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MRF: Stop The Profiling of Motorcyclists – Support H. Res 366

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Bikers Inside The Beltway – Stop The Profiling of Motorcyclists – Support H. Res 366 Bikers Inside The Beltway Meeting With Congress To Stop Profiling H.RES 366 – your MRF is moving forward and making it happen. Profiling is not going to go away without your immediate action. See the attachment for more details. In the meantime… Have you registered for Bikers Inside the Beltway? It’s free but time is running out! CLICK HERE TO REGISTER Have you made your appointments to visit your members of Congress? Make your appointments now in your district or in Washington, D.C. Have you made your hotel reservations? Final date for hotel registration, May 13, 2021: 703-684-5900 Embassy Suites by Hilton Alexandria, 1900 Diagonal Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22314 The Motorcycle Riders Foundation is moving forward to make the 2021 Bikers Inside the Beltway our most effective event ever. Thank you for your commitment to the MRF’s mission. Thank you for making appointments with your members of Congress. Thank you for taking action and asking your members of Congress to support H.RES 366. Click here to see the position paper for H.RES 366. Thank you for your membership and support of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation. Fredric Harrell Director, Conferences & Events Motorcycle Riders Foundation P.O. Box 250 Highland, Illinois 62249

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Bikers inside the Beltway Meeting for May 2021

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BIKERS INSIDE THE BELTWAY 2021 FLEXIBLE & MOVING FORWARD The pandemic and the events of January 6 brought changes to meetings with members of Congress and large gatherings. The MRF has restructured Bikers inside the Beltway to comply with pandemic mandates and directives for assemblies. The 2021 Bikers inside the Beltway will take place in Washington, D.C., May 18. “It is our right to address Congress” said MRF President Kirk Willard. “While attendees will need to take a flexible approach to scheduling meetings with their members of Congress, Bikers Inside the Beltway will take place as scheduled.” New security restrictions necessitate that visitors to Congress establish appointments before arriving in D.C. The MRF will provide members with contact information to begin the process of setting your D.C. agenda. Flexibility with appointments and expectations is a must. Some congressional offices will welcome in person meetings within the Capitol Complex. Other offices may seek meetings outside the official government buildings. Still others may only do a meeting over the phone or via zoom. Bikers inside the Beltway will be dual-faceted to accommodate in-person visits to Congress plus visits to local offices. To ensure that the mission of getting our message to Congress does not fail, here are a few items to consider: Once infrastructure funding legislation is assigned a Senate and House number, that information will be shared. Make your appointments locally or in Washington. Familiarize yourself with the briefing points. Confirm your appointment locally or in Washington. Virtual or in person, make notes on your meeting. Share your meeting notes with the MRF. Although bill numbers have not been assigned to the infrastructure funding legislation, Congress has classified it as a high priority. Language that the MRF amended into the 2020 highway funding legislation has not changed. The MRF’s 2021 High

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Automated Driving Systems and SMRO Visits

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RIDING FREE FROM DC: Your Weekly Biker Bulletin from Inside the Beltway ­Automated Driving Systems (AKA Autonomous Vehicles) Late last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced a rulemaking process for developing a “Framework for Automated Driving System (ADS) Safety.” As part of the process public comments were solicited by NHTSA. This week the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) submitted a 6-page formal letter outlining our thoughts on the development, testing and deployment of ADS. Building on past submissions to both Congress and the U.S. Department of Transportation, the MRF laid out important priorities that NHTSA should consider. Some of the main topics the MRF highlights include the need to account for the unique attributes and characteristics of motorcycles, cyber security concerns, liability provisions, the role of individual states, the need for public transparency, threats to the protected communication spectrum and the challenges of regulations keeping pace with this technology. While ADS has promising potential, the devil will be in the details. How this technology is developed, tested and deployed will impact all Americans. We at the MRF will continue to fight to ensure motorcyclists are included in these discussions. To read the full letter from the MRF to NHTSA click here. SMRO Meetings Around the Country January and February are traditionally the busy season for state motorcyclist rights organizations (SMRO) annual meetings. This year many of those meetings have been rescheduled, held virtually or have unfortunately been cancelled all together. While we know these are difficult times, the MRF remains committed to working with our state partners and participating in these events when possible. In January, MRF Vice President Jay Jackson travelled to Bowling Green, Kentucky to attend the Kentucky Motorcycle Association/Kentucky Bikers Association Freedom Fighters Forum. Also, that month MRF lobbyist Rocky Fox traveled to Austin, Texas

