NCOM Coast To Coast Biker News for May 2017

THEAIM/NCOM MOTORCYCLE E-NEWS SERVICE is broughtto you by Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (A.I.M.) and the NationalCoalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM), and is sponsored by the LawOffices of Richard M. Lester. If you’ve been involved inany kind of accident, call us at 1-(800) ON-A-BIKE or visit www.ON-A-BIKE.com.

Like“The Biggest Little City in the World,” thisyear’s 32nd annual NCOM Convention in Reno NV may haveexperienced a slight reduction in numbers, but it continues to be thelargest gathering of bikers’ rights advocates on the planetwith hundreds of representatives from Motorcyclists RightsOrganizations (MROs), clubs and associations across thecountry.

TheNational Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM) board of directors movedto broaden the spectrum of programs aimed to assist bikers’rights groups while expanding outreach to active segments of themotorcycling community such as the Confederations of Clubs, womenriders, clean & sober, Christian Unity, sportbikers, tourersand veterans.  The NCOM Legislative Task Force likewise tookaction to provide supportive services on the legislative front, whilethe Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (AIM) nationwide network of bikerattorneys continually develops new strategies for litigation on alitany of motorcyclingissues.

Inaddition to meetings and breakout sessions conducted Mother’sDay Weekend, May 11-14 at the Silver Legacy casino, the NCOMConvention featured seminars on Federal Anti-Profiling Legislation,Civil Rights And How To Protect Them, Driverless Vehicles, and aspecial presentation by Sr. EMT Instructor Slider Gilmore on“The DiabeticRider”.

Duringthe Silver Spoke Awards Banquet on Saturday evening, several honoreeswere recognized for their contributions to “Improving TheImage of Motorcycling”, including; GOVERNMENT: U.S. SenatorJodi Ernst of Iowa;  MEDIA: Scott & Denise High ofThunder Roads Magazine – Tennessee;  LEGAL: ChristopherSlater, AIM Attorney for Oregon & Washington; ENTERTAINMENT: Frank Fritz of “American Pickers”TV Show;  SPECIALRECOGNITION: Stephen Stubbs, NCOM Attorney – Nevada; andNCOM’s highest honor, the Ron Roloff Lifetime AchievementAward, was presented to Boar, NCOM Liaison for Confederation ofClubs.

Nextyear’s 33rd Annual NCOM Convention willbe held May 10-13, 2018 at the Renaissance – RiverviewPlaza Hotel in Mobile, Alabama.  For further information,contact NCOM at (800) ON-A-BIKE or visit www.ON-A-BIKE.com.

Abipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers introduced a resolution toaddress the issue of motorcycle profiling and promote collaborationbetween the motorcycle and law enforcement communities. U.S.Representatives Tim Walberg (R-MI), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Michael C.Burgess, M.D (R-TX) and Collin Peterson (D-MN) led the effort in theHouse (H.Res. 318), and U.S. Senators Ron Johnson (R-WI) and JeanneShaheen (D-NH) introduced the Senate version(S.Res.154).

“Thisbipartisan resolution should send a clear message to relevantregulatory and law enforcement agencies across the country:motorcycle profiling has no place on our roads. Instead, we mustfoster collaboration and cooperation between these agencies and theriders in order to promote safety and ensure all motorists aretreated fairly under the law,” stated Rep. Pocanin a press release issued by Rep. Walberg, co-chair of the HouseMotorcycle Caucus.

“Fromcoast to coast, Americans of all backgrounds responsibly ride amotorcycle as their means of transportation or simply to enjoy theopen road.  This bipartisan resolution aims to raiseawareness about the reality of motorcycle profiling and foster anopen dialogue between motorcyclists and lawenforcement,” said Walberg.

