RPM Act, Motorcycle Profiling, Fuels and more
The MRF believes that an educated consumer is empowered to make the right decision for their specific circumstances.
from https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com
Commenting about Honda’s electrification strategy, Honda CEO said the brand will focus on petrol-electric hybrids, not BEVs, through 2030.
Electric vehicles won’t be mainstream, despite the push from the governments and the auto manufacturers across the world towards e-mobility, claims a media report quoting Honda CEO Takahiro Hachigo.
The report further quotes Hachigo saying, “The hurdles to battery electric vehicles and complete autonomous driving are still quite high.”
Commenting about Honda’s electrification strategy, he said the brand will focus on petrol-electric hybrids, not BEVs, through 2030. Also, he said Honda will prioritize incremental advances that offer real-world safety at affordable prices, instead of fancy functions and pricy lidar systems, claims the report.
Honda aims to be more realistic instead of competing with rivals brands when it comes to electric vehicles and autonomous driving technology.
Hachigo further said, “I do not believe there will be a dramatic increase in demand for battery vehicles, and I believe this situation is true globally. There are issues with infrastructure and hardware.”
He also added, “There are different regulations in different countries, and we have to abide by them. So, it’s a must to continue R&D. But I don’t believe it will become mainstream anytime soon.”
Motorcycles are Freedom Personified Forever
Hey,
This is a strange and wonderful week. Shit is happening fast. Shit is changing fast, and shit will go to hell quick if we all don’t get involved.
I didn’t intend this to be doom and gloom, but it just spilled out as I wrote. It’s time we all joined a motorcycle rights group or three and got our boots wet.
Here’s my code of the West: We live in the best of times. Our government needs to focus on the people, our freedoms and happiness not on trying to control everything or make everything safe as in Zero. It’s all about control and it won’t work, so let’s be happy and as free as possible.
European scooter companies such as Circ, Tier, Voi are vying with international players such as US-based Lime and Bird in the world’s fourth largest economy.
by Avik Das from TNN
BERLIN: A gamut of electric scooter companies has flooded the streets of Germany, specially Berlin, after the federal government opened up the segment in June in an attempt to reduce congestion and carbon footprint.
European scooter companies such as Circ, Tier, Voi are vying with international players such as US-based Lime and Bird in the world’s fourth largest economy, where the car still remains the preferred mode of commute in spite of a strong public transport system.
Dutch company Dott, which recently raised 30 million euros in its Series A round, is also looking to enter Germany.
Berlin-based Tier, which started operations last year in Vienna, has got a fleet of 20,000 scooters, of which 1,000 are in the German capital. “We are starting in one city every week and have already completed 5 million rides with 1 million in Berlin in just 30 days,” said Tier cofounder Julian Blessin. Tier has till date raised about 33 million euros.
Most major European countries, barring the United Kingdom, have already allowed these 10 kg vehicles to ply and companies and experts say Germany has the potential to be one of the largest markets after France because of the number of cities.
Urban consumers, who are already familiar with cab hailing companies like Uber, are attracted to electric scooters as they are fun, provide a new experience and help them avoid traffic jams. The result: investors are opening up their purse strings. Swedish company Voi has raised 75 million euros and Berlin-based Circ 55 million euros. These companies need more money to compete with those like Lime, which has raised nearly $800 million.
Jashar Seyfi, general manager for Lime in Berlin, says a lot has happened in the city. “The technology companies are pushing the industry in terms of mindset, people understand what shared services are and how it benefits, which makes the city have a huge appetite for these shared services rather than private cars. Germany has the potential to become the most important micro mobility market in the world, due to its large cities,” said.
Electric scooters are also easy to use. One just needs to download the app, scan the QR code at the nearest available vehicle, kick start with a foot, accelerate with the right hand and brake with the left. The scooters can attain a maximum speed of 20 km per hour and are allowed to move on the dedicated bicycle lanes.
But there are concerns too. “The average e-scooter currently has a life-span of just three months. E-scooters were originally designed for private use, not for rental, so the heavy usage, rough handling, and even vandalism that users inflict on them have dramatically cut down on their durability. Yet despite the modest cost of an escooter, it takes almost four months, not counting marketing and overhead expenses, for a rental company to break even on its investment,” Boston Consulting Group (BCG) cautioned in a note in May.
Safety is also a concern. These include drunk driving, driving on the main roads, parking indiscriminately on the pavements, and falling off the vehicles causing injury. Companies say they are making efforts through in-app tutorials to make people adopt the basic precautions before riding.
