NCOM COAST TO COAST BIKER NEWS for December 2013

U.S. Representative Tim Walberg (R-MI), a member of the Congressional Motorcycle Caucus, has sent a letter to the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) demanding answers concerning a recent CDC report that aims to discourage motorcycle use while ignoring the positive economic benefits for motorcycle riding.

“As an avid and experienced motorcycle rider, I believe government should be in the business of promoting the recreational, economic and environmental benefits of responsible motorcycle riding – not discouraging it,” stated Congressman Walberg in the letter. “During difficult fiscal times, the American people would be better served by your continued efforts to address widespread societal health matters such as virus prevention, cancer and heart disease.”

Rep. Walberg was prompted to action by a presentation given by the Helmet Law Review Team of the Community Preventative Services Task Force in late October 2013 which concluded that mandatory helmet laws would “produce substantial economic benefits.”

Walberg is troubled by the fact that potential negative impacts on nationwide motorcycling are not addressed and questions whether the CDC should be tasked with researching and making recommendations regarding transportation safety. The Michigan Representative has also been prompted to ask CDC Director Thomas Frieden; “is it the goal or strategy of the CDC to reduce the use of motorcycles – a legal mode of transportation – by recommending and pursing a federal helmet law?”

The Global Motorcycle Industry is projected to reach $93.67 Billion by 2017, according to Lucintel, a leading global management consulting and market research firm. Lucintel has analyzed the top five global motorcycle companies and offers its findings in a comprehensive research report in “Top Five Global Motorcycle Companies: Performance, Strategies, and Competitive Analysis.”

Lucintel observes the evolving of the global motorcycle industry, competitive landscape, and corporate and marketing strategies adopted by the motorcycle companies as some of the factors to have remarkably impacted the global motorcycle industry dynamics.

The market witnessed splendid growth during 2006-2011 but is likely to grow with reduced pace to reach an estimated $93.67 billion by 2017. The competitive landscape of the global motorcycle industry has had fluctuations over the last five years which affected the top five companies.

Lucintel found that the market size or revenue, average operating profit, average net profit, and annual growth rate are some of the driving forces of these companies. Buyers power, degree of competition, and threats of new entrants and substitutes also affect this market.

Following are the top five companies of the global motorcycle industry: Honda Motor Company Limited; Yamaha Motor Company Limited; Hero MotoCorp Limited; Bajaj Auto Limited; and Harley–Davidson Incorporation.

Developing regions, such as Asia and Latin America, which perceive two-wheelers as a basic mode of transportation, are expected to remain the most promising markets for scooters, light motorcycles, and mopeds. A combination of factors such as demographic condition, economic condition, and environmental regulations is seen to have important impact on market dynamics.

For a detailed table of contents and pricing information on these insightful industry reports, contact Lucintel at (972) 636-5056 or visit www.lucintel.com.

For six years through 2011, highway accidents and related fatalities declined each year. Improvements in vehicles and other safety education efforts were credited for that downward trend. But for the first time since 2005, that streak ran out, according to figures released recently by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Last year, 33,561 people were killed in highway accidents, up 3.3% from 2011. The increase was reflected across many of the categories that researchers follow, but motorcycle and pedestrian fatalities reflected the highest increases, up 7% and 6% respectively. There are currently more motorcycles in use in the U.S. than ever before, and 452,386 new on- and off-road motorcycles were sold nationwide in 2012 according to the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), up 2.6% over 2011.

In addition to the deaths, the NHTSA data showed that nearly 2.4 million people were injured in crashes last year, a 6.5% increase from 2011, although miles driven remained about the same.

Despite these increases, the new numbers are still far below the accident rates of the 1970s and 1980s.

NHTSA preliminary data for the first six months of 2013 show that 15,470 people have died in crashes so far this year, a decrease of 4.2% compared with the same period last year.

Evidence suggests that roads would be safer if more drivers rode motorcycles, as motorcyclists are safer behind the wheel of a car than non-motorcyclists, according to a leading U.K. insurer.

Equity Red Star compared car drivers to car users who also have an insured motorcycle, and found the latter 23% less likely on average to make a claim on their car policy.

The firm also adjusted the figures to take into account the different typical ages of car drivers and motorcyclists, and still found the riders to be 21% better behind the wheel. The results showed motorcyclists were 20% less likely to make a bodily injury claim on their car policy.

The insurer examined 200 million policies between 2007 and 2012.

Rob Clark, Equity Red Star’s Head of Retail Motor, said: “A motorcyclist could, behind the wheel of a car, be said to be 23% better.”

Clark presented the data during a conference organized by the Motorcycle Industry Association at the Department for Transport in London to examine evidence that increasing the number of motorcyclists on the road could actually improve safety.

