THE AIM/NCOM MOTORCYCLE E-NEWS SERVICE is brought to you by Aid to InjuredMotorcyclists (A.I.M.) and the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM), andis sponsored by the Law Offices of Richard M. Lester. For more information, callus at 1-(800) ON-A-BIKE or visit us on our website at <
NCOM NEWS BYTES
Compiled & Edited by Bill Bish
TEN PERCENT OF DRIVERS UNFIT As you’re riding along through traffic be sure tolook out for every tenth car, according to new research that suggests one in tendrivers may be unfit to drive. Study results released by GMAC Insurance indicatethat up to 20 million licensed drivers may lack basic driving knowledge andwould fail a standard state drivers test.
In an effort to gauge American drivers’ road knowledge, GMAC studied nearly5,000 licensed drivers nationwide aged 16-65 by administering a 20-questionwritten test similar to those used to award state drivers licenses or permits.The results of the GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test were alarming, andunveiled pervasive dangerous behavior amongst our nation’s drivers.
Study results indicate that many U.S. road users are perplexed by such standarddriving practices as merging, failure to yield when making left turns, androad-sign interpretation. In addition, twenty-nine percent (57 million) ofdrivers who drink admitted they would knowingly drive while over the legal limit”if they felt okay.”
Such lack of knowledge and unsafe driving practices are identified as commoncauses of accidents.
SHUT UP AND DRIVE A recent study sounds the alarm on driving while talking oncell phones, and surprisingly the study found no difference in the accidentrates for drivers using hands-free phones as opposed to hand-held phones. Foreither type of phone, talking while driving increased four-fold the chances ofan accident requiring hospitalization.
Research by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety suggests that using ahands-free device instead of a hand-held phone while behind the wheel will notnecessarily improve safety. The institute said it was the first attempt toestimate whether phone use increases the risk of an injury crash in automobiles.
The study, published in the British Medical Journal, and released July 12, foundthat male and female drivers had the same increase in risk from using a phone,along with drivers who are older and younger than age 30.
A survey released earlier this year by the National Highway Traffic SafetyAdministration found that 8 percent of drivers were using cell phones duringdaylight hours last year. It represented a 50 percent increase since 2002.
With more motorists dialing and driving than ever, lawmakers have tried to findways of reducing driver distraction. New York, New Jersey and the District ofColumbia prohibit talking on hand-held cell phones while driving. Some cities,such as Chicago, Santa Fe, N.M., and Brookline, Mass., require hands-freedevices in automobiles, and Connecticut drivers will have to start usinghands-free devices beginning on October 1st.
VIRGINIA ENACTS MOTORCYCLE-FRIENDLY SIGNAGE After a long and arduous process ofproposed legislation, engineers meetings, and field testing, Virginia now hasstandards in place backed by law that require the marking of steel plates whenused in temporary road repairs. The steel plates, commonly referred to asbridging, pose particular hazards for motorcycles because of their unusuallysmooth finish that can become slippery in humid conditions or when other trafficdeposits grease, oil and fluids on them.
A.I.M. (Aid to Injured Motorcyclists) Attorney Tom McGrath, founder of VirginiaCoalition of Motorcyclists (VCOM) and VCOM director Jim Cannon spearheaded theeffort with the help of Virginia Beach Delegate, John Welch. Delegate Welchintroduced House Bill 2020 requiring the markings of all roadway conditionsdeemed hazardous to motorcycles, and with the threat of legislation hanging overtheir heads the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and the privatecontractors became cooperative. This resulted in a series of meetings betweenVCOM, the highway engineers, and contractors to develop the best practice forhandling these conditions.
As a result of these meetings, Virginia now has signage specific to motorcyclesnotifying riders of potential hazards ahead. Governor Mark Warner signed HB2020 into law, requiring that steel plates in the roadway must have a sign, ifpractical, as well as be marked with a reflective material on all four cornershighlighting the steel plate and making it visible at night and in poor weatherconditions, etc.
“We think it’s great that the highway engineers now recognize that motorcyclessometimes need specific consideration and look forward to working with VDOT onother issues in the future,” says McGrath.
TENNESSEANS CELEBRATE BANNER YEAR Tennessee started out its 2005 legislativesession with a brand new lobbying team and a brand new Legislative Chairman. Nofiles, no experience, no expertise. “From day one, we knew we were going to beworking at least 8 different bills,” said John R. Pierce, CMT/ABATE StateLegislative Chairman, adding “Talk about learning to swim by being thrown intothe deep end of the pool!”
But with help from “the most motorcycle friendly legislature on the planet” theLegislative Team succeeded in passing 7 of the 8 bills they got introduced inthe first half of their two-year session, including: a proclamation declaringMay as Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Month; a repeal of their handlebar heightlaw; a good ROW (Right of Way) bill that will be the basis for more stringentlegislation to follow; a parade bill that says riders can go lidless in a paradeif they stay under 30 miles per hour, making it legal to have a self-declaredparade along the entire 635-mile length of Tennessee as long as they stay insmall towns; a bicycle helmet bill that makes it legal for a motorcyclist inTennessee to wear a certain type of bicycle or ventilated helmet; and last butcertainly not least, they are now allowed to purchase a variety of militarylicense plates that were previously only available for cars.
The frosting on the cake came when the Department of Safety gave CMT/ABATE a$15,000 grant to implement Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Month, which hasresulted in getting 50 billboards in cities across the state with motorcycleawareness messages, along with signs on city busses and 8,000 bumper stickers.