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Motorcycle Riders Foundation Announces Historic First

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Atlanta, Georgia – The Motorcycle Riders Foundation, based in Washington, D.C., along with ABATE of Georgia, announced a historic first with the announcement that the organization’s annual Meeting of the Minds Conference will take place in Atlanta in September this year. “The MRF has met several times in the Southeast. However, we have never had the opportunity to meet in Atlanta, and we’re looking forward to the occasion.” MRF Conferences and Events Director, Fredric Harrell announced at the organization’s 2020 annual conference in Indianapolis in September. “ABATE of Georgia worked to meet the MRF’s conference guidelines and we’re reaching out to our neighboring state motorcyclists’ rights organizations for participation.” Donna Nunez, ABATE of Georgia Activities Director, said when the 2021 conference was announced. This “historic first” will bring the 2021 Annual Meeting of the Minds Conference to the JW Marriott Atlanta Buckhead Hotel, September 23-26 and will be the kick-off point for the Motorcycle Riders Foundation’s 2022 legislative agenda. Attendees are encouraged to make reservations as early as possible for this much-demanded conference. Past keynote speakers at the annual event include, Keith “Bandit” Ball, former editor of Easyriders Magazine, Dave Zein, former Wisconsin State Senator, Paul Landers, Texas Freedom Fighter, Chopper & Slider Gilmore, Freedom Fighters & Motorcycling Safety Advocates, Mark Buckner, Former MRF President & current MRF Executive Director, among other notables who have added insight, levity and strong messages on freedom and individual rights to the MRFs annual conference. Conference agenda includes, but never limited to general sessions, 15 break-out sessions, safe riding demonstrations and awards banquet. The first Meeting of the Minds Conference, held in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1985 witnessed barely 100 motorcyclists’ rights advocates and a very limited agenda. The Meeting of the Minds Conference has grown to over 500 participants from state motorcyclists’ rights

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Register for MOTM

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It’s taken 36 years for the Motorcycle Riders Foundation to get to a point that an event agenda can be pulled together in a few months, plus or minus a few days. If you’ve been following these E-blasts, then you may have recognized an undercurrent of the “five W’s” – WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN and WHY, and a constant reminder that the 36th Annual Meeting of the Minds Conference is getting close. You’ve been given samples of WHO helped start the Meeting of the Minds and the MRF, along with WHAT it was all about, WHERE and WHEN it came from and WHERE it’s heading, along with WHY it’s so important to attend. Here’s the tentative (subject to change) agenda for the 36th Annual Meeting of the Minds Conference. Time’s running out to use this link and register at Meeting of the Minds 2020. Room Reservations:  317-767-4769. For those of you getting in on Thursday, September 24, join the MRF Board of Directors in a “Meet & Greet” at 7:00 p.m. in the Main Ballroom.   With a presentation of the Colors, the General Session opens at 9:00 a.m. Friday, then it’s non-stop with… Opening Remarks – Kirk “Hardtail” Willard MRF Financial Report – Kirk “Hardtail” Willard Legislative Update – Rocky Fox Election Year & Effective Use of CQ – Rocky Fox A series of MRF award presentations by Dave Dwyer & Ryan Hubbard, Michelle Holcomb & Duane Justus. Then it’s on to more presentations, a few awards and recognition of the future of motorcyclists’ rights… MRFA&E – Deb Butitta MRFA&E Young Activist Awards – Deb Butitta Young Activist Scholarship Winners Panel – Deb Butitta MRF Rep/Reps of the Year Awards – Doc D’Errico Presidents Cup – Kirk “Hardtail” Willard A Primer: How Strategic Planning can help your SMRO –

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Senate Hearing – Highly Automated Vehicles: Federal Perspectives on the Deployment of Safety Technology

