NCOM COAST TO COAST BIKER NEWSBYTES for October, 2013

Headlines across America shrieked in condemnation over a road rage incident involving a swarm of sportbike riders in New York who were caught on tape viciously attacking a family in an SUV, but according to high-profile civil rights attorney Gloria Allred we haven’t heard the whole story.

Everything started when a driver bumped a biker on the Henry Hudson Parkway in NYC and took off, sparking the chase and vicious assault that followed.  After the initial contact, the now-famous helmet cam footage that captivated the country shows a rider cutting in front of a Range Rover, slowing down and gesturing at the driver just before the SUV driver clipped his back tire.  Following a brief exchange on the side of the road, the SUV driver is seen hitting the gas and speeding off recklessly through the crowd of bikers, running over one of them.  A group of riders pursued the vehicle and miles later when it was forced to a halt in heavy traffic, several of the bikers bashed in the windows and dragged the driver out and beat him in front of his wife and infant child.

Allred is representing rider Edwin “Jay” Mieses, the 33-year old father of two from Massachusetts who was ran over and left permanently paralyzed by the SUV driver during his “escape”,  and she told FOX News during an October 8th interview on “Hannity” that; “First of all, what’s not being talked about is what happened several miles before Edwin was run over, and we have evidence of this and police are aware, that the SUV was in the right lane several miles before and decided to move over into the center lane, HIT a bike and kept going and then several miles later hit a second rider and then ran over Edwin, crushing him under the SUV without any warning as he was standing there trying to get everyone to move on.”

“Ticked off” by the media’s unfair portrayal of the events, Allred said there’s no evidence of intimidation on the part of the bikers prior to the accident and the subsequent attack, and riders insist that the SUV driver was the aggressor. “He drove erratically and bumped the bike on the side,” one rider told WABC TV, corroborating that the driver had already hit one motorcycle prior to the confrontation. “When he bumped that bike on the side, that biker became aggressive because his life was in danger.”

Three bikers have thus far been arrested for gang assault and other crimes, but the SUV driver has not been charged as the case continues under investigation, so stay tuned.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) wants to change the angle of motorcycle license plates and has requested comments on a proposed amendment to a safety standard on “lamps, reflective devices and associated equipment to allow the license plate mounting surface on motorcycles to be at an angle of up to 30 degrees beyond vertical” (on horizontal installed plates).

According to the agency, the change would bring the U.S. rule more in line with European regulations, increase design flexibility without compromising safety or increasing costs, and allow license plate recognition technology used by law enforcement organizations to continue reading license plate characters.

Congressman Tom Petri (R-WI) has authored a letter to the Centers for Disease Control requesting that the CDC stop investigating motorcycling issues such as helmet laws.

“Given the demands on your budget and the unique ability of the CDC to address such pressing issues as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s and a host of other conditions, and issues which afflict millions of Americans and others around the globe, we encourage you to direct your attention and resources to areas that are not currently already being addressed elsewhere in the government,” wrote Petri in the letter he is requesting fellow members of Congress to co-sign.

With the government shutdown ending, now is the time to contact your Congressional Representatives and ask them to sign onto Rep. Petri’s letter to the CDC.

Under a new law, motorcyclists will be allowed to go through red lights. Starting October 1st, if a motorcyclist comes to a red light at a signal that doesn’t seem to be working or has failed to detect the motorcycle, the rider will be allowed to go through. Assembly Bill 117 enables motorcyclists, moped, trimobile and bike riders to go through red lights after waiting for two rounds of the signal without getting a green light.

The Nevada Highway Patrol said signals use sensors to detect metal, which may make it more difficult to detect motorcycles than vehicles.

The new law still requires motorcycles to stop at a light, and only proceed through a red if it’s safe.  The state has launched a website to educate people on the new law.

Nevada joins a dozen other states that allow riders to proceed through malfunctioning red lights.  Similar “dead red” laws have previously been enacted in Minnesota (2002), Tennessee (2003), Arkansas (2005), Idaho (2006), Wisconsin (2006), North Carolina (2007), South Carolina (2008), Missouri (2008), Oklahoma (2010), Kansas (2011), Virginia (2011) and Illinois (except Chicago – 2012).  In Texas and California, state law requires stoplights to be fitted with sensors that detect motorcycles.

Previously in Texas, three-wheeled motorcycle training courses were costly and not widely available, due to mandated motorcycle training curricula from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation that limited the flexibility of the Department of Public Safety (DPS) in approving otherwise appropriate curricula.

This was limiting for motorcyclists who do not wish to or cannot drive a two-wheeled motorcycle (perhaps due to a physical disability) but want to drive a three-wheeled cycle.

S.B. 763, “AN ACT relating to motorcycle training, the enforcement of certification

standards for motorcycles, and the license requirements for a three-wheeled motorcycle,” changes from mandatory to optional whether curricula includes the curricula developed by a particular foundation, giving DPS the flexibility to authorize other curricula that meet the statutory and regulatory requirements of Texas.

