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
COAST TO COAST BIKER NEWS
Compiled and Edited by BILL BISH,
National Coalition of Motorcyclists
HOUSE INTRODUCES COMPANION BILL TO ABOLISH HEALTH INSURANCE DISCRIMINATION Legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives as a companion measure to S. 423, which will end health insurance discrimination by prohibiting insurance carriers from refusing to provide benefits to those injured while motorcycling or participating in other so-called “risky” activities.
HR 1749, the “Health Care Parity for Legal Transportation and Recreational Activities Act of 2003,” is sponsored by Representatives Scott McInnis, a Republican from Colorado, and Democrat Ted Strictland from Ohio, and was introduced with 51 original co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle.
The language of HR 1749 is identical to that contained in S. 423, which was introduced in the U.S. Senate on February 14 by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Russ Feingold (D-WI), and states in part that “a plan or issuer may not deny benefits otherwise provided for the treatment of any injury solely because such injury resulted from participation of the participant or beneficiary in an activity such as motorcycling, snowmobiling, all-terrain vehicle riding, horseback riding, skiing or other similar legal activity.”
Both bills aim to promote health care parity for participants in legal transportation and recreational activities, and address a loophole created when the Department of Health and Human Services ruled that employers cannot deny health care coverage to motorcyclists and participants in other risky activities, yet insurers can deny benefits to insureds who are injured while participating in those activities.
CHARLESTON ORDINANCE BANS “REVVING” Just days before the Heritage Motorcycle Rally, expected to attract tens of thousands of bikers to South Carolina’s Lowcountry, Charleston City Council passed an anti-revving ordinance that riders view as a rude welcome.
The ordinance, which bans loud revving, amends Chapter 21 of the Code of the City of Charleston by amending Section 21-16 to prohibit persons from “engaging in clamorous singing, yelling, shouting, whooping, bellowing, hollering, or other loud, obstreperous, wanton and unnecessary noises, or from riding, driving, propelling, or otherwise operating any motorized vehicle, including but not limited to cars, trucks, vans and motorcycles, in a manner which emits unnecessary and loud noise or long continued noise, either in the day time or at night which disturbs the peace and quiet of the City, whether in the public street or within enclosures, public or private, and further amending Section 21-16 to provide that operating a motorized vehicle by rapid throttle advancing (revving) of an internal combustion engine resulting in increased noise from the engine is prohibited.”
Dave Harvey, an organizer of the event, said the action was overkill to placate residents of the city’s historic downtown district. “It is a direct attack on the motorcycle rally,” Harvey said. According to Harvey, the ordinance could be used to hassle bikers, adding that it is difficult to operate a motorcycle without some degree of revving.
Harvey estimates between 25,000 and 50,000 bikers will attend the rally, scheduled for April 16-20 in the small town of Ladson outside Charleston. Similar rallies up the coast in Myrtle Beach have drawn as many 300,000 people.
Charleston Police Major Herbert Whetsell said the ordinance is an improvement from the existing law because it more thoroughly spells out what is prohibited. Police aren’t looking to hassle bikers, he said. The law will be used only when someone revs their engine up high or jets away quickly and loudly, he said.
Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. and others said the city wants bikers to come, and that the ordinance is intended only to help provide a quiet atmosphere for residents and visitors.
Other officials said they are not trying to be unwelcoming. Councilman Henry Fishburne urged the bikers to come and visit – quietly. “Here’s your chance to show how well you can behave,” he added.
“Watch our Charleston,” says James “Gunny” Gregory, former Chairman of the Board for ABATE of California who now resides in South Carolina. “It is now against the law to sing at the sunrise Easter services when outside, to cheer the Riverdogs, or shout to a friend on the street. Mayor Joe knows best.”
ARIZONA BIKERS DERAIL “DANGEROUS DRIVING BILL” An anti-cruising bill which could have outlawed motorcycle events and rides with over 20 bikes was killed thanks to quick lobbying action by Arizona bikers.
HB 2386, the “Dangerous Driving Bill” introduced by John Nelson (R-Phoenix), would allow the towing of vehicles ticketed for drag racing or being part of a “procession” of more than 20 vehicles. Though aimed directly at street racers and cruisers, the bill’s vagueness could easily be extended to include motorcycles.
