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,
National Coalition of Motorcyclists
BIKERS HELP HURRICANE VICTIMS Bikers have big hearts and a willingness to helpthe less fortunate, and this generosity is particularly evident in the aftermathof Hurricane Katrina, which ravaged the Gulf Coast on August 29th leavinghundreds dead and thousands homeless in the costliest natural disaster ever tostrike American soil.
ABATE of Louisiana and ABATE of Mississippi have set up disaster relief funds toaid bikers who are victims of the storm. ABATE of Oklahoma recently donated $500to each of those organizations to assist in their efforts, and many othermotorcycle clubs and organizations are also contributing. ABATE of Florida setup a 3-acre shelter in the panhandle for those forced from their homes by thefloodwaters and damage.
Rolling Thunder members from their Mississippi chapter went into flooded areasand helped direct distribution of donated necessities to disabled and displacedveterans.
The Christian Motorcycle Association rendered aid to Katrina refugees by servingcoffee and offering essential needs in their time of distress.
American Honda announced that the company would make Personal Watercraft, AllTerrain Vehicles and off-road motorcycles available to local agencies providingemergency relief efforts in the affected areas. To ensure the quickest possibleassistance preparations have been made to supply units through local Hondadealerships in the vicinity.
Harley-Davidson announced that it is making a $1 million donation to theAmerican Red Cross Hurricane 2005 Relief Fund for the victims of HurricaneKatrina and will also donate a 2006 touring motorcycle to be used as afund-raiser on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” Celebrity guests will autographthe motorcycle, which will then be placed up for bid on eBay. A similar “TonightShow” fund-raiser to benefit tsunami relief efforts raised $810,000 earlier thisyear.
Boston Harley-Davidson teamed up with defending World Series champion Boston RedSox players in hope of raising $1 million through the Rally for Fellow Americansin Need. Two Harleys, one bought by the team and the other donated by the Harleydealership, were auctioned off. Sox teammates Keith Foulke, John Damon, KevinMillar and Gabe Kapler all ride Harleys and participated in the fundraisingeffort. “This is our country and there’s a serious tragedy in New Orleans and ifeverybody contributes something, somehow, I think it can work,” said firstbaseman Millar.
GAS HIKES BOOST INTEREST IN TWO-WHEELERS Motorists tired of paying an arm and aleg for fuel are giving up their gas-guzzling SUVs and cars in favor of a moreeconomical, and more fun, mode of transportation: motorcycles and scooters.
NADAguides.com, a leading vehicle information website, today announced thatduring the past three months, more people researched scooter and motorcyclepricing and specifications at its website than at any other time during itsfive-year history. Experts for the company cite high gas prices as a leadingcause for the boost in its online motorcycle traffic, saying car, truck and SUVowners are realizing they can dramatically reduce their monthly gas budgets byowning a motorized two-wheel vehicle as an alternate means of travel.
“The motorcycle and scooter market is red hot right now,” said Lenny Sims,Managing Editor at NADAguides.com. “On average, it takes about $60 to fill anSUV with a tank of gas and about $15 to fill a motorcycle when you considertoday’s gas prices. With numbers like these, it’s easy to see why people aremaking the switch to a more economical approach to driving.” Sims goes on to saythat motorcycles and scooters offer a convenient mode of travel as well.”Economics aside, they’re convenient in traffic and easy to park. If you live ina crowded urban area — or a fast-growing suburb for that matter — they offer aquick and easy way to get around town.”
During the months of June, July and August 2005, traffic to the motorcyclesection of the NADAguides.com website reached 810,901 visitors, an increase of31% compared to the same timeframe a year ago.
So what were the most commonly researched motorcycles at NADA guides.com duringJune, July and August of this year? According to the website, five makes andmodels zoomed past the competition: 1. Harley-Davidson XL1200C 2. YamahaYZFR65/C YZF-R6 3. Honda VT750C4 Shadow 4. Honda CBR600F411 5. Honda CBR600RR3.Following are the top three most researched scooters: 1. Honda Silverwing 2.Suzuki Burgman 3. Vespa ET4.
Tokyo-based Honda said the airbags will reduce injuries in head-on collisions.
The airbag opens in front of the riders and reduces the speed at which they getthrown off the motorcycle, lessening injuries when they hit the road or anothervehicle, said Honda.
MASSACHUSETTS BIKERS HARASSED OVER HELMETS A group of about two dozenMassachusetts motorcyclists riding in the Yankee Homecoming parade on Sunday,August 7th were ordered by police to don their helmets. When one of them refusedto obey, citing a newly enacted law excluding motorcyclists participating inpublic parades from the state?s helmet law, he was pulled from the parade by police.
