June
2009
News & Notes is a
monthly publication compiled and edited by the American Motorcyclist
Association (AMA) Government Relations Department. Designed to inform
motorcyclists of rights-related issues and events around the world,
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can be sent to Sheila Andrews, AMA Legislative Assistant, by e-mail
at sandrews@ama-cycle.org.
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The Vote is in!
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) stays enforcement of
law banning sale of youth-model motorcycles and ATVs. The CPSC has
voted to stay enforcement of a lead law that currently bans the sale
of youth-model motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). The stay,
which extends through May 1, 2011, follows a unanimous vote by Acting
Chairwoman Nancy Nord and Commissioner Thomas Moore. The AMA
Government Relations Department is currently examining the 25-page
Stay of Enforcement document and will issue more details shortly.
The law in question is the Consumer Product Safety
Improvement Act (CPSIA). Designed to protect children from lead in
toys that might easily end up in children’s mouths, the language of
the legislation has ensnared a number of products that have little
exposure risk, including youth-model motorcycles and ATVs. Despite
the stay, it is unclear whether state attorneys general will also
decline to enforce the CPSIA. The sale of youth-model motorcycles and
ATVs is still technically illegal. Even though a stay means that
dealers would not be subject to fines or penalties imposed by the
CPSC, state attorneys general would still be able to prosecute
violators if they chose to do so.
Source:
www.amadirectlink.com/news/story.asp?id=839
KTM and FMF Racing declare May as “Protect Your
Right to Ride” month. KTM North
America and FMF Racing have partnered together, along with support
from the AMA, BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC), National Off-Highway
Vehicle Conservation Council and the Off-Road Business Association
(ORBA) to declare May “Protect Your Right to Ride” month.
During the month of May, visit a KTM dealer to find out information
about what you can do to protect your right to ride. Each KTM dealer
will supply materials provided by the motorcyclist activist clubs and
organizations that have been fighting for your rights all along.
When you visit your KTM dealer and show your AMA, BRC
and/or ORBA membership card, or choose to sign up for a membership at
the dealership, you will receive an entry toward a chance to win a
brand new KTM 250 XC-FW with an FMF Q4 Titanium exhaust system.
Participants will receive one entry for each of the organizations to
which they belong. For more information, visit www.soundoffmc.com,
a new website designed to provide the latest information about
protecting motorized off-highway recreation.
USDA and Ad Council offer advice on getting faulty
Smokey Bear ad off the air. Late last
summer, after being contacted by the AMA and others, U.S. Forest
Service Chief Abigail Kimbell asked media outlets to stop airing a
Smokey Bear public service announcement (PSA) that unintentionally
implied all all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) pose a fire hazard in
national forests.
Off-highway vehicle organizations complained that the
video not only implied to non-riders that ATVs start forest fires,
but also sent a message to OHV riders that they should stay out of
the forests during the summer.
The Forest Service has agreed to contact those stations
still airing the PSA and request they stop using it, but the Forest
Service needs your help. Please contact the Forest Service with any
details you may have if you see this offensive and erroneous PSA. The
designated contact for this issue is Helene Cleveland, fire
prevention program manager, USDA Forest Service,
hcleveland@fs.fed.us.
Thanks for your help in getting this inappropriate ad completely
removed from the airwaves.
A group of national and state trail advocacy
organizations representing equestrian,
OHV, and bicycling interests recently developed a guide entitled
“Sharing Our Trails – A Guide to Trail Safety and Enjoyment.”
The purpose of the guide is to improve safety and trail satisfaction
for all trail enthusiasts on multiple-use trails. Organizations and
agencies involved in the development of the guide include the
American Motorcyclist Association, American Endurance Ride
Conference, Americans for Responsible Recreational Access, American
Trails, Back Country Horsemen of America, BlueRibbon Coalition,
California State Parks Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division,
Cycle Conservation Club of Michigan, Equestrian Land Conservation
Resource, International Mountain Bike Association, Leave No Trace
Center for Outdoor Ethics, Loomis Basin Horsemen’s Association,
Motorcycle Industry Council, National Off-Highway Vehicle
Conservation Council, Off-Road Business Association, Open Beaches -
Trails, Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association, Specialty
Vehicle Institute of America, Tread Lightly!, United Four Wheel Drive
Associations and United States Forest Service. The guide can be found
on numerous websites, including
www.atvaonline.com/news/story.asp?id=826.
Rider Eye Tracking Research Program Announced:
Dynamic Research Inc. and the Team Oregon Motorcycle Safety Program
at Oregon State University have teamed up to conduct research on
motorcyclists’ eye tracking habits. This research, funded by the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is currently
underway. Each year, nearly half of all motorcycle fatalities are due
to single vehicle crashes. Many of these crashes are due to
motorcyclists’ failure to negotiate curves properly. Preliminary
research has shown that riders do not look far enough ahead through
curves and that this might be a contributing factor of single vehicle
crashes at curves. This research strives to identify the role of
sight distance and rider-scanning habits in curves, hazard
identification, and crash avoidance. The subject groups will be
evaluated on a closed course and the open road for the initial spring
2009 testing period, then again following six months and 12 months of
riding experience.
Version 2.0 of the Motorcycle Accident In Depth
Study (MAIDS) is now available at
www.maids-study.eu.
