Beating Back Biker Discrimination

Delray Beach motorcyclists prevail - for nowClick-2-ListenBy Michael LaForgiaPalm Beach Post Staff WriterTuesday, October 16, 2007
DELRAY BEACH — Looking out at a grizzled, bandana-and-leather-clad crowd this evening, the city commission put off a proposal to ban raucous motorcyclists from a five-block stretch of Atlantic Avenue, saying the city's noise problems need more research.

Last week, Mayor Rita Ellis, who said she heard complaints about bikers revving their engines in the bustling downtown district, asked city attorney Susan Ruby to research an ordinance that would ban motorcycles.

Bikers, business owners, patrons all disgruntled Opponents of the proposal said existing noise regulations should cover engine noise without resorting to a ban.

At tonight's meeting, Ruby offered commissioners two options for amending an existing ordinance, one that included a motorcycle ban and one that didn't. Before discussion began, Ellis noted she was disappointed that "our guests on motorcycles" had roared down the avenues in a show of unmuffled defiance over the weekend, after word of the proposed ban spread.

The suggested changes, up for first reading tonight, would have made motorcycles off-limits on Atlantic between Swinton and southbound Federal Highway, a corridor lined by shops and bistros."I believe that this is entirely in the best interest of our downtown," the mayor said tonight before discussion began.City commissioners Woodie McDuffie and Brenda Montague, however, said they would rather work with bikers toward a solution than ban them from the popular throughway, which runs from Interstate 95 to A1A.

McDuffie said the city had a noise problem, not necessarily a biker problem."What I would like for us to do is not single out one group of people, one motor vehicle," said McDuffie, addressing the motorcyclists who packed the audience and spilled out into the lobby. "We are willing to work with you."In the end, the city commissioners decided to follow a suggestion of city police Chief Larry Schroeder, who recommended the city survey business owners to get a better sense of what was causing noise problems on Atlantic. He also proposed waiting 90 days after the survey to see whether the corridor quiets down.

The city commission voted 4-0 to approve the ordinance option that omitted a ban on motorcyclists, pending results of the study. The bikers, who had gathered in the parking lot 2 1/2 hours before the issue came up, cheered the decision. Backs were slapped. Graying ponytails swished against leather vests."For now, it appears we have prevailed," said Rosco Sessa, national president of the Enforcers motorcycle club, who helped organize protests of the proposal. After the vote, the jubilant bikers poured out of the commission chambers, hopped on their hogs and roared away in the rain.

MRF Call to Action RE: NTSB

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MRF CALL TO ACTION

For the past several weeks the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) has been actively working on a multi-tiered strategic initiative to counter the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) program to pressure states into enacting mandatory helmet laws. We are prepared today to launch the program beginning with a Call to Action to our State Motorcycle Rights Organizations (SMROs).

The MRF's Call to Action is to encourage our SMRO partners to send their top lobbying teams to Washington D.C. in late October and early November to visit with their members of Congress to voice opposition to the NTSB's lobbying efforts. It is our position that the NTSB is proposing to directly lobby the states with federal tax money based on poorly-drawn conclusions, using a very narrow scope, and not employing the rigors of research to which they normally hold themselves. This is simply not acceptable to the MRF and our SMRO partners. A clear message was sent by the Senate in the 109th Congress when they voted 69-28 to defeat the Lautenberg Federal Helmet amendment, which would have pressured states into passing mandatory helmet laws, based on the fact that this issue is clearly a State's rights issue. Accordingly, we will be asking members of Congress to write a letter to the NTSB reminding them of this fact.

During these SMRO visits we will also be presenting a bullet point statistical fact sheet developed in conjunction with the MRF Legislative, Motorcycle Safety, and Statistics Committees that clearly shows that the answer to motorcycle safety and reducing fatalities is, in fact, an aggressive approach toward CRASH AVOIDANCE and NOT safer crashing. In addition, we will be educating members of Congress on the many points contained in our Motorcycle Safety Action Plan, pointing out to them that states with the highest reductions in motorcycle fatalities and states with low fatality rates per registered motorcycle are not those with mandatory helmet laws, but rather states that utilize the many tools in the motorcycle safety action plan. Additionally, we will thank many of them for their belief in motorcycle safety shown by the creation of the 2010 motorcycle safety grants and the creation of the Motorcycle Advisory Council in TEA-LU. We will take advantage of this time to inform them as to how these programs are being used effectively.