But traffic researcher Prof Heiner Monheim believes the concern for safety with these scooters is greatly exaggerated. “These do not have the power to produce high impact from collision. On the other hand, these vehicles can be made more relevant if they are integrated with the city public transport system,” he said.
Two U.S. agencies are preparing to submit for final White House regulatory review a plan to revoke California’s authority to set its own vehicle greenhouse gas standards and declare that states are pre-empted from setting their own vehicle rules, two people briefed on the matter said on Thursday.
WASHINGTON: Two U.S. agencies are preparing to submit for final White House regulatory review a plan to revoke California’s authority to set its own vehicle greenhouse gas standards and declare that states are pre-empted from setting their own vehicle rules, two people briefed on the matter said on Thursday.
The Environmental Protection Agency in August 2018 proposed revoking a waiver granted to California in 2013 under the Clean Air Act as part of the Trump administration’s plan to roll back Obama-era fuel economy standards through 2025.
The EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are expected to seek approval to finalize the first portion of the rule dealing with California and other states before completing action on setting yearly fuel efficiency requirements. The plan would not revoke California’s ability to set low-emission vehicle standards that has been in place since 1990, the sources said.
The move comes as President Donald Trump has expressed anger with automakers over the issue. In July, four major automakers, including Ford Motor Co and Volkswagen AG, said they had reached a voluntary agreement with California on fuel efficiency rules.
California and other states had vowed to enforce stricter Obama-era emissions standards, after Trump proposed rolling back the federal rules. Automakers had worried that court battles between state and federal governments could create years of uncertainty for manufacturers.
The plan, also backed by BMW AG and Honda Motor Co Ltd, is more stringent than Trump’s proposal but looser than the Obama-era rule. California, the most populous U.S. state, accounts for about 12% of American vehicle sales, and if the administration recognizes the deal, it would allow automakers to operate under one set of rules.
An administration official said it was close to submitting a rule internally dubbed the “One National Program rule” aimed at ensuring a single national level for fuel economy standards.
But other automakers, including General Motors Co and Toyota Motor Corp, have declined to back the deal. Mary Nichols, who chairs the California Air Resources Board, told Reuters in July that the four automakers had agreed not to legally challenge California’s vehicle regulatory authority.
Under Trump, federal regulators backed freezing emissions requirements for new cars and trucks at 2020 levels through 2026. Administration officials say its final regulation will include a modest boost in annual efficiency requirements but far less than what the Obama administration had set in 2012.
News Source: Reuters
New electric vehicles will have to feature a noise-emitting device, under an EU rule coming into force on Monday.
It follows concerns that low-emission cars and vans are too quiet, putting pedestrians at risk because they cannot be heard as they approach.
All new types of four-wheel electric vehicle must be fitted with the device, which sounds like a traditional engine.
A car’s acoustic vehicle alert system (Avas) must sound when reversing or travelling below 12mph (19km/h).
The EU says the cars are most likely to be near pedestrians when they are backing up or driving slowly, although drivers will have the power to deactivate the devices if they think it is necessary.
The charity Guide Dogs – which had complained it was difficult to hear low-emission cars approaching – welcomed the change, but said electric vehicles should make a sound at all speeds.
Roads minister Michael Ellis said the government wanted “the benefits of green transport to be felt by everyone” and understood the concerns of the visually impaired.
“This new requirement will give pedestrians added confidence when crossing the road,” he added.
From 2021 all new electric cars must have an Avas, not just new models.
The government has announced plans to ban new petrol and diesel cars and vans being sold by 2040.
Alternatively-fuelled vehicles made up 6.6% of the new car market in May, compared with 5.6% during the same month in 2018.
Does this throw a major wrench into loud bike laws. Remember “Loud Pipes Saves Lives” and the auto industry proved it.–Bandit
California State Parks OHV grants and cooperative agreements program seeking public comments – AMA Action Alert
The American Motorcyclist Association believes you may be interested in providing input to the California State Parks Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division. This period provides an opportunity for the public to review and provide factual comments to the preliminary applications submitted for consideration during the 2018/19 grant cycle.
To review and comment visit olga.ohv.parks.ca.gov/egrams_ohmvr/user/home.aspx for more information. The public review and comment period the began on Tuesday, March 5, and ends at 5 p.m. Monday, May 6.
You may also submit your public comments in writing to the OHMVR Division at the address below.
