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Stage Road is hazard to traffic

There's a stretch of "no man's land" called Stage Road in the South Jersey Pinelands. It extends from Chatsworth Rd. [CR 679] in a generally southeasterly direction to NJ Rt. 9. Apparently the State, County and local governments are engaged in an ongoing dispute in which each disavows responsibility for maintenance of the road surface. Between the Bass River Ranger Station and the GS Parkway it's really bad. That's where I hit a pothole which caused a bent rear rim and flat tire. [There may be additional, as yet undiscovered damage.] It is, in fact, so bad that there is a sign posted advising "Caution: Hazardous Road Conditions." Unfortunately, it was right in front of me when I came to a stop AFTER the incident, not soon enough to have done any good.

Many thanks must be extended to several local folks and the NJ State Police who stopped to see if I was okay and offer assistance. Being a drizzly evening, one gentleman offered me a rain slicker, then another offered to wait with me for the tow truck so I could sit in a dry truck cab. One couple interrupted their drive to a viewing to wait with me quite a while and provided much appreciated mosquito spray. She, being an employee of a shore area police department, put in a backup call to the road service on my behalf. He offered to return with his bike trailer and provide storage in their garage. They also called me later to be sure the tow had been accomplished and that I was okay. I'm sure I've made new friends and I expect them to soon become ABATE members, proving that any circumstance can become an opportunity to represent our organization.

The State Police continue to be helpful in providing an incident report to substantiate my insurance claim. Looks like Foremost Insurance will be co-operative. South Shore Towing supplied a box trailer well equipped for mc transport and a driver experienced in securing a bike for travel.

Everyone who stopped offered uniformly critical commentary on the deplorable condition of the road surface and the shameful inaction by the several levels of government while innocent citizens suffer property damage and personal injury. I don't know why, in my case, it wasn't worse. I was able to ride to a safe stop, though I don't know how. The tow driver related that he had to remove a Sportster after a pothole incident earlier this year. That lady and her son [who was a passenger] both were taken to the hospital.

Where is the responsible government, so eager to belabor us with restrictions and overload us with mandates aimed at increased safety, but which cannot even provide a safe road on which to ride?

Subject: URGENT NATIONWIDE CALL-TO-ACTION!

A.B.A.T.E. of Louisiana, Inc.
P.O. Box 541
St. Amant, LA 70774

Yesterday our Bills suffered a tough time on the House Floor.

HB 864...

http://tinyurl.com/5wdlhg

...the Bill to move the Riders Education course out of BESE and into the DPS, didn't get the 2/3rd's majority vote required to pass on the floor. This was reportedly due to the fact that the fiscal note tied to it was over $900,000.00. This Bill would have secured our training funds that are paid for by motorcyclists’ endorsement fees, funds that BESE has raided every time the schools were in trouble (which was often) and it would have also created new course sites that are sorely needed. The Representatives decided that our safety wasn't worth the price tag.

HB 1295...

http://tinyurl.com/5gvy4f

...our Modified Helmet Bill, was withdrawn from the calendar temporarily when it became apparent that it was going to be attacked with amendments that would have rendered the Bill unpalatable to members of the motorcycling community. The amendments are as follows:

1. $50,000.00 personal health insurance policy that motorcyclists would have to carry to go lidless. Offered by Representative Neil C. Abramson (Democrat Dist. 98). This amendment would have been discriminatory due to the fact that it wouldn’t apply equally to all segments of the motoring public.

2. Denial of a lidless rider the right to sue for injuries suffered in an accident Offered by Representative Neil C. Abramson (Democrat Dist. 98). This amendment would have essentially allowed the guilty party to go unpunished while the victim would have had to either use their own insurance to pay for medical treatment or seek free (public burden?) medical care if their insurance was insufficient.

3. An amendment to require motorcyclists who choose to go lidless to sign an organ donor card (donor cyclists?) Offered by Representative Jean-Paul "JP" Morrell Democrat - District 97. This amendment is not only discriminatory but could be construed as unconstitutional.

You have to wonder what these people are thinking, how that got elected, and if they are even from the same planet as the rest of us. We have until next Wednesday, 5/21/08, to set these Representatives straight and get our Bill back on the calendar or it will die on the House floor. While we are attempting to bring Freedom of Choice in a responsible manner the powers that be are being totally irresponsible in telling us how this should be implemented.

[***FOR BIKERS IN LOUISIANA***]

Now more than ever we need to contact our Representatives and let them know how we feel about this Bill and the amendments being offered on it and we are requesting a nationwide call to action to accomplish this task. Without a massive ROAR this Bill is doomed to failure and we will continue to be burdened with wearing a piece of safety equipment that has done nothing to enhance safety and stop our Brothers and Sisters from dying on the highways of this great state.

To find your Representative go to this link:

http://tinyurl.com/6jl3da

For continuous updates on the status of Bills affecting motorcyclists go to this link:

http://tinyurl.com/5sp9lg

[***FOR BIKERS NATIONWIDE***]

We need [BIKERS NATIONWIDE] to contact as many of Representatives as they can to vote for our Bill [HB 1295] without the offered amendments. [SEE LOUISIANA REPS EMAIL ADDRESSES BELOW] Since Louisiana relies on tourism as one of its main industries the loss of tourist dollars will have an impact on their decision. Also the discriminatory nature of the amendments being offered should be addressed. The authors of these amendments are in the body of this press release.

Remember: One voice is but a whisper, but a thousand voices are a ROAR!

Ride Safe, Ride FREE
Poet
State Executive President
Abate Of La., Inc.

***

PLEASE SEND EMAILS TO:

abramson@legis.state.la.us
larep021@legis.state.la.us
armesj@legis.state.la.us
larep102@legis.state.la.us
auberte@legis.state.la.us
larep100@legis.state.la.us
badonb@legis.state.la.us
larep053@legis.state.la.us
barrast@legis.state.la.us
larep029@legis.state.la.us
billiotr@legis.state.la.us
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burnsh@legis.state.la.us
larep089@legis.state.la.us
larep002@legis.state.la.us
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carters@legis.state.la.us
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ligit@legis.state.la.us
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larep094@legis.state.la.us
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nowlinr@legis.state.la.us
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larep093@legis.state.la.us
pontie@legis.state.la.us
poper@legis.state.la.us
pughs@legis.state.la.us
richardj@legis.state.la.us
richardc@legis.state.la.us
larep101@legis.state.la.us
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larep045@legis.state.la.us
royc@legis.state.la.us
schrodej@legis.state.la.us
simons@legis.state.la.us
larep088@legis.state.la.us
larep008@legis.state.la.us
larep56@legis.state.la.us
smithp@legis.state.la.us
larep060@legis.state.la.us
talbotk@legis.state.la.us
templetr@legis.state.la.us
larep031@legis.state.la.us
larep086@legis.state.la.us
larep18@legis.state.la.us
larep005@legis.state.la.us
larep064@legis.state.la.us
larep004@legis.state.la.us
willmott@legis.state.la.us
larep105@legis.state.la.us

***

"The battle for bikers' rights is not about patches, parties or poker runs. We fight to protect the freedom and promote the interests of American motorcyclists ... to defend our right to choose our own modes of transportation, attire and lifestyle ... to deter and defy discrimination against us ... and to vanquish those who violate our rights or right-of-way."--Bruce Arnold

http://ldrlongdistancerider.com/bikers_rights.php

ABATE distributes Motorcycle Awareness Banners across NJ towns

ABATE of the Garden State recently worked our legislators to have May declared as Motorcycle Awareness Month. On May 4, we held a rally to the Trenton State House to thank our legislators for passing this legislation to make the roads safer for all motorists. ABATE has worked hard to obtain a grant from Rider Insurance to purchase hundreds of motorcycle safety banners and had these mailed out to townships and municipalities across the state. These banners are now flying all over New Jersey towns.

It is our hope that even more townships will display these banners in the future. It is virtually impossible to determine how many lives may be saved by these banners, but they save even 1 life, the entire effort was worth it.

MAY IS MOTORCYCLE AWARENESS MONTH ... BUT NOT FOR SUV DRIVERS

The message conveyed by the following excerpts from 26 recent news reports requires no interpretation:

1. "Noble man killed when motorcycle strikes SUV [OK] ... A Noble man, Charles David Perrin, 63, was killed Thursday, when the motorcycle he was driving collided with a sports utility vehicle ... [T]he sport utility vehicle pulled into his path from a private parking lot."

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/6n5es4

2. "Motorcyclist injured in crash [CA] ... A man was flown to the hospital Thursday after his motorcycle collided with an SUV on Washington Boulevard, authorities said."

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/6lnbjw

3. "Collinsville man dies in accident [OK] ... The driver ... failed to yield at a stop sign where the roads intersect, the patrol reported. The pickup [LTV] struck Forbes' motorcycle, throwing him about 20 feet."

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/6pjx6o

4. "Motorcyclist strikes SUV, is killed [MD] ... A motorcyclist was killed yesterday evening in Laurel when he struck a sport utility vehicle that turned in front of him, Howard County police said."

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/5ays5v

5. "Man hospitalized after motorcycle/car [SUV] crash [OH] ... Fawn M. Love, 18, was leaving the Glenview Way Apartments on County Road 16 eastbound toward West Lafayette when Kirker on a motorcycle clipped the rear quarter of her vehicle while going westbound."

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/62fnw2

6. "Motorcycle, SUV collide [CA] ... A motorcycle and a sport utility vehicle collided Thursday, sending the motorcyclist to the hospital with major injuries ... According to witnesses, a Honda Pilot driven by Lucy Ann Busalacchi, 46, also of Escondido, was exiting a driveway and turning left to head north on North Escondido Boulevard."