The second phase of the MRF's strategic initiative involves the MRF holding a press conference in the first week of November in one of the office buildings of the United States House of Representatives in Washington, DC. The press conference will feature a prominent member of Congress. Expect another Call to Action encouraging our members, our SMRO partners, motorcyclists in general and other concerned citizens to attend.

At that time we will be issuing a formal letter to the Chairman of the NTSB asking him to reconsider their proposed lobbying of the states and asking that he consider the statistical facts related to our Motorcycle Safety Action Plan and its effectiveness with regard to Crash Avoidance and NOT Safer Crashing as the goal.

For strategic reasons, third phase of our initiative will be announced once we complete the necessary research and sufficient discussions have taken place. We will go on record, however, as stating that we will not rule out asking Congress to take action against the NTSB, as we have done with NHTSA in the past, should they continue to ignore the spirit of previous congressional mandates against federal agencies lobbying states on mandatory helmet laws.

Monkeys on Motorcycles

Thanks to Splatt the Harley Rat,

"Stick a monkey on a motorcycle and he will crash. Stick a helmet on the monkey and he will still crash."

The NTSB Doesn't Get It!

A.B.A.T.E. OF PENNSYLVANIA RESPONSE TO THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD’S RECOMMENDATIONS OF 9-11-07

On 9-11 the NTSB issued recommendations to states to require all motorcyclists and their passengers to wear Department of Transportation federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS) 218-compliant helmets.

A.B.A.T.E. of Pennsylvania, the Alliance of Bikers Aimed Toward Education, has expressed their opposition to the NTSB safety recommendations. Accident prevention saves lives, not federal mandates. Greater penalties for right-of-way violations and stricter laws for inattentive driving would be more effective. Motorist need to pay greater attention to the action of driving. Being behind a wheel of an automobile is NO time to multi-task.

Pennsylvania already has a helmet law. The General Assembly passed Senate Bill 259 in 2003. That legislation modified the existing mandatory motorcycle helmet law to provide qualified adult motorcycle operators and passengers with the option to decide what is best for themselves. Pennsylvania Senators and Representatives supported a minimum of two year riding experience or successful completion of an approved motorcycle rider education program as condition for optional helmet use by motorcycle operators 21 years of age or older.

While the law does allow freedom of choice in the use of helmets it also contains safeguards for those not yet trained or skilled enough to make an informed decision on helmet safety. Enactment of the freedom of choice bill on helmets represents what our founding fathers intended when they wrote the Constitution….that government works best with the consent of the governed.

Facts not fiction…

Since the helmet modification Pennsylvania has experienced a sharp rise in motorcycle sales and a dramatic increase in biker tourism. In 2003 there were 263,696 registered motorcycles. In 2006 that number increased to 335,720. In 2005 there were 205 motorcycle fatalities.

In 2006 the fatality rate decreased to 187.

Between 2000 (before helmets were made optional) and 2005 (after), motorcycle registrations in Pennsylvania increased 48.3%. Fatalities in motorcycle crashes also increased, but only 36%.

A study by the State Legislative Budget and Finance Committee in 2006 found an 8.6% decrease in motorcycle fatalities, per 10,000 registrations, from 2000 to 2005.

Most motorcycle fatalities in 2005 involved bikers who wore helmets. Only 42.6% involved known non-helmeted motorcyclists, and the report does not say what portion of them died of something other than head trauma.

Conclusion: The NTSB implies in its recommendation that thirty state governments have somehow "got it wrong" when it comes to the validity of universal mandatory helmet laws. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Most of these states have had, at one time or another, a universal mandatory helmet law, yet considered the results and modified their laws accordingly.

A.B.A.T.E. of PA believes that state legislators have more intelligence than the NTSB gives them credit for. A.B.A.T.E. of Pennsylvania states, “Nothing illustrates individual freedom more than bare-headed bikers, and many federal authorities detest freedom. We believe they will do anything to suppress it. “ The NTSB reached its recommendations with little or no input from the motorcycle community. This is just another incident of bureaucrats in Washington trying to ram regulations down the throats of all fifty states. We’ll have none of it.

Party Freedom

Here's the report on the great party I attended over the weekend and was proud to have had a hand in plannig and execution. from www.cmtabate.blogspot.com

The Southern Thunder Rally endured scorching temps with a high of 105 on Friday and close to it on Saturday but bikers are tough and ready to party! The crowd Friday night was much larger than last year and both Rockin' Foot Clutch and TKO rocked the house after the local electric coop came out and put a new transformer on the pole, quite a show in itself.

