TRANSPORTATION CHIEF CALLS FOR HELMET USE
U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters sent legislation to Congress on February 14th seeking to divert funding from rider training and motorcycle awareness funds to promote helmet use.
According to the Department of Transportation, the legislation submitted to Congress would allow states to use federal motorcycle safety funding to promote the use of motorcycle helmets. Currently, states are limited to using the funds for motorcycle safety training and awareness programs only.
In spite of a Congressional ban on the federal agency lobbying state legislatures in favor of passing helmet laws, Secretary Peters wrote letters to House and Senate leaders “seeking greater flexibility for states to target one of the leading causes of motorcycle deaths across the nation – riding without a helmet.”
“Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters is requesting an amendment to allow the SAFETEA-LU Section 2010 Grant funds to be used to promote helmet use in a letter sent to President of Senate Dick Cheney and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi,” explained Sputnik, Chairman of the National Coalition of Motorcyclists Legislative Task Force (NCOM-LTF). “This is nothing more than a raid on a fund that was intended for motorcycle awareness and education. Motorcyclists across the nation fought hard for many years to get this grant money and the outlines for its usage were hammered out and agreed upon.”
Consider writing letters to your Senators and Representatives asking them to do the following:
1. Write Secretary Peters and request she withdraw her proposed amendment.
2. Speak with your legislators against this letter in an attempt to gather votes against this amendment if she does not withdraw it and it becomes a written bill.
INCREASED GLOBAL DEMAND FOR MOTORCYCLES FORECAST
Global demand for motorcycles is projected to exceed 59 million unites in 2011. According to a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry market research firm, the demand for motorcycles is forecast to advance 6.0 percent annually to 59 million units in 2011, representing $49 billion in manufacturers' sales. “This growth emanates from a mix of developed market incremental improvements and emerging market expansions,” quoted the independent report released February 7th. “Demand for all categories of motorcycles is expected to remain healthy, despite the plateauing of growth in key markets such as China, which is rapidly transitioning away from motorcycles and toward cars for its transportation needs.”
These and other trends, including market share and company profiles, are presented in "World Motorcycles", a market research study conducted by The Feedonia Group, an unbiased international business analyst with Fortune 500 clientele. The most rapid growth will occur in developing markets, where rising income levels and the introduction of higher quality machines featuring the latest technologies will fuel demand.
“This growth will be tempered in part by the increasing number of restrictions or outright bans on motorcycle use in urban areas in Asia,” according to their research. “In developed markets, fuel prices and increasing restrictions on car use in some regions such as Western Europe are stoking interest in the exceptional fuel economy and cost effectiveness motorcycles offer. While the market for large and expensive high displacement motorcycles will also remain moderately strong, concerns regarding future demand have emerged due to the aging of the customer base, especially in the United States and Western Europe.”
Two separate motorcycle markets exist, as broken down in the report. The first centers on the industrialized Triad (the US, Japan and Western Europe), where motorcycles are seen as pleasure vehicles. The other, much larger market in unit terms exists in the emerging economies of Asia, Latin America and the Africa/Mideast region, where motorcycles are seen as primary family and work vehicles. “While Asia is dominant in terms of unit volume, most key players derive far higher revenues per unit from sales in developed markets such as North America,” says the study.
VISION ZERO
An international conference has been convened to investigate methods of eliminating all risk on the roads, and the possibility of eliminating motorcycles as well. Government transport advisors from across the European Union gathered in Brussels for the three-day conference beginning February 12th, called: “Safe Highways of the Future… exploring technologies and changes required to enable zero deaths on Europe’s roads to become a reality.”
Presenters included Swedish transport advisor Claes Tingvall who devised the “Vision Zero” transportation policy. Vision Zero aims to eliminate all deaths on the roads through technology, and Tingvall famously said on TV: “There is no room for motorcycles in Vision Zero.”
Rune Elvik, a Norwegian transport advisor, recently said a debate was needed on whether motorcycles should be allowed on the roads in order for Vision Zero to progress.
Topics of the conference included “Safer Vehicles By Design”.
BRITISH MOTORCYCLE INDUSTRY DEMANDS BETTER TREATMENT FOR BIKERS
United Kingdom motorcycle industry leaders want the British government, legislators, local authorities and transport planners to treat motorcycling as a serious, relevant alternative to cars, buses and trains. David Taylor, chief executive of the UK Motor Cycle Industry Association, made this plain only days after news of an 8.6 percent rise in motorcycle, scooter and moped registrations in 2007 – the biggest jump in seven years. "There are more than 1.2-million powered two-wheelers on UK roads," he told media sources on January 22, 2008. "After several years of flat sales, there are strong indications that people are seeing PTW's as practical, relevant personal transport They are part of the solution to traffic congestion and pollution - it's time motorcyclists were properly considered and treated seriously 'There are more than 1.2-million powered two-wheelers on UK roads'."