California State Parks
OHMVR Division
1725 23rd St.,
Sacramento, CA 95816
Attention: Grants Manager
If you are not yet an AMA member, please join the AMA to help us fight efforts to restrict responsible motorized recreation. More members means more clout against our opponents, and your support will help us fight for your riding rights – on the road, trail, racetrack, and in the halls of government. To join, go to AmericanMotorcyclist.com/membership/join.
Please follow the AMA on Twitter @AMA_Rights and like us on Facebook.
Thank you in advance for your interest in this important program. If you submit written comments please email a copy to the AMA at grassroots@ama-cycle.org.
It took a while, but a 2019 spending package was finally approved by Congress, signed by President Trump, and enacted February 15. In addition to the $1.375 billion for southwest border barriers, the package also includes full-year 2019 funding levels for important federal infrastructure programs, including the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Engineering News-Record reports.
The 2019 package is the second year of a two-year, bipartisan House-Senate budget deal that included a pledge to raise overall federal infrastructure spending by $20 billion over 2017 levels. It sets the federal-aid highway obligation ceiling at $45.3 billion, up $1 billion, or 2 percent, from 2018 and equal to the amount authorized in the 2015 Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), which comes from the Highway Trust Fund.
The legislation also contains $3.25 billion more from the general fund for highways, up from $2.525 billion in 2018. A 2019 “bonus” amount includes $2.73 billion for states, up from $1.98 billion in 2018, and $475 million for bridge replacement and rehabilitation, more than double the 2018 amount.
Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grants received $900 million for 2019, down 40 percent from 2018, but it was not discontinued as President Trump suggested. The program was originally called Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER.
The Federal Transit Administration will receive $13.4 billion for 2019, down $67 million from 2018, with transit formula grants getting $9.9 billion and capital investment grants receiving $2.5 billion, down from $2.6 billion in 2018. An additional $700 million, down from $834 million in 2018, goes for transit infrastructure grants, which include bus facilities and “state of good repair” projects.
The Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program was frozen at 2018’s $3.35 billion, an amount that comes from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund. Lawmakers also tapped the general fund for an additional $500 million in FAA discretionary airport grants, down 50 percent from 2018.
The EPA’s water infrastructure account will receive $3.6 billion, a 1 percent increase over 2018 levels. Clean Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs) will receive $1.7 billion and Drinking Water SRFs will get $1.2 billion.
FROM National Motorists Association https://www.motorists.org
Motorist rights cases have made news and even history recently. There have been so many as of late, we are dedicating two separate newsletters to provide some insight on the legal rulings that are affecting drivers around the country.
This week’s newsletter focuses on recent rulings and pending US Supreme Court and federal court cases. Part 2 next week will outline state court decisions.
TheNewspaper.com, featured prominently in these two newsletters, is a great supplement to the NMA’s Motorists.org site for the latest news and opinions on the politics of driving.
The US Supreme Court (SCOTUS)
Last week’s unanimous decision that curtails excessive government fines and property seizures has provided further impetus for one of the NMA’s primary lobbying initiatives: civil asset forfeiture (CAF) reform. The decision received broad bipartisan praise. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote in the ruling that the excessive fines clause is a fundamental restriction that applies to the states under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. While the SCOTUS decision is monumental, the fight is far from over. Some states still allow the seizure of property from citizens — motorists are prime targets — who have never been charged with a crime. Our work for reform at the federal and state levels continues in earnest.
Additionally, SCOTUS accepted a case in January that will decide whether an unconscious drunk person has given implied consent for a blood draw to determine alcohol level. The case might resolve an important constitutional question: Can state legislatures obviate the warrant requirement by “deeming” that citizens can consent to Fourth Amendment searches without explicitly expressing that consent?
Federal Appeals Court Cases
Judges for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in late January that a person driving a registered vehicle on a public road is not “reasonably suspicious.” Federal authorities appealed a motion to suppress evidence obtained from a border patrol traffic stop in Freer, Texas. The driver turned onto a public road that happened to bypass a checkpoint 50 miles inland from the Mexican border. The U.S. government has declared anything within 100 miles to be under Border Patrol jurisdiction. The Court ruled that turning onto a road that is “known” for smuggling in a truck registered to an individual is not enough to support reasonable suspicion. If it were, then virtually anyone driving within 100 miles from the border could automatically be deemed suspicious.
