Author Bill Bish
COAST TO COAST BIKER NEWS
Compiled & Edited by Bill Bish,
National Coalition of Motorcyclists
UN TO REGULATE HELMET USAGE? In documents submitted to the United Nations during a recent road safety meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is calling upon the international body to “study” the effectiveness of helmet usage in motorcycle accidents.
In spite of, or perhaps because of, Congressional limitations placed on NHTSA’s lobbying efforts in support of mandatory helmet laws, NHTSA Administrator Dr. Jeffrey Runge and associate administrator Rose McMurray presented their request for a “motorcycle safety” survey of Member Nations during the UN’s “Inland Transport Committee: Working Party on Road Traffic Safety Working Party 1 (WP.1)” meeting held September 22-25, 2003.
The questionnaire would compell nations to determine fatality and injury rates among riders involved in accidents who were not wearing helmets, and to specify what laws and penalties each country has governing helmet use.
If the committee accepts the NHTSA proposal, it will recommend action to be taken by a larger committee, Working Party 29 (WP.29), which is the committee established by an international agreement signed by UN Member Nations to develop universal vehicle standards under global harmonization. Then, if that UN Working Group approves, it can pass a resolution calling upon Member Nations to adopt their proposition. Although not binding, the United States would then come under considerable global and federal pressure to enact a nationwide helmet law.
In other words, having lost the helmet law battle locally, NHTSA is now acting globally in an effort to push for worldwide helmet mandates, under the guise of global harmonization, and ignoring federal restrictions in the process.
Concerned motorcyclists should contact their Senators and Congressmen to pull the reigns in on NHTSA before it’s too late. If you don?t know who your federal representatives are, you can locate them on the web at www.senate.gov or www.house.gov, or by calling the congressional switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
BAMBIS ON BIKES The increase in motorcycle fatalities is apparently not just a U.S. phenomenon, as reports of increased motorcycle use and resulting fatal accidents is coming in from other parts of the world as well.
“Scottish Bambis (Born Again Middle-Aged Bikers), like their counterparts throughout the world, are said to be indulging in fantasies fueled by a high disposable income and the encroachment of old age,” states an article in a British tabloid. “Psychologists have indicated previously that middle-aged men have a tendency to hearken back to their youth and that having a motorcycle is seen as a way of changing their image and attracting women.” Two-wheeled Viagra?
Perhaps mid-life crisis could explain the increase in age of the average rider from their mid-20’s to mid-40’s over the past couple of decades, and the record numbers of motorcycles on the road as the Baby Boomer generation matures.
The paper points out that motorcycle sales in Britain have risen to nearly 200,000, up from just 41,000 less than a decade ago, and like here in the U.S. the number of fatal accidents involving riders over the age of 46 has increased at a time when other categories of road users are becoming statistically safer.
CALIFORNIA MODIFIES EARPLUG LAW In one of his final acts before relinquishing the governor’s office to Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor Gray Davis signed a law that removes “custom” from the state’s earplug regulation for motorcycle riders. Previously, only custom made earplugs were legal to wear in the Golden State, but effective January 1st, the use of foam inserts will also be allowed.
“Requiring motorcyclists who want to drown out road noise by using ear plugs to buy custom-made plugs is an outdated law that makes absolutely no sense” said State Senator Debra Bowen. “The test ought to be whether a rider using ear plugs can still hear a car’s horn or a siren from an emergency vehicle. As long as over-the-counter plugs do the job, there’s no reason why ear plugs should have to be custom-made, so junking that requirement is a common sense change that’s long overdue.”
“POLITICAL ACTION FOR DUMMIES” When it comes to political organizing and legislative lobbying strategies, ABATE of Pennsylvania wrote the book on how to get a helmet law repealed in your state?literally. Since their successful modification of the helmet law to allow experienced adult riders the freedom to choose when and where to wear a helmet, ABATE of PA has compiled a 156-page dossier on their efforts, including correspondence, web pages, media articles and related items beginning in December 2002 and ending July 9, 2003 – three days after Governor Edward G. Rendell signed the new helmet law.
Now, ABATE-ers in the Keystone State want to share their experiences and help other states gain Freedom of Choice, and are making their game plan available to any organizations fighting for bikers’ rights. For details on the book and a link to the order form, please visit:
TEXAS BIKER SHARES THE ROAD When Mr. Cano from the Texas Panhandle was run over by a pickup while riding his motorcycle, he complained to the Texas Department of Transportation office in Amarillo that “They have signs warning about not running over such things as livestock, deer and even illegal aliens? so why don’t they have signs about watching out for motorcycles?”
Thanks to his efforts, the Sons of Liberty Riders reports that TxDot in Austin has developed a drawing for a sign to share the road with motorcycles, and that other municipalities have permission to make these signs and place them in their city. In fact, the Motorcycle Safety Division has been approached to make these motorcycle awareness signs part of their program, and state legislators have been contacted to put them up in their home towns. Great idea! Hope it spreads. See, one person can make a difference!
SEGWAY SCOOTERS RECALLED You remember the Segway, the mini motorized two-wheeled scooter that was supposed to revolutionize the way us humans travel? Well, the gyroscopically controlled Segway Human Transporter has been recalled because riders have been injured falling off when its batteries run low. Just ask President Bush, who fell off one he was trying out at the White House. Of course, it helps to turn it on.
INDIAN BITES THE DUST The last pieces of confetti were still being swept off the streets of Milwaukee following Harley-Davidson?s 100th Anniversary celebration when the announcement came that their American rival for the past century has closed its doors, again.
