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karen · Easyrider Joined: 23 Jan 2009 Posts: 55

New York Freedom Riders New York Legislation and news -3/5/10

NEW YORK UPDATES:
Motorcycle, gang, rights: no updates

Helmet:

Assembly Codes Agenda - Tuesday March 9, 2010 11:00 AM
A0072: AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to motorcycle protective helmet safety standards

Bill text:
Introduced by M. of A. GANTT -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Transportation

AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to motorcycle
protective helmet safety standards

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

1 Section 1. Subdivision 6 of section 381 of the vehicle and traffic
2 law, as amended by chapter 471 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read
3 as follows:
4 6. It shall be unlawful for any person to operate or ride upon a
5 motorcycle unless he OR SHE wears a protective helmet of a type which
6 meets the requirements set forth in section 571.218 of the federal motor
7 vehicle safety standards as may from time to time be amended AND THAT
8 HAS BEEN IMPACT-TESTED BY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTA-
9 TION, THE COMMISSIONER OR BY AN INDEPENDENT LABORATORY APPROVED BY THE
10 COMMISSIONER. The commissioner is hereby authorized and directed to
11 adopt regulations for helmets which are consistent with the requirements
12 as specified in section 571.218 of the federal motor vehicle safety
13 standards as may from time to time be amended, AND FOR HELMET
14 IMPACT-TESTING, CONSISTENT WITH THIS SECTION. The police authorities of
15 a city, town or village may issue a permit exempting UP TO TEN members
16 of organizations sponsoring or conducting parades or other public exhi-
17 bitions from the provisions of this subdivision while such members are
18 participating in such parades or other public exhibitions.
19 S 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
20 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.

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Senate Judiciary Agenda- Tuesday March 9, 2010 10:00 AM
S6752 [A4286]: Requires skiers to wear protective helmets and requires that ski area operators make such helmets available to the public

Discuss!
Post your comment: [at the bottom]
http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/bill/S6752

Bill text:
Introduced by Sen. STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary

AN ACT to amend the general obligations law and the labor law, in
relation to the duties of skiers and ski area operators and penalties
for violation thereof

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

1 Section 1. Section 18-103 of the general obligations law is amended by
2 adding two new subdivisions 15 and 16 to read as follows:
3 15. TO ENSURE THAT SKIERS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO ENTER THE SKI AREA
4 WITHOUT A PROTECTIVE HELMET.
5 16. TO MAKE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC, FOR SALE OR LEASE, PROTECTIVE
6 HELMETS.
7 S 2. Section 18-105 of the general obligations law is amended by
8 adding a new subdivision 12-a to read as follows:
9 12-A. TO WEAR A PROTECTIVE HELMET WHILE IN THE SKI AREA;
10 S 3. Paragraph c of subdivision 1 of section 18-106 of the general
11 obligations law, as added by chapter 711 of the laws of 1988, is amended
12 to read as follows:
13 c. To make available at reasonable fees, as required by subdivision
14 thirteen of section 18-103 of this article, instruction and education
15 for skiers relative to the risks inherent in the sport and the duties
16 prescribed for skiers by this article, EDUCATIONAL LITERATURE REGARDING
17 INJURY PREVENTION and to conspicuously post notice of the times and
18 places of availability of such instruction and education in locations
19 where it is likely to be seen by skiers; and
20 S 4. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 867-a to read as
21 follows:
22 S 867-A. PENALTIES. IF THE COMMISSIONER FINDS THAT A SKI AREA OPERATOR
23 HAS KNOWINGLY VIOLATED THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION FIFTEEN OR SIXTEEN
24 OF SECTION 18-103 OF THE GENERAL OBLIGATIONS LAW, THE COMMISSIONER SHALL
25 IMPOSE A FINE OF ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR THE FIRST SUCH VIOLATION, TWO
26 HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR A SECOND VIOLATION, AND FOR ANY SUBSEQUENT
27 VIOLATION, THE COMMISSIONER MAY, IN HIS OR HER DISCRETION, AFTER A HEAR-

EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07799-01-9

S. 6752 2

1 ING THEREON, SUSPEND THE LICENSE OF SUCH SKI AREA OPERATOR FOR A PERIOD
2 OF THREE DAYS.
3 S 5. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
4 have become a law.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UPDATES:

http://www.abate-il.org/legislative/ondgo.htm
ABATE of Illinois
Action Alert!
3-MAR-2010

HB162
It was a good day at the Capitol for motorcycling today. Our bill that would transfer the Cycle Rider Safety Training Program from IDOT to the Secretary of State (HB162) was passed out of House Traffic & Safety Committee this morning. The version that passed included our language designed to clarify that money in the CRST trust fund may be allocated and spent by the trustee without specific authorization from the General Assembly.

