January 2005

 

AMA Government Relations News & Notes is a monthly service compiled and edited by the AMA Government Relations Staff to keep motorcyclists informed of happenings around the world. We welcome your news & views. Please submit all material to Terry Lee Cook, Government Relations Specialist, 13515 Yarmouth Drive, Pickerington, OH 43147; fax 614-856-1920 or e-mail to tcook@ama-cycle.org.

 

AMA is hosting a Washington, D.C., seminar for motorcyclists who want to learn how to influence governmental decisions, whether in Congress or their local councils.

The seminar is March 6-9, 2005 at the Phoenix Park Hotel in Washington, DC.  Participants will meet and learn from the AMA’s Washington staff, as well as other political experts. In addition to learning about state and federal issues facing motorcyclists today, participants will get tips on building relationships with government agency officials and lobbying elected officials.

Participants will also prepare to meet face-to-face with members of their congressional delegation.  But the seminar isn’t all work; there will be a welcome reception, as well as a luncheon and a banquet over the course of the seminar.

The seminar registration fee is $75. The registration deadline is February 11. AMA membership is required. For more information or to register, contact Sharon Titus at (614) 856-1900, ext. 1252 or by e-mail at stitus@ama-cycle.org.

 

Massachusetts students learning how to drive automobiles in one of the 400 licensed auto driver training schools will now receive at least one hour of motorcycle awareness training thanks to "Nelly's Bill," signed by Governor Romney on June 10, 2004. An 8-minute video titled Cars, Motorcycles, and the Common Road developed by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation will show students many common causes of accidents. Group discussion then follows further imparting to students strategies to prevent motorcycle accidents, injuries and fatalities. The cost of course materials are paid from the State's Motorcycle Safety Program, funded in part from $2 of each annual motorcycle registration fee.

Nelly's Bill was created and supported by motorcycle activists from the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association (MMA) after Nelson Selig of Essex was killed in May 2000 by a 19-year-olddriver.

 

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and the Better Business Bureau have released a video designed to educating drivers on collision avoidance strategies. Crash Course: What to Know Before and After a Collision also instructs drivers and car crash victims about steps to take at the scene after a crash has occurred and how to effectively deal with insurance claim issues.

Noting that collisions are the number one cause of death in the US for people aged 4-33, Peter Kissinger, president and CEO of the AAA Foundation, stated, “Given the alarming fact that every 13 minutes someone is killed on our nation’s roadways, traffic safety education is a necessity.”

In a recent poll of 4,400 people, 83 percent said they had been in a collision as either a passenger or driver.  Almost one-third did not know what information they are required by law to give at the scene of a collision.  Forty-eight percent did not know their own insurance liability limits required by their state. (AAA)

 

 

 

 

"There is more awareness of the problems now. What we need are solutions." US Forest Service (USFS) Chief Dale Bosworth told the annual Conference on Fire and Forest Health at Boise State University. The USFS must reach out locally according to Chief Bosworth. He went on to express that how well the Forest Service adapts to this evolution will be dependent on how willing it is to include the public in its decision-making process.

A changing culture and changing values, coupled with different land conditions and uses have all conspired to alter the mission of the USFS and the demand put on forest land by outdoor recreationists is of principle interest to many more people.

To that end the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) would like to encourage all off-highway vehicle enthusiasts to get personally involved with their local forest officials.  Whether it is through a local riding club, a statewide association or the AMA Community Council program, the only way to ensure that public riding opportunities remain viable is to “get involved.”

For more information on the AMA Community Council network of activists go to www.AMADirectlink.com. (The Salt Lake Tribune and others contributed to this article)

 

Motorcycle-related injuries and deaths have been on the rise since 1997, and urban teaching hospitals are bearing the brunt of caring for those injured, according to a new nationwide study which appears in the December issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

While the article states less than 16 percent of patients hospitalized for motorcycle-injuries were uninsured, another 10 percent used public insurance like Medicaid during their hospitalizations.  Yet the article still goes to great length to recapitulate the “social burden” myth perpetuated for decades by many in the medical and safety community.

The article notes that broken legs were the most common injury sustained among hospitalized riders but dwells on head injuries and does not stating the cause of the crashes.

Through their nationwide hospital sample of motorcycle injuries, the authors found that men are much more likely than women to be injured on a motorcycle; in 2001, men accounted for 89 percent of motorcycle-related hospital discharges.

The study also states that motorcycles are a risky ride, compared with cars. An earlier study concluded that motorcyclists were 16 times more likely to die and four times more likely to be injured in a traffic crash than passenger car occupants.

The American Motorcyclist Association Position In Support of Voluntary Helmet Use can be viewed on www.AMADirectlink.com under the Rights section.

 

Lee County, Virginia Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution calling for state legislation permitting all-terrain vehicle riders to use three roads to access ATV trails and to visit nearby businesses for food or fuel.

Mark Smith, president of Stone Mountain Trail Club, made a formal presentation to the Board in hopes of eventually developing the area into a destination for OHV enthusiasts.  The Board also voted to give their support to promote future ATV tourism in Lee County.

 

Team Oregon, the state’s motorcycle safety estate Motorcycle Safety education program, has honored ABATE of Oregon with their Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of their tireless energy, dedication and service to the Motorcyclists of Oregon.

 

 

 

Massachusetts Motorcycle Association (MMA) Board of Directors created two new Board Positions by voting to amend its By-laws at the Association's November meeting.

