free-born People, Is to transmit that Freedom to their Children.”

–William Havard (1710-1788), Irish actor and dramatist

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