Motorcyclists are now accusing police of being ignorant of the law, and some ofthem are so angry about their confrontation with police that they are callingfor another boycott of the city of Newburyport, similar to one three years agowhen motorcyclists felt they were being unfairly targeted by police in acrackdown on loud pipes and told to stay out of town. Their participation in theparade, at the invitation of the city, was meant as an “olive branch” to showthat relations between the city and the riders had improved.
“There’s just this negativity toward motorcyclists,” said Paul Cote, legislativedirector for the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association. “The more things change,the more they stay the same.”
“I am the law,” the officer said, according to Cote, the biker who was kickedout of the parade for refusing to put on his helmet.
But the law was changed in February 2004, allowing an exception to therequirement that motorcyclists wear helmets for a “properly permitted publicparade.” Helmets are otherwise required at all times on roads in Massachusetts.Some of the riders challenged by police on Sunday were the very same ones whospent five years lobbying for that change in the helmet law, Cote said.
The reasoning was that most parades travel at very slow speeds, and the wholepoint of being in a parade is so spectators can see them, something that is hardto do when faces are covered by helmets, Cote said. Helmets can also be very hotduring a parade when the temperatures hit 90 degrees, as they did on thatSunday, he added.
Police later admitted they were wrong, acknowledging that the law now allowsmotorcyclists to take off their helmets during parades, but have refused toissue an apology.
PHILIPPINE CITY BANS HELMETS While most governments around the world push forlaws requiring motorcycle riders to wear helmets, Pagadian City in thePhilippines has barred motorcyclists from donning helmets. The reason? Toprevent crime.
Mayor Samuel Co implemented executive order number 72 for a three-month trialperiod, after which the city council will decide if they will pass a permanentordinance banning the wearing of helmets while driving along city roads.
Referring to a local study, Co pointed out that 95 percent of the crimesinvolving carjackings and shootings were committed by suspects aboardmotorcycles complete with either helmets or bonnets to conceal their identity.With the use of helmets now banned, it would be easy to identify suspects whopass along major routes in the city, Co said. Hidden cameras will be set up tocapture images of the motorcyclists for easy identification.
In neighboring Dipolog City, local officials are also contemplating a similarordinance following complaints from residents that most of the robberies andtraffic related crimes were committed by suspects wearing helmets and other headgear.
MOTORCYCLIST APPOINTED TO VIRGINIA TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD Long timemotorcycle rights lawyer and founder of the Virginia Coalition of Motorcyclists,Tom McGrath, has been appointed by the Governor of Virginia to serve a four yearterm on the Commonwealth Transportation Safety Board. He is the firstmotorcyclist to be appointed to the Board.
Among his accomplishments, McGrath led the successful effort to allowmotorcyclists access to the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lanes and convinced theGeneral Assembly to pass legislation guaranteeing motorcyclists the right to usethese lanes.
He spearheaded efforts to increase funding for the Virginia Motorcycle RiderSafety Training Program and worked to enact legislation to preserve the funding.
McGrath was also instrumental in having legislation passed requiring theteaching of motorcycle awareness as part driver education in high schools.
McGrath is the Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (AIM) Attorney for Virginia, and wasawarded the Silver Spoke Award for his legal and legislative accomplishments bythe National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM).
The Board of Transportation Safety seeks to identify the elements of acomprehensive safety program for all transport modes, the identification ofunique safety needs of each particular mode of transportation, theidentification of the common elements of accident situations and the allocationof grant funds made available to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
WIERD NEWS: GEMINIS WORST DRIVERS What’s your sign? Please don’t shoot themessenger, but Suncorp Metway, Ltd., a multi-faceted Australian FinancialService, ranked car accident claimants by their Sun sign in a study of 160,000accident claims over the previous three-year period. This is what they found out:
The number one worst drivers were Geminis; “typically described as restless,easily bored and frustrated by things moving slowly,” explained Warren Duke,Suncorp’s national manager of personal insurance. “They had more car accidentsthan any other sign.”
No astrologer would argue with that description of the sign of the Twins andprobably this isn’t very surprising news. But what about the other Zodiac signs?
Second and third place holders for this dubious honor are Taurus and Pisces.”Taureans were thought to be obstinate and inflexible, “said Duke,” whilePisceans could be risk-takers and daredevils.”
Capricorns, who came last on the list, are typically described as patient andcareful, and therefore the safest drivers with the fewest accidents. The great middle ground of this survey is held by Sun signs in this order, fromworst accident records to the best: 4-Virgo; 5-Cancer; 6-Aquarius; 7-Aries;8-Leo; 9-Libra; 10-Sagittarius; 11-Scorpio
Duke said the study was carried out as part of Suncorp’s annual review ofclaims. “We always look for trends in claims to see if there are ways to reduceour pricing, but there is no intention to introduce astrology as a rating factorfor motor insurance,” he said.
QUOTABLE QUOTE: “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) Indian spiritual & political leader