Your motorcycle could be stolen in a New York minute, especially if you live in NYC which is the nation’s capital of motorcycle thievery (903 thefts), followed by swingin’ Las Vegas (757), the National Insurance Crime Bureau reports. Next comes San Diego (633), Indianapolis (584) and Miami (535).

Overall, just like when it comes to car thefts, motorcycle thefts have been dropping. In 2012, the year in which the NICB bases its analysis, they amounted to 46,061 ripped-off bikes, down 1% from the year before.

Based on National Crime Information Center (NCIC) motorcycle theft data for 2012, Honda was the motorcycle brand stolen most often, with 9,082 for the year (representing 20% of all motorcycles stolen). It was followed by Yamaha (7,517=16%), Suzuki (7,017=15%), Kawasaki (4,839=11%) and Harley-Davidson (3,755=8%), rounding out the top five makes.

When it comes to states, thieves appear to prefer warm weather — just like all motorcycle riders. California was first (6,082 thefts), followed by Florida (4,110), Texas (3,400), North Carolina (2,574) and Indiana (2,334), and more than twice as many bikes were stolen during summer months than in the winter.

Unfortunately, fewer stolen motorcycles are recovered than cars. While 53.9% of stolen cars were returned to their owners, only 39% of motorcycles found their way back. The NICB says that’s because it’s easier to “chop” bikes for their parts, hide them in barns or garages, or ship them out of the country in giant containers.

Federal contractors have been setting up roadblocks in cities across the country with the purpose of collecting DNA samples from passing motorists. The multi-million dollar federal program has been disturbing drivers and alarming civil libertarians. The checkpoints consist of uniformed agents blocking a public road and flagging drivers into a testing area or a parking lot. There, the drivers are requested to submit a saliva or blood sample to the federal government.

The roadblocks were part of a study orchestrated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The program costs taxpayers $7.9 million over 3 years, according to NBC News Dallas-Fort Worth. The agency confirmed that the operation is currently being launched in 30 different U.S. cities.

“How voluntary is it when you have a police officer in uniform flagging you down?” asked Susan Watson, executive director of the Alabama chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. “Are you going to stop? Yes, you’re going to stop.”

“Although this was voluntary it was not voluntary that you stop and hear the DNA for CASH pitch,” said one Alabama resident after experiencing a checkpoint in June. Drivers are offered cash for surrendering DNA samples. The going rate is $10 for a cheek-swab and $50 for blood drawn from the vein. The goal, according to the NHTSA, is to decrease impaired-driving accidents by analyzing raw bodily fluids fresh off the street.

The Los Angeles City Council has agreed to pay nearly $6 million to a group of police officers who accused their superiors of imposing a secret traffic ticket quota system.

The $5.9 million settlement resolves a pair of lawsuits filed in 2010 by 11 LAPD officers assigned to a motorcycle unit. In the lawsuits, the officers detailed what they claimed were strict demands to write at least 18 traffic tickets each shift and that 80% of the citations be for major violations.

Officers who failed to meet the alleged ticket minimums or raised concerns about them were reprimanded, denied overtime assignments, given undesirable work schedules, and subjected to other forms of harassment, including being kicked out of the motorcycle unit, according to the L.A. Times.

The settlement, approved unanimously, brings to more than $10 million the amount of taxpayer money spent on payouts and legal fees from the ticket quota cases. But that number could grow because one more officer’s case is still pending.

The ticket controversy has been a black eye for the Los Angeles Police Department, because ticket quotas are against state law.

Recreational motorcyclists are protesting across Australia to show solidarity against Queensland’s tough new anti-bikie laws. Queensland organizer Gabriel Buckley told the Australian Associated Press (AAP) that the new laws, aimed at criminal “bikie” gangs, have resulted in the harassment of law-abiding motorcyclists.

Rallies were planned in major capital cities, with the biggest rally in Brisbane where over a thousand independent riders rallied with patch-wearing bikers at parliament house. According to Buckley, a primary concern is that the laws reverse the onus on proof for people accused of links to prescribed criminal gangs. “Some people are being pulled over three times on their way to work,” he told AAP.

Freedom Riders Victoria spokesman Dale Maggs said Queensland’s anti-association laws unfairly affected all motorcyclists and scooter riders, allowing police to stop and question groups of three or more riders.

Harley Owners Group (HOG) member Stuart told the Leader newspaper that anti-bikie laws targeted 0.3% of Australian crime, referring to research presented by Victoria University Adjunct Professor, Dr Arthur Veno. “Every time you want to ride with three people it’s a gang? That’s ridiculous. There’s the Ulysses clubs, there’s HOG clubs, there’s Christian movement clubs, there’s even scooter clubs and we’re all tarred with the same brush and it’s just not right.”

Police and the Newman Government have previously asked recreational riders for patience amid the bikie crackdown, but concede there will be disruptions for law-abiding motorcyclists.

–Vintage Photos from the Bob T. Collection–