The newly created positions are, Director of Off-Road Motorcycling and Director of Motorcycle Industry Affairs.  These additions seek to expand the MMA's concern regarding off-highway and business owner issues in Massachusetts.

Persons interested in applying for these MMA Board positions should contact the MMA at 1-800-4321-MMA or Chairman Griffin at kevingmma2@yahoo.com.

 

 

The bipartisan bill to end health-care discrimination against motorcyclists and ATVers cleared the US Senate but failed to clear the House before the end of the 2004 session. The measure, S. 423 is now considered a dead bill. 

However, AMA Government Relations Department officials look forward to reintroducing this important legislation in the 109^th Congress, and urge all motorcyclists, ATVers and others to contact their US Representatives and Senators to support the new bill.

The measure would bar health plans from denying benefits to people injured while riding motorcycles, ATVs, horses, snowmobiles, skiing, or engaging in other legal recreational or transportation activities.

In 1996, Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which prohibits companies from denying access to employer-sponsored health insurance for motorcyclists and those who participate in other recreational activities. However, federal regulators created a loophole that allows the denial of benefits under various conditions.

The AMA, the Motorcycle Riders Foundation, Motorcycle Industry Council and various state motorcyclists' rights organizations are working to get this loophole-closing legislation approved.

You can find out who your U.S. representative is and contact him or her to support the passage by going to the AMA website at www.AMADirectlink.com and clicking on the AMA Rapid Response Center button on the left. There, you will find a message that you can send immediately.

 

 

Minnesota’s second annual "Bikerday" at the capitol is planned for January 20, 2005 and groups including ABATE of Minnesota, MN Motorcycle Riders Association,  MN Motorcycle Club Coalition, and St Croix Valley Riders invites all motorcycling groups to help plan and participate in this event.

The major agenda this year includes protecting rider education funding, legislation designed to protect motorcycles when they have been seized by law enforcement, and enhancing the penalties for right-of-way violations consistent with the AMA’s Justice For All campaign.

Riders interested in joining the activities will meet at 8:45 am in the Capitol rotunda.  All activities are scheduled to be concluded by 3:00 pm.  In addition there will be four chartered buses leaving from Duluth, Mankato, Rochester, and St. Cloud with stops along the way to pick up riders. For more information contact Frank Ernst at 952-474-9708or visit www.abtemn.org.

 

 

 

 

 

Sheriff's deputies who halted a dual-sport ride in Vermont with threats of arrests and seizure of motorcycles were "overzealous" in their enforcement, "seriously lacking" in their knowledge of motor vehicle laws and trying to enforce a local ordinance not legally in effect at the time of the ride, the Vermont State Attorney General said.

In a letter dated December 1, 2004, Attorney General William H. Sorrell also praised the hundreds of would-be participants in the Red Fox Turkey Run, saying the motorcyclists "conducted themselves in an exemplary manner, without any disorderly behavior, and dispersed peacefully."  

The dual-sport ride, scheduled for August 8, 2004, was halted by Windham County Sheriffs Department deputies as riders gathered that morning. The participants were told the event was illegal and were threatened with arrest and seizure of their motorcycles if they rode, said motorcyclists there that morning. At the request of the AMA, the New England Trail Riders Association, and others, the Vermont Attorney General's Office investigated the actions by the Sheriffs Department.  

Despite finding that the Sheriffs Department made numerous mistakes, Sorrell said the actions of the officers and the Jamaica Town Select Board, which passed an ordinance to try to stop the run, stopped short of criminal wrongdoing. But he did recommend several steps the Sheriffs Department and Select Board should take to avoid further problems in the future.

Among Sorrell's findings: The Sheriffs deputies "acted improperly in their dealings with event participants..." and "...statements were made to some participants about possible violations and consequences that simply do not exist under Vermont law."

Sheriffs deputies sought a last-minute legal opinion from the State's Attorney about whether the dual-sport ride could legally be considered a "race" under Vermont law. But the opinion was "likely based on some incorrect factual assumptions." Sorrell wrote: "The event was not a 'race' and the WCSD (Windham County Sheriffs Department) was incorrect both in saying it was and in using that as a basis to threaten to 'arrest' the event organizers if it took place."

The ordinance passed two weeks before the dual-sport run by the Jamaica Town Select Board, prohibiting use of some town dirt roads, was not legally in effect at the time of the event and may have been voted on improperly. The actions of the Sheriffs Department and the Select Board "resulted in the improper cancellation of the Red Fox Turkey Run."  

The full text of the press release and Sorrell's letter (PDF) are available at the Vermont State Attorney General website http://www.atg.state.vt.us/display.php?pubsec=4&curdoc=822.

 

A Florida car driver ran into a motorcycle in Broward County and kept on driving even though the motorcyclist was thrown onto the hood of the car and yelled at the driver to stop, according to local news reports.

The motorcyclist eventually fell off the hood of the car and wrote down the driver's license plate number. Meanwhile, a witness in another vehicle chased the driver for 20 miles before the driver was stopped by police.

The driver, Scott Eisenberg, allegedly said that he never saw motorcyclist Marlowe Buelvas on his hood, yelling for him to stop. He said if he saw the man he would have stopped immediately, but he just thought he had hit some debris in the road.

Buelvas wasn't injured but his custom motorcycle was totaled. Eisenberg was charged with driving without insurance, leaving the scene of an accident involving damage, failure to report an accident immediately, failure to leave information, and careless driving.