“Also, the new law would ask every city and municipality that wished to take advantage of the new towing language to pass its own language as to what and whom it would apply,” explained Roger “Priest” Hurm, Chairman and Lobbyist for the Modified Motorcycle Association (MMA) of Arizona and a member of the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM) Board of Directors. “Our job would be multiplied immensely as we would have to keep track of every city in Arizona to see if they included motorcycles in their ordinance.”
The anti-cruising bill had already passed the House of Representatives and already had a lot of momentum when the MMA, ABATE of Arizona and the Confederation of Clubs of Arizona were alerted to the possible implications for motorcyclists.
“We had not picked up on it because no keywords got our attention early,” said Priest, “But as I read it, I inserted the word motorcycle into the language and started seeing unintended possibilities for us. The vagueness continued throughout the language and a meeting with sponsor John Nelson, John Gonzales the city attorney, and Erik Edwards the police representative just reinforced in my mind the vagueness. So we went to work on the Senate Transportation Committee to kill it because of the ramifications implied to motorcyclists.”
The first two senators the bikers met with were Marsha Arzberger and Robert Cannell- Marsha, a rancher from Bisbee area and Bob, a pediatrician from Yuma. “Neither would vote yes on the bill. They saw no cruising problem in their areas — heck Marsha asked me what cruising was. Both had shown us support in previous years,” reported Priest. The next senator approached was biker-friendly Carolyn Allen from Scottsdale, home of the Barrett-Jackson Car auction. “Carolyn gave the keynote speech at the 1999 NCOM Convention in Phoenix and has always expressed the view to me that ‘helmets mess up my hair’,” said Priest. The auction people move cars all over–very expensive cars — and Carolyn expressed that her “motorcycle and car friends would be unhappy if I voted yes on it.”
“We had our third NO vote,” recalls Priest. “The day of the hearing I accompanied Ray Huston, MMA lobbyist, and Bobbi Hartman, ABATE lobbyist, to the hearing needing one more NO vote to kill the bill.”
In the hallway before Ray got up to speak, new information surfaced from the Phoenix city attorney. Ray had asked him on the towing section if the owner of the vehicle could go down and retrieve the car. For instance, if a teenager gets arrested and his dad’s car is towed. Can the dad go get it? “The city attorney hemmed a bit and hawed some more,” said Priest. “Ray pressed the issue. The result was information that the arrestee would have to go to a hearing before the release of a vehicle. Whoa….the scenario got worse for the anti-cruising bill: Now dad could not get to work the next day because of the new language. We seemed to have stopped the bill’s momentum.”
Finally, reason and common sense prevailed and six senators voted NO. The opinion from the Chair was that the bill was too “vague” and had too many “unintended possibilities” — the exact contentions made by the bikers. The final vote: No-6, Yes-0 and one went to the bathroom.
“We got a potentially dangerous bill to our motorcycling health — the so-called ‘Dangerous Driving Bill’ — killed in Arizona,” says a happy Priest. “We’ve learned to check all bills for unintended language that could affect the way we ride. Rust never sleeps, and neither can we!”
RIDER ED FUNDS UNDER ATTACK A few months ago, our Oregon A.I.M. (Aid to Injured Motorcyclists) Chief of Staff Gunny warned in his “Gunny’s Sack” that due to budget deficits across the country, Rider Education Program funding could be robbed unless motorcyclists made sure they were dedicated funds that are used specifically for motorcycle training and protected against being raided.
Since that time, the Utah motorcycle safety fund has come under attack, with their legislature attempting to divert rider ed funds to try to balance the state budget.
Now comes word from Michigan that, in a similar fashion, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm has eliminated funding for Michigan’s motorcycle rider education program in her proposed 2004 budget for the Department of Education.
“The Motorcycle Safety Education Program and the Off-Road Vehicle Safety Education Program have been eliminated as part of an effort to focus limited state staff resources on core missions. These two programs provide grants to instructional agencies to help subsidize safety-training courses for individuals interested in operating motorcycles and off-road vehicles, whereas the department’s core focus is providing educational services to children. The total reduction as a result of eliminating these programs is $2.0 million. The fees that previously supported these programs will be eliminated and interested individuals can purchase safety training directly from private providers,” she explained.
