NCOM BIKER NEWSBYTES
Compiled & Edited by Bill Bish,
National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM)
MOTORCYCLE INDUSTRY PURSUES INTELLIGENT BIKES
The motorcycle industry recently took a major step toward the “connected bike” when three major OEMs announced the launch of a Connected Motorcycle Consortium (CMC), with Yamaha, BMW and Honda entering into a joint agreement to accelerate the development of intelligent bikes, whose technology development and inclusion in the greater mobility picture have lagged behind the connected-car movement.
Industry officials made the joint announcement at the 2015 ITS World Congress in Bordeaux, France, and the newly formed organization follows the 2014 signing of a far reaching Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by all members of the European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (ACEM) stating that connected motorcycles will be available for sale within the next five years incorporating smart safety devices that speak with each other across brands and products. The CMC will focus on sharing information and technology to get Cooperative-Intelligent Transportation Systems (C-ITS) applications onto powered two-wheelers by 2020, and the three manufacturers are encouraging other motorcycle OEMs to join the consortium in an effort to standardize C-ITS protocols across the motorcycle industry.
“In order to speed up more motorcycle-specific safety developments, we intend to cooperate to promote a successful implementation of C-ITS in motorcycles and scooters,” said Honda’s Tetsuo Suzuki. “The next logical step is to enter into a cooperation dedicated solely to the challenges relating to powered two-wheelers,” added Takaaki Kimura, of Yamaha.
“Our aim is to promote a timely and comprehensive use of cooperative ITS systems in powered-two wheelers offering the potential to improve safety. We therefore encourage other companies to join us,” said Prof. Dr. Karl Viktor Schaller, of BMW Motorrad.
DOJ CREATES NEW COUNCIL TO COMBAT “ANTI-GOVERNMENT VIEWS”
“Americans motivated by anti-government views and racist ideologies” will be the focus of a new Department of Justice position to coordinate investigations into violent homegrown extremism.
Assistant Attorney General John Carlin, head of the department’s national security division, told a George Washington University audience on October 14, 2015 that while the international terror threat occupies the public attention, federal officials remain just as concerned about the prospect of violence from Americans motivated by anti-government views and racist ideologies.
“We need to make sure we have the mechanisms in place so that we can continue to remain just as focused on the domestic terrorism threat while addressing the international terrorism threat,” Carlin said in a question-and-answer session following a speech at the university.
The new “Domestic Terrorism Council” will work with U.S. attorneys nationwide “to identify trends that can be used to help shape a national strategy.”
SURVEY CONFIRMS THAT BIKER PROFILING IS A NATIONAL EPIDEMIC
The National Motorcycle Profiling Survey that began October 1st is already beginning to show some strong early trends confirming that motorcyclist profiling is a prevalent and widespread problem, and is expected to yield some very interesting and telling statistics which can assist motorcyclists in recapturing our rights base across the country.
The questionnaire posted on Survey Monkey is intended to provide a clearer picture of motorcycle profiling from a national perspective through a thorough and comprehensive series of specific and detailed questions.
One very interesting statistic shows that 84.5% of the nearly 1,400 surveyed so far feel that being a biker has a negative impact on their civil rights, and report that riding a motorcycle places them under a higher level of scrutiny from both law enforcement and business owners. Importantly, this is not just a club issue, as 41.5% of those surveyed were independent riders and wear no identifying logo or emblem. Still, some independents from groups like the Legion Riders, ABATE, and VFW have reported being discriminated and profiled due to their patches and other attire.
“The initial results are very informative and are starting to paint the picture we have been seeing in our community for a long time,” said David “Double D” Devereaux of the Motorcycle Profiling Project (www.motorcycleprofilingproject.com), “but this time our legislative representatives, who aren’t familiar with the motorcycle community will be able to see it too.”
The National Motorcycle Profiling Survey, created by the North Florida Confederation of Clubs and sponsored by the MPP, will provide invaluable insight into the issue of motorcycle profiling in America as we move towards an effort to pass a national motorcycle anti-profiling law.
ETHANOL-FREE FUEL
Looking for ethanol-free gas? The website Pure Gas (www.pure-gas.org) is a definitive listing of gas stations that sell pure, ethanol-free gasoline, and currently lists 10,159 locations in the U.S. and Canada.
“Many cars, motorcycles, boats, aircraft and tools have engines that run worse, or have parts that deteriorate, when run on gasoline that contains ethanol. In addition, ethanol leaves residue on valves and other parts that can hinder performance,” claims the site.
The website doesn’t get into the political side of ethanol in gasoline, and this site does not sell advertising or seek sponsors.
