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 Law Offices of Richard M. Lester. For more information, call us at 1-(800) ON-A-BIKE or visit us on our website at http://www.ON-A-BIKE.com.
NCOM BIKER NEWS BYTES
Compiled & Edited by Bill Bish,
National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM)
GOVERNMENT SEIZES CLUB?S COLORSDozens of Mongols Motorcycle Club members were arrested under a federal racketeering indictment in a multi-state sting operation on October 21, but even before a single case has gone to trial federal prosecutors have succeeded in getting a court order stripping the club of their trademarked logo. Mongols members can no longer wear patches or other items bearing the club?s insignia following what appears to be an unprecedented injunction barring members, their family and associates from wearing, licensing, selling or distributing the logo.
“If a Mongol is wearing a vest or jacket bearing the Mongols patch, that item is pursuant to seizure based on this order,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Welk.
?This was an=2 0ingenious move to try and strip a club of its identity under the guise of civil asset forfeiture,? said Richard M. Lester, founder of the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM), ?but it sets an extremely dangerous precedent if allowed to stand. All the government would have to do is show that a few members were involved in criminal activity and they could take away your name and logo, and it could affect any organization from ABATE to HOG to the Elks.?
Explaining the implications and ramifications of the federal action, Sam Hochberg, Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (AIM) Attorney for Oregon, said the reasoning behind the court order was ?The government made a showing to the federal judge that they have a substantial likelihood of prevailing on the merits of the criminal case, including the RICO charge, which is required to get this sort of order. If the club loses on the criminal/RICO charges, they could be subject to the civil forfeiture laws — the same laws that allow the government to take away cars and houses from drug dealers as ?instruments of the crime?. Here, the government argued that the patch has value, and since they think they’ll ultimately be entitled to a civil forfeiture, they want to hold on to that asset, the patch. That was the basis for their legal argument, though publicly and to the press the ATF has admitted they’re doing this to break the back of the club.?
According to Lester, who also helped to found the Confederations of Clubs across the U.S. and Canada to help organized patch holder clubs to fight for their legal rights, NCOM will be working with the COCs to help overturn the patch seizure by hiring an expert on trademark and civil liberties law.
FUEL CONSERVATION CONTINUES DESPITE FALLING PRICESPrices at the pump have fallen to half the high watermark of $4 per gallon, begging the question whether the driving and lifestyle changes people made in the past year to conserve gas will stick.
Americans drove 15 billion fewer miles this past August than in August 2007, says the Federal Highway Administration, the largest one-month decline since figures have been collected. An increasing number are using public transportation. Car sales are at their lowest national levels since 1991, and the federal government projects U.S. fuel consumption will decline this year by the largest amount since 1980.
OPEC has cut its output in an attempt to stabilize prices, but the global recession is pushing down worldwide demand even further.
Many drivers have said despite the recent decline in gas prices, they have indefinitely changed their habits such as running fewer errands, combining trips, driving slower?and riding more motorcycles instead of SUVs. Although sales of cruiser models have fallen with the unstable economy, small motorcycles and scooters have posted record sales because of their mileage ratings.
And even though new motorcycle sales have flattened recently, sales have picked up in other areas, including clothing, merchandise and other accessories, parts and service. Bike owners who might have traded in their older motorcycles during better times are opting to keep them and put more money toward service and maintenance, reflecting a national trend.
Whether Americans will continue to be more fuel conscious depends largely on the economy, because despite the price of gasoline there?s still a need to conserve money.
MORE TOLL ROADS COMINGFederal transportation officials are lobbying state governments to convert their freeways into toll roads, and expect the new administration to continue supporting public private partnership (PPP) initiatives. The Federal Highway Administration has announced the creation of a new office to pursue more toll roads in the future, and placed the new Office of Innovative Program Delivery atop their organizational chart to emphasize its primary place within the federal transportation department.
“The Director of Innovative Program Delivery provides advice, guidance, and research support related to tolling and pricing initiatives and administers tolling authorities,” outgoing Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters wrote. “[The office also] promotes the development and use of techniques associated with providing transportation in terms of innovative and non-traditional funding sources, innovative contractual processes, and changing roles and responsibilities involved in designing, constructing, operating, maintaining, financing, obtaining, and procuring highway facilities.”
These innovative and non-traditional funding mechanisms have caused concern among local and federal representatives in the wake of the ongoing financial crisis, but such efforts appear to have the support of President-elect Barack Obama who has supported similar measures.
A key component of Obama?s agenda includes providing $60 billion for infrastructure projects with “a preference for projects which leverage private financing, including public-private partnerships.” Moreover, Senator Obama in March endorsed New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s idea to charge a $9 toll on cars and a $22 toll for trucks that enter downtown Manhattan during working hours.
PUSHING PARKING PROTECTIONSIt used to be bad enough to find someone sitting on your motorcycle, but with more people riding bikes, and parking them, an increasing urban problem appears to be with drivers moving two-wheelers out of their way to make room to park in congested downtown areas. To top it off, they seem to be wheeling them into No Parking zones or onto sidewalks where it?s illegal to park.