Saturday was more heat and more fun with some great competition in both the bike show and the rodeo games. Bikers rolled through the gate all day and into the early evening and by nightfall, the campground area was full of tents in every direction and the RV field was humming with the sound of 40 generators kickin' out the watts to run the BTUs.

As the sun set the bands fired up and MYTH rocked hard! Over a dozen guys answered the call for the boxer shorts contest and after lots of fun, a young US Army soldier form Fort Campbell won it! The wet t-shirt contest ended up being the "what" T-shirt contest as they didn't even wait for the shirts. The ladies started peeling the swimsuits and more, and the music came up for some serious bumping and grinding. It was hard to decide the winner as our two finalists each got huge ovations. IN the end, the young lady that won it was the one with all the personality!

Stacie Collins (www.staciecollins.com) tok the stage around 10:30 and proceeded to tear it up for a solid 90 minutes. IN addition to regular guitarist Warner Hodges, Dan Baird of the GA Satellites (and Stacie's Producer) joined her for an outstanding dual guitar attack! What a show!

Thanks to Pastor Ron of the Covenant Confirmers MM for the Sunday morning blesings as
he brought the church to the rally!

Thanks to all who came out to the party for the cause, Freedom in Tennessee. This rally supports the operation of the CMT/ABATE state office and our efforts in the legislative and safety areas.

NCOM News

NCOM:
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 NEWS BYTES
Compiled & Edited by Bill Bish,
National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM)


BIKERS RALLY TO SAVE SAFETY FUNDING When word got out that the US House of Representatives was considering a transportation appropriations bill in late July, and an amendment to eliminate funding for motorcycle safety funds was being proposed, the biker community rallied to the call and succeeded in saving $6 million in grant money provided to 44 states for motorcycle safety programs.

After being reminded by scores of concerned riders across the country that saving lives is more important than saving a few dollars, the amendment by Texas Rep. Jeb Hensarling was never introduced and the Section 2010 motorcycle safety funds remained intact as the $104.4 billion dollar FY2008 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill (HR 3074) went on to pass by a vote of 268-153.


TRAFFIC DEATHS REACH HISTORIC LOWS, WHILE MOTORCYCLE FATALITIES CLIMB Declining traffic deaths has lead to the lowest highway fatality rate ever recorded, announced the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The number of people who died on the nationÂ’s roads fell by 868 deaths last year, the largest drop in total fatalities in 15 years; representing a 2% decline that contributed to the historic low fatality rate of 1.42 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT), reported U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters.

But while total highway deaths fell from 43,510 in 2005 to 42,642 in 2006, the lowest level in five years, motorcycle fatalities continued to escalate for the ninth consecutive year following a decade of steadily declining fatality rates. Data from NHTSAÂ’s 2006 Annual Assessment of Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Fatalities and Injuries shows that 4,810 motorcyclists were killed on AmericaÂ’s roadways last year, an increase of 5.1 percent over 2005. Motorcycle rider fatalities now account for 11 percent of total fatalities, exceeding the number of pedestrian fatalities for the first time since NHTSA began collecting fatal motor vehicle crash data in 1975.

Many blame the increase on the rise in popularity of motorcycles, with states experiencing record numbers of registrations and dealers selling record numbers of new bikes year after year for over a decade. Other experts cite the aging ridership, bigger bikes, changing traffic mix, miles traveled and other factors.

A comprehensive study into the causation of traffic accidents involving motorcycles is expected to begin later this year at the Oklahoma Transportation Center at Oklahoma State University, the first such motorcycle-crash study since the Hurt Report in 1980.

The National Transportation Safety Board conducted a motorcycle safety forum late last year to explore safety concerns in that sector of transportation.

While driving has never been safer in the U.S., internationally the United States ranks 42nd of 48 countries measured in the number of highway fatalities per capita. And although the fatality rate has plummeted since 1970, when the U.S. led the world in road safety with the lowest death rate among industrialized countries reporting data, it now ranks 11th in fatalities per distance driven.

Safety experts say the reasons are many. Bella Dinh-Zarr, the North American director of Make Roads Safe, a nonprofit organization based in London, said other countries have stricter laws, better enforcement, more accessible public transportation, greater awareness, public support and more rigorous training and licensing standards.