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/59k8oe

7. "Man Sought in Macon Hit-and-Run [GA] ... Rodney Corbin was driving his motorcycle west on Mercer University Drive around 9:30 p.m. when a gray Hyundai Santa Fe SUV pulled into his path from Albert's Lane, according to a police release ... The motorcycle hit the drivers side of the SUV ..."

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/6eeadn

8. "Motorcyclist Hurt In Crash [with SUV] (CT) ... Police said Joseph K. Keaveny, 17, of Cambridge Drive, the driver of the SUV, was turning left into a private driveway off Sullivan Avenue about 4:45 p.m. Friday when the SUV and motorcycle collided."

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/5gum25

9. "Portland motorcycle cop struck by SUV, hurt [OR] ... According to police, Cass was heading east on Southeast Washington Street over the Interstate 205 overpass when a 1980s Chevy Blazer heading the same direction turned left into the motorcycle ..."

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/6cwto9

10. "Motorcyclist killed in accident [OH] ... Shanklin struck the passenger side of a northbound SUV and was ejected from the 1990 Harley Davidson."

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/5plqgj

11. "Motorcyclist injured in crash with SUV in Windham [MA] ... Morrissette was riding his 1975 Harley-Davidson FX 1200 north on Rockingham Road when the driver of a gray 2002 Ford Explorer pulled out from Seavey Road and into Morrissette's path, police said."

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/6jsyyp

12. "Motorcyclist, injured in funeral-procession crash, dies [MO] ... A 51-year-old Blue Springs man, injured last week when he was struck by a sport utility vehicle while escorting a funeral procession has died, police said today."

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/6qy96w

13. "Brighton husband, wife die in Macoupin County motorcycle crash [IL] ... Police say a husband and wife from Brighton were killed when an SUV rear-ended a pickup truck that crossed into the path of their motorcycle."

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/6zh8o7

14. "One killed, another hurt in scooter, motorcycle accidents [ID] ... [P]olice say a motorcyclist is recovering after being hit by an SUV in Boise. Officials say at about 11:45 p.m. Sunday a motorcyclist was hit and then became trapped under the vehicle and police had to lift up the car to get him out."

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/6rcyhh

15. "Man remembers friend killed in hit and run [NM] ... Souther was killed Sunday evening when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver in a SUV at Menaul and University while on his Harley Davidson."

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/6qfslg

16. "Biker Dies in Collision with SUV [IL] ... Steven J. Kunkel died when the motorcycle he was riding collided with an SUV ... A 2001 Toyota Sequoia was north on Route 14. It collided head-on with a southbound 1975 Harley Davidson in the northbound lane."

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/5zw4nu

17. "Motorcyclist injured in accident [PA] ... An unidentified man was injured when his motorcycle and a sports utility vehicle collided in Bensalem Sunday night. The motorcyclist ... was traveling northbound on Knights Road north of Street Road at 7:30 p.m. when the SUV pulled out onto the street, police said."

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/682jnm

18. "Motorcyclist injured in West Bridgewater crash [MA] ... Keith Wyzard was airlifted to a Boston hospital after his motorcycle collided with an SUV on Route 28. [The SUV driver] was leaving a shopping plaza across the street and taking a left turn to head south when the vehicles collided, police said."

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/5bxhql

19. "Motorcyclist collides with trailer on I-80 [UT] ... A trailer came off an SUV traveling west on I-80 about 4:30 p.m., said Agent Cori Start of the Utah Highway Patrol. A motorcyclist behind the SUV wasn't able to avoid the trailer and collided with it, Start said."

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/6pazsp

20. "An accident involving an SUV and a motorcycle in New Oxford resulted in minor injuries. [PA]"

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/68h656

21. "Motorcyclist killed by motor home [CA] ... Donald Pali, 37, was riding his Suzuki motorcycle southbound on Union Road at 5 p.m. when he was struck by a 31-foot motor home making a left turn from Daniels onto Union."

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/5zhz9d

22. "Wolcott motorcyclist killed [CT] ... Michael Christiano, of 367 Todd Road, was riding a 2005 Suzuki northbound on Wolcott Street about 5:15 p.m. when he collided with a 1989 Jeep Cherokee. Police said the Jeep, driven by 46-year-old William Rutka of 72 Macauley Ave., was attempting to turn left..."

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/6fcafm

23. "Motorcycle vs. SUV [OK] ... A Quapaw man is rushed to the hospital with severe leg trauma after the motorcycle he was riding became lodged under an S-U-V. Around 4:30 this afternoon, 46 year old Shawn Moore was riding westbound on route NN in Newton County when the driver of a sport utility vehicle attempted to make a U-turn on Route P."

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/6o738w

24. "SUV driver charged in motorcycle accident [SC] ... Highway Patrol said the SUV driver was pulling out of a private driveway near Postal Way when he collided with a man on his motorcycle."

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/59xtar

25. "Motorcyclist Hurt in Accident [HI] ... A collision between a motorcycle and an SUV, sends a man to the hospital."

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/6npgrf

26. "Motorcyclist killed in hit & run crash in Albuquerque [NM] ... A Tijeras man has died when his motorcycle and a sports utility vehicle collided at a busy Albuquerque intersection."

Open this link to read more: http://tinyurl.com/5v4baj

***

ATTENTION AMERICAN MOTORCYCLISTS

If you are not a member of a motorcyclists' rights organization (MRO) ... I have just given you 26 reasons to join.

If you belong to a state MRO (SMRO) ... and do little more than show up for parties and show off your patches ... I have just given you 26 reasons to get informed and involved.

If you are a leader of a local SMRO chapter where bikers have been (or will be) maimed or killed by negligent, care-less, distracted or impaired cagers ... I have just given you 26 reasons to shift your resources away from the next charity poker run and towards the support of downed riders and their families.

If you are the leader of a state or national MRO ... I have just given you 26 reasons to stop playing pattycake with the nannycrats, and start getting aggressive about MOTORCYCLE AWARENESS policies, programs and ploys focusing ALL motorists' attention on CRASH PREVENTION.

Speaking strictly for myself and no other individuals or organizations,

Bruce Arnold

Bruce@LdrLongDistanceRider.com
Author and Publisher, LdrLongDistanceRider.com Co-Moderator, Bruce-n-Ray's Biker Forum Mile Eater Gold Member, Iron Butt Association Sustaining Member, Motorcycle Riders Foundation
2007 Chairman's Circle, American Motorcyclist Association

Big Brother's right to seize your motorcycle has come one step closer to becoming a reality in Florida and a nightmarish precedent for statehouses nationwide. Yesterday, HB-137's companion bill SB-802 passed unanimously through the Florida State Senate Transportation Committee. Here is a verbatim report from Dara "Sam" McLain, who along with fellow bikers' rights advocate Robert "RC" Conroy attended the meeting and spoke out against the bill:

Below is the summary, as I saw it, at the Hearing for SB 802, companion bill to HB 137. This comes late because I was busy doing work (ya, I have a day job) this afternoon that I should have been doing this morning while I was at the Senate building with RC attending the hearing.

In a room about 3/4 full, there were THREE bikers present to support our position opposing this bill. THREE BIKERS; Florida Abate President, RC and myself. The Abate President arrives with a companion, but it is not known if she is a biker or not. Either way, not one Sport Biker stepped forward to state his or her position. There were none in the room that I could see. From my perspective, it appears Sport Bikers are just not concerned about having their bikes confiscated, and their licenses taken from them for ten years. As a rider of 30+ years, I find that very distasteful. My bike has two wheels, so does yours. How dare you diminish my right to ride free by your apathy.

As most of you know, this bill started out discriminatory against all bikers, outlined a severe penalty for infractions, and is largely redundant, given the laws on the books already for reckless driving.

And as things progressed, amendments were made to HB 137 and text was changed to include all drivers. However, HB 137 still called out motorcycles specifically, and defines somewhat specifically what constitutes non-stunt riding; i.e. two wheels on the ground at all times, one leg on both sides of the bike, etc.

Legislators are adamant that those who pull wheelies at high speeds, weave in and out of traffic at high speeds, or simply ride their bikes at high speed, will pay the consequences. Even if they didn't add the text to [lamely] exclude those of us who ride motorcycles that won't perform these types of stunts, I'd still know they meant Sport Bike riders. Legislators were VERY specific about who is targeted by this bill. My fear, and that of others, is law enforcement won't bother to distinguish between the two.

At the first hearing, I and others, protested that, among other things, this bill is one-sided. Their aim, they said, is to prevent senseless death of these Sport Bike riders. While we pointed out they were ignoring the senseless death of many more riders that happen daily at the hands of distracted drivers who go unpunished.

So, late last night, an amendment was added to SB 802, to stiffen the penalties of drivers who cause death or injury to another through a traffic violation. For whatever reason - a dangling carrot, an honest concern, whatever - it was added to this bill. However, and far more importantly, SEIZURE is still very much alive in this bill. Fine me $1000, give me jail time, take away my endorsement for a period of time, but the government does not have the right to confiscate my motorcycle. Period. The Forfeiture law was enacted to prevent the continuation of drug manufacture and sale after the dealer was convicted. Confiscating cars and/or motorcycles for driving violations is out of those bounds and unconstitutional.

Sadly, many Senators who are fairly new to this bill, are so focused on the Sport Bike issue that they immediately shot down this amendment that might have done some good. So once again, we are back at square one, and this bill is still very much alive! And again, where the hell was the support?? Where are all the Sport Bike riders who oppose this bill? I can almost understand the biker community who does not ride the sport bikes not having a concern, but this bill seriously targets Sport bikers. Do you not care? Or are you merely waiting for those of us who are willing to fight for our freedom to do it for you?