Michigan’s motorcycle safety program is funded 100% by fees paid by licensed motorcyclists in that state. Michigan motorcyclists pay the costs that the Department of Education incurs to administer the program, so the move is not likely to save any money.
In fact, Michigan riders asked the state government in 1984 and again in 1996 to tax them to raise money to provide low cost rider education. All the state government does is collect and administer the funding, with bikers even paying for the costs of providing those services to them.
“The Governor’s suggestion that training can be purchased from private providers is not a good one,” reasons Lindsey Higginbottom, a motorcycle safety instructor in Whitmore Lake, MI. “We trained 1,000 students last year in Ann Arbor alone. About 5,000 were trained throughout the state. Our local Riders Edge program couldn’t begin to handle that number of students. We charge $25 for a course fee. A privatized course would likely cost $250 to $300, as it does in any of the private programs in other states. Our local RE classes cost $295. How many of our 5,000 students per year do you think would spend $295 for training and how many do you think would just enroll in the less expensive school of hard knocks and just go riding without training?”
If you live in Michigan, please contact the Governor, your state representative and your state senator and ask them to restore the motorcycle rider education funding for on and off road motorcycles in the Michigan Department of Education’s 2004 budget. If you live elsewhere, consider contacting the Michigan Department of Tourism and telling them that you will spend your motorcycle vacation dollars in a more motorcycle friendly Great Lakes state if Michigan eliminates rider ed funding. Be sure to send a copy of your letter to Governor Granholm.
OREGON HELMET REPEAL BILL INCHES FORWARD “The inch worm made a good move and the Helmet Bill received a work session this morning,” reports BikePAC of Oregon. A nice step for Bikers was completed with the Helmet Bill receiving the required 4 votes of the 7 committee members and was moved from the committee for a vote on the floor with a DO PASS recommendation.
Later, the Committee Administrator said the Lane Splitting bill was still on the short list to receive a work session, but had not been scheduled and she did not know when and if it would get a hearing.
TENNESSEE HELMET BILL PASSES COMMITTEE, REACHES IMPASS Tennessee House Bill 952 allowing freedom of choice for motorcyclists concerning helmets passed the House Transportation Committee meeting on Wednesday, April 4, with one amendment to require motorcyclists to have proof of health insurance. However, the bill now goes before the Finance Committee, chaired by State Representative Tommy Head (D-Clarksville), whose personal opposition to this bill, coupled with his influence as Chairman of Finance, has insured that no helmet modification has ever made it to the full House for consideration.
“With HB952 passing through the House Transportation Committee with a ‘Recommended Do Pass’ vote, we feel it is inappropriate for personal prejudice to prevent this legislation from reaching the House floor,” said Steve Lundwall, Director of the Concerned Motorcyclists of Tennessee/ABATE and member of the NCOM Board of Directors. “This is in conflict with the idea of a democracy.”
“All we want is a VOTE on the house floor,” he added.
“In the opposition’s testimony they tried to state that allowing freedom of choice would COST the state money in TennCare dollars,” said Wayne Shaub, CMT/ABATE State Legislative Officer. “They failed to see that it reality will add to the state budget through tourism, bike sales and increased economic activity.”
Shaub testified at the Transporation Committee hearing that “Today we have 84,130 street motorcycles registered in Tennessee. If we were to apply the same 20% growth in registrations that Florida experienced during the first year after their helmet law was repealed, that would mean the potential for:
16,826 new bikes at an average of $10K each: $168,260,000
Sales tax potential (at 9.25%): nearly $15.5M for Tennessee’s budget
Add in the income from Registrations, Change of title, and sales of apparel and accessories (and sales tax on them), we come up with around a QUARTER OF A BILLION DOLLARS of economic impact.”
Shaub pointed out to the committee that “As you can see, this change will not only return personal freedom, it will also increase funds to the state by millions of dollars.”
WASHINGTON’S “HELMET IS A HELMET” BILL PASSES A bill to define “what is a helmet” in the state of Washington passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 89 Yays to 9 Nays, and will soon be on the governor’s desk.