HB5029 and HB5031
Representative Mary Flowers did not call her anti-ATV bill (HB5029) or her mandatory helmet bill (HB5031) in the committees where those bills now reside. The bicycle helmet bill (HB6114) by Rep. Julie Hamos is stalled in committee pending further discussion and modification.

Contact list
This is not being sent via the OnDGo list because I need to extract the AOL addresses and add “@aol.com” to them. We should have that straightened out by Friday.

Action needed
What we have to do now is to work with our state senators and representatives as effectively as possible to defeat SB2535 (Sen. Trotter’s youth helmet bill) in the senate and to support HB162 (our CRST Program transfer bill) in the house. I need to hear from chapter legislative officers on what their state senators and representatives will do with these two bills. This will help us pinpoint the areas where we need to concentrate our influence.

George Tinkham
A.B.A.T.E. State Legislative Coordinator
"Helping Democracy Work"
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www.massmotorcycle.org/content.aspx?page_id=5&club_id=769540&item_id=12429
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MMA Update – All Citations Dismissed in Sterling anti-Motorcycle Checkpoints! 02 March 2010

As reported last week, the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association, working in conjunction with MMA Gold Card Member, Attorney Paul Lancia, and several Motorcyclists who’ve chosen to fight for their rights and yours following citations issued in the town of Sterling last summer, went to court and won a number of cases pertaining to those citations. Yesterday, the remainder of the cases were scheduled to be heard, and ALL cases have now been found “not responsible”.

The Sterling and Princeton Police Departments, in a sudden realization of doing what’s right, decided not to pursue the remainder of the cases since they realized after the previous hearings they had no legal grounds for the citations. In order to save the taxpayers money and not further waste their department’s time, the Princeton Police Department didn’t even send representation to today’s hearings.

With Judge Gardener presiding, Attorney Lancia, representing the riders in cooperation with the MMA requested that all citations be dismissed. Most of today’s cases dealt with citations issued for “altered exhaust systems”, although a couple also included other minor equipment infractions such as head and tail lights or tire treads. All citations were dismissed, some in agreement with the Sterling Police, others not prosecuted by the Sterling Police.

Attorney Lancia stated that he was pleased with the findings by the Court and commended the Judge for giving these riders the court time and judicial deliberation they deserved. "These riders took valuable time out of work to contest these citations rather than letting it go. Their concise testimony and the legal arguments we advanced gave the Judge the information needed upon which to base these ‘Not Responsible’ findings. I am happy that these riders won't have to deal with the insurance surcharges that a responsible finding would have brought."

In Massachusetts, a moving violation typically results in a surcharge of an average $300 per year for 6 years.

The MMA remains committed to education, not legislation, and not prosecution. We will help inform our members of the laws concerning proper equipment in Massachusetts, and asks all riders to ride responsibly.

For More Information, Please see http://www.massmotorcycle.org or contact Chairman@MassMotorcycle.org
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Tennessee
HB2551/SB 2649: Motor Vehicles - As introduced, adds motorcycles to lemon laws regarding warranty protections. - Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 24, Part 1.

Actions Taken on HB2551:
03/01/2010: Comp. SB subst.

Actions Taken on SB2649:
03/04/2010: Signed by S. Speaker
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Utah
S.B. 106 Substitute: Motor Vehicle Noise Emission Standards -- Jones, P.

Bill Status/Votes
Last Action: 01 March 2010, Senate/ filed
Last Location: Senate Rules Committee file for defeated bills Bill Status/Votes Last Updated: 1 March 2010, 5:50 PM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NEW REPORTS:

https://commerce.metapress.com/content/k3157500176n9017/resource-secured/?target=fulltext.pdf&sid=atw1esb1ewkij2554th0z4nm&sh=trb.metapress.com