Once the new amendment was read, the only opposing comment from the Transportation Committee was how much of a fiscal "burden" it might be for the state to fork up room and board (jail time) for a driver who kills in the process of a traffic violation! This was Senator Paula Dockery I believe. (Without a seating chart and "name tags" I can't be sure.) From my point of view, she didn't care one iota whether bikers died on the road at the hands of incompetent drivers. She couldn't get this amendment killed fast enough. In fact, I didn't get the impression that she, or several others, cared one bit about any death of a motorcyclist. (Senator Dockery goes up on the political candidate do-not-vote-for Wall-of-Shame). And this leads me to believe that the motive for this bill and HB 137, from the beginning, is not to stop any deaths, but to catch the culprits and make some money from it. I'll be writing to Senator Dockery to express my distaste over her obvious lack of concern for!
those who die at the hands of distracted and incompetent drivers.

It should be noted that Senator Baker spoke very much in favor of the stiffer penalty amendment, as did Senator Garcia. They both seem to "get it" about ROWV causing so many motorcycle deaths. The Florida Abate President spoke in support of the amendment and expressed disappointment in this action to strike. RC and I declined to speak on behalf of the amendment, stating we would speak on the bill itself.

The bill was brought to the table and Senator Garcia, the sponsor of the bill, declined to speak until all were heard. Again, the Florida Abate president informed the committee that his organization opposed the bill in it's entirety. He testified that confiscation of property costs the state money.

Next was RC, who covered several points; penalties covered in this bill for stunt riding far exceed those of incompetent auto drivers who kill and maim riders, the redundancy of the bill to existing laws, and discrimination of motorcyclists.

I was last to speak, as no others stepped forward. I expressed extreme disappointment in the attitude of the committee of placing a fiscal value on the death of another and refusing to entertain the amendment put forth by Senator Garcia. I also spoke of the unconstitutionality of property seizure, and that civil seizure does not provide for Due Process; that 80% of forfeitures are seized from those who are never charged with a crime.

Senator Alex Villalobos challenged my comments on forfeiture, and I pointed out that the bill is littered with text that says the officer "shall arrest the perpetrator, throw him in jail, and seize the property", and that a court "official" shall determine the outcome. That sounded to me like the officer can make the decision of guilt on the fly, and your property seized without proof of the crime. Only one line in the bill said that forfeiture would occur "if" convicted.

For those who are unaware of what Civil Forfeiture might mean to you, here's a few highlights. You are NOT entitled to a trial by jury. You are NOT entitled to an Attorney (except if you want to pay a $10k retainer yourself to regain $4000 worth of personal property). You are guilty until proven innocent and the burden of proving your innocence is on YOU, at your expense. Even if you are acquitted or found not guilty of any charges, THEY CAN STILL KEEP YOUR MOTORCYCLE.

It goes without saying that once motorcycles are targeted in any way for confiscation, by law, law enforcement will add that to their list of revenue generation. This happens daily already. Bikers are pulled over and cited for minor infractions, such as handlebar height, and their bikes are confiscated. Even if the citation is invalid and proven so, the owner must still pay very high fees to release his/her property from impoundment. If the process takes too long, the property may be sold, and the owner will never recover the property at all, or the money it was sold for.

John L. Worrall, Department of Criminal Justice, California State University at San Bernardino, said it very aptly, "A conflict of interest between effective crime control and creative fiscal management will persist so long as law enforcement agencies remain dependent on civil asset forfeiture."

Furthermore, 80% of property forfeited to US government agencies in the last decade was seized from owners who were never charged with a crime! Over $7 Billion has been forfeited to the government since 1985. Florida is about to add motorcycles to that equation.

Senator Garcia presented the same video that was shown at the first hearing on HB 137. And again, it elicited gasps and outrage from the committee members, and many in the audience.

Following the video, Senator Larcenia Bullard spoke on the attributes of motorcyclists. She said she used to think we were all bad people. Then she discovered that we are people just like anyone else, and she learned of the charities we contribute to, and the selfless acts of kindness bikers are known for.

But hard on the heels of these very kind words, she stated that those who ride Sport Bikes in the manner depicted on the video deserve this severe punishment and she supported this bill 100%.

The committee vote was unanimous. To those of you who didn't show up to oppose this bill, at any of the three hearings so far, thank you very much for helping to push through one of the most damaging and nebulous bills I've ever seen.

I want to thank all of you who put forth so much effort in sending your views through mail, email and phone calls. I know it has helped to get text changes in this bill. Please continue to write to the committee members and express your extreme opposition to forfeiture.

However, Sport Bike riders be forewarned, if and when this law goes into effect in October, you WILL be targeted by law enforcement, profiled, and falsely accused even if you ride safe and sane, and never do any of these stunts. I am sure that law enforcement will make it a priority to help you rack up your offences so they can confiscate your bike. And since you have made no effort whatsoever to represent yourselves at these hearings, you will have no one to blame but the man/woman in the mirror. I wish you luck, you'll need it. This bill is well on its way to becoming law in October, in spite of our best efforts.

Respectfully,
Dara McLain
aka Sam

***

Committee Info:
------------------

Senate Bill 802 Sponsor:
Senator Rudy Garcia (R)
District Office:
7475 West Fourth Ave.
Hialeah, FL
33014-4327
(305) 364-3191
Senate VOIP 44000

Legislative Assistants: Susie Martin, David Marin and Ana Pereira

Tallahassee Office:
Room 416
Senate Office Building
404 South Monroe Street Tallahassee, FL
32399-1100
(850) 487-5106
Senate VOIP 5106

Email: garcia.rudy.web@flsenate.gov
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Transportation Committee:

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Chair:
Senator Carey Baker (R)
District Offices:
301 West Ward Avenue
Eustis, FL 32726-4024
(352) 742-6490
Senate VOIP 42000
FAX (352)742-6492
Outside Lake County:
1-888-567-5577

Legislative Assistants:
Gale Bass, Renee Strong, Vilma Tucker and Thomas Hammons

Lady Lake, FL
(352) 360-6739
Senate VOIP 42010

DeLand, FL
(386) 736-5048
Senate VOIP 42020

Tallahassee Office:
Room 316
Senate Office Building
404 South Monroe Street Tallahassee, FL
32399-1100
(850) 487-5014
Senate VOIP 5014

Email: baker.carey.web@flsenate.gov
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Vice Chair:
Senator Larcenia J. Bullard (D)
District Office:
8603 S. Dixie Highway,
Suite 304
Miami, FL 33143
(305) 668-7344
Senate VOIP 43900
FAX: (305) 668-7346
Statewide:
1-866-234-3734

Legislative Assistants:
Merdochey LaFrance, Ryan Hawkins, Jennifer Alexandre and Linda Dallas

Tallahassee Office:
Room 218
Senate Office Building
404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL
32399-1100
(850) 487-5127
Senate VOIP 5127

Email: bullard.larcenia.web@flsenate.gov
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Senator Lee Constantine (R)
District Office:
378 Centerpointe Circle,
Suite 1268
Altamonte Springs, FL
32701-3442
(407) 331-9675
Senate VOIP 42200

Legislative Assistants: Abigail Souders, Micelle Emery and Christopher Hudson

Tallahassee Office:
Room 413
Senate Office Building
404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL
32399-1100
(850) 487-5050
Senate VOIP 5050

Email: constantine.lee.web@flsenate.gov
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Senator Paula Dockery (R)
District Office:
P.O. Drawer 2395
Lakeland, FL 33806-2395
(863) 413-2900
Senate VOIP 41500
FAX: (863) 413-2902
Statewide:
1-866-248-6487

Legislative Assistants:
April Mucci, Laura Rodriguez, Matthew Hinton and Sarah Hardy

Tallahassee Office:
Room 314
Senate Office Building
404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL
32399-1100
(850) 487-5040
Senate VOIP 5040

Email: dockery.paula.web@flsenate.gov
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Senator Arthenia L. Joyner (D)
District Office:
508 W. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard Suite C Tampa, FL 33603-3415
(813) 233-4277
Senate VOIP 41800
FAX (813) 233-4280

Legislative Assistants: Rosalie Smith, Charlie Anderson and Michele Rayner

Tallahassee Office:
Room 224
Senate Office Building
404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL
32399-1100
(850) 487-5059
Senate VOIP 5059
FAX (888) 263-7871

Email: joyner.arthenia.web@flsenate.gov
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Senator Gwen Margolis (D)
District Office:
1005 Kane Concourse
Suite 205
Bay Harbor Island, FL
33154
(305) 993-3632
Senate VOIP 43500
FAX (305) 993-3635

Legislative Assistants:
Zachary Kobrin, Sharon West James and Cameron Sisser

Tallahassee Office:
Room 214
Senate Office Building
404 South Monroe Street Tallahassee, FL
32399-1100
(850) 487-5121
Senate VOIP 5121

Email: margolis.gwen.web@flsenate.gov
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Senator J. Alex Villalobos (R)
District Office:
9766 S.W. 24th Street,
Suite 18
Miami, FL
33165
(305) 222-4160
Senate VOIP 43800

Legislative Assistants: Vicky Romaguera-Garcia, Norma Ledesma, Nanea Marcial and Sonia Castro

Tallahassee Office:
Room 306
Senate Office Building
404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL
32399-1100
(850) 487-5130
Senate VOIP 5130

Email: villalobos.alex.web@flsenate.gov
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Senator Daniel Webster (R)
District Office:
315 South Dillard Street
Winter Garden, FL 34787
(407) 656-0066
Senate VOIP 40900
FAX (407) 297-2064

Legislative Assistants: Ann Drawdy and Cindy Brown

Tallahassee Office:
Room 330
Senate Office Building
404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL
32399-1100
(850) 487-5047
Senate VOIP 5047

Legislative Assistant: Jaryn Emhof

Email: No email listed

Helmetless Riders are Less Likely to Die in Motorcycle Crashes on Florida Roads
The 2004 Crash Statistics for Florida wipe away NHTSA's prediction of a blood bath.