The new law also adds a three-wheeled restriction to the Class M license of those Texans who take only a three-wheeled training course. Currently, a motorcyclist who has only taken a three-wheeled training course can obtain a Class M license which permits them to legally operate a two-wheeled motorcycle.

“Another successful Legislative session for Texas Bikers, and Texas Trikes too!,” announced Paul Landers, TMRAII Legislative Liaison and National Lt. Commander of the US Defenders/C.O.I.R.  “For the first time, a new classification for this group of three wheeled BIKERS.  Personally, I feel this builds unity and gives more support to our political initiatives, trike owners can now be a part of what we do and feel good about it!”

A new law meant to protect poker runs is creating frustration.  House Bill 2520, the “Poker Run Act”, was drawn up earlier this year because of concerns that poker runs were a type of illegal gambling.  The bill to legalize poker runs for charities and Not For Profit organizations was passed with overwhelming support and was signed into law in August, moving the fundraisers under the Illinois Charitable Games Act.

However, the regulations means charities and poker run stops all need to pay for a license.  All locations involved are now required to pay a fee of $50 a year. The non-profit behind the event must have a permit that costs $200. Any funds raised will be taxed at 3%.

Motorcycle groups are now looking for a new solution.  Poker runs bring out bikers and bring in big dollars for charity causes, but many fear the new law will put an end to many of the events.

The push for change came when the motorcycle advocacy group, ABATE of Illinois, wanted to protect poker runs, which some states are cracking down on as illegal gaming.  According to WSIL TV (ABC), the Illinois Department of Revenue says lawmakers didn’t ask for their help in drafting the legislation so now the agency is enforcing those taxes and fees, but they’re also talking with bill sponsors about finding a new category for poker runs.

Representative Rich Brauer has already drawn up a bill that would put poker runs under the jurisdiction of the county where they’re being held.

On the 15th of September 2013, two members of The Horsemen MC out of Moore, OK went to the State Fair of Oklahoma, walking past four Oklahoma City police officers at the gates who watched the two of them buy tickets and enter the fair. They entered with club colors on and the Police made eye contact but let them in.

About an hour into being there, a Sergeant of the OKC P.D. pulled them aside and told them to remove their cuts or colors, whereupon the two Horsemen refused. The Police then told the two riders they had one chance to leave and if they didn’t, they would be arrested. The riders then agreed and started heading toward the gate.

They told them they would like their ticket money back since there are no signs posted informing motorcyclists they were not allowed to wear Colors in the fair. They did get their ticket money back but had to give their personal information to the police so they could run their identity through to see if they had any warrants. They took pictures of their vests and insignia, wanted to list their tattoos and informed them that they were a “gang”.

“The Horsemen walked away without being arrested but hopefully our Riding Community can understand there is a serious problem with this,” said Tiger Mike Revere in his report in the ABATE of Oklahoma newsletter.  “In the meantime, club members who have been mistreated at this point will be interacting with attorneys for possible litigation.”

Tiger Mike, who is the ABATE Liaison for the OK Confederation of Clubs and also serves on the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM) board of directors, encourages any biker who experiences discriminatory treatment to go to the Oklahoma Confederation of Clubs website at: www.okcoc.net to download, print and submit a Discrimination Complaint to NCOM, and advises that this issue will be discussed further during the NCOM Region 2 Conference scheduled for November 22-23 at the Biltmore Hotel in Oklahoma City.

Bikers going to jail in Queensland will now be sent to a “bikie-only prison” at the ultra-secure Woodford Correctional Centre as part of the Australian government’s push against “bikies”.  The biker gang-only facility, which critics have compared with Guantánamo Bay, will form a core part of the Newman Govt’s attempt to drive outlaw bikie gangs from Queensland.

Convicted outlaw motorcycle gang members will be kept in their cells for 23 hours a day at the centre, denied access to gym equipment, televisions and be subject to a more stringent regime of drug testing and searches.  All calls unrelated to their legal representation will be monitored and their mail opened and censored while visitor contact will be restricted to one hour a week. Bikie members already in Queensland prisons will also be transferred to the new facility, which is aimed at denying them the ability to use prison time to recruit new members and widen their drug distribution networks says government sources.

Premier Campbell Newman told The Courier-Mail that the facility will be an integral part of sweeping legislation to be introduced and passed through State Parliament, adding that the new laws will also automatically ban bikies from accessing bail and hand greater investigative powers to the Crime and Misconduct Commission.  In addition to mandatory enhanced prison sentences of up to 25 additional years for gang members, the government is also considering tougher penalties for crimes committed in prison, including weapon offenses, assaults and drug use, as well as stiffer penalties for prison staff caught colluding with gang members.

Civil libertarians and members of the legal fraternity have condemned the proposed bikie crackdown as unnecessary, ill-conceived and arrogant.

Thanks to Mike Davis of the NCOM Brothers Behind Bars (BBB) outreach for sharing this information.