CALL TO ACTION: To all US Defenders

OFF THE WIRE

CALL TO ACTION

To all US Defenders

Due to the recent actions by the US Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood and his newly appointed Administrator Mr. David Strickland of NHTSA, we are a Calling to Action by all members of our motorcycle community to participate in this very important issue. This Call To Action is supported by every motorcycle rights O Organization (MRF, AMA, TMRA2, TMRA, ABATE, MMA) and must be carried out and delivered by the US Defenders/C.O.I.R, and all Confederations or Coalitions in every State!

Mandatory roadblocks are being carried out in many states under the ruse of a "Safety Check." These roadblocks or checkpoints for motorcycles ONLY are being conducted illegally and are discriminatory to say the least. This is one more piece of evidence of the constant profiling attempts targeting our community at large.

There are law suits that will be brought from MROs and different states very soon. There has been a resolution drafted by our friends from the north, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisconsin) H.R. 1498 supporting efforts to retain a ban on NHTSA's ability to lobby state legislators using our federal dollars through the "Motorcycle Law Enforcement Demonstration" grant program.

We support each State's rights to determine their own helmet policies, NOT David Strickland's position of wanting to, "put a helmet on every motorcyclist's head" to reduce accidents and fatalities. The statistics prove that motorcycle safety and awareness, in conjunction with rider training programs across the country have a far greater impact in reducing injuries and fatalities. The funding the government has set aside would be much better spent in causation studies, such as the one being conducted right now in Oklahoma.

ALL motorcyclists need to participate by writing, calling, emailing and faxing Ray LaHood, David Strickland, and most importantly contact your elected United States representatives! Ask your legislators for their support of H.R. 1498 Sensenbrenner on this issue, and do it today!

A sample letter is attached for your convenience -- simply select your U.S. Representative, email and/or fax the letter to your state legislator immediately. The link listed below provides you with your legislator's info -- you can either cut and past the attached letter and send it via email, or, fill in the appropriate legislator's name and mail to the address listed on the website.

Ray LaHood
U.S. Secretary of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
Phone: 202.366.4000
http://ntl.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/ntl.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php

David Strickland, Administrator
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
Phone: 1-888-327-4236 (toll free)
http://www.nhtsa.gov/Administrator

U.S. House of Representatives: ttp://WWW.house.gov/Welcome.shtml
To find your representative, click on the link, select "California" and then type your zip code.

Reference links:
http://capwiz.com/amacycle/issues/alert/?alertid=15219101
http://www.mrf.org/2010/news_release/10NR22.htm
http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/news/nhtsa-funding-motorcycle-only-check

As always, it's important to track our efforts -- we don't want NHTSA and others say that they didn't receive any support from the motorcycle community. Please disseminate this info to your clubs ASAP and let me know how many contacts have been made. Simply respond back to this email address with your results.

PITA