But expert after expert said the real problem was one of culture. With personal freedom being a cornerstone of the United States, many states are loath to pass legislation that curtails them, even when it comes to road safety. So while the governments of other countries can easily pass laws to make driving safer, like a national ban on hand-held cellphone use, those laws here are left up to the states to impose, and that is often not so easy. Fred Wegman, managing director of the National Institute for Road Safety Research in the Netherlands, said attitudes were different in Europe. There, he said, safety is not just about the individual, but is the responsibility of society as a whole. “European countries fundamentally pay more political attention to road safety,” he said.


HELMETS DONÂ’T SAVE LOUISIANA MOTORCYCLISTS Despite passing a mandatory helmet law in 2004, motorcycle fatalities in Louisiana are on a record pace and on course for one of the worst totals in the country, Highway Safety Commission executive director James Champagne told attendees at a safety summit in Baton Rouge.

The summit, produced by the Louisiana Motorcyclist Safety and Awareness Committee and the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission was convened to decrease the number of motorcycle fatalities and injuries in Louisiana. Achieving that goal is urgent.

Champagne told summit attendees that more motorcycle fatalities are projected for this year in Louisiana than in any other year in the state's history. If the trend continues, we will have not only the state's worst year, but also one of the worst totals in the country.

At the Louisiana summit, safety officials pinpointed reasons for the alarming increase in motorcycle fatalities. One is lack of professional training. Champagne says training should be required before a cycle owner or rider can apply for a license.

Ultimately, according to Champagne, almost all the factors that contribute to the problem can be reduced by new legislation, enforcement of existing laws - and mandated education.


LOUD PIPES TICKET DISMISSED The first and only ticket that police have issued to a motorcyclist under Denver's controversial new noise ordinance has been dismissed. Attorney Wade Eldridge, himself a biker, challenged the law on behalf of his client, Stuart Sacks, who was pulled over in LoDo and ticketed for having an "unlawful modified muffler," records show.

"The officer neither inspected his bike to see if it had the stamp nor did he use a sound meter," Eldridge said. "So the most they would have had was the officer's gut feeling that it was too loud, which is not enough."

Designed to curb motorcycle noise, the controversial new ordinance took effect July 1st and limits noise levels to 82 decibels from a distance of 25 feet, and requires motorcyclists with bikes made after 1982 to have a muffler with an EPA noise-certification stamp.

Eldridge, who is the Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (A.I.M.) Attorney for Colorado and legal counsel for the Confederation of Clubs of Colorado, also claims the noise ordinance is unconstitutionally vague. The law "lends itself to arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement," he told the Rocky Mountain News. "The police can stop you for whatever reason."

Eldridge said the law leaves enforcement up to the "unfettered discretion of the individual officer," adding that his client was told he was stopped because his pipes were too loud.

Police Capt. Eric Rubin, who used to head the Traffic Operations Bureau, didn't know the details of that stop but said officers are using their training and experience in the field "as reasonable suspicion to briefly stop the rider" and check for the EPA stamp.

But the city's decision to drop the case highlighted a fundamental flaw in the law - Denver police aren't equipped with the $1,000 noise monitors needed to make the charge stick, said Eldridge, adding that, "In any case in which it's properly challenged, the city has an impossible burden." The reason Assistant City Attorney April Snook cited in her motion to dismiss the case was the city was "unable to prove charge beyond a reasonable doubt."

Ellen Dumm, spokeswoman for the city's Environmental Health Department, said an "oversight" caused the case to be dismissed. "The police officer did not inspect the pipes for the required (Environmental Protection Agency) sticker," she said, adding that the dismissal was a "one-time" thing and that the ordinance's enforcement will result in quieter streets.

Eldridge points out that even police bikes may be louder than DenverÂ’s allowable limits. According to court documents, tests conducted by the city on police motorcycles found sound levels at redline of 81.3 decibels and 81.7 decibels, and since the accuracy of the sound meters the city used is within plus or minus .5 decibels, police motorcycles may be in violation of the new noise law, Eldridge said.


PATCH BAN AT STURGIS BAR SPURS BOYCOTT, POSSIBLE LEGISLATION A beef with Hells Angels could inspire legislation to protect wearing motorcycle-club “colors,” a state legislator told Rapid City Journal columnist Bill Harlan during Sturgis Bike Week. One-Eyed Jacks saloon on Main Street was boycotted during the rally because it is the only bar in town that bans motorcycle club insignia, and they even barred South Dakota State Representative Jim Putnam from entering while wearing the colors of his own dangerous motorcycle club, the Lawmakers.

