THE AIM/NCOM MOTORCYCLE E-NEWS SERVICE is brought to you by Aid to Injured Motorcyclists(A.I.M.) and the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM), and is sponsored by the LawOffices of Richard M. Lester. For more information, call us at 1-(800) ON-A-BIKE orvisit us on our website at
NCOM COAST TO COAST BIKER NEWS
Compiled and Edited by Bill Bish, National Coalition of Motorcyclists
NEW MEXICO REPEALS HELMET LAW Okay, we all know New Mexico doesn’t have a helmet law,right? Wrong. Or at least they had one up until the town of Sunland Park repealed theircity helmet ordinance recently under heavy pressure from the motorcycling community.
Sunland Park is a border town located at the corner of old Mexico, Texas, and New Mexico,and it’s one of the most scenic roads in the state. The city boasts a casino and horsetrack, and until recently, a helmet law, despite the fact that New Mexico doesn’t have amandatory helmet law. It’s a popular riding destination, particularly for Texasmotorcyclists before their state repealed the helmet law.
Sunland Park was the only remaining municipality in any state to enact and maintain amandatory helmet requirement for all riders and passengers, despite state law that allowsadult freedom of choice. The statewide helmet law only pertains to riders under age 18,but because of “Home Rule” provisions in New Mexico, cities can pass laws that contradictthose of the state.
“Enticed by state grant money which provided police equipment and payroll to staff onepolice officer for three years, Sunland Park, during tough times, found the offer toogood to resist,” explained Eugene Heathman, Chairman of the New Mexico Confederation ofClubs and a member of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club. “Since that time, the helmetordinance ruffled some feathers as being selectively enforced and arbitrary.”
On March 19th, 2002; through the collective efforts of the New Mexico Confederation ofClubs, New Mexico Motorcyclists Rights Organization, ABATE of New Mexico, West TexasConfederation of Clubs, and the Texas Motorcycle Rights Association (TMRA2), the SunlandPark City Council voted unanimously to repeal the current language of the ordinance.
With support from Mayor Jesus Segura and several council members, new language to theordinance was adopted mirroring current New Mexico State regulations, with the amendmentthat “all persons under the age of twenty-one, whether operating or riding as a passengeron a motorcycle, shall at all times wear a helmet.”
“We had lobbied the city council since January of this year,” says Revvv, of ABATE. “Itwas the last universal mandatory helmet law in the entire Southwest. The State of Texas,City of Edmonton (OK), and the Navajo Nation (approximately the size of West Virginia)all repealed or modified their?s in the past five years.”
A well-deserved celebration is planned to honor Sunland Park’s decision to respectrider’s freedom and in appreciation for the city’s past support of charity motorcycleevents.
MOTORCYCLE AWARENESS NEEDED, NOT HELMETS In one of the more positive, and factual,newspaper articles to come out of Daytona Bike Week, Greg Martin had this to say abouthelmets and motorcycle safety, excerpted from his article “Helmets, Drivers, Factors InBike Wrecks,” which appeared in the March 18, 2002 edition of the Charlotte Sun-Herald.
Ever since the Florida Legislature repealed a state law that required motorcyclists towear helmets, news reports of motorcycle crashes inevitably report on whether the riderwas wearing a helmet.
That’s true also in the recent motorcycle wreck that claimed the life of Timothy G.Spieldenner, 41, of Port Charlotte, who was not wearing a helmet, according to reports.
But statistics gathered since July 2000, when the helmet law was repealed, are unclearwhether helmets are safer. That may be because motorcycle crashes are dangerous with orwithout helmets.
The statistics also show that in 80 percent of motorcycle crashes, the drivers of othervehicles, such as cars and trucks, were issued the citations.
Some 86 percent of motorcycle wrecks result in rider injuries and 4 percent in death,according to state highway department statistics for 2000.
To members of the American Bikers Aiming Toward Education, a biker organization known asABATE that Spieldenner had recently joined, the statistics point to the need to educateother drivers to watch out for motorcycles.