You just click on your state or province to find out in your city those where you can fill up with pure gas without ethanol, and your search provides a list of 100 ethanol-free gas stations sorted nearest to furthest. The site also allows visitors to add new stations or remove existing ones.
NEW YORK R-O-W LAW
There’s been a nationwide push for stiffer penalties for drivers who commit moving violations that result in severe injuries or fatalities, and now a new law proposed in New York would call for felony charge for fatal moving violations.
Currently in New York, if a driver commits a moving violation that kills a motorcyclist, the driver would only be given a traffic ticket. However, ABATE of N.Y. is pushing for harsher penalties.
When fellow motorcyclist and retired New York State Trooper Kenny Watson heard the story of an ABATE member nicknamed Creto who was hit and killed by a negligent driver who was issued a ticket for the misdeed, he sat down with lawyers to draft legislation that would create harsher penalties for drivers who take a life after committing a moving violation.
“Running a stop sign, running a red light, moving from lanes unsafely,” he told News10 in Albany, NY. “They know what they’re doing, so they should be held accountable for it.”
The proposed Right-of-Way Violation legislation is called Creto/Kade’s Law and it would charge drivers with a Class D felony if they commit a moving violation that kills a motorcyclist, bicyclist or pedestrian. The charge carries the weight of up to seven years in prison, and would give families a bit of justice for the loss of a loved one.
“With a Class D felony, it’s going to haunt the person the rest of their life,” said Albany ABATE chapter president Andy “Animal” Liuzzi. “Let that haunt them for the 40 years they deprived someone of living.”
Motorcyclists are hoping drivers will think twice about committing a moving violation and running the risk of taking an innocent life if the law passes.
CALIFORNIA FREEWAY SIGNS TO ISSUE HIT-AND-RUN ALERTS
California’s freeway message signs will soon warn drivers about more than just snarled traffic and severe droughts. Thanks to a bill signed Monday, September 28 by Governor Jerry Brown, they will next warn motorists to watch for suspected hit-and-run vehicles through a “Yellow Alert” system.
U.S. DUTY ON JAPANESE MOTORCYCLES TO BE LIFTED UNDER TRADE AGREEMENT
The United States will remove a tariff levied on Japanese motorcycles with engine displacements of over 700cc under the recently agreed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, according to Japan Times, and the 2.4% duty will be eliminated five years after the multilateral trade deal takes effect.
The United States, Japan and 10 other Pacific countries reached a broad agreement in early October to establish a free trade bloc covering 40 percent of the global economy.
For Japan, the new trade initiative will eliminate 99.9% of tariffs on industrial products within the TPP zone. Japan has exported about 120,000 motorcycles with engines of 251cc or higher annually to the U.S. market in recent years. Honda Motor Co., the world’s largest motorcycle maker by volume, and Yamaha Motor Co., compete with local rivals such as Harley-Davidson Motor Co., which mainly focuses on motorcycles with engine displacements of over 600cc.
The U.S. government imposes no tariff on imported motorbikes with engines of 700 cc or lower.
Japanese motorcycle makers are trying to beef up sales in the United States and Asian markets to offset flagging demand in Japan, where sales dropped to about 410,000 units in 2014 from a peak of 3.28 million in 1982.
FRENCH TRAFFIC RADAR TO DETECT UNINSUREDS
Authorities in France are now investigating a new way to make more money off of road users, as they want automated speed and red light radars to cross-check a new insurance database.
Checking this new database will allow law enforcement to see if your motorcycle, or car, has been properly insured. If not, they can fine you for riding without valid insurance, up to €3750 ($4,246 US) and the forfeiture of your vehicle and driver’s license.
French authorities are now asking all of the insurance companies to look at feeding a common database that will contain all the vehicle insurance data allowing the police to find out your insurance situation automatically.
WEIRD NEWS: YAMAHA TO SHOWCASE BIKE-RIDING ROBOT
As an extreme example of ITS Smart Technology, among Yamaha’s concepts set to appear at the Tokyo Motor Show is a motorcycle-riding robot, presumably to save motorcyclists from the drudgery of performing the task themselves.
Self-driving cars are understandable, but self-riding bikes are harder to get a handle on. Yamaha says it will display “an autonomous motorcycle-riding humanoid robot that combines motorcycle and robotics technologies.” There’s no further official information, but the Japanese motorcycle-maker has also recently trademarked the name “MotoBot”.
QUOTABLE QUOTE: “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) Nobel Prize-winning German-born physicist
–Vintage Photos from the Bob T. Collection–