“If this persists, I’ll consider it,” said Rep. Putnam, R-Armour, who sometimes wears a Sturgis motorcycle rally necktie during the legislative session. “Putt” is not only a long-time motorcyclist himself, but is also a long-serving member of the National Coalition of Motorcyclists Legislative Task Force (NCOM-LTF), and anti-biker discrimination legislation is on their agenda.

Putnam added that legislation protecting motorcycle attire passed the state House in the early 1990s. It failed in the Senate, he said, but a similar Minnesota law has survived court challenges.

Now, Putnam supports a boycott of the saloon. “I’m not going in there,” he told the Journal. But One-Eyed Jack's owner Ray Gold is just as adamant about keeping his new ban on “back patches,” which he told the newspaper is to keep out the Hells Angels, whose Sturgis headquarters is near the bar.

But the ban on patches also angered Louis Nobs of Hibbing, Minn., who was barred entry wearing his Soldiers for Jesus colors. “You can’t ban patches for just one group,” he said. “If you ban them for motorcyclists you have to ban them for bowling teams, the Knights of Columbus -- everyone.”

Nobs is on the board of the National Coalition of Motorcyclists, and he helped distribute 60,000 fliers calling for the boycott.


ChiPS STAR NEVER GOT MOTORCYCLE LICENSE TV biker cop Erik Estrada has revealed he never passed his motorcycle test. Estrada played California Highway Patrol motorcycle cop Ponch in 1970s hit CHiPs, reports The Sun.

But he never actually had a motorcycle license for real. Estrada, now 58, had to hurriedly arrange a bike test when he was assigned to the California Highway Patrol for a new reality TV show.

And it took him three attempts to pass before he could appear on “Back To The Grind”, a show that gets actors to try their TV jobs.


WEIRD NEWS: A motorcycle was once plucked out of the Los Angeles sewer system. It's the largest object ever found in there!


QUOTABLE QUOTE: “Knowledge is power (Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est).”Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626) English statesman and philosopher

A Declaration of Dependence

Courtesy of The Gunny Sack from AIM/NCOM

---A DECLARATION OF DEPENDENCE:

We, the undersigned, having grown weary of the burden of freedom and responsibility, do hereby foreswear, forfeit, and waive our following rights:

1) Our right to protect our physical persons. We pay the government -- and quite well -- to do this for us, through the police, the military, and far too many other government agencies to count. We have chosen to disregard numerous court decisions that they have no responsibilities to us individually, and still place our fate entirely in their hands. And when they fail us, we will blame our excessive freedoms and surrender more rights in the name of physical safety.

2) Our right to tally and pay our own taxes. We have chosen to separate ourselves from the cost of our government by delegating to government and employers the task of paying our taxes, through "withholding." Instead of being presented with a bill for payment, our taxes are taken from us before we even see our salary. Then, when (as is often the case) we have overpaid, we rejoice and see as a gift our refund, and choose not to realize that this refund is simply the government repaying an interest-free loan from us. The only real burden we choose to accept is that of filing our own returns, when we can see just how much of our labors are on behalf of the government. (And if one Presidential candidate has his way, he will relieve us of even this onerous task.)

3) Our right to make decisions for our own safety. Every one of us knows -- or ought to know -- that certain things are safe and unsafe, healthy and unhealthy. Trans fats are terrible for our bodies. Seatbelts, in nearly every circumstance, improve our chances of surviving a car crash almost logarithmically. Motorcycle helmets, even more so.

In these and in countless other ways, we know what the smart thing to do is. But we do not wish to be burdened with the responsibility of caring for ourselves, so we call upon the government to make certain we make the right choices, and accept whatever punishment, fine, or sanction they see fit if we put ourselves at risk.
In the name of our own safety, our own security, and our own peace of mind, we, the undersigned, do hereby pledge our lives, our fortunes, our liberty, our judgment, and our own common sense. Signed, Far Too Many Americans.
---
This sort of apathy FEEDS the daily erosion of our Constitution and Bill of Rights, perpetrated by those we elect to make our laws. It’s time to STOP the process and look to our welfare. If we don’t, this nation will collapse on itself, and we’ll have no one to blame but ourselves. Our Constitution is under attack by those who think these documents are outdated. In Europe, whole countries have lost some of their national identities through the European Parliament, a NON-elected group. Those countries don’t even have their own currency anymore. They all use the “EURO.” No more British pounds or German Marks. We are likewise losing our freedoms here almost daily, a little piece at a time, and usually in the name of SECURITY.