In December, judges in the Eighth Circuit US Court of Appeals ruled that it is appropriate for officers to use force to ram a driver with an expired registration sticker off the road. The driver sued the Arkansas state trooper for using excessive force and a US District Judge agreed with the plaintiff that the officer was out of line. She felt that at the time the trooper turned on his lights to make the stop, she could not reasonably do so on the shoulder which was unlit, dark and narrow. She continued to drive 20 mph under the speed limit for 42 seconds to find a safer spot, but after she passed an exit the trooper used a precision immobilization technique (PIT) maneuver to push her vehicle into a ditch. She and her young daughter were both injured. The Appeals Court sent the case back to the same district judge who now must determine if the lawsuit can proceed on the basis of malicious intent.
In early February, the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that police do not need a reason to place American citizens on a ‘Suspicious Person’ list. Judge Milan Smith wrote, “Tips and leads required only ‘mere suspicion,’ a lower standard than the reasonable suspicion required for criminal intelligence data and is up to the discretion of law enforcement and other government officials. This case is chilling in the sense that the government can put anyone on the list for not much more than a whim.
The Ninth Circuit US Court of Appeals ruled in January that police cannot demand ID from car or truck passengers without a reasonable suspicion of a crime. The judges agreed that in this Arizona case, the US Supreme Court ruling in Rodriquez v. US, which prohibits police from prolonging a traffic stop by asking unrelated questions, established precedent.
In January, the Eleventh Circuit US Court of Appeals upheld a traffic stop over a fast blinker. Apparently, driving with a turn signal that flashes “too fast” is potentially a criminal act in Georgia. The blinker was actually working properly; the Georgia Code does not stipulate how fast a turn signal should blink, only that all equipment be kept in “good working condition.” The appellate panel suggested that the plaintiff’s blinker was not in compliance because it was in working condition, just not “good” working condition. American jurisprudence at its best.
Check out Part 2 next week when we showcase recent state cases that could impact motorists.
The National Motorists Association is a membership-based organization dedicated to protecting the rights of the motoring public.
The Mongols motorcycle club has won its latest round in a decade long battle with the federal government, when a California judge found that a jury’s recent decision to strip the club of trademarked logo was unconstitutional.
On Thursday, February 28, 2019 U.S. District Judge David O. Carter ruled that denying Mongol members the right to display the logo would overstep the constitutional right to free expression embedded in the 1st Amendment, as well as the 8th Amendment’s ban on excessive penalties.
“We are ecstatic that the Mongols motorcycle club has been able to win this 1st Amendment battle for itself and all motorcycle clubs,” said Stephen Stubbs, an attorney for the Mongols. “The government has clearly overreached into a realm that the Constitution does not allow. They tried to ban symbolic speech,” Stubbs told the Los Angeles Times. Stubbs, a.k.a. “Bowtie” as bikers call him, is a member of the National Coalition of Motorcyclists Legislative Task Force (NCOM-LTF) and is legal counsel for the Southern Nevada Confederation of Clubs (COC).
In December, after a lengthy trial, a jury convicted the Mongols Nation entity as an organization of racketeering and conspiracy charges stemming from a 2008 investigation, and the ensuing guilty verdict thus allowed prosecutors from the U.S. attorney’s office to pursue a court order forcing the club to forfeit the trademarked symbol that appears on their back patches and other membership paraphernalia.
Judge Carter affirmed the RICO convictions, which could carry fines at sentencing in April, but his written ruling marks a setback for federal prosecutors after they convinced a jury in January to allow the government to seize the club’s patches and trademarks as criminal instruments.
“The collective membership mark acts as a symbol that communicates a person’s association with the Mongol Nation, and his or her support for their views,” Carter wrote about the first-of-its-kind findings, which have drawn national attention. “Though the symbol may at times function as a mouthpiece for unlawful or violent behavior, this is not sufficient to strip speech of its First Amendment protection.”
Joseph Yanny, a criminal defense attorney who argued the case for the Mongols, described the victory as a win for all motorcycle clubs and criticized the government’s attempt to impose “collective guilt” on an organization for the crimes committed by some of its members. “That’s never been the law in this country,” he told the Associated Press (AP).
Carter’s ruling is expected to be appealed and possibly make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“On behalf of the Mongol Nation I want to thank everyone that helped & supported us during our fight through this long battle,” e-mailed Mongols MC member “Rags” to supporters, adding that “Today was a VICTORY FOR ALL CLUBS! It’s not over but we will continue to FIGHT THIS BATTLE FOR ALL CLUBS.”
“Save the Patch” and Motorcycle Profiling will be among the many issues that will be discussed at the upcoming NCOM Convention in Orlando, Florida over Mother’s Day Weekend, May 10-12. For more information, contact the National Coalition of Motorcyclists at (800) ON-A-BIKE (662-2453) or visit www.ON-A-BIKE.com.
