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 LawOffices of Richard M. Lester. For more information, call us at (800) ON-A-BIKE, or visitus on the web at From TheGUNNY’S SACK You know there is no end to some of the nastiness we see in the media about riders andmotorcycles. We’ve had a few reports recently from my boss, Oregon A.I.M. Attorney SamHochberg, about what he sees on TV now and then that gets HIS hackles up. He just toldme another one: Seems that on the VERY popular NBC show “ER,” there was a scene with ayoung girl who was on the back of a bike when it wrecked. She arrived basically DOA inthe emergency room. Not much talk in the script about what CAUSED the wreck. Not ANYtalk about safety training. Just this little exchange. One doc says “What was she doingon the back of a motorcycle?” The British doctor, “Dr. Corday,” says: “What is ANYBODYdoing on a motorcycle?!” It couldn’t hurt to complain to NBC. They’re big boys, they can take it. Tell ’em yourGunny sent you, and e-mail an extra copy of whatever you write to me, if you would, atAIMGunny@aol.com. NEWS BITS’N PIECES: TORONTO, CANADA: Here’s some more media hype I saw; this one online. The headline:”Dozens of Outlaw motorcycle gang members, including some top leaders, were arrested inraids on biker clubhouses in Canada and the United States.” In Canada there were supposedly over 500 officers involved in this abomination, but thepress made it look even bigger than it really was. In the USA, the same game is beingplayed. I’m not saying I think all riders are saints. We have a few sour apples, too. Our biggest problem as I see it is much the same as the Harley parked outside a bar thateverybody sees but no one ever sees the five or six pick-ups parked there too. HARRISBURG, PA.: This is some good news. Pennsylvania Motorcyclists have “taxed”themselves to ensure safer riding. They voted in some increased funding for their stateMotorcycle Safety Program. It’s the best way to prevent motorcycle accidents, injuriesand deaths, says ABATE of Pennsylvania. And Joe Public still thinks we have a death wishbecause we ride. This bill had 68 co-sponsors. All SMRO’s (State Motorcycle Rights Associations) could take a lesson here. In Oregon wedid about the same thing a couple of sessions ago and it works. NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA: This bit comes to me (word for word) from Animal, my good buddy fromthe north country: “Each year I emcee a toy run up in New Brunswick. This year we raisedover $10000 in cash and toys which is an awesome amount for up here. $5000 of it camefrom the inmates of the Dorchester Penitentiary.” Wow! Even convicts in Canada lovekids. And why not. TOKYO, JAPAN: Government is stickin’ it’s paws where they shouldn’t be again, this timein Vietnam, and it’s about motorcycles. In September, their government put a cap on howmany bikes and bike parts they would allow Yamaha build in their Vietnam plants. I guessthey wanted to give a leg up to their locally-owned motorcycle businesses there. Niceidea, but it sorta backfired. Yamaha just said “screw it,” and shut down their Vietnamplant, at least for now. EARTH ORBIT: A biker’s wife is the pilot of the space shuttle Atlantis, at this writing. The crew is headed up to the international space station. Pilot-astronaut Pamela Melroyis the third woman to fly as a space shuttle pilot. Seems she hesitated about herhusband getting a scoot. But listen to what she said: “I thought to myself, the guy’s an airline pilot flying international and I’m a shuttlepilot. Who am I to tell him it’s not safe enough? To hold either of us back from doingsomething that we’re really excited about, because the other person would be worriedabout you, would just be wrong. We just don’t do it.” Now THERE’S a “top-flight” womanwith the right attitude! NHTSA:(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) From these good safetycrats comesthis critical information: “{…on a national level, motorcycle deaths have for the lastfour years been steadily rising. The latest figures show that 3,181 people died inmotorcycle crashes in 2001, up nearly 10 percent from 2000, according to Rae Tyson ofNHTSA in Washington, D.C. It’s fairly obvious to me that some folks don’t take intoaccount that ridership has increased phenomenally in the last several years and many ofthese new riders – some of ’em baby-boomers who are just NOW starting to ride – haveNEVER TAKEN A RIDING COURSE! NHTSA says they are perplexed at the sudden rise and tendto blame it on states that have repealed their helmet laws. Well let me tell them this:If we had BETTER and MORE rider ed, you’d see a big DROP in accidents and death. And aLOT of these new boomer-riders have never ridden a big bike, and that’s what NHTSA’s ownstats say they’re riding. Well, if the last time you rode was on a Honda 350 in 1973 andyou get yourself up on a brand-new Fatboy, you’re just askin’ for it if you don’t get outand get some training. A WHOLE lot has changed in the past 30 years about riding. Ifwe’re all better riders and crash LESS, we can continue to tell NHTSA where to put theirstatistics. DEHLI, INDIA: So I come across this article from Reuters, and I find out that India’stransportation situation is the same as in a LOT of the poorer but up’n coming countries. In short, they all go nuts for motorcycles! Now, some folks think it’s just because thebuggers can’t afford a car, and that IS part of it. These are countries that are justnow getting invigorated with growth and change — kinda like it was here in the USA, along time ago. Bikes are THE most practical thing a person could buy there! Cheap ongas, but flashy and cool. There are a whole slew of models and wild colors — even frommajor companies like Honda — that we NEVER, ever see here in the US. Sounds great forthem — I’ll stick with my Valkyrie. GUNNY AGAIN: Remember that the Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (A.I.M.) program is in place to helpriders who have had any sort of mishap on the road. Our A.I.M. Attorneys around thecountry are here for us and they are part of our riding world, so they know of that whichthey speak. You can reach these guys by dialing 1-800-ON-A-BIKE or 1-800-531-2424. Youcan reach Sam Hochberg here in Oregon at 503-224-1106, or toll free at 1-800-347-1106. Keep the round side on the bottom. 
Gunny, Oregon A.I.M. Chief of Staff