I didn’t even mention the evils of the Patriot Act, or the lives we are sacrificing in corporate warfare all over the planet that seems to have no end. I can’t believe that this country, with all it’s strength and wisdom, can’t devise strategy to win these conflicts and get this carnage brought to an end, or to have won WITHOUT bullets in the first place, if and when winning is in the interests of the American People.

Help End Healthcare Discrimination

Anti-Discrimination bill headed to WashingtonJuly 19, 2007 06:40 PM EDT

When you get sick or hurt how do you pay for your medical care? Usually it's through your work. But if you're injured riding a motorcycle, will the same health insurance you receive through your job cover you?

Strapping on his gloves, lowering the visor on his helmet, WAFF 48 Photojournalist Blake Mann goes through his pre-ride routine. Checking for a break in traffic, he knows accidents can, and will happen even to the most cautious biker. One worry many who ride a motorcycle face is if their medical bills would be covered in the event of a crash. While your insurance provider may offer coverage, employers can deny benefit payouts.

Scott Newland, store manager for Rocket City Power Sports in Huntsville, doesn't agree with the law. "The mid-90's law was written poorly. In the first place, leave out that kind of loophole this is something that should have been taken care of a long time ago," says Scott Newland.The American Motorcyclist Association agrees and is fighting to have the law re-written. They want to eliminate discrimination against anyone who rides and get rid of an expensive loophole. "Basically they said you could not deny coverage to a motorcyclist. They didn't have to pay benefits that's the loophole. Current law. Close the loophole," says Newland.Until new rules are put into place, bikers take their chances on the highways, hoping they are not involved in a crash that could devastate their finances. "Primarily motorcyclists are some of the safest guys on the road. Time for a change time to fix broken law," says Newland.

What can you do?You can send a message in support of "The HIPAA Recreational Injury Technical Correction Act" bill to your Congressman and Senators. That website is www.AMADirectlink.com

Illegal Alien Kills Bikers

Jackson Clarion Ledger, MS - GULFPORT — The man police say is responsible for a traffic accident that killed a Saucier couple allegedly fled the scene because he is an illegal immigrant who feared being deported.
Police say Raymundo Rojas Garcia caused Sunday's accident that killed Wayne and Michelle Hughes, who were riding a motorcycle. He fled the scene because he was an illegal immigrant facing almost certain deportation once he was captured, authorities said.
Garcia was attempting to make a left turn in front of northbound traffic on U.S. 49 when he pulled in front of Wayne Hughes' northbound Suzuki motorcycle, a witness said. Hughes tried to get out of the way but it was too late.
The couple's son, who had joined his parents for dinner at a restaurant that night, was in a vehicle behind them and saw the deadly accident.
After the collision, a witness said, Garcia took off running with his wife and 1-year-old son, only to be captured a block and a half away.
He was charged with felony leaving the scene of an accident, driving without a license, driving without insurance, driving with an expired tag and failure to yield. His total bond was set at $51,351.
It is not Garcia's first run-in with the law. Garcia, 27, was charged June 17 by Gulfport police with misdemeanor drunk driving and other traffic violations. He was detained overnight and later fined.
Gulfport Deputy Chief Alfred Sexton said Monday that a hold has been placed on Garcia pending confirmation of his immigration status.
However, Sexton said Garcia admitted to police he was an illegal immigrant. Sexton said Garcia likely would face criminal charges here before deportation.
Harrison County Coroner Gary Hargrove said autopsy results Monday showed Wayne Hughes died of injuries to the head, chest and extremities; Michelle Hughes was thrown from the bike and died of head and neck injuries

The Good Guys at Cyclemo's Motorcycle Museum

Sometimes you just have to acknowledge the good guys, because way too often it's a quick thanks and that's it.