According to the recently released, Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles annual Traffic Crash Statistics Report for 2004, motorcycle riders wearing helmets were more likely to sustain an injury or suffer a fatality than their non-helmeted counterparts. The huge increase in death and injury to non-helmeted motorcycle riders, predicted by NHTSA (National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration) in a report released this summer, has not been substantiated. The numbers are going to disappoint the proponents of helmet laws while simultaneously confi rming the facts presented to the public by ABATE of Florida, Inc. (American Bikers Aimed Toward Education). ABATE is a non-profi t motorcycle rights organization in Florida and has spent years focusing on motorcycle related issues,including crash prevention and stiffer penalties for negligent vehicle operators who kill and injure motorcycle riders.

Of the 388 motorcycle riders killed in crashes on Florida roads during 2004, over 51% were wearing safety helmets. The crash facts also demonstrate that riders wearing safety helmets were more likely to sustain injuries than non-helmeted riders. In each of the statistical focus topics presented in the study, the percentage numbers were very close between helmeted and non-helmeted riders, except for non-injury crashes. The study stated that non-helmeted riders were 20% more likely to walk away from a crash uninjured than helmeted riders. The absence of visual and physical limitations, imposed by a helmet, could account for this disparity. Wearing a motorcycle helmet cannot keep a crash from occurring, however, riding without a helmet could allow a rider to respond more quickly or to visually recognize a potential hazard, decreasing the severity of the injury sustained or avoiding all injury.

There are no statistics available for crashes which riders were able to completely avoid due to training or equipment use. According to the crash statistics, the top three contributing causes of all motor vehicle crashes include careless driving, failure to yield the rightof-way and driving under the influence of alcohol. None of the three include equipment failure, environmental or weather related issues.

Each of the top three causes for crashes are directly linked to driver error or negligent action by the motor vehicle operator. Therefore, in stands to reason that a significant number of crashes could be avoided if motor vehicle drivers took personal responsibility for operating a deadly weapon prior to engaging their engines. People can only control two things in their lives; what they think and what they do. Personal responsibility cannot be legislated. Political and governmental entities cannot mandate ethical and honorable actions. It is society, which dictates acceptable public behavior. Rehabilitation programs rely on education and a series of problem identifi cation and behavior modifi cation systems to alter behaviors that are harmful to a group or individual. Reeducating the public on safe operation of their motor vehicles or rehabilitating vehicle operators that habitually drive impaired or recklessly is an enormous job, however, ABATE of Florida, Inc. is taking on one piece of that task. The group is getting information out to the public on motorcycle safety and awareness through high school drivers education programs, posters, flyers, the presentation of a free Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Program, along with a series of annual safety seminars for the motorcycle riding and non-riding public.

In conjunction with the Florida legislature, ABATE is putting Billboards throughout the state to encourage drivers to be aware of motorcycles and to drive alertly. In other words, to take personal responsibility for their driving actions and to think about the way they operate their vehicles. James "Doc" Reichenbach, president of ABATE of Florida, Inc. who's group lobbied strongly for motorcycle helmet reform in 2000, said, "The numbers from the crash report for 2004 may favor our point of view, but even one death is too many. We… (motorcycle riders)… have to ride defensively and we have to educate everyone we meet." To help educate the driving public, four billboards with motorcycle safety messages have already been installed on major Florida highways. Within the next few months, Mr. Reichenbach expects approximately ten more billboards to be in place in areas where high motorcycle injury rates have been reported.

Motorcycle shop owner, Dan Fish of Doc's Southern Cycles in Pace, Florida, said, "I've had five times as many people in the shop in the past week looking for bikes under 600 cc's." He said people are worried about getting around and are looking for economical transportation. The motorcycle population has more than doubled in the past fi ve years with over 700,000 endorsed riders. With the marked increase in gasoline prices and concern over fuel availability, the number of motorcycle riders on Florida highways could easily reach 1.5 million in the next five years.

Motor vehicle operators will be encountering an ever- increasing number of two wheeled travelers in the future. Motorcycles are smaller and can easily be lost in blind spots of larger vehicles. Drivers need to be aware of the presence of all vehicles in their vicinity and give motorcycles their full lane of travel. Perception of the speed that a motorcycle is traveling is often misjudged and failure to yield the right-of-way is sighted as the cause in a significant number of motorcycle versus automobile crashes. Statistical reports, no matter how reliable the source, will not stop the motorcycle helmet usage debate, however, the real issue is crash prevention. To get involved in motorcycle crash prevention or to find out more about the Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Programs being offered, contact

ABATE of Florida, Inc.
P.O. Box 2520,
De Land, Florida, 32721

MRF Strongly Opposes US DOT Attack on [Motorcycle] Training Funds

The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) has learned that United States Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters sent letters to Capitol Hill with draft legislation outlining her intention to raid the 2010 motorcycle training and awareness funds set aside by Congress in the last Highway Bill (PL 109-59). Peters announced on Thursday, February 14 that she would like to see the earmarked training and awareness funds made available to promote the use of helmets in individual states.

"The MRF is extremely disappointed that Mrs. Peters would choose this small, yet critical, grant program to raid. We understand her desire to encourage helmet use, but couldn't the Secretary of Transportation find a more suitable program to fund her personal helmet hunt?" said Jeff Hennie, Vice President of Government Relations for the MRF.

The 2010 funds were a direct result of years of intense lobbying by state motorcyclists' rights organizations (SMROs) and individual motorcyclists from across this country, and were intended for two very specific aspects of motorcycle safety -- motorcycle rider education and motorist awareness of motorcycles. These two aspects of motorcycle safety have been grossly under-funded at the state level for years, often solely at the direct expense of motorcyclists themselves through licensing and registration fees.

The 2010 funding program, in its second year, is a way for the motorcyclists of this country to get a little help from the feds to save lives. The fact is that helmet use has always been a major plank in the platform at the US Department of Transportation (DOT). So why now take away funds desperately needed for other areas of motorcycle safety? The training and awareness programs in statewide operation now are in jeopardy of reduced or zero funding every year. This federal program was designed to allow a trickle of cash to the states to at least keep current programs running. Should Peters get her way, that trickle becomes nothing but a drip. In addition, the current 2010 grant program is not funding failing programs. In order to qualify for the grant, each state has to demonstrate success in its programs by reducing fatalities.

Secretary Peters narrowly skates around an existing law that bans the federal government from lobbying states to enact statewide legislation. She does this by not asking that the money be used for helmet LAW advocacy, but by asking the money be used for helmet USE advocacy.

What's actually happened and how concerned do we need to be? You may be asking yourself that very question about now. Here is the real world
scenario: Mary Peters has sent two letters to Congress - one to Speaker Pelosi and the other to Senate President Cheney. The letters include draft legislation that would amend section 2010 to allow funds to be used for the promotion of helmet use.
[
Here is the letter sent by Mary Peters to Nancy Pelosi:

http://www.ldrlongdistancerider.com/MaryPeters080213.pdf

]
At this point there is no actual legislation - just an idea. If and when legislation results, the MRF will be issuing a call to action strongly opposing Peters' proposal, and will work tirelessly to convince every Senator and Member of Congress not to support this raid on the 2010 funds. At this point, however, the funds appropriated for your state are safe.

***

"The battle for bikers' rights is not about patches, parties or poker runs. We fight to protect the freedom and promote the interests of American motorcyclists ... to defend our right to choose our own modes of transportation, attire and lifestyle ... to deter and defy discrimination against us ... and to vanquish those who violate our rights or right-of-way."--Bruce Arnold

http://ldrlongdistancerider.com/bikers_rights.php

***

Please post your comments and replies here:

http://ldrlongdistancerider.com/forum.php

California is asking for YOUR help!
It's been a long time coming, due in part to the holidays and the recent elections for new officers in ABATE of California, but finally a formal request for help with their Judicial Fund has been issued.

I've expressed my feelings about this fund to various ABATE chapters and to the MRF and AMA. I think some if not all of the questions posed to me have been answered in this letter from ABATE of California.

There have been many individual donations to the fund as well as ABATE of Delaware donating a very generous $8,500, and issuing a challenge to other ABATE chapters.  Mark Infield, of The Carolinas Full Throttle Magazine has donated $1,000. My boss, Mike Hupy, has pledged $5,000 and issued a challenge to other attorneys. These groups and individuals have determined the court challenges in California to be an important step in hopefully garnering a decision and precedent that other states could use to challenge the compliance to the FMVSS 218 Standard.

I hope those of you who have issued a call to support the Judicial Fund will continue to promote this worthy cause. Those of you who have not yet supported this effort, I urge you to reconsider. ABATE of California has now formally requested assistance in this matter and I think this is a valid endeavor. A win in court in May will have positive ramifications throughout the land. Even a loss, which we are not considering at this time, will have at least brought a lot of attention to this issue and the plaintiffs intend on appealing any loss to the California Supreme Court. To not continue these challenges would be a travesty to the riders of California and the memory of Richard Quigley, who devoted over 17 years of his life and fortune to defeating the mandatory helmet law in California.

