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. If you’ve been involved in any kind of accident, call us at 1-(800) ON-A-BIKE or visit www.ON-A-BIKE.com.
NCOM BIKER NEWSBYTES
Compiled & Edited by Bill Bish,
National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM)
ROCKFEST RESCINDS “NO COLORS” BAN
When Rockfest announced on their website that no motorcycle club colors would be allowed in the Kansas City music festival, members of the motorcycle club community and the Kansas Confederation of Clubs (www.kscoc.net) reacted promptly, and within 24 hours event promoters rescinded the policy.
“This ban is tantamount to profiling motorcycle club members based on how they look and prevents them from exercising their rights of free association and expression guaranteed under the First Amendment to the US Constitution,” wrote spokesperson Brian Cohoon in an open e-mail to Rockfest promoters, sponsors and every club in the Kansas COC condemning “in the strongest terms this outrageous ban on Motorcycle Clubs wearing their colors to Rockfest. News of this ban and our reaction to it is being disseminated by the most expeditious means possible to every Motorcycle Club in this region. We strongly encourage you to reconsider this ban and allow Motorcycle Club members to attend in whatever attire they deem appropriate in their individual judgment.”
In addition to many individual clubs and representatives also voicing their disapproval to the radio station promoting “North America’s largest one-day music festival,” the Chairman of the neighboring Missouri Confederation of Clubs e-mailed Rockfest promoter KQRC-FM 98.9 The Rock in protest of the policy, and the Kansas A.I.M. Attorney (Aid to Injured Motorcyclists) was tasked with sending a letter condemning the ban.
As a result of their coordinated activism, online language referring to the colors ban was immediately taken down and the show went on as usual May 14 without incident, just as it has since 1992.
CLUB COLORS BARRED FROM HEADSTONE
Before biker Richard Cody died on Sept. 5, 2013, he told his family and friends he wanted the logo of his beloved South Madison Motorcycle Club on his headstone, but nearly two years later his son Jeremy was forced to file a lawsuit against the city of Painesville, Ohio to make sure his father gets his last wish.
Representing the family and club, Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (A.I.M.) Attorney Ralph C. Buss filed a motion for preliminary and permanent injunction to prevent city officials from removing, defacing, touching or changing the headstone of the Vietnam veteran buried in Riverside Cemetery, after officials informed the Plaintiff that the club colors engraved into the back of his father’s grave marker, “is not deemed appropriate” and ordered the S.M.M.C. artwork to be removed within 60 days at their own expense.
Buss told The News-Herald in a May 10 interview with the newspaper that “the headstone’s logo is not vulgar or offensive in any way, and it complies with the requirements that were in place in 2014 when it was installed” and further charged that new regulations “conveniently” passed afterwards violate the First Amendment and “are nothing more than a license allowing city employees or agents to judge a person’s expression and deny it without any reasoning.”
All the media attention and ensuing barrage of publicity, including a 3,500-signature petition asking city council to allow the headstone to remain unaltered, and accompanying legal actions, resulted in the desired effect.
“When I first got the letter from the City of Painesville telling me that after two years I had to remove my father’s headstone due to it being “offensive”, I was outraged,” Cody recently told Ridin’ On Motorcycle Magazine (www.RidinOn.com). “My only thoughts were ‘I don’t think so!’ For two months I pleaded with the city to change their minds and they were not budging. So, I then got social media involved and contacted my attorney Ralph C. Buss, who just happens to be known for helping other motorcycle enthusiasts when in need. Within three days the City of Painesville decided it was in their best interest to let the stone be left there. It was my father’s wishes to have his club patch engraved on his headstone and I was not about to let that wish be taken from him.”
NEW IMPROVED LANE SPLITTING BILL AMENDED IN CALIFORNIA
Motorcyclists in California are allowed to travel between lanes of traffic because unlike the other 49 states there is no law against such maneuvering, creating a legal grey area, so AB 51 was introduced last year to codify the act of lane splitting and provide legal guidelines (no faster than 50mph, and no more than 15mph faster than traffic).
But if it isn’t defined, it isn’t breaking the law, so motorcyclists generally opposed regulating “lane splitting”, preferring to leave well enough alone and not create another new crime, and so AB 51 was pulled by its sponsor, Assemblyman Bill Quirk (D-Hayward), because “Lane splitting is a very complex issue and the author feels he needs more time to work out the details so that it’s more likely to be signed.” At the time, the bill had passed the state Assembly and was on its way to the California Senate floor.
Now, AB 51 was recently resurrected and amended to its purest form, simply riding between cars, with no limiting language in the current wording of the bill, retaining the spirit of lane splitting and let the rider decide what’s safe. Even under current statutes, a rider can be cited with other violations for unsafe maneuvering.
The new improved AB 51 strikes all references to miles per hour conditions, and simply defines “lane splitting” as “driving a motorcycle between rows of stopped or moving vehicles in the same lane, including both divided and undivided streets, roads, or highways.”
Quirk’s office said the current bill has the expressed support of more than a dozen key organizations, among them motorcycle organizations such as ABATE of California, as well as multiple law enforcement agencies.
AB 51 was swiftly approved by the State Assembly on May 28, 2016 by a vote of 58-14 and sent to the Senate where it passed Transportation and Housing Committee unanimously 11-0 on June 14 then re-referred to Appropriations Committee before coming up for a floor vote.
Although lane “filtering” is common throughout Europe and Asia and many other countries, California is the only state where it is not expressly illegal. A bill to legalize lane-splitting in Nevada was voted down in 2013. A similar bill in Oregon was defeated in 2015. Other bills have surfaced and died in Arizona and Texas.