As of Friday, September 19, 2003, Indian Motorcycle Corporation ceased operations at its Gilroy, California factory, and sent more than 350 employees home after a company-saving deal with a new investor fell through.
The closing comes as Indian was enjoying strong sales and critical acceptance. Fran O’Hagan, Indian’s executive vice president, said the company was “on target” to sell a record 4,500 bikes this year.
O’Hagan wouldn’t discuss in detail the would-be investor in what he called “an eight-digit deal.” In 2001, Audax, a private equity firm in Boston, invested $45 million in Indian and brought in new executives, including O’Hagan, who had worked for Jaguar, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
The news took Indian dealers by surprise, as the announcement was made just as Indian’s dealer meetings were set to begin in Las Vegas to introduce the 2004 models. The company has about 200 dealers nationwide.
O’Hagan said late Friday that he was unsure what would happen next. Bankruptcy is one option, he told the San Jose Mercury News. “In the end, the creditors will control what’s left of Indian Motorcycle,” he said.
Indian was originally founded in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1901. Indian introduced the first motorcycle with an electric starter and complete electrical system in 1913. Before World War I, the company was the largest motorcycle maker in the world, producing more than 20,000 bikes a year. It was a worthy rival to Harley-Davidson in both consumer loyalty and on the racetrack, before going out of business the first time in 1953.
After a lengthy court battle, Indian was revived in 1999 through a $30 million merger involving American Indian Motorcycle Company, Indian Motorcycle Company Inc., California Motorcycle Company, and six-related companies to become the second largest producer of heavy cruiser motorcycles in North America.
The first time around, Indian lasted more than 50 years, this time they didn’t make it five.
The closing ends another chapter in the storied manufacturer’s history, but does it close the book? Once again, only time, and the courts, will tell.
MOTORCYCLE TRIVIA The Beatles got their name from a line in the 1954 movie “The Wild One”. Lee Marvin’s character said the motorcycle gang wanted Marlon Brando’s character back, even the beetles (he was referring to the women in the gang). They changed the ‘ee’ to ‘ea’ so it was like the musical term ‘beat’.
In the following excerpt from a 1975 radio interview with “Earth News,” George Harrison agrees with this version of their name origin;
“John used to say in his American accent ‘Where are we goin’ fellas?’ and we’d say ‘To the top Johnny!’ And we used to do that as a laugh, but that was actually the Johnny, I suppose, from ‘The Wild One.’ Because, when Lee Marvin drives up with his motorcycle gang, and if my ears weren’t tricking me, I could’ve sworn when Marlon Brando is talking to Lee Marvin, Lee Marvin’s saying to him ‘Look Johnny, I think such-and-such, the Beetles think that you’re such-and-such…’ as if his motorcycle gang was called the Beetles.”
Of course it should be noted that the movie “The Wild One” was banned in England in the 1960’s when the fab four named their band.
BEIRUT BIKE BAN “From purse-snatchings to reckless driving habits, bikers are increasingly considered a menace to those around them,” wrote Badih Chayban in the February 14 edition of the Daily Star, written six months after Beirut’s municipal council voted unanimously to ban motorcycles from the capital’s streets for causing noise pollution, irresponsible driving habits and drive-by purse snatchings. “The public is out of patience with motorcycles.”
However, due to lack of law enforcement personnel, the ban has yet to been implemented.
Many citizens have filed complaints about what they described as the “irresponsible and reckless” driving of bikers, and blamed them for causing accidents and endangering other drivers.
In an interview with The Daily Star, Marianne Azzi said she crashed her car because a biker did not respect a red light, surprised her and made a quick turn that caused her to lose control of her car and crash into the window of a gallery.
She added that following the incident, she started noticing that most bikers did not respect red lights, “even if there is an ISF officer standing at the spot.”
The police source said that this was true, adding that Internal Security Force (ISF) personnel were also complaining about the driving of bikers and their flaunting of road rules. The source said that weak enforcement of the ban and other traffic violations was due to the low number of ISF personnel on the roads, arguing that if the policeman leaves his spot to arrest or follow a biker, it would cause a significant traffic jam of even greater disturbance to the public.
Major complaints have also involved an increased rate of purse-snatchings by bikers, and according to police reports these crimes are a daily affair in Beirut.
Security sources told The Daily Star that the ISF personnel were “doing their best to put an end to this phenomenon and to arrest the thieves who have been doing this dirty job.”
However, and in spite of ISF efforts to put end to the two-wheel crimes, the victims say they are unsatisfied with official efforts to curb them. One of the victims said that after two men on a bike snatched her purse six months ago, she had become “paranoid” each time she walked on a street when she saw two people on a bike, “because I know that I am a potential victim of theft.”
However, the security source added that in spite of the lack in personnel, the ISF was still managing to issue tickets. “If you take a look at the figures and numbers, you will know how many tickets the police are issuing daily, and how many bikes we have seized because they don’t have the appropriate licenses and registration papers,” the source added.
He also said that even if the ISF efforts were not enough to end all motorcycle violations, the current moves were “on the right track.”
HALL OF FAME LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD BIKERS The Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame is now accepting at-large nominations for the 2004 Hall of Fame inductees. The Hall of Fame honors “the men and women who have dedicated much of their lives to improving, promoting and advancing our great sport and lifestyle.” Help recognize these unique individuals by sending in a nomination form, accompanied by credentials which explain why this person should be considered for induction. Deadline is January 12, 2004. You can contact the museum at (605) 347-2001 to request a nomination form and further instructions.
QUOTABLE QUOTE: “You don’t get to choose how you’re going to die. Or when. You can only decide how you’re going to live. Now.” Joan Baez (1941-____) Singer, songwriter, political activist