“The full helmet choice bill is taking a little longer,” says Pierce, butprogress has been made and inroads have been laid, and “With all that’s happenedin the last 5 months, I think we can make the case that Tennessee is a verymotorcycle friendly state. By this time next year, we will also be a free state.”
ARIZONA HONORS VETERANS In an e-mail from former State Representative WallyStraughn of Phoenix, who is a member of MMA and ABATE, he writes;
“I would like to notify your readers, especially the Arizona bikers who aremilitary veterans, that the state of Arizona is now offering Veterans’ licenseplates for motorcycles. The legislature approved the plates during the 2004session and the plates finally went on sale in June of 2005.”
Straghn goes on the explain; “The importance of Veterans’ plates on motorcyclesis not only to show your pride as a military veteran. Each plate costs $25, thesame as any other Arizona plate, and $17 of each sale goes to the ArizonaDepartment of Veterans’ Services. I authored this bill in the State Legislaturein an effort to increase funding for the State Veterans Home. It is a greatcause and I encourage every veteran and family member who owns a motorcycle tobuy a vet plate.”
And finally; “I’d also like to tell you what a pleasure it was to work withmotorcyclists like Bobbi Hartman (Lobbyist for ABATE of Arizona) and Ray Houston(Chairman of the MMA and board member for the National Coalition ofMotorcyclists – NCOM). They were effective speakers for the issue and broughtmany other motorcycle rights activists to the legislature to assure passage ofthe bill. It would not have happened without them.”
“I recently bought my first motorcycle and I hope you will all join me inordering the new Veterans tags that are now available.”
FORMER legislator?! How’d he get away?
PHILIPINOS ORGANIZE FOR PRO-MOTORCYCLE PLANS In a recent letter from TheMotorcycle Philippines Federation, the newly-formed motorcycle rightsorganization explains the kinds of problems that necessitated their formationand how effective they have become as a fledgling MRO in fighting for bikersrights.
Recently it has become clear that because motorcycles are the only vehicles thatcan slip through the chaotic, lawless mess of Manila traffic, criminals aresometimes using them as getaway vehicles. Instead of investigating why thePhilippine National Police cannot stop them, or finding a way of helping thePNP, one counselor decided to introduce a no backride law (no passengers onmotorcycles). Another decided that because these criminals are hard to recognizewhen wearing full face helmets he would introduce a ban of full face helmetswhile another said everyone passing through their part of the city must registertheir helmets! Lastly, a senator decided he would introduce a law that allmotorcyclists must paint their name and plate number on their helmet
All these rules of course would have little or no effect on criminals and theonly people affected are the innocent motorcycle riders.
So on Friday June 10th 2005 members of the estimated 120,000 member MotorcyclePhilippines Federation (MCPF) said enough is enough, and hundreds of ridersjoined in a protest starting in Quezon City to voice their dissatisfaction andto inform counselors and senators that they will no longer be used as scapegoatsand excuses for poor law enforcement.
The MCPF made its presence felt and the backride ban and the painted helmetproposals have already been withdrawn. Also, the Office of the Presidentrecently requested the MCPF to draft a motorcycle usage incentive policy for thecountry. When the riders gathered at Quezon Memorial the staff of Quezon CityCouncelor Ariel Inton met with the riders and MCPF directors to sign anagreement of cooperation and recently Senator Richard Gordon agreed to work withthe MCPF on motorcycling related issues.
The MCPF and its member motorcycle clubs and associations made it clear thatthis law enforcement problem is NOT a motorcycle problem. They also made it veryclear that by joining forces and refusing to take the legal and legislativeabuse in stride, they have cleared the way for better relations with theirgovernment and laid a foundation to resolve their issues through politicalparticipation. That’s a lesson we could all learn from.
WEIRD NEWS: TAIWANESE WOMAN FAILS MOTORCYCLE TEST FOR THE 51ST TIME. A59-year-old woman in Tainan City, Lee Hsu Shui-mian, has been taking the exam toget a license to drive a motorcycle for the past 20 years, but as yet has stillfailed to snag the valued piece of paper. Lee Hsu has taken the test 50 times,but still has not passed the oral portion of the exam.
Her husband passed away when she was 33 years old, and since then Lee Hsu hascut hair for a living in an effort to support her three children. When she was39, she made her first trip to the Tainan Department of Motor Vehicles to seek alicense to drive a motorcycle. Lee Hsu said she required the license since sheneeded to drive her children to school, and for work related purposes. However,given that Lee Hsu is illiterate, each time she has taken the test, she’s failed.
As Lee Hsu is getting on in age, her memory is starting to fail her. Inaddition, her hearing ability has diminished. Her daughter has suggested to hermother that she give up taking the motorcycle license exam and instead switch toa four-wheel electric vehicle, but Lee Hsu said the electric vehicles are simplytoo slow. As a result, she refused to take her daughter’s suggestion and signedup to take the test for the 51st time. She passed the driving test without anyproblem, but she once again did not score a passing grade on the oral test.Undeterred, Lee Hsu said she intends to try again next time.
QUOTABLE QUOTE: “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seedsyou plant.”
Robert Louis Stevenson, Poet, Novelist & Essayist (1850-1894)
AND THAT’S ALL THE NEWS THAT FITS!