H.Res.318– “Promoting awareness of motorcycle profilingand encouraging collaboration and communication with the motorcyclecommunity and law enforcement officials to prevent instances ofprofiling,” has been referred to the House JudiciaryCommittee, and defines profiling as; “motorcycle profilingmeans the illegal use of the fact that a person rides a motorcycle orwears motorcycle related apparel as a factor in deciding to stop andquestion, take enforcement action, arrest, or search a person orvehicle with or without legal basis under the Constitution of theUnitedStates.”

Since2009, the Congressional Motorcycle Caucus has provided a forum formembers of Congress who ride to support motorcyclists “througheducation and awareness in order to encourage responsiblemotorcycling.”  The CMC also “serves toensure that the motorcycling community is treated equitably byCongress as it considers infrastructure and environmental policies,as well as safety and educationprograms.”

U.S.Representatives Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Michael C. Burgess, M.D.(R-TX) head the caucus, and with the new Congress being recentlyseated the two sent a “Dear Colleague” letter totheir peers in the U.S. House of Representatives soliciting CMCmemberships from those who ride or have an interest in motorcycleissues: “We invite you to join the CMC to help promotethese and other initiatives,” and in addition to promotingsound policy, “CMC members can help highlight the safety ofmotorcyclists through the recognition of Motorcycle Awareness Month,hosting and participating in industry fly-ins, drawing attention tothe national ‘Ride to Work Day,’ promoting riderawareness and safety at national events — such as the SturgisMotorcycle Rally and Summer X Games — ensuring motorcycle safety isremembered in the transportation reauthorization process, and workingto remind operators to be aware of motorcycles with whom they sharethe roads andhighways.”

Ifhe or she rides, please encourage your Congressional Representativeto join the CMC by contacting Rep. Burgess’ office at5-7772 or Rep. Walberg at5-6276.

Afederal bill has been introduced in the 115th Congress “toestablish a program to accurately document vehicles that weresignificant in the history of the UnitedStates.”

TheNational Historic Vehicle Register Act of 2017 (S.966) was introducedApril 27, 2017 by U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Rob Portman(R-OH) and would require the U.S. Department of the Interior tocreate a register housed in the Library of Congress to preserveexamples of historically significant automobiles, motorcycles, trucksand commercialvehicles.

Thisproject is the first of its type to create a permanent archive ofsignificant historic vehicles that would include short narratives,photographs and engineering drawings of each vehicle.  To beeligible for the register, vehicles must be connected to asignificant person or event in American history, have a unique designor be a rare model.

TheSenate bill has been referred to the Committee on Energy and NaturalResources.

 

ANorth Dakota district court judge has dismissed a liquor sales chargeagainst a Minot motorcycle club, following motions to dismiss filedby Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (A.I.M.) Attorney Justin Vinje andthe prosecutingattorney.

TheIce Cold Ryders Motorcycle Club had been charged with engaging in theunlicensed sale of alcohol at their clubhouse.  A policeinvestigation of a nearby disturbance during the morning of November29, 2015, led law enforcement to peer inside the clubhouse during asocial gathering.

Inside,officers saw a large number of people socializing and drinkingalcoholic beverages.  Law enforcement concluded thatunlicensed liquor sales were occurring.  One officertestified in support of a search warrant, falsely claiming to havealso seen a cash register in theclubhouse.

Lawenforcement received a search warrant and entered the clubhouse laterthat morning, seizing the club’s security equipment, soundsystem, coolers, alcoholic beverages, and paper documents. Law enforcement also froze the club’s bankaccounts.

OnOctober 6, 2016, nearly a year after the raid, law enforcementcharged the club with the unlicensed sale of alcohol. A.I.M. Attorney Justin Vinje represented the club and requested lawenforcement’s investigative reports.  Thosereports mainly consisted of an analysis of the club’sbanking records and an inventory of items seized.  Thereports also revealed that law enforcement never seized a cashregister from thepremises.

Duringthe case, a confidential informant with ties to local law enforcementcontacted Vinje, telling the club’s lawyer that lawenforcement asked her to attend club gatherings and wear a wirelessrecording device to capture proof of unlicensed alcoholsales.