Recognizing this troublesome trend, the city of Seattle, Washington recently enacted an ordinance making it illegal to move another person?s vehicle without their knowledge or consent. Ordinance Number 122761 passed unanimously on August 4 to ?prohibit a person from moving a motor vehicle not lawfully under his or her control when the motor vehicle is occupying a parking stall or space on City property.?
In addition to a hefty fine, police also warn that, ?If you damage it, you?d be liable.?
HONDA DEMONSTRATES V2V MOTORCYCLE SAFETY TECHNOLOGYIn its efforts to improve safety for everyone, especially vulnerable road users, Honda’s leading motorcycle to car communication system was recently demonstrated for the first time in Germany at the CAR 2 CAR Communication Consortium. The Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) System generates warnings to riders and drivers of other vehicles by continuous exchange of positioning data from satellite GPS sources. This is particularly relevant as road users approach intersections, alerting them to other vehicles that are potentially on a collision course, allowing avoi dance maneuvers. Research data shows that the majority of accidents involving a motorcycle are caused by perception failures and this system will reduce these failures.
The majority of motorcycle accidents are caused by the simple failure of other motorists to detect the presence of a motorcycle on the road until it is too late, or to correctly assess its distance and speed. V2V communication rapidly relays information in a simple and concise manner, which supports motorists’ and bikers’ recognition processes. Information including position, direction and vehicle dynamics coordinates is exchanged between vehicles.
Motorcycle riders can safely receive warnings about vehicles near them on a Head-up Indicator Display, and can receive information through an in-helmet audio system, neither requiring them to take their eyes off the road. Drivers can view information on the status of cars and motorcycles in their vicinity and receive warnings on, for example, their navigation system display.
Honda?s life-saving V2V System is interoperable and facilitates communication with vehicles from 8 other manufacturers.
TOUGHER NEW MOTORCYCLE LAWS DOWN UNDERFinding the freedom of an open road on two-wheels could be a little more difficult for some would-be Australian motorcycle enthusiasts next year, as Queensland authorities get tougher on new riders. As with Europe, some Australian legislators are looking to tighten restrictions on novice riders of all ages. The changes taking effect next July in Queensland include restricting new riders to less powerful motorcycles and prohibit them from consuming any alcohol while riding.
Queensland’s Premier Anna Bligh told Parliament that novice riders will have to carry “P” plates, there will be a ban on pillion passengers and there will be a zero-alcohol limit for all ages of learners.
In the past only new riders under the age of twenty-five faced zero-alcohol restrictions, with those older allowed to have up to the legal 0.05 limit. Also, the law that restricted new riders to motorcycles of 250cc engine size will be expanded to an approved list that takes power-to-weight ratio into account.
“Given the significant increase in fatalities from motorcycle crashes, it’s clear that we need to rethink our licensing system,” Bligh said, “The evidence that many older people are starting to ride motorcycles and their inexperience is contributing to serious injuries and fatalities, we can’t ignore that.”
New riders face the restrictions for one year before going onto an unrestricted license allowing them to ride any motorcycle and fall under the regular traffic laws.
POLICE ORGANIZATION CALLS FOR BIKE BAN, POWER LIMITSThe Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) in the U.K. has called for motorcycling to be banned from certain areas of the country in evidence it submitted to the recent House of Commons Transport Select Committee report, entitled “Ending the Scandal of Complacency: Road Safety beyond 2010”.
The ACPO submission said: “There is a need for radical thinking in respect of motorcycles, including consideration of engine cap ability and the creation of protection zones where all motorcycles other than those specifically permitted, would be prohibited.” This apparent call for power restrictions on motorcycles and their prohibition in some areas of the country flies in the face of substantial independent evidence that there is no correlation between a motorcycle’s power output and its likelihood of being involved in an accident.
A further inaccuracy presented to the committee by ACPO is that, “Production machines are readily available for use on our roads with top speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour.” In fact there are no production bikes capable of more than 200mph, even without the motorcycle industry’s voluntary 186mph speed limitation.
?That ACPO can present such nonsense brings into question its suitability as a source of reliable information for the Transport Committee,? criticized the Telegraph newspaper, adding that the law enforcement organization?s testimony regarding mo torcycles is ?demonstrably unreliable.?
WEIRD NEWS: STUNT VIDEO BUSTS BIKERA biker in England was brought down by the Internet and his own video evidence was sentenced for speeding and performing stunts on his motorcycle. The 28-year old rider became the talk of the British press for being arrested after he posted video footage of himself riding a motorcycle at more than 130 miles per hour as well as performing stunts on the popular video site, YouTube.
Last year similar events took place in Spain when a group of riders videotaped and posted their speeding rides between two small towns. They were also convicted by authorities who used20the footage posted on YouTube.
QUOTABLE QUOTE: “Most change in America doesn’t come from politicians. It comes from people inventing things and creating. The telephone, the telegraph, the computer, all those things didn’t come from government. Our world is going to get better and better, as long as we keep the politicians from screwing it up.”
David Boaz, Cato Institute