This past Saturday, my lady and I set off on our motorcycles to visit Cycle Mo's Motorcycle Museum in Red Boiling Springs. After some great back road riding over to Smithville, we turned north to work our way back to RBS and Cyclemo's. Somewhere between Smithville and the interstate I ran over something and it hit the underside of my bike, doing damage to the brake light switch and much to my dismay, 3o miles later I found myself on the side of the road with an electrical problem, 8 miles from the destination. Carol set off to get help and Mike Silvio, owner of Cycle Mo's showed up with help and a trailer a short while later. We got the bike to the museum and after determining there would be no quick fix, we arranged storage until I could return with a trailer.

Thanks to my lady Carol who decided I should ride her bike and she would passenger on her own bike. That is one fine riding 1984 FXRT, but she says the passenger seat isn't all that great.

Thanks also to my buddy, local musician, composer and Little Hollywood studio owner Danny Ramsey who offered the use of his bike trailer. Time to get greasy!

Freedom from Injustice

For years now, the saying in the biker's rights community has been "shoot a duck out of season and it costs you $200, your rifle and your pickup, kill a biker, you MIGHT get a $50 fine!" That IS an injustice in my book.

That is about to change if HB1335 passes a House Vote on Thursday. HB1335 will raise the penalty for violating the right of way and seriously injuring a biker (or pedestrian, bicyclists or other motorist) to $250 and the possible loss of license for up to 6 months while a crash resulting in death will cost $500 and up to a year's license suspension.

Will the law be enforced? ONLY if the biker community monitors crashes and presses the DA to bring the charge that will result in the higher penalties. Too often, bikers get run down by someone who "didn't see them". Much too often the officer on the scene does not even write a ticket.

Governor Bredesen, Sign This Bill on it's Passage.

Don't Call Me a Social Burden!

Every time the helmet law debate comes around the safety nannies tell us how much of a social burden the bikers who don't wear helmets will be, costing the state a couple million bucks. Like WE don't contribute to the very system that supports a slew of social programs that the vast majority of bikers don't ever use!

Don’t Call ME a Social Burden!!!!!!!!! This IS MY Country! I AM an American Damnit!

THE COST OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION - Over $140,000,000,000 Per Year
THAT’S 140 BILLION DOLLARS FOR PEOPLE HERE ILLEGALLY!

1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year.
http://tinyurl.com/zob77

2. $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens.
http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html

3. $2.5 Billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for illegal aliens.
http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html

4. $12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and secondary school education for children here illegally.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

5. $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

6. $3 Million Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

7. 30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens. COSTS?
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

8. $90 Billion Dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for Welfare & social services by the American taxpayers.
http://premium.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0610/29/ldt.01.html

IN Canada as in Tennessee

http://www.gfwadvertiser.ca/index.cfm?iid=2556&sid=21972
Rant and Rave
Choices should be personal, not law
Natalie Musseau
The Advertiser
There should be a law limiting the amount of fries and gravy a person can eat. Another one is needed to make sunbathing and tanning beds illegal. Maybe even one mandating an acceptable level of dessert consumption should be one the books.

Hopefully, those suggestions sound as ridiculous as they are.

Those activities are personal choices — albeit ones that can cause various conditions and diseases that can potentially shorten a person’s life. But they are choices that every adult has the right to make for himself or herself.

Why then are seatbelt and helmet laws viewed as acceptable, almost without question?
There is evidence that both seatbelts and helmets save lives, or at least help prevent major injuries — just as there is evidence that trans-fats are unhealthy and too much sun will cause skin cancer. What makes one worth putting into law and not the other?

Non-compliance with seatbelt and helmet laws will not lead to the injury of other people. Unlike impaired driving, people who choose not to buckle up or strap on a helmet are only putting themselves in danger.

Police officers have better things to do than to be mothering people about seatbelts and helmets.
Adults should be able to make these choices for themselves — just like the ability to buy alcohol and cigarettes once reaching the age of majority. And just like smoking, their insurance premiums would likely reflect whatever choices they make.

It makes sense to mandate the use of such things for children who cannot be held responsible their own safety. However, adults have the information and the decision-making ability and can accept responsibility for those choices. They should not be forced to buckle up any more than they should be made to skip dessert.

It’s time that lawmakers stopped treating everyone like little children and allowed people to make their own choices.
nmusseau@gulfnews.ca

Stand up and Challenge the Nannies!

It amazes me how citizens in the great state of Tennessee continue to allow the special interests with big money to control the state legislature. I was hopeful that the Tennessee Waltz sting would bring about a more transparent General Assembly and state government, boy was I wrong! One look at Governor Bredesen's pork laden budget shows precisely the influence of money on the budget.