Theinformant wore a wire and attended two club gatherings in the springof 2016.  A SWAT team stood at the ready to raid the club inthe event of illegal activity.  No unlawful alcohol salestook place, but the government failed to provide any records of thisto the defense.

AttorneyVinje filed a motion to dismiss the charge, due to thegovernment’s failure to turn over records related to theconfidential informant’s activities.  Vinje alsofiled a motion to suppress evidence from the search, arguing that lawenforcement testified falsely about the presence of a cash registerduring its application for the searchwarrant.

Threedays later, the government filed a motion to dismiss the charge,citing insufficient evidence to proceed and that dismissal wouldserve the interest of judicial economy.  The case wasdismissed.

Withouta federal standard, the regulation of handlebars on motorcycles restswith the states, and until recently New Hampshire was among more than30 states that limit the height ofhandlebars.

OnMay 15, 2017 N.H. Governor Chris Sununu signed SB27; “RSA266:77, relative to grips and handlebars on motorcycles, isrepealed.”

TheGranite State began regulating handlebars in 1967, a time when manystate legislatures associated motorcycling with the counter-culturecaptured by films like “The Wild Ones” and“Easy Rider,” explained Charlie St. Clair,executive director of the Laconia Motorcycle WeekAssociation. “Law enforcement pulled people overfor high bars as a tool for probable cause,” he said inapplauding the bill’s passage, adding, “I havenever heard of handlebars presented as a safetyissue.”

Unfortunatelyfor attendees of this year’s Laconia Motorcycle Week, heldannually since 1923 during the nine days in June ending onFather’s Day, the law becomes effective 60 days afterpassage, which will be July 11,2017.

Louisianahas a law prohibiting the wearing of masks in public, and accordingto an article in the Baton-Rouge Times-Picayune, motorcycle ridersare being “pulled over and ticketed under the mask-wearinglaw because they were wearing helmets that concealed theirfaces.”  Louisianans are banned from“concealing their faces with masks or hoods, except duringMardi Gras, Halloween or for religiousreasons.”

Nowa bill authored by Rep. Alan Seabaugh (R-Shreveport), HB161, wouldrevise the law to exempt motorcycle safety helmets.  By allindications, the bill will pass, and it is currently pending Senatefinal passage.  Speaking before the Committeeon Administration of Criminal Justice, Rep. Seabaugh said his billarose out of complaints from motorcyclists in his district who saidthey have been harassed by “overzealous law enforcementofficers.”  Riders have been pulled over at random,according to testimony by ABATE of Louisiana, claiming one officer inparticular has targeted motorcyclists whose helmets and face shieldsconcealed theirfaces.

Apparentlyrecognizing the absurdity of ticketing motorcyclists for wearinghelmets, when helmets are required by law, committeemembers unanimously agreed that the mask-wearing ban needsrevision.  They tacked on anamendment “clarifying that the exemptiononly applied to motorcycle helmets being used during a ride,”then recommended the bill for full Houseapproval.

Rep.Terry Landry (D-New Iberia), a former Louisiana StatePolice superintendent, thanked the committee for supportingthe bill. “I think it corrects awrong.”

Aman has appeared in court inCanterbury, England for allegedly attempting to have sex withSuzuki’s most alluring model, a GSX-R. Mechanophilia, where a person is sexually attracted to cars,motorcycles, helicopters, ships, planes and other vehicles, is acrime in the U.K. and if found guilty, perpetrators can be placed onthe sex offenders’register.

The33-year old chap reportedly exposed himself in public and tried toengage in a tempestuous relationship with his motorcycle, afterpreviously being seen punching and kicking the bike on the sameday.  Apparently drunk and on drugs, he claimed in court toremember dropping his trousers but denied exposing himself and haspleaded not guilty to indecent exposure and criminaldamage.

~Harper Lee (1926-2016) author of the classic novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”