Editor’s Note: We are going to publish a European study on Lane Splitting and the overall benefits. There are very positive elements for motorists, motorcyclists, and fuel usage. It’s all good, but there may be a attitude problem here and we need to study how we can overcome the obstacles and educate the public.–Bandit
SUZUKI RIDERS THE ANGRIEST, SAYS SURVEY
Suzuki riders experience the highest levels of road rage followed closely by owners of Harleys and then Triumphs, according to a recent survey in Britain. A thousand British motorcyclists were asked to assign a road rage score from 0-10 to a series of hypothetical scenarios such as drivers texting at the wheel.
Suzuki riders typically assigned higher levels of rage to the scenarios than owners of other bikes, earning an “average road rage score” of 71%. Harley riders scored 68.7% and Triumph riders 67%.
The survey, performed by dealer chain Jennings Harley-Davidson in the U.K., also found the thing that angered riders most was drivers texting, with a score of 86.5%, followed by “bike blindness” at 83.2% and “getting cut up (cut-off)” at 82.5%.
“We wanted to highlight the fears that many motorcyclists have around riding on the road, and the ignorance that often comes with motorcyclists’ safety,” said Jennings H-D director Sohail Khan. “It was important for us to show the severity of their fears amongst sharing the road with car drivers.”
Editor’s Note: Maybe Suzuki riders ride the quietest bikes and are targets more often. Could be an interesting test. Could go along way to help with noise issues.—Bandit
MOTORCYCLIST FATALITIES UP IN 2015
Following two consecutive years of decreasing motorcycle fatalities nationwide, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) reports that more than 5,000 motorcyclists were killed in the U.S. in 2015, which represents an estimated 10% increase over 2014.
The annual study attributes the increase mainly to increased travel nationwide and better weather leading to a longer riding season in many states. Low fuel prices also contributed to a 3.5% rise in motor vehicle miles traveled last year over 2014, according to federal data.
This crash data — based on an early look at current data, trends, and developing issues — reports that this is more than 450 motorcycle fatalities over 2014. GHSA says it projects the final motorcyclist fatality total for 2015 will be 5,010 — only the third year in U.S. history, and the first time since 2008, in which the fatality number topped 5,000.
The increase is consistent with preliminary numbers from the government that show traffic deaths overall rising an estimated 8% last year after trending downward for the past decade, marking the largest year-to-year percentage increase in a half-century and making 2015 the deadliest driving year since 2008.
The report takes data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and compared to 2014, motorcycle deaths by state increased in 31 states, decreased in 16, and remained the same in three others along with the District of Columbia.
While acknowledging contributing crash factors such as alcohol and drug use, increased speed limits, and a record number of vehicles on U.S. roads, the GHSA calls for restoring helmet laws in the 31 states that don’t mandate helmets, and requiring DOT standards.
TRUMP STUMPS AT ROLLING THUNDER MOTORCYCLE RUN IN D.C.
Throngs of bikers listened on Sunday, May 29, as presumptive Presidential GOP nominee Donald J. Trump delivered remarks to a crowd at the Lincoln Memorial during the 29th annual Rolling Thunder motorcycle run over Memorial Day weekend that is dedicated to accounting for military members taken as prisoners of war or listed as missing in action (POW/MIA).
For the blunt-spoken real estate mogul and television celebrity, who stresses his desire to strengthen the military and improve how veterans are treated, the gathering provided a receptive audience. “Look at all these bikers,” Trump said with admiration. “Do we love the bikers? Yes. We love the bikers.”
Wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat and forgoing a necktie, Trump told the crowd of seeing large numbers of bikers at his campaign events. “I said, ‘What are they all doing here?’ and my people would say, ‘They’re here to protect you, Mr. Trump,’” he said. “It’s an amazing thing. And I want to tell you, some of these people are tough,” but added when he shakes their hands, “there is love, and it’s an incredible feeling, and that’s why I wanted to be with you today.”
Trump’s supporters include a group called “Bikers for Trump,” which boasts more than 61,000 “likes” on Facebook.
“I’m not a huge biker, I have to be honest with you, O.K.?” lamented Trump to the motorcycle gathering, “I always liked the limo better.”
Nancy Regg, a spokeswoman for Rolling Thunder, told the New York Times that the group had invited Mr. Trump to appear. The group did not extend an invitation to Hillary Clinton or Senator Bernie Sanders, she said.
AIM/NCOM WEBPAGE UPDATES
“To best serve the motorcycle community, it is always our aim to keep our Aid to Injured Motorcyclists / National Coalition of Motorcyclists (AIM/NCOM) webpage at www.onabike.com up-to-date, convenient, and useful,” wrote AIM/NCOM Executive Coordinator Sarge in an open letter to the motorcycle community. “To do this, we are in the process of revamping a few pages including providing some important NCOM links to and from other WebPages. We have a list of the NCOM Members at www.onabike.com/national-coalition-of-motorcyclists/members.htm available, but would like to expand it to include all of our NCOM Member Groups, Confederations of Clubs plus more clubs and associations.”
Here’s what you’re asked to do if your MRO / COC / Club / Association is on the NCOM Member Groups list:
If you have a link, verify that it is still correct. If not, please provide NCOM with the updated information.
If you do not have a link and one is available, please provide us with the appropriate link.
If your motorcycle organization is not on the NCOM Members List and would like to be added, please send information and e-mail address to Sarge at ncompms@aol.com.
“Finally, the last part of our update is to ask each MRO / COC / Club / Association to put a link to NCOM on their webpage. To this end, please add www.onabike.com. Graphics can be provided at your request, THANK YOU!”
QUOTABLE QUOTE: “The unity of freedom has never relied on uniformity of opinion.”
~ John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) Thirty-fifth President of the United States
–Photos from the Bob T. collection