It includes a new presentation of the data with a split between
mopeds (L1) and motorcycles (L3) in both chapters, chapter 3.0
General Accident Characteristics and chapter 10.0 Rationale for
Action. Furthermore, ACEM published the Multivariate Analysis of
Fatal Accident in MAIDS. This report describes the results of a
multivariate analysis of the in-depth motorcycle accident data
collected during the MAIDS project. Data have been presented
according to all powered two-wheelers (PTW), as well as L1 and L3
vehicle categories where appropriate.
There is still time to take the ATVA Rider Survey:
As part of an ongoing effort to help shape the All-Terrain Vehicle
Association (ATVA) into a national ATV riders’ rights association,
and to more effectively communicate with state and local
organizations, a user survey has been created. The survey can be
found at http://tinyurl.com/c3r93x
or www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=fMQoeaRtVFZcCIbYImilwA_3d_3d.
As an added incentive, respondents will be eligible to receive one of
five $50 gift certificates to Rocky Mountain ATV and Motorcycle
(www.rockymountainatv.com).
This survey will be accessible until May 25, 2009. Please tell every
ATV rider you know that the ATVA needs their feedback to shape the
future of ATVA.
Sacramento, Calif.: Senate Bill 435, sponsored
by Senator Fran Pavley (D-32nd
District) would mandate motorcycle smog testing for all model year
2000 and newer class III bikes (over 280cc). As proposed, the test
would be implemented in 2012 despite the lack of any evidence that
motorcycles are a significant source of mobile emissions statewide.
In fact, California’s motorcycle engine emission standards are
already the strictest in the nation, and were just reduced again for
model year 2008 and newer motorcycles.
Go to
http://capwiz.com/amacycle//issues/alert/?alertID=12937506
to send an e-mail to the state legislature opposing this unwarranted
proposal. Current program cost estimates include spending more than
$400,000 just to modify the DMV’s vehicle registration computer
system to identify motorcycles that would be required to take the
test.
Oceano, Calif.: A lawsuit has been filed seeking to
close the popular Oceano Dunes State
Vehicular Recreation Area (ODSVRA). The Center for Biological
Diversity (CBD) recently filed a formal notice of intent to sue the
California Department of Parks and Recreation over its ongoing
authorization of motorized vehicle use at the popular recreation site
for alleged mortality of wintering snowy plovers, a threatened
species of bird. The ODSVRA, located in southern San Luis Obispo
County, includes approximately 1,500 acres of sand dunes and 5.5
miles of beach areas open for use by motorized vehicles.
The site is operated and managed by the Department of
Parks and Recreation’s Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division.
Street-legal vehicles can be operated on the beach in the entire
Recreation Area, while the southern portion is also open to
off-highway vehicles and camping. The notice announced the CBD’s
intent to sue the Department if it fails to take action to prevent
injury to snowy plovers.
Ride to Work Day turnout expected to increase.
This year’s 18th commuting demonstration event, to be held on Monday,
June 15, is expected to double the number of riders on the road,
according to Ride to Work, a non-profit advocacy organization.
According to the United States Census Bureau and the
Department of Transportation, more than 80 million cars and light
trucks are used for daily commuting on American roads, and about
200,000 motorcycles and scooters are a regular part of this mix. On
Ride To Work Day, the practical side of riding becomes more visible
as a larger number of America’s 8 million cycles and scooters are
ridden to work.
Ride to Work Day shows how riding makes parking easier
and helps traffic flow better. Motorcycles and scooters consume fewer
resources per mile than automobiles, and they take up less space in
parking areas and on roads. Riders seek employer support for this
form of transportation, and increased government and public awareness
about riding’s many benefits.
More information about Ride to Work Day can be found at:
www.ridetowork.org/
Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area (ISDRA)
fee increase
proposed. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) believes that an
increase in visitor fees is necessary due to the requirement to
provide trash service, increased road maintenance expense, other
economy-based increases, and a reduction in revenue due to reduced
permit sales. This fee increase would be effective as of Oct. 1,
2009. The BLM will present its recommendations to the California
Recreation Resource Advisory Committee (RRAC) on May 13, 2009, in
Vallejo, Calif. Written comments can be submitted prior to the
meeting for consideration by the RRAC. For more information regarding
this proposal go to:
www.fs.fed.us/r5/passes/rrac/meetings/may2009/blm6.php.
The Utah Trail Machine Association (UTMA),
in partnership with the Utah Four Wheel Drive Association (U4WDA), is
reviving its annual clean-up day at Five Mile Pass and would like to
invite your organization to join them this Memorial Day
weekend on Saturday, May 23, at the main Five Mile Pass staging area.
This event is being sponsored by the UTMA and the U4WDA
and the organizations would like to be able to include your club as a
co-sponsor. The event has the full cooperation of the Bureau of Land
Management and the Department of Natural Resources. To learn more
about the event, visit UTMA at www.utma.net/
and click on High Five Project at Five Mile Pass.
Source:
www.utma.net/home/content/high-five-5-mile-cleanup
Rancho Cordova, Calif.: World famous
Rubicon Trail to remain open. The
Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board voted unanimously
to issue a Cleanup and Abatement Order (CAO) to El Dorado County and
the Eldorado National Forest for the Rubicon Trail that sustains
continued motorized recreation while also enhancing stewardship of
the trail. More than 300 recreationists were present at the recent
public hearing, providing a reminder to members of the water board
just how much members of the public care about this cherished trail.
The revised CAO is a much less prescriptive order than originally
proposed, and calls for general consideration and planning but does
not mandate specific actions, instead requiring the county and the
Forest Service to work together to meet the specified timelines.
Source: www.rubicontrailfoundation.org/
Posted by illinoisbiker 
Posted by illinoisbiker 
Posted by illinoisbiker 