Comparison of Risk Taking in Moped and Motorcycle Crashes Abstract
Risk taking in motorcycling includes deliberately not following road rules (including excessive speeding and performing stunts), unlicensed riding, riding while impaired by drugs and alcohol, and riding without a helmet. Motor scooters and mopeds, however, are less capable of extreme speeds and stunts and may therefore attract riders with safer attitudes and behaviors. Their use for commuting may also limit opportunities for risk taking. Some European studies have reported higher crash risks for mopeds and scooters than for other motorcycles, but others disagree. This study aims to examine the role of risk taking in moped crashes compared with motorcycle crashes by presenting the results of analyses of police-reported crashes in Queensland, Australia, focusing on markers for risk taking such as vehicle most at fault, alcohol involvement, excessive speed, nonuse of helmets, and unlicensed riding. Risk taking in terms of alcohol involvement and excessive speed was more common in single- than in multivehicle crashes. Alcohol involvement was associated with excessive speed, nonuse of helmets, and unlicensed riding. There were few differences in risk-taking behaviors between moped and motorcycle riders. Excessive speed was less common in moped crashes, but this finding may reflect vehicle performance limitations as much as a decision not to speed.
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https://commerce.metapress.com/content/u4ul71v4754177h2/resource-secured/?target=fulltext.pdf&sid=atw1esb1ewkij2554th0z4nm&sh=trb.metapress.com

Impaired Motorcycle Operation
Abstract
Development and evaluation of an instructional program to encourage motorcyclists to intervene with their motorcyclist peers to prevent them from drinking and riding are described. The program, Riders Helping Riders (RHR), is based on focus group research, which found that riders consider themselves to be united by an interest in riding and by a willingness to help other riders in need. A sense of individualism, however, limits the extent to which riders are willing to intervene in drinking and riding. RHR is intended to convince motorcyclists that an impaired rider needs their help and that they are in the best position to provide that help. The program provides a toolkit of techniques for separating drinking from riding, discouraging riders from becoming impaired, recognizing impairment, and discouraging impaired riders from riding. An optional role-playing module is included. At the end of the class, students are asked to sign a pledge to do their best to help an impaired rider live to ride another day. The program was pilot tested by the Georgia Department of Driver Services Motorcycle Safety Program from November 2005 through October 2006. It was evaluated by means of a survey of student participants and time series analyses of Georgia alcohol-involved crashes. Survey responses suggest that the program was successful in encouraging future intervention. Results of the crash analysis were inconclusive.
------------ http://trb.metapress.com/content/c92q8180456k4841/?p=39f28e476ff14ecb8bd4560a3d012654&pi=21

New Approach to Modeling Mixed Traffic Containing Motorcycles in Urban Areas Abstract
Motorcycles constitute a significant proportion of traffic in many countries but are poorly represented in existing traffic flow theories and simulation software. A new approach to modeling mixed traffic is introduced focusing on depicting the movements of motorcycles. In this study, the characteristic patterns of motorcycle behavior were identified, and the key elements contributing to these patterns were extracted. Then three mathematical models were developed to depict these key elements, which were calibrated by using field data collected at Victoria Embankment in central London. After the calibration procedures, these models were integrated into an agent-based simulation model system. The ability of the simulator to reproduce plausible patterns of car and motorcycle behavior was verified. A number of potential applications of this simulator for the management of mixed traffic streams in urban areas are discussed.
----------- http://trb.metapress.com/content/v87470084621n20u/?p=39f28e476ff14ecb8bd4560a3d012654&pi=22

Effectiveness of Motorcycle Training and Licensing
Abstract
Motorcycle crash fatalities in the United States have been increasing since 1997, when the total number of fatalities reached a record low. Motorcycle training programs were enacted before this rise, and many studies have aimed to show their effectiveness. The objective of this study is to review and synthesize the results of existing research on the effectiveness of motorcycle education courses and different licensing procedures. The effectiveness of programs is examined through the effect training has on accident rates, violation rates, and personal protective equipment use found through past research. Research to date has not consistently supported the notion that training is either effective or ineffective. Some studies have demonstrated that accident and traffic violation rates are lower for trained riders than for untrained riders, whereas others have demonstrated that they are higher for trained riders. Training increases the use of personal protective equipment among motorcyclists. Motorcycle licensing procedures have been shown to have different effects on accident rates. Lower accident rates have been observed in areas with stricter regulations for obtaining a license. The studies vary greatly in both the methods used for comparison and the rigor of their evaluation methodology. No standards for evaluation exist. The findings of these previous studies may be more a reflection of the methods used to evaluate motorcycle training than the effectiveness of training itself.

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