"All too often car owners, commercial vehicles and public transport take priority while those on two wheels are ignored or an afterthought," Taylor added. "We want equality and the incentives that come with the recognition that PTW's ease traffic and parking congestion, reduce emissions and provide reliable and efficient personal transport."
In particular, the MCIA wants:
Government transport policies that acknowledge PTW's as a viable alternative to tackle congestion and CO2.
Better roads and faster and more efficient road maintenance.
An end to an unforgiving road infrastructure clearly designed with not all road users in mind.
The promotion of PTW's as a legitimate and relevant congestion-busting means of travel, including their exemption from road pricing, parking and congestion charges, access to bus lanes and secure parking.
A lower scale of vehicle excise duty; no motorcycle should be taxed more than the smallest car.
The UK government announced a motorcycle strategy in 2005 but little had been done with implementation. PTW's were almost ignored in the government's latest core transport policy paper “Towards a Sustainable Transport Policy”. This, Taylor said, was not good enough.
"The industry feels, despite warm words from ministers, 'mainstreaming' of motorcycling in transport policy isn't happening. There should be no barriers to the development of motorcycling, better protection for riders and recognition of motorcycling as a legitimate form of transport."
BIKIES INVITED INTO AUSTRIALIAN PARLIAMENT FOR DEBATE
Members of the Gypsy Jokers, Finks and Hells Angels were among guests at Parliament House for a February 8th briefing on new laws being introduced by the State Government to combat outlaw motorcycle clubs, and Democrats MP Sandra Kanck plunged herself into controversy by inviting the “bikies” to participate in the debate.
MP Kanck defended the presence of the outlaw motorcycle club members saying people who are affected by legislation should be consulted before it becomes law. The seminar was organized by Ms Kanck to highlight concerns the legislation will unfairly target people who are not involved in criminal acts, such as bikers who belong to the Longriders Christian Motorcycle Club who’s homes have been raided by police during anti-bikie efforts.
Under the laws, scheduled to be debated soon in the House of Assembly, South Australians who have contact with bikies at least six times a year will face a minimum of five years in jail. The Serious and Organised Crime (Control) Bill 2007 also will enable the Police Commissioner, Mal Hyde, to obtain orders from the Attorney-General, Michael Atkinson, declaring bikie gangs illegal.
Anyone involved with the gangs, or who has any contact with them, can then be served with orders restricting their movements based on police intelligence, which must remain secret.
Prominent criminal defense lawyer Craig Caldicott told the gathering that the new laws were an attempt "to use a sledgehammer to crack a walnut."
"They are basically an overkill," Caldicott said. "It is the only piece of legislation in Australia aimed at a group of people who wear leather jackets."
COLORS SOUGHT FOR MOTORCYCLE MUSEUM
The Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame is seeking vests with patches to expand an existing exhibit about motorcycle clubs. “I'm looking to reach out to Motorcycle Clubs who might be willing to have their colors on display,” said Christine Paige Diers, Executive Director of the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame in South Dakota.
“One of the exhibits we've had on display for the last six to eight months is an exhibit about Motorcycle Clubs,” explained Diers. “As part of the exhibit, we had a number of vests with patches representing a variety of clubs. Unfortunately, the owner of those patches has reclaimed his collection. We're in the process of trying to rebuild the display and are looking for clubs that might be interested.”
The idea of this exhibit is to educate the public about the history of motorcycling and present a fair-minded representation of motorcycle clubs in their many forms, she said. “I'd like to rebuild the exhibit with themed sections to display, including women's clubs, family oriented clubs, law enforcement clubs and veterans clubs.”
Anyone interested in loaning a jacket, vest or patch, or even a photo, to the museum for a time period of one to two years, along with a brief club description or history, should contact her at christine@sturgismuseum.com or phone 605-347-2001.
WEIRD NEWS: CRASH ABSORBER INVENTED FOR MOTORCYCLES
A new design of crash absorber can combat the type of accident where motorcyclists run into something and are then killed by the bike pivoting over the front wheel and impacting on the rider. Iranian inventor Mohammad Hassan Shorabi has come up with a construction that absorbs some of the impact energy and transfers the residue of the impact reaction force to the back axle. He has incorporated the idea into a child’s bike so it can travel as personal airline baggage. It comprises a strong construction that projects just forward of the front wheel and is able to slide down the main body of the bike as the various parts of it collapse, bend and break. Shorabi has installed it on two different motorcycles, and a friend “without mind” tested it by riding it into a wall – and survived the experience. |