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November 20, 2019 – Senate Hearing – Highly Automated Vehicles: Federal Perspectives on the Deployment of Safety Technology Today the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held a hearing entitled Highly Automated Vehicles: Federal Perspectives on the Deployment of Safety Technology. This hearing comes on the heels of a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) board meeting yesterday regarding the investigation of a March 2018 crash of an Uber Autonomous Vehicle (AV) that resulted in the death of a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona. The NTSB released some startling revelations in their investigation of the 2018 deadly crash. Among those that the software did not properly identify the victim as a pedestrian, it did not adequately assess safety risks and the operator of the vehicle was watching a TV show on her phone and was not watching the road. Additionally, the NTSB cited an “inadequate safety culture” at Uber. The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) applauds the NTSB and the U.S. Senate for holding public hearings on AV technology and safety concerns. The MRF is committed to fighting for the safety of motorcyclists as this new technology is deployed on our nation’s roadways. While we are hopeful that this technology can reduce accidents on our nation’s roads, we agree with the statement of Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) when he said of AV technology “I think a healthy degree of skepticism is a good thing.” During today’s Senate hearing, it was especially important that two U.S. Senators specifically addressed the concerns of motorcyclists during the hearing. In a question directed to Joel Szabat, Acting Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy, U.S. Department of Transportation Senator John Thune (R-SD) asked, “In developing a regulatory framework for AVs can you speak to how other roadways users such as motorcycles are considered?” The Assistant Secretary

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Riding Free From DC: Your Weekly Biker Bulletin from Inside the Beltway

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Your Motorcycle Riders Foundation team in Washington, D.C. is pleased to provide our members with the latest information and updates on issues that impact the freedom and safety of American street motorcyclists. Count on your MRF to keep you informed about a range of matters that are critical to the advancement of motorcycling and its associated lifestyle. Published weekly when the U.S. Congress is in session. 100 and Counting We’ve hit an important milestone in our push to pass H. Res 255 the motorcyclists profiling resolution in the House of Representatives. This week we gained our 100th co-sponsor, which means that nearly 25% of the House of Representatives is now on the record standing with the motorcycle community. It’s an excellent time to take a look inside the numbers and talk about the diversity of U.S. Representatives that support us. We have bipartisan support with 59 Republicans and 41 Democrats on the resolution We have at least one member from 37 different states and American Samoa We have the Dean of the House, the longest-serving Congressman, Rep. Young (Alaska) and the second longest-serving member Rep. Sensenbrenner (Wisconsin) We have 12 Freshman Congressman We have the highest-ranking Republican on the Transportation Committee, Rep. Graves (Missouri) We have two former law enforcement officials Rep. Higgins (Louisiana) and Rep Stauber (Minnesota) We have the Chairman of the Freedom Caucus Rep. Biggs (Arizona), and 12 members of the caucus which is the most conservative group in Congress We have the Chairman of the Progressive Caucus Rep. Pocan (Wisconsin) and 15 members of the caucus which is the most liberal group in Congress We have the Chairman of the Blue Dog Caucus Rep. Brindisi (New York) the caucus for moderate Democrats We have 13 members of the Main Street Partnership the caucus for moderate Republicans

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Riding Free from DC: Your Weekly Biker Bulletin from Inside the Beltway

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Meeting of the Minds Last week the 35th Annual Meeting of the Minds was held in Bloomington, Minnesota. The gathering of so many dedicated and selfless motorcycle advocates in one place was powerful. We in D.C. are continually talking with lawmakers about our membership and the riding community but being in the same room with the people we represent further fueled our passion for advocating on your behalf. Two full days of meetings and panels covered a wide range of issues including collaboration between SMRO’s and clubs, lobbying tips and tricks, our health, being a better brother and sister, the MRF PAC and the establishment of the 2020 MRF legislative priorities. On Saturday night, we heard from two guest speakers. First Rep. Peter Stauber from the 8th Congressional district of Minnesota spent 20 minutes discussing many of the issues we face at the federal level in D.C. Congressman Stauber is a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and pledged to work with the MRF to fight for our priorities in the upcoming transportation bill. Additionally, as a former law enforcement officer, he understood our concerns regarding motorcyclist profiling and was proud to be a cosponsor of H.Res. 255 since June. He offered to meet with the D.C. team in the coming weeks to follow up on our priorities. Second, State Senator John Hoffman from the Minnesota State Senate addressed the group. He spoke about working with local motorcycle rights groups and the battles and victories that have been fought at the State Capitol in St. Paul.   Having both a federal and a state elected officials speak to us demonstrates that motorcycle rights are a battle fought on different fronts.  State legislators and federal lawmakers each play a different but useful role in the fight for motorcycle rights. We

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