“Doc” Reichenbach, state legislative affairs director for ABATE of Florida, said he metwith Governor Jeb Bush last week to discuss the need to improve motorist awareness. Themeeting came after Reichenbach lost two friends to motorcycle wrecks. In one wreck inFort Myers last year, the driver of a car that struck the motorcyclist was issued a $62citation, Reichenbach said. “The governor told us he would work with us on motorcyclesafety.”
The number of motorcycles in the state climbed from 185,000 in 1993 to 250,000 in 2000. Most of the increase came in the past three years.
The state’s current helmet law allows riders who are at least 21 and possess $10,000 inhealth insurance to ride without helmets. The law became effective in July 2000.
The department’s statistics for 2000 show the number of motorcycle crashes declined 8percent in the six months after the helmet law was repealed, but the number of fatalitiesrose by 4.5 percent.
Reichenbach is quick to point to other numbers. For example, fatal motorcycle wrecks atBike Week peaked in 2000 at 15 — before the helmet law was repealed. Seven were killedat the event in 2001, and nine in 2002.
But for motorcyclists, it’s not about the numbers — it’s about freedom of choice. “Istill feel it’s our God-given right under the Constitution of the United States and theDeclaration of Independence to ride without a helmet,” Reichenbach said.
NOTE: In addition to his duties as President and Lobbyist for ABATE of Florida, Inc.,”Doc” Reichenbach also serves as the Chairman of the Board for the National Coalition ofMotorcyclists (NCOM).
This lengthy article was condensed for the sake of space. For a copy of the completearticle, including numerous statistics appearing therein, please e-mail Bill Bish atNCOM, at bish@aimncom.com, or call the NCOM office at (800) 525-5355.
WASHINGTON ENJOINED FROM HARASSING BIKERS After being stopped numerous times by policefor bogus reasons, masking for intelligence gathering on local motorcycle clubs, aWashington biker turned to A.I.M. (Aid to Injured Motorcyclists) Attorney Martin Fox,legal counsel for the Confederation of Clubs of Washington, for advice and legalassistance. Following is Marty’s report on this situation;
To the Motorcycle Community:I am sending this to update you on what is happening with our lawsuit against theWashington State Patrol, the Washington Department of Licensing, and Trooper KennethDePretto. We sued the State and officer DePretto for a number of claims includinginjunctive relief, a violation of the national Civil Rights Act section 1983, a violationof the Washington State Constitution Article One Section 7, and common-law claims offalse imprisonment and false arrest. The case was scheduled to go to trial on April 15,2002. The State made a motion for dismissal of all claims by summary judgment scheduledfor hearing on March 29, 2002.
At the hearing the court made a number of rulings and struck the trial date to becontinued to a later time. The court granted our motion for injunctive relief andenjoined the State of Washington and Trooper DePretto from using “Biker 101” in stoppingmotorcyclists and in particular motorcycle club members. The court found that any fairreading of the document indicated that the procedures recommended in the outline were forintelligence purposes and harassment of bikers. The court dismissed the civil rightsclaims under section 1983 and under the Washington State Constitution. The 1983 civilrights claims were dismissed because of a case called Whren vs. United States which foundthat pretextual stops were permitted as long as the arresting officer had some trafficviolation or other reason to stop the motorists that he could fall back on.
Pretextual stops are not permitted in the State of Washington under the Ladson case as aviolation of the Washington State Constitution. However, a recent December 24, 2001 casecalled Blinka vs. W.S.B.A. found that a claim for damages is not authorized for aviolation of rights granted under the Washington State Constitution. The tort claims forfalse arrest and imprisonment were dismissed because the judge determined that a bikercould be stopped for a helmet, exhaust, or handlebar violation and that those arrestsallowed the officer to check our client’s driving record for violations. In our case,after the biker was stopped, the officer determined from a license check that thecomputer records demonstrated that his license was suspended because of violations inOregon which, according to the court, allowed him to be arrested. The court found thatthe officer does not have to go beyond the computer records to verify them.
The action against the Washington State Department of licensing is still moving forward. The issue of whether or not our client’s license was suspended when he was arrestedstill may go to trial. I am going to attempt to get a ruling from the court which willdetermine whether or not Oregon can impose motorcycle insurance on Washington residentsas a result of a violation of Oregon law.