Litigation such as this is very costly. The plaintiffs have retained a very reputable and experienced attorney, whose firm was involved in the Buhl v. Hannigan case, another important case which helped lay the groundwork for the current litigation along with the Bianco v CHP and the Easyriders F.I.G.H.T. case. Feel free to contact me, Mike Osborn, Judicial Fund Officer (mwosborn@mindspring.com) or Don Blanscet, ABATE of California's Director (donb51@earthlink.net) if you have any questions.

In brotherhood,

Tony "Pan" Sanfelipo
Founder, ABATE of Wisconsin
BOLT National Director 
Sturgis Freedom Fighter Hall of Fame, 2002                                             
                                                        <<JUD Fund Ltr to SMRO.pdf>>

Draconian Law being proposed to confiscate motorcycles
COMMITTEE ON INFRASTRUCTURE - HEARING FOR HOUSE BILL 137 JANUARY 10, 2008 HOUSE BUILDING, RM 404 TALLAHASSEE, FL

http://tinyurl.com/37opzm

Here's a recap from this morning's hearing on HB 137. All quotes are as I remember them, as I did not have a tape recorder with me. All internet links and email addresses are listed at the bottom of this message.

I arrived at 8:30AM for the hearing, which was to begin at 9:00AM. The room was empty except for the committee secretary, who was more than happy to accept my request to speak. Out of perhaps 75 seats, only 25 were filled by the time the meeting started.

Representative Carlos Lopez-Cantera carlos.lopez-cantera@myfloridahouse.gov
District Office:
Suite 111
2300 Coral Way
Miami, FL 33145-3511
Phone: (305) 442-6877

the author of this bill, gave his intro to the bill and stated that he had issued a "strike-through", meaning he had changed the wording, and the initial submission was no longer valid. However, all he changed was the speed limit offense to more than 50 miles per hour over the speed limit, up from 30mph. I was unaware of this change and therefore did not have a copy of this revised bill.

Mr. Lopez-Cantera then played a video created by a news team in Miami, on Sportbike riders pulling wheelies at high speed on public roadways. In the video, two tickets were given out. Riders were interviewed. Statements like, "it's like a drug to me, the need for speed," and, "I just pay the ticket, no big deal."

After the video, an officer from Miami spoke to the committee. Mostly he provided testimony on accident history. One in particular was about a woman who was killed in her SUV when a Sportbike rider slammed into her at a high rate of speed. His bike went through the driver's compartment. There was no mention of whether the woman violated his right-of-way. He spoke of how the woman's infant was not in the car seat, but underneath the passenger seat on the floor, gaining a considerable amount of sympathy from the committee.

Questions for him from the committee members presented the first indication of where this hearing would lead.

Representative Susan Bucher felt the drag racing laws already covered this issue and wanted to know if this current law excluded motorcycles. Mr. Lopez-Cantera did not know the answer and stated he had not researched that law. She clearly thought the bill was redundant with respect to speeding. She also wanted to know why they couldn't put a helmet law repeal into the whole package, as she feels helmets will save more lives, and is needed. She later stated that motorcyclists who did not wear helmets were just organ donors. Though she didn't like this bill, I didn't get any warm and fuzzies from her either.

Another Representative, Greg Evers, testified that he was dead set against this bill. He had received an email where the author described a scenario by which a motorcyclist could be arrested for erroneous reasons (by harassment or profiling). The author then stated at the end of the email, "I know all this, because I'm a cop". It struck a cord with him, Mr. Evers said. He seemed to grasp the entire concept of why this bill is so discriminating.

I was first up from the audience to speak in opposition to the bill. I presented my case from the standpoint that the bill was discriminatory, and that confiscation of private property was unconstitutional, and from a fairness standpoint as well (motorcyclists vs. all drivers). The bill, I said, should be written to include all drivers because, yes, I agreed, stiffer penalties are needed for reckless driving.

The first question I was asked was, do I think permanently confiscating a motorcycle is too harsh of a punishment. To which I said, yes, without a doubt, not when right-of-way violators, DUI offenders and other reckless driving, kills without equal punishment.

The second question asked was how would I propose stopping these stunt riders from violating speed laws. To which I replied, our tax money would be better spent finding a way to catch them. One suggestion made by Mr. Lopez-Cantera was to make it a high fine punishment for not having your license plate permanently affixed, so Sportbike riders could not take them off. This is how they get away; they can't later be identified by video.

I also said, I don't like it when they do this either, but it happens much less often than reckless driving of auto drivers, and shouldn't we work on making stiffer punishment for all reckless drivers, instead of singling out motorcycles?

I was also asked if I thought more graduated punishment would be acceptable, and I said yes it would, but only if the bill is written to include all motor vehicles, not just motorcycles.

Next up to speak was a representative from ABATE, who basically repeated all of the same points.

Last to speak was Winn Peeples, who represents motorcycle dealers in Florida. He also said that most of what he wanted to say, had already been covered, but added that dealers are also 100% opposed to this bill. He sited the revenue netted in Florida by the sale of motorcycles. Financing institutions would not finance a motorcycle in Florida if this bill passes.

I believe that Greg Evers approached Mr. Lopez-Cantera privately and offered to defer the bill, rather than kill it, if Lopez-Cantera would agree. I could not hear what was said, so this is purely speculation, but shortly after that private conversation, Evers approached the Chairman on the side, and the motion to vote on a deferment was issued. The committee favorably voted to defer the bill to a later date.

Final note: At first I was discouraged that I saw no local support from area Bikers. But Winn Peeples and I agreed that those of us who were there, was enough to work constructively in the time alotted, and push HB 137 back to the drawing board. That and Representative Greg Evers. Winn was there on behalf of Florida's dealers. I was there for myself, and for all of Florida's freedom fighters who couldn't be there.

SO WHAT NOW? IT'S ALL GOOD RIGHT?

Sorry. Let's be clear. This bill is NOT dead. And it *could* come up on the agenda again, though it is less likely to now than before, not without a rewrite. Below is a summary of each Representative and my perceived
*opinion* of their position, based on what was heard today.

Representatives Richard Glorioso, Gary Aubuchon, Jimmy Patronis, Greg Evers and Nick Thomspon were all in favor of rewriting this bill to a broader degree; to include ALL motorists, and for stiffer penalties for reckless driving, but with graduated punishments employed. Nick Thompson initially wanted to kill the bill, as did Greg Evers. They all need to hear we support them and appreciate their proposed vision.

Representative Ed Hooper wants to see offending Sportbike riders punished severely but conceded that a graduated punishment was better than none. He could be pushed over to our side, maybe. He also had a personal "story" to tell about a death on a motorcycle.

Representative Scott Randolph was sympathetic to our position, but felt there was a need and agreed with a rewrite. He seems to be "on the fence".
He needs to hear from us also.

Representative Susan Bucher I believe would have voted no, as she seemed to feel this bill was redundant, though she is no biker advocate. And though she bears watching, I believe she will not be a contender.

Representative Steve Precourt would have voted in favor of the bill as it stands. He needs to be inundated with emails and letters of opposition. He needs to see just how many of us vote here in Florida, and how many supporters there for our cause in this country.

Representative Michael Scionti was not present due to a recall back to active military duty.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

First order of business - send a thank you letter or email to Representative Greg Evers. What he did today was show 100% support in our favor. Let him know you were watching and waiting, and you appreciate his position. He was against "motorcycles only" and against the confiscation of personal property.

Second order of business - email or call the rest.

The opportunity to rewrite this bill to be a huge benefit to all motorcyclists and include all drivers is an enormous boon to come out of this. I have been asked to help draft the bill in the right way, for all.
There is a lot of work left to be done here before anyone can breathe a sigh of relief.

There will be NO COMPROMISE on discriminatory wording, or confiscation. The bill will include all motorists or face strong opposition. Those on the committee who want to see this happen have stated their position clearly in favor of this. Still, don't let your guard down, don't fall back, hold the line.

COMMITTEE ON INFRASTRUCTURE - All relevant documents are listed here:

http://tinyurl.com/2aqomf

Representative Richard "Rich" Glorioso - Chair rich.glorioso@myfloridahouse.gov District Office:
Suite 204
110 W. Reynolds Street
Plant City, FL 33563-3379
Phone: (813) 757-9110

Representative Gary Aubuchon
gary.aubuchon@myfloridahouse.gov
District Office:
Suite 305
3501 Del Prado Boulevard
Cape Coral, FL 33904-7223
Phone: (239) 344-4900

Representative Susan Bucher
susan.bucher@myfloridahouse.gov
District Office:
Suite 102
2240 Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard
West Palm Beach, FL 33409-3403
Phone: (561) 682-0156

Representative Greg Evers
greg.evers@myfloridahouse.gov
District Office:
5224 Willing Street
Milton, FL 32570-4971
Phone: (850) 983-5550

Representative Ed Hooper
ed.hooper@myfloridahouse.gov
District Office:
Suite 206
2963 Gulf to Bay Boulevard
Clearwater, FL 33759-4259
Phone: (727) 724-3000

Representative Jimmy Patronis
jimmy.patronis@myfloridahouse.gov
District Office:
Suite A
455 Harrison Avenue
Panama City, FL 32401-2775
Phone: (850) 914-6300

Representative Stephen L. Precourt
steve.precourt@myfloridahouse.gov
District Office:
310 South Dillard Street
Suite 400
Winter Garden, FL 34787-3515
Phone: (407) 814-6138

Representative Scott Randolph
scott.randolph@myfloridahouse.gov
District Office:
Suite 100
701 East South Street
Orlando, FL 32801-2953
Phone: (407) 893-3084

Representative Nicholas R. "Nick" Thompson nick.thompson@myfloridahouse.gov District Office:
Suite 208
2120 Main Street
Fort Myers, FL 33901-3010
Phone: (239) 533-2411

Representative Michael Scionti (not present at the hearing and will probably not be involved with this bill in the future) michael.scionti@myfloridahouse.gov
District Office:
Suite 102
4221 North Himes Avenue
Tampa, FL 33607-6228
Phone: (813) 673-4674

Updates to follow as they occur.