ON the freedom front, particularly as it relates to biker's rights and repealing the mandatory helmet law, it's not too hard to see that big money also influences legislation. ON one hand we have trauma centers in Tennessee walking around with arms outstretched looking for buckets of money so they can continue to rail against helmet laws! Folks, trauma is BIG MONEY in Tennessee! Now Nashville General wants to start a trauma center, the same hospital that can't make a go of it without sucking up your tax dollars now wants even more of your tax dollars to fund a trauma center so they "can make it". Make it on your tax dollars or make it treating trauma patients?

Senator Kurita added 2 cents to the cigarette tax to help fund trauma centers. Do they need more tax dollars to survive? Heck no, they WANT more tax dollars to expand yet they cry the blues over what might happen to them if bikers are allowed to go helmetless. Ever look at the numbers fo patients who die because hospitals can't do a better job? Hospital genocide I call it. Half a million deaths nationally in the last few years. Clean up your own house doc!

Bottom line, they simply think they know what is best for everybody. Bottom line number 2, they DONT!

Blogging for Freedom!

I'm new to blogging but not new to fighting for freedom! My primary area of interest has long been the right of bikers to determine their own destiny, to decide whether to wear a helmet. Before anyone starts in on helmet use, pro or con, let me just say I am not opposed to helmets, just a law that mandates them, and yes, I am opposed to mandatory seat belt laws too! Why, because they are simply steps to total government control of every aspect of our lives.

Here's a guest editorial I wrote for the Memphis Commercial Appeal....

Helmet Laws - A View from the Rider’s Seat April 17, 2007

It was back in 1967 that Tennessee enacted a helmet law, under threat from the Federal Government that highway funds would be withheld if the state failed to enact both motorcycle licensing and helmet laws. Interstate projects were just getting underway and the loss of those dollars and the jobs that went with them were too much to ignore, besides, there weren’t a lot of motorcycles on the road so who would care?

In 1976, President Gerald Ford signed HR 3869, effectively ending the federal mandate and by the end of 1977, 22 states had repealed or modified their helmet laws. Today, 30 states have legalized freedom of choice. According to the NHTSA, the statistical difference between states with freedom of choice and those without is small but comes down to the fact that free states are safer overall, with lower fatality to registration ratios during the period 1978-2002 and downward trending injury rates from 1995-2004, the last period studied. (see attached charts)

Tennessee’s 270,000 licensed motorcyclists overwhelmingly support the right to choose when or if they wear a helmet, yet the medical and insurance lobbies bring up all the same old arguments about insurance, public burden, accidents, injuries and fatalities. If you believe those who oppose freedom, then forcing everyone to wear a helmet will cause the economy to boom and be the answer to every safety question known to man. It is the one “silver bullet” for which mankind has searched for millenniums. NHTSA says it is THE answer, yet their own stats that they don’t show you say otherwise. Studies show that mandatory laws and helmet hype also contribute to “risk homeostasis”, a false sense of security or feeling of invincibility. Considering that helmets only come into play in 20% of crashes, maybe the feds need to mandate body armor for the other 80%.

Since Tennessee head injury rates in automobiles are over 12 times higher than that for motorcycles, will we all be wearing helmets in automobiles soon? If the folks who proclaim “if we can just save one life” have their way, it’s possible. Fact: most accidents occur in the home. I wonder when we'll be facing mandatory floor mats and safety gear in all bathrooms, kitchens and bedrooms. Don't laugh... helmet laws are okay as long as they apply to the "other guy."

Tennessee motorcyclists sincerely want to reduce injuries and fatalities and feel the way to achieve this goal is increased availability of rider training programs, motorist awareness programs, addressing the issues of riding under the influence and the epidemic of motorists driving distracted and running over motorcyclists. Let’s concentrate on preventing the crashes! Look Twice – Save a Life!

The Tennessee Senate has passed SB 1511. Tennessee motorcyclists calling their House Representatives and making their feelings known to those who will vote on this issue over the next few weeks have the opportunity to make a fundamental change in government’s overwhelming desire to control our lives from cradle to grave. The prime sponsor of HB 1283 is also a practicing physician who rides. Co-sponsors include members from law enforcement, PhD’s , lawyers, engineers and other professionals.

(The prime sponsor, Dr. Hensley, has turned over the lead on the bill to Rep. Curry Todd since this was written)