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karen · Easyrider Joined: 23 Jan 2009 Posts: 55

New York Freedom Riders New York Legislation and news -3/12/10

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

Helmet:

A0072: Requires motorcycle users to wear helmets that meet the federal motor vehicle safety standards and which have been impact-tested by the U.S. department of transportation, the commissioner of motor vehicles or by an independent laboratory approved by the commissioner of motor vehicles.

Bill status:
01/07/2009 referred to transportation
01/27/2009 reported referred to codes
02/03/2009 reported
02/05/2009 advanced to third reading cal.57
01/06/2010 referred to transportation
02/23/2010 reported referred to codes
03/09/2010 reported
03/11/2010 advanced to third reading cal.718
Bill text:
http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?default_fld=&bn=A00720&Text=Y

New York News:

If you would like to read past New York Freedom Riders "New York Legislation and News", please visit our blog at: http://nyfreedomriders.blogspot.com/

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UPDATES:

Illinois

HB0162
Amends the Cycle Rider Safety Training Act. Provides for certain disbursements from the Cycle Rider Safety Training Fund notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary adopted after the effective date of the amendatory Act. Effective immediately. Bill status:
3/11/2010: 13 co-sponsors added

SB2536: Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code to require every operator and passenger on a motorcycle, motor driven cycle, or moped to wear a helmet that meets federal safety standards and is properly fastened under the person's chin with a chin strap. Effective January 1, 2011. Bill status:
3/8/2010: Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments

SB2535: Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code to require every operator and passenger under the age of 18 on a motorcycle, motor driven cycle, or motorized pedalcycle to wear a helmet that meets federal safety standards and is properly fastened under the person's chin with a chin strap. Effective January 1, 2011. Bill status:
3/9/2010: Added as Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Jacqueline Y. Collins
3/11/2010: Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Recommend Do Adopt Public Health; 006-003-000
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MMA Call To Action: MMA Joins MRF in support of S.2268 – Right to Repair Full article:
www.massmotorcycle.org/content.aspx?page_id=5&club_id=769540&item_id=12519
Bill text- PDF 6 pages:
http://www.mass.gov/legis/bills/senate/186/st02pdf/st02268.pdf

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ABATE of South Nevada
http://www.abatesnv.com/News-No_Bones_About_It.html

NO BONES ABOUT IT March 8, 2010

I’ve got a little story to tell and I think you’ll be interested in the end result.

Once upon a time, a motorcycle club, decided to have a little get together at one of the local Harley dealers in the valley. The club that sponsored the party was not in good standings with the local Henderson P.D. so the local coppers decided to stop every biker that was going to attend the party and give them the choice of either turning around and not supporting the event or getting a ticket if they decided to continue on. A lot of people decided to continue on and were promptly stopped under the guise of unsafe headgear, and once stopped they were written tickets for everything from helmets to high bars. Some of the riders that got tickets went ahead and paid them or plead them down to parking tickets and just paid the fine as fighting the system didn’t seem like a good idea.

Fifty-six of the riders, however, decided that they were sick of this form of harassment and decided to stand up for what they believed in and got in touch with an attorney. This attorney had no experience with motorcycle law, as his specialty was in mortgages, but he was willing to take a stab at it. Now this attorney, although strong on constitutional rights, had no idea of what he was getting himself into so he connected with Dave Stilwell and got a crash course in motorcycle rights. To make a long story short, and between the two of them, all fifty-six tickets were dismissed prior to the court date, which is tomorrow. These people stood up to the Henderson Police Department and scored a victory that will set precedence for all cases to come.

The fact that they were cited under the helmet law and charged with everything under the sun, when investigated, it was revealed that it was against the law for two reasons.

The first is, that in order to be stopped for a helmet violation, law enforcement must have probable cause. This means in order for the law to pull you over, they have to believe that you are committing a crime or you are in violation of the law, and seeing as how Henderson Police Department has no specified training for their officers to determine what constitutes approved headgear according to the Nevada Revised Statute 486.231, they do not, nor will they ever, have the ability to pull you over for a helmet violation and make it stick. THERE ARE NO STANDARDS!

The second reason is a legal term that is called “ fruit of the poison vine”, when translated into English is: that if the cop stops you under the guise of unsafe headgear, i.e. the helmet law, and writes you two dozen more tickets for insurance, endorsement, no registration and whatever else, they will all be dismissed because the cop doesn’t have the ability to determine if your helmet is compliant or not, so without probable cause he would not have been able to write the ticket in the first place.