Respectfully Submitted,

Dara McLain

***

EXPRESS YOUR OPINION IN THIS ONLINE POLL:

http://www.wkyt.com/news/headlines/13570122.html

***

"The battle for bikers' rights is not about patches, parties or poker runs. We fight to protect the freedom and promote the interests of American motorcyclists ... to defend our right to choose our own modes of transportation, attire and lifestyle ... to deter and defy discrimination against us ... and to vanquish those who violate our rights or right-of-way."--Bruce Arnold

http://ldrlongdistancerider.com/bikers_rights.php

***

Please post your comments and replies here:

http://ldrlongdistancerider.com/forum.php

...I have some very bad news:

Once again, the American Bikers' Rights Movement has been shot in the foot by its own hired guns. According to their press releases appended below, on 28 November 2007 Jeff Hennie (jeff@mrf.org) and James "Doc" Reichenbach II (abatefl@worldnet.att.net)--respectively the paid professional lobbyists for the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) and ABATE of Florida--not only attended but apparently requested what turned out to be a three-hour meeting with Rosenker and some of his NTSB cronies. The meeting was behind closed doors, so the only indications we have as to what transpired are the contents of the press releases.

"So," you may be thinking, "a couple of our lobbyists met with a few meddling Nannycrats, and issued a couple of press releases touting the meeting. What could be wrong with that?"

In this case ... JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING.

This meeting should never have happened. Just by scheduling and attending it, our lobbyists ingratiated Rosenker and cast an air of legitimacy on the out-of-bounds activity of his band of bureaucratic bunglers at the NTSB. Combine that with press release statements from Hennie calling Rosenker a "likeable gentleman" ... and those of Reichenbach indicating a willingness to submit to a quarterly NTSB "meeting of the minds" ... and what these two misguided mouthpieces have done is effectively undermine all of our recent and extensive efforts to keep yet another Nannycratic federal agency from making it their business to help motorcyclists crash safer.

Do you think the U.S. Senators and Congressmen we have been petitioning to clip the NTSB's financial wings and can Mark Rosenker are going to take us seriously when they see our hired guns kowtow so willingly to "The Creepster"? And with Hennie's press release reading like Rosenker's nomination for Motorcycle Safety Czar ... and Reichenbach's written like he already holds the post ... do you think Rosenker loses any sleep worrying about bikers seeking to take his job before he takes any more of our rights?

It does not matter what was said in this meeting, or by whom. The only political agenda our paid lobbyists advanced by attending it was Rosenker's.

Bruce Arnold

Cell phone use while driving is not primary offense.
Cell Phone Law The State of New Jersey has just made driving while using a cell phone a primary offense. This means that a police officer can now pull you over solely because you were talking on the phone. This also includes text messaging.

A conviction (or guilty plea) to this offense will be considered as a conviction/plea for "unsafe driving". While this is a no-point violation, it carries a $250.00 surcharge meaning that this ticket can cost anywhere from $380.00 - $439.00 for a first offense!!

Also, you should all note that this first use of "unsafe driving" has a secondary effect. When you get a speeding ticket or some other moving violation and you go to court to try and get it reduced, the prosecutor may offer a no point reduction to the "unsafe driving"provision.
However, if you previously used on a cell phone charge, your no point fine will now cost well over $500.00. And, once you use this provision for the 2nd time, you must wait 5 years before you use it again. This means that if you burn a no point reduction on a cell phone you will be facing the likelihood of full points on all tickets you get in the 5 year waiting period.

Makes those $40.00 blue tooth headsets seem kind of cheap huh?

If I were you guys, I would expect a cell phone crackdown for a while now that this has gone into effect. With the NJ deficit you can b et they will want all of those $250.00 surcharges they can get their hands on.

ABATE supports this law since it will tend to discourage auto drivers from texting and talking on their cell phones and therefore decreases the chances of an accident with a motorcycle. Motorcyclists do not use cell phones when driving!~

Ms. Adelus,

You are a MURDERER. One of many who cloak their crimes under the false vestment of "professional journalist".

Every time one of you myopic media morons publishes a "news" article assuring the public that motorcycle helmets or mandatory helmet laws are the cure-all for motorcycle safety, you increase the risk of injury or death for millions of responsible motorcyclists by reinforcing the failed public policy focus on crash survival rather than crash prevention. This is supported with facts and logic in this recent letter to some misguided do-gooders:

http://tinyurl.com/yuyrht

Do you know what a "fact" is, Ms. Adelus? Or do you only know how to carelessly or capriciously bastardize them, as you do in your article below? Motorcycle fatality numbers from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ("NHTSA") you erroneously attribute to their USDOT parent. And I'll correct your unsupported "45 percent" claim with this:

Last year there may have been 4,810 motorcycle fatalities that accounted for more than ten percent of all traffic deaths. But by NHTSA's own numbers, of those 4,810 motorcyclists, 2,792 were helmeted, and only 2,018 were not helmeted. In other words, 58% WERE WEARING HELMETS AND DIED ANYWAY. For the remaining 2,018, apply the 37% factor supplied by NHTSA through their illegal lobbying partner, the National Transportation Safety Board ("NTSB")...

http://tinyurl.com/2xjqc6

...and the actual number of lives that might have been saved if ALL riders had been helmeted in ALL 50 states ALL year is only 747. I am not saying that those 747 lives are not important, but the sad fact is that they represent less than 16% of all motorcycle fatalities for 2006. And that being the case, Ms. Adelus, would you please tell me how in the hell you arrived at your ridiculous conclusion that the "...leading cause of those fatalities is the absence of a helmet"?!?

The leading cause of motorcycle fatalities, Ms. Adelus, is NOT the "...absence of a helmet". The leading cause is the absence of motorcycle safety policies focused on crash prevention (aimed at motorists) rather than crash survival (aimed at motorcyclists) ... a condition not likely to be remedied so long as incompetent journalists like you continue to parrot spurious statistics and bureaucratic spin that serve no purpose other than to blame the victims for the crime ... so as to absolve the guilt of negligent, care-less, distracted and impaired motorists who maim and kill motorcyclists by violating our right-of-way. Hopefully, you will hear more about this in the Motorcycle Riders Foundation ("MRF") press conference scheduled for this Thursday in Washington DC (9:15 AM EST November 15th 2007):

http://tinyurl.com/2wjlfx

You may not be holding the gun, Ms. Adelus, but your mis-reporting is helping pull the trigger. And by law, that makes you a MURDERER.

Speaking strictly for myself and no other individuals or organizations,

Bruce Arnold

Bruce@LdrLongDistanceRider.com
Author and Publisher, LdrLongDistanceRider.com Co-Moderator, Bruce-n-Ray's Biker Forum Premier Member, Iron Butt Association Sustaining Member, Motorcycle Riders Foundation
2007 Chairman's Circle, American Motorcyclist Association

Open Letter to NHTSA Administrator Nicole R. Nason ("That's My Money You Are Misusing, Ms. Nason.")
Ms. Nason:

CBS News has quoted you as saying that, in your role as NHTSA Administrator, "I love knowing that at the end of the day, what we are try[ing] to do--what I am trying to do--is make a vehicle safer for my children..."

http://tinyurl.com/2csv5g

...and one need only glance at the "Quick Clicks" section of the new "NHTSA.dot.gov" web pages for evidence of your pursuit of that personal agenda.

If your mission in life is to make automobiles "safer for your children", Ms. Nason, that is admirable. But if that has skewed your focus as to what you are supposed to be doing as the administrator of a 750-employee federal bureacracy spending millions of taxpayer dollars annually, that is unacceptable. Here is what your commitment SHOULD be:

"NHTSA is committed to providing the most accurate and complete information available to its customers, the American traveling public, in a helpful and courteous fashion."

http://tinyurl.com/25bumo

YOU ARE NOT HONORING THAT COMMITMENT, MS. NASON. Since you assumed the position of NHTSA Administrator in May 2006, you have effectively closed off all agency communications with the public or press except through you. As Christopher Jensen of the New York Times reported in "What's Off the Record at N.H.T.S.A.? Almost Everything":

"The agency's new policy effectively means that some of the world's top safety researchers are no longer allowed to talk to reporters or to be freely quoted about automotive safety issues that affect pretty much everybody.... 'My God,' said Joan Claybrook, who was N.H.T.S.A. administrator from 1977 to 1981 and is now president of Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group. Given that N.H.T.S.A. is the leading source of automotive safety information in the United States, its researchers are public officials and people are entitled to 'know what information they have, whether it is on paper or in their heads,' Ms. Claybrook said."

http://tinyurl.com/2xysdz

Given your attempt to avoid public scrutiny by restricting agency-to-media communications, access to information through your NHTSA website becomes all the more crucial. And what has happened there since you took over? A major "upgrade" ... one unnecessary casualty of which was many resource references which are now "broken links" like this one:

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/ncsa/tsf2005/motorcyclestsf05.pdf

SO MUCH FOR "HELPFUL AND COURTEOUS", MS. NASON. Let's now take a look at how you're doing in the "accurate and complete information" department, specifically with respect to this recent report:

DOT HS 810 834 September 2007
Fatal Two-Vehicle Motorcycle Crashes
http://tinyurl.com/273y2f

The stated purpose of this report is to "...analyze fatal two-vehicle motorcycle crashes for trends and crash characteristics using FARS (Fatality Analysis Reporting System) data [and to] identify possible factors relating to the drivers/operators in these crashes [so as to] understand possible causes for these crashes." And what were the findings?

