Members Of Congress Back Opposition To Local And State Funded Motorcycle-Only Checkpoints.

OFF THE WIRE
The AMA members and concerned motorcyclists contacted their elected representatives and convinced a total of 30 members of Congress, to sent a letter to the leadership of the House-Senate Surface Transportation Reauthorization Conference Committee requesting the inclusion of language in the conference report that would prohibit the Secretary of Transportation from providing grants or any funds to states or local governments to be used for any program to create motorcycle-only checkpoints,AMA began tracking motorcycle-only checkpoints when they first appeared in New York in 2007. In 2011, using funds provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the state of Georgia conducted roadside motorcycle-only checkpoints as thousands of motorcyclists rode through the state on their way to Daytona Beach, Fla., for Bike Week, March 4 to 13. Another motorcycle-only checkpoint was conducted in northern Virginia during one of the nation’s most visible motorcycle rallies — Rolling Thunder — over the 2011