“Thanks to everyone who went to the state capitol and or called their Representatives, said Rich Bright, legislative advocate for ABATE of Washington. “YOU MADE IT HAPPEN!”
The helmet definition bill had already passed the Senate on March 11 by a vote of 44-3, and will redefine current law to state that a helmet is a hard shell with a padded liner, a chin strap, and a DOT sticker affixed by the manufacturer.
Previously, the Washington police had the latitude to define a helmet by their opinion, leading to thousands of traffic stops for “illegal” helmets with no recourse for the rider.
Also going to the Governor for his signature will be a bill to incorporate sidecar / trike training into the subsidized portion of the Washington Motorcycle Safety Program.
The Washington Road Riders Association reports that WRRA representatives met with Governor Locke’s transportation advisor, and the feedback was very positive.
FLORIDA PURSUES PRO-MOTORCYCLE AGENDA: ABATE of Florida, Inc. reports that they have three bills they are supporting this legislative session. The biker anti-discrimination bill has passed two committees in the Senate and will be facing its final senate committee hearing. It has already passed one committee in the House.
“Besides our discrimination bill, the stiffer penalties traffic bill has passed two committees in the senate and one in the house, and it will also be heard soon in a house committee,” reports James “Doc” Reichenbach, President of ABATE of Florida and Chairman of the Board of NCOM.
The final bill is for the state’s first specialty motorcycle tag. It is Red, White and Blue. It had final passage in the Senate and is in messages to be voted on by the House. Doc says that they also are waiting on their Governor to sign a proclamation for May as Motorcycle Safety Month.
“It is a testament of the hard work of the members of ABATE of Florida that these bills are moving through the legislature,” commends Doc.
WEIRD NEWS OF THE MONTH: PETA Tries to Whip Leather Fetishists Into Shape — The fur flew at the annual “Leather Weekend” last January in Washington, D.C., as activists with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sought to persuade the slaves of fashion and their biker buddies gathered for the fetish convention to give up black leather – studs and all.
“Why would I?” demanded Norman Wagner of Scottsdale, Ariz. “I’m 6-foot-3, and 230 pounds, and I can wear anything I want to.”
Wagner told reporter Lance Gay of The Knoxville News Sentinel that he is not harming anything by wearing his black leather biker duds, and he questioned the sanity of activists picking on those who chose to wear animal skins. “It’s been around for a thousand years, it’s durable, and I’m not wasting resources by using it,” he said. “Why would someone wear burlap?”
Kayla Rae Worden, a trans-gendered PETA activist from Asheville, N.C., who showed up to leaflet the event decked out in skimpy dominatrix hot pants in spite of freezing Washington weather, sought to persuade the fetishists that synthetics are just as erotic.
Worden, who said she used to wear leather and eat meat when she was a boy 15 years ago, contended the synthetic lifestyle provides even more protection than leather, and can be much more comfortable to wear. Besides, she said, leather smells.
One PETA activist showed up in a black biker outfit made of “pleather” – a silky synthetic black rubber, and white synthetic snakeskin boots. He said he was trying to show that fetishists can make a fashion statement without using leather.
Glen Sams, a 50-year-old member of the Centaur Motorcycle Club of Virginia, said the only requirement for those attending 33rd annual Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend was to have “a pronounced interest in leather” and he was not pleased that PETA is picking on the gathering.
When a mistake or accident causes a biker to put his motorcycle down on the pavement, nothing protects the skin from being scraped off on the asphalt like leather, Sams said. He dismissed the PETA protest. “We were here before PETA, and I imagine we will be here a long time after,” he said.
GOING TO MILWAUKEE FOR HARLEY?S 100TH? And who isn’t? Consider supporting bikers rights while you’re there. ABATE of Wisconsin is hosting two campgrounds within 30 minutes of downtown Milwaukee, with easy access to major highways.
For more information or reservations, call Greg or Diane at (262) 334-5079 or 306-0606, or by e-mail at biker@milwpc.com. You can also visit the ABATE of Wisconsin website at
QUOTABLE QUOTE: “The average man’s love of liberty is nine-tenths imaginary. It takes a special sort of man to understand and enjoy liberty – and he is usually an outlaw in democratic societies.”
H.L. MENCKEN, Newspaperman & Political Commentator (1880-1956)