Obviously, this case would have been appealed sooner or later. However, it seems as ifit will be appealed sooner depending on the wishes of my clients. I think we have anexcellent record to go up on appeal, perhaps, even a superior record to a trial becausethere are no extraneous issues that could obfuscate the constitutional questions here.
This is simply a case of a motorcyclist wearing club identification who is consistentlystopped by the State patrol for bogus helmet, exhaust, and handlebar violations becausethe officer is gathering intelligence and wants to harass clubs. The court in its oralruling declared that he knew this was the case destined for the Washington State SupremeCourt up the street from his courtroom. I believe given the current climate in the stateand the fiscal issues existing in Olympia, the judge probably took the easiest way outand made a ruling that would save the state money, but he still gave us our injunctionbecause I believe he realized how terrible Ed was treated and wanted to stop thepractice. To be continued?
VIRGINIA GETS TOUGH WITH DRIVERS WHO KILL BIKERS What?s A Mother To Do? If you are aVirginia mom named Jody Patterson, you get really MAD!! Ms. Patterson got mad when herson, Adam Svihla, was killed by a motorist who turned in front of Adam?s motorcycle lastSeptember.
To make matters worse, in January at the trial of the other driver, for negligentlykilling a biker he was fined $200 plus court costs for failing to yield right of way.
Bet that really hurt his pocketbook. He will have to skip a day trip to a theme parkto pay for killing another human being. See anything wrong with this picture?
Jim Spencer of the Daily Press in Newport News, where the crash occurred, was also hackedoff. “Whenever violations of traffic laws take human lives, justice demands that thepeople responsible forfeit their driving privileges at least temporarily. If the lawdoesn’t allow for that in all fatal accidents, then the law should be changed,” wroteSpencer.
Ms. Patterson proceeded to lobby Virginia’s legislature for a law that would allow judgesto suspend a motorist’s driver’s license for up to a year for causing a fatal crash. Virginia State lawmakers have now approved such a bill.
Jody Patterson knows first hand what we’ve been saying for years, “Your ONE VOTE counts!” In this case, her vote was her voice and action. She put down the TV remote long enoughto take action, promote her agenda, and she prevailed. We should all learn from herlesson. Put down the remote! Get out and VOTE!
And we’re Not Alone in the never-ending quest for our rights. In Washington State, theWashington Road Riders Association is supporting a bill that would make it a felonyoffense, vehicular assault, if a car driver operates his/her car with disregard for thesafety of others and causes substantial bodily harm to another. Similar politicalactions are occurring in New Jersey, New York, Missouri, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Be comforted in the knowledge that we are not the only ones working toward our commongoals. Be invigorated knowing that we all are having successes in our efforts. Keep upthe Good Work!
A Message From SPUTNIK,Founder, TMRA-II and Member of the National Coalition of Motorcyclists Legislative TaskForce (NCOM-LTF)
WEIRD NEWS OF THE MONTH: WHAT?S YOUR SIGN? A new survey of Australian accident insuranceclaims suggests Geminis are the most likely to have a crash. The survey of Australianaccident insurance claims shows drivers born under the Zodiac sign of Taurus and Piscescome in second and third.
Suncorp Metway’s survey shows Capricorns are least likely to have accidents.
“Geminis, typically described as restless, easily bored and frustrated by things movingslowly, had more car accidents than any other sign,” Warren Duke, Suncorp’s nationalmanager of personal insurance, told The Courier-Mail.
Taureans are thought to be stubborn and inflexible, Pisceans are risk-takers anddare-devils, while Capricorns are generally thought of as patient, he added. The studyis based on 160,000 car accident insurance claims over the last three years. The fulllist, starting with the most accident-prone star sign, is as follows: Gemini, Taurus,Pisces, Virgo, Cancer, Aquarius, Aries, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, Scorpio, and Capricorn.
The company isn’t planning to base its premiums on people’s star sign.
QUOTABLE QUOTES: “All progress has resulted from people who took unpopular positions.”ADLAI STEVENSON (1900-1965) U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations 1961-65Democratic Presidential candidate in 1952 and 1956