Many of your "findings" in this report are obvious to anyone with a basic knowledge of motorcycling and a little common sense. Of course, "the role of the motorcycle was recorded as the striking vehicle" in most cases! That is what happens when a negligent, care-less, distracted or cellphone conversation-impaired motorist turns left or pulls out in front of a motorcyclist! And of course, "more than 90 percent of the two-vehicle motorcycle crashes involving passenger vehicles occurred on non-interstate roadways"! Roads without median barriers make it easier for irresponsible drivers to violate a motorcyclist's right-of-way!

What wasn't so obvious was the implication of this conclusion on page 7:

"For the passenger vehicle drivers involved in [fatal] two-vehicle motorcycle crashes, 35 percent of the driver-related factor was failure to yield right-of-way compared to only 4 percent for motorcycle operators."

Any cub reporter (wait and see) will interpret that to mean that the automobile driver was at fault in these accidents only 35 percent of the time, which would conversely mean that "it was the biker's fault" 65 percent of the time. Is that what this conclusion was intended to convey, Ms. Nason? Well, you and I know that is neither accurate nor complete information, is it?

The truth can be found, well obfuscated, in Table 22 on page 30. The obfuscation begins with your selection of a data presentation format in which the "...sums of the numbers and percents are greater than the total drivers as each driver may be coded with more than one factor." The obfuscation is perfected by using a doubletalk category breakdown in which driver offenses like making improper turns, failure to keep in proper lane, failure to obey traffic signs or signals, and even driving on the wrong side of road are reported separately and thereby partially or entirely EXCLUDED FROM THE 35 PERCENT RIGHT-OF-WAY VIOLATION STATISTIC. The truth can be found, Ms. Nason, by applying this formula:

1 - ((711 + 26) / 1792) = 0.588727679

Logic precludes any double counting in the "None reported" or "Unknown" categories, and for all other categories, the automobile driver either caused or contributed to the death of the motorcyclist. So the truth is, Ms. Nason, that AUTOMOBILE DRIVERS WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR EITHER CAUSING OR CONTRIBUTING TO THE DEATHS OF AT LEAST 58.87% OF ALL BIKERS KILLED IN TW0-VEHICLE CRASHES IN 2005.

THAT is "accurate and complete information", Ms. Nason. So why isn't THAT statistic included in your report? And how much other "accurate and complete information" that conflicts with your misguided, Haddonistic view of the world...

http://tinyurl.com/2ttq9v

...are you spinning, obfuscating or just outright excluding from all the other "traffic safety information" reports you are fabricating at the taxpayers' expense?

That's MY money you are misusing, Ms. Nason.

Speaking strictly for myself and no other entities or organizations,

Bruce Arnold

Bruce@LdrLongDistanceRider.com
Author and Publisher, LdrLongDistanceRider.com
Co-Moderator, Bruce-n-Ray's Biker Forum
Premier Member, Iron Butt Association
Sustaining Member, Motorcycle Riders Foundation
2007 Chairman's Circle, American Motorcyclist Association

***

"The battle for bikers' rights is not about patches, parties or poker runs. We fight to protect the freedom and promote the interests of American motorcyclists ... to defend our right to choose our own modes of transportation, attire and lifestyle ... to deter and defy discrimination against us ... and to vanquish those who violate our rights or right-of-way."--Bruce Arnold

http://ldrlongdistancerider.com/bikers_rights.php

***

Please post your comments and replies here:

http://ldrlongdistancerider.com/forum.php

NCOM NEWS BYTES
Compiled & Edited by Bill Bish
National Coalition of Motorcyclists

NTSB MISSES THE MARK  The National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM) joins the growing chorus of Motorcyclists Rights Organizations nationwide that take issue with recent recommendations by the National Transportation Safety Board that States enact mandatory helmet laws, and has released the following statement from James D. “Doc” Reichenbach II, Chairman of the NCOM Board of Directors:

“Motorcycle deaths in this country are certainly reaching epidemic proportions. But without conducting a thorough investigation, the NTSB’s claim seems to be it is the motorcyclists’ fault. Is it the motorcyclist’s fault that they choose not to wear helmets and that larger vehicles run over them?

In 2004 Louisiana reinstated their mandatory helmet law. In 2006 the deaths jumped almost 20%. The projection this year is it will jump more than 10% again, reaching record numbers. In Florida since the helmet law was amended the fatality rate for helmet-wearing riders has far exceeded that of non-helmet riders. In fact, in every injury category helmeted riders are suffering more injuries and deaths than helmetless riders. In 2005 more than 59% of the motorcyclist deaths in Florida were helmeted riders. Since 2000 the motorcycle registrations have increased more than 160%. To believe there is no correlation between the increase of registrations and the increase in deaths is just sticking your head in the sand. In other words the NTSB thinks motorcyclists should be forced by law to wear a helmet even though helmeted riders represent 3 out of 5 fatalities.

As far as the motorcycle riders costing the taxpayers money, NCOM certainly does not agree with the statement to CNN about our children’s health, nor do our more than 1,000 NCOM Member Groups across the country. What we are concerned with is the idea that motorcyclists are being neglected as taxpayers and citizens. We are Fathers, Mothers, Sons and Daughters. We are your next-door neighbors and the Veterans who risked their lives to protect this country in time of war. Are we to lose our rights because the NTSB has not done their job of gathering information and instead just makes blanket statements? The NTSB should encourage motorcycle training and educate the non-riding public that motorcycles are out there sharing the road.”

NTSB: Newcomers to Motorcycle Safety

The National Transportation Safety Board has issued some recommendations to the federal government as well as some selected states in an effort to address the rising crash numbers of motorcycles.

The NTSB has engaged motorcycle safety; after only forty years of silence.

The NTSB opened its doors on April 1, 1967. Although independent, it relied on the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for funding and administrative support. In 1975, under the Independent Safety Board Act, all organizational ties to DOT were severed. The NTSB is not part of DOT, or affiliated with any of its agencies.

The NTSB has investigated 124,000 aviation crashes, 10,000 surface transportation crashes (including rail, pipeline and mass transit) and, get ready for this, a whopping six motorcycle crashes. That's a half dozen motorcycle investigations over the past 40 years or just .15 motorcycle crashes a year to put it in government statistic speak.

As the self described "premier safety agency" one would think that they would have a concrete set of instruction when it comes to issuing safety recommendations and they do, for every type of tragic accident except motorcycles. When issuing safety recommendations for most modes of transportation the NTSB relies on it's field investigators, PhD researchers and professional staff to carefully gather information and decipher what is fact from fiction. However, for this set of recommendations the NTSB relied on the tired, antiquated, already existing research on motorcycle safety, which isn't much.

At the September 11, 2007 board meeting they admitted that they had come to the recommendations in a way that was outside of normal operating procedures. Motorcyclists should be deeply disturbed by this lack of consideration and attention. We at the MRF believe that motorcyclists deserve as much consideration as planes, trains, cars and pipelines.

It is fact, the only new findings this lengthy but flimsy set of recommendations are based on were developed after a two day NTSB organized symposium just one year ago and the findings from investigating a paltry six crashes over the past forty years.

One curious omission in the recommendations was in the area of education.
There wasn't even as much as a whisper of education or training, which was a very big part of the two day super symposium last fall. One of the cornerstones of bettering anything is education. To leave out those two important components shows the true depth of these recommendations from the NTSB members and researchers on this matter. So are we to believe that driver's education should be scrapped? What about all the teenagers waiting to drive or the new immigrant who doesn't know the first thing about the rules of the road?

One almost highpoint was when the National Agenda for Motorcycle Safety and it's implementation guide were brought up. These documents have been the best comprehensive guide on motorcycle safety and perhaps the first of its kind to be endorsed by NHTSA, MSF, MRF, AMA and a host of others. The NTSB ordered NHTSA to "re-organize the priorities" in the original document. This is an exercise akin to moving the deck chairs around on the Titanic as she was sinking. NHTSA already gave this their best shot. They signed off on NAMS seven years ago. Why would NHTSA want to re-do a product that they have been standing behind for almost a decade?

In stark contrast to this issue, the NTSB has school bus safety improvements listed on their "most wanted" (read: most needed) list. To date, six states have laws requiring school buses to have safety belts but none have laws requiring them to be worn. Shouldn't child safety be paramount to adult safety? Seems not, according to the NTSB. There isn't even a mention of motorcycle on the "most wanted" list, but you can bet there will be now. Why give so much attention to an issue that wasn't even on the "most wanted" list and operate in a backwards fashion? In this case it is more than likely they rushed into motorcycle safety to cover their proverbial butts. The fact is, it just does not reflect well politically or financially for the premier safety agency - mandated by Congress to investigate motorcycles (as they are airplanes) or not - to sit idly by while motorcycle crashes increase.

The disappointing part is that most of the government agencies and the at-large motorcycle community had been in agreement working together on motorcycle safety. There was a general consensus with the Congress and the Administration that we would work on crash avoidance not injury reduction.
The fact is that fatalities do need to slow down and calling for helmet laws just is not the silver bullet the NTSB believes it to be. The MRF will always focus on crash avoidance before injury reduction.