I was ecstatic about the decision even though we didn’t get to see the Judge, because if the City Attorney cannot prosecute on the grounds that were presented in discovery by the defendant, the helmet law as we know it is on its way out. Henderson has always drawn a hard line with the motorcycling community, especially with clubs, and it is not due to the attitude of the cops but the directives from supervision.

We are collecting helmet tickets for the legislative session in 2011 to show that this law is used as a direct tool by law enforcement to discriminate against bikers in this state and in no way has anything to do with the safety of the rider. The fifty-six riders that won were stopped for no reason, their civil rights were violated and with this decision we will all be able to ride a little freer in the community of Henderson.

My hat is off to you and I applaud your decision to stand up for the rest of us, now let’s see if the rest of us are ready to stand up for you. We need to challenge authority when we suspect wrongdoing and hold those in office responsible for their decisions. It’s not so much about fighting the system but about fighting the abuse by the system.

As I have said in previous articles, why should motorcycles be the only privately owned vehicle that requires special equipment, special license and extra fees for registration when motorcycles are highway friendly, ozone friendly, fuel-efficient and will reduce congestion on the busiest of Nevada’s roadways?

The primary elections are coming in May and the people that have applied these restrictions will be running for office. Will you allow them to concoct even more restrictions on your freedom? What will you allow them to do to you this term? Help us help you protect your right to ride free!

WHEN INJUSTICE BECOMES LAW
RESISTANCE BECOMES DUTY

BONES
P.S. I forgot the part about they lived happily ever after and didn’t have to pay the $190.00 fine.
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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 SB2649
03/04/2010: Signed by S. Speaker
03/08/2010: Signed by H. Speaker
03/08/2010: Transmitted to Gov. for action.
Bill text:
http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/106/Bill/SB2649.pdf
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http://roadriders.org/2010/03-05/results-for-the-profiling-bill/
Washington Road Riders

Results for the profiling bill

Hello, all,

I note that the profiling bill promoted by the Confederation of Clubs and ABATE of Washington, HB 2511, was *overwhelmingly* embraced by the House of Representatives. Note that there are 98 members in the State House. All but TWO voted in favor of a bill that said it’s not OK to single out citizens for preemptive stops because they *look* like members of a certain group, i.e. bikers.

Before I say anything else: please contact your House representatives and *thank them* for voting for this bill. I was in Olympia on Wednesday (to meet with the Director of DOL and her staff) and made a point of visiting my members’ offices. Call, email, write – but thank them.

I’ve watched this bill try to make its way through the Legislature in years past. It’s seemed that its biggest obstacle was not the language of the bill itself, but the language of those who spoke about the bill. In years past, there was a lot of anger, a lot of angst, a lot of finger-pointing.

Not this year.

This year, there was a lot of considered conversation about the rights of free men and women in a democratic society. All of us – patch holders, alternative club-style riders, and rank-and-file independent bikers – spoke to our legislators in measured and polite tones about civil rights and ‘the America that made America famous’.

We struck a chord, and overwhelmingly won the House. Our lack of victory in the Senate was, in my opinion, no fault of the bill or our approach to it. It was an artifact of a short session with too much to do and the short news cycle we’ve all come to know and [feel something about]. In truth, the bill did not lose in the Senate. It just never got a chance to win.

I’m encouraged not only by the progress made by this bill, but by the progress made by *us*. A lot of motorcyclists across a broad spectrum of our sometimes divided constituency came together and BLEW OUT the House. On Black Thursday, I had the pleasure of meeting with – and standing with – leaders from diverse segments of the motorcycle community, and I believe that our consensus carried the day.

It’s unfortunate that we have enjoyed this partial victory at the end of a biennium, and we do not have another session to fight the fight of HB2511. Nonetheless, I do not think we are done, I do think we can build on the success of this session, and I look forward to working with my brothers and sisters in the motorcycle community to protect the civil rights of those who ride from discrimination and selective enforcement.

We must all hang together – or we shall certainly hang separately. I hope you will join us for our regular meeting on Wednesday, March 31, to discuss this and other stories from the 2010 legislative session. — Ian

March 5th, 2010 | Category: Event Reports

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NEW REPORTS:

AMA Video: How to Perform a SAE J2825 Motorcycle Sound Test Posted March 10, 2010

Sound expert Chris Real demonstrates how to perform the new SAE J2825 motorcycle sound test

Video: http://www.ama-cycle.org/news/story.asp?id=1826

NOTE:
Model On-Highway Motorcycle Exhaust System Sound Emissions Ordinance: Model legislation developed by the AMA for use by cities seeking a simple, consistent and economical way to deal with sound complaints related to on-highway motorcycles. PDF 2 pages: http://www.ama-cycle.org/legisltn/Model_On_Highway_Sound_Ordinance.pdf

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