Most of the other government agencies in Washington DC, the MRF, AMA and many others have come to the realization that crash avoidance is always better than safer crashing. Everyone should all at least agree that avoiding a crash altogether is the best for all involved parties.

The NTSB had an opportunity to engage the motorcycle community in a positive way and build on the work that has already happened. They chose to ignore the history, states rights and any and all motorcycle education possibilities.

For the record the MRF has the utmost respect for the NTSB as an institution and it's staff when it comes to what they do best, planes, trains, bridge and tunnel collapses and mass transit tragedies. However, they are the very last federal safety agency to engage motorcycle safety and as with most late comers, are just trying to catch up and bring too little, too late. The MRF does not doubt the sincerity of the NTSB and it's desire to avoid tragedy and save life. However, it may be best to leave motorcycle safety to those who have a vested interest for the past 80 years; the motorcyclists of America.

The NTSB also pointed out the United States of America is an anomaly when compared to rest of world concerning universal helmet laws. This may be the one thing they got right. The USA is one of, if not the only, country in the developed world with out a universal helmet law. What NTSB fails to recognize is - that is a symbol of so many other things where we are alone in the world. Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness come to mind as well as freedom of speech, religion, and press. Maybe its alright to be the only country that does things its own way, after all its what this country was founded on and it is what has gotten us through the past few hundred years just fine.

The NTSB will be sending their hired gun lobbyists and professional staff to the states that were mentioned in the recommendations. Unlike NHTSA, the NTSB is not subject to a lobby ban, meaning they can lobby your state as they wish for what they wish, all the while using taxpayer money. Make your governors and governor highway safety representatives aware of this.
Let them also know how the NTSB reached it's recommendations with little or no input from the motorcycle community. Let them know that your state doesn't need to take half baked advice from an agency in Washington DC.
This is just another incident of bureaucrats in Washington DC trying to ram regulation down the throats of all 50 states. More of the same from a big government agency in a big government town. Just try to chew slowly.

The MRF will continue to dialogue with the NTSB just as it does with all Federal Agencies that effect motorcycling.

These recommendations do not carry the weight of law. The NTSB has no regulatory or enforcement capabilities. You can read the recommendations, view the board meeting and more at:
http://www.ntsb.gov/events/Boardmeeting.htm

MRF E-MAIL NEWS Motorcycle Riders Foundation
236 Massachusetts Ave. NE
Suite 510
Washington, DC 20002-4980
202-546-0983 (voice)
202-546-0986 (fax)
http://www.mrf.org (website)

Open Letter to NTSB Member Kathryn O'Leary "Kitty" Higgins ... on "Compelling" vs. "Concocted" Statistics

Kathryn O'Leary "Kitty" Higgins
Member, National Transportation Safety Board
429 L'Enfant Plaza
Washington, D.C. 20024
202-314-6000

Ms. Higgins:

I took time away from work long enough to watch the live webcasts of the 9/11/07 and 9/18/07 meetings of the NTSB, both now archived here:

http://tinyurl.com/3y7yb7

While watching our democracy in action through live presentations like these can be enlightening, the perception of rational process they convey may in this case be a thin veneer over the underlying realities of partisan political agenda:

http://tinyurl.com/3djhll

I have previously communicated to NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker, who you may recall was formerly affiliated with Richard Nixon's Committee to Re-Elect the President ("CREEP")...

http://tinyurl.com/2v3u8k

...the fact that the motorcycle registration, vehicle miles traveled, and helmetless rider fatality statistics presented in your sessions to support these recommendations...

http://tinyurl.com/2tmgj6

...were materially misleading and served no purpose other than to cover up the fact that--after twelve months and the expenditure of millions of taxpayer dollars--the NTSB has released "motorcycle safety recommendations" that fail to address the causes of 84 percent of all motorcycle fatalities ... principal among those being the right-of-way violations of motorists who are negligent, careless, distracted and/or impaired by alcohol or cell phone conversations:

http://tinyurl.com/2jcefx

I consider these actions a clear demonstration of bureaucratic inefficiency, neglect of duty, and malfeasance. And on those grounds--pursuant to the provisions of United States Code Title 49, Chapter 11, Subchapter II, Paragraph (c) as I understand them--I am calling for the removal of Mark Rosenker as Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. When that occurs, your Democratic Party affiliation makes it unlikely that President Bush will choose you as Rosenker's successor, and that would appear to be for the best. By that, I mean that having reviewed your resume...

http://tinyurl.com/2t7u4m

...I was relieved to see no overt indications of your being a "Haddonite", or having any prior affiliation with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ("NHTSA"), an agency they infest:

http://tinyurl.com/2ttq9v

That might lessen the likelihood of your direct, personal involvement in what I suspect may be collusion between the NTSB and NHTSA to circumvent the state lobbying restrictions imposed on the latter by TEA-21 (the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century), as reflected in Subchapter I of Chapter 301 of Title 49 of the United States Code:

"(a) In General.--No funds appropriated to the Secretary shall be available for any activity specifically designed to urge a State or local legislator to favor or oppose the adoption of any specific legislative proposal pending before any State or local legislative body."

http://tinyurl.com/2nnz4o

NEVERTHELESS, Ms. Higgins, although you may neither be a Haddonite nor play any role in any possible collusion or conspiracy between the NTSB and NHTSA to override TEA-21, your resume reflects little if any experience or expertise with respect to domestic ground transportation issues in general or motorcycle safety in particular. Of course, yours is not the only NTSB member resume for which such observations can be made. But I focus on you because it may be this very lack of relevant experience and expertise that allowed you to reach the erroneous--and for the American public, unfortunate--conclusion that the motorcycle safety statistics presented by the NTSB staff in your 9/11 meeting were "compelling", when in fact the more appropriate adjective might be "concocted".

Speaking strictly for myself and no other entities or organizations,

Bruce Arnold

Bruce@LdrLongDistanceRider.com
Author and Publisher, LdrLongDistanceRider.com Co-Moderator, Bruce-n-Ray's Biker Forum Premier Member, Iron Butt Association Sustaining Member, Motorcycle Riders Foundation
2007 Chairman's Circle, American Motorcyclist Association

***

"The battle for bikers' rights is not about patches, parties or poker runs. We fight to protect the freedom and promote the interests of American motorcyclists ... to defend our right to choose our own modes of transportation, attire and lifestyle ... to deter and defy discrimination against us ... and to vanquish those who violate our rights or right-of-way."--Bruce Arnold

http://ldrlongdistancerider.com/bikers_rights.php

***

Please post your comments and replies here:

http://ldrlongdistancerider.com/forum.php

Open letter to:
Mark Rosenker (mark.rosenker@ntsb.gov)
Chairman National Transportation Safety Board
429 L'Enfant Plaza
Washington, D.C. 20024
202-314-6000

Mr. Rosenker:

The universal helmet law mandate you proposed this week fails to address the causes of approximately 84 percent of all motorcycle fatalities. Not only do we have the NTSB's admitted issues with understated motorcycle registrations and vehicle miles travelled (VMT) in the demoninators of key NHTSA statistics, you made even greater and more reprehensible misrepresentations by overstating the numerator:

In your Tuesday morning meeting, you and your fellow NTSB members and staff implied that as many as 4,810 motorcycle accident fatalities in 2006 could have been avoided by the enactment of universal motorcycle helmet laws. This was a gross and I suspect intentional overstatement. In 2005, 4,553 motorcyclists died on our highways ... 2,521 (55%) of them were wearing helmets AND DIED ANYWAY ... and of the 2,032 remaining, quoting NHTSA, only "... 728 more [lives] could have been saved if all motorcyclists had worn helmets." Applying those same percentages to the 2006 death toll of 4,810, the maximum number of lives that MIGHT have been saved by helmet laws is only 769, not even 16 percent of the 4,810 you implied. In other words, Mr. Rosenker:

IF THE NTSB MOTORCYCLE SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS RELEASED ON TUESDAY HAD BEEN IN EFFECT NATIONWIDE FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR OF 2006, ONLY 769 LIVES MIGHT HAVE BEEN SAVED, WHILE EIGHTY-FOUR PERCENT (84%) OF THE 4,810 MOTORCYCLISTS WHO DIED ON OUR ROADWAYS WOULD PROBABLY HAVE DIED ANYWAY.

At the same time, as NTSB Chairman you either knew or should have known that (a) we have 236 million cellphone subscribers on our roadways, (b) 73% of them are talking while they are driving, (c) cellphone conversations impair their driving skills as much if they were intoxicated with alcohol, consequently (d) they are four times more likely to cause or be involved in an accident than motorists who responsibly shut up and steer, and resultantly (e) assuming reports of the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office are a reliable measure, roughly ONE IN FOUR ACCIDENTS in 2006 occurred when a driver was talking on the phone. So barring evidence to the contrary, as NTSB Chairman you either knew or should have known that it would be reasonable to assume that cellphone conversation-impaired motorists could have been responsible for 25 percent (or more) of the 2,575,000 traffic injuries and 42,642 traffic fatalities reported by NHTSA for 2006.

And rather than using the taxpayer-provided resources of your bureacratic office to pursue restrictions on the use of cell phones while driving, which might have saved 10,660 lives (25% of 42,642 fatalities) last year, you chose instead to go on what the press calls a mandatory helmet law "crusade", which in comparison might have saved at best only 769 lives. Had you made the responsible choice, Mr. Rosenker, our nation could be saving almost 15 TIMES AS MANY LIVES by restricting the use of cellphones by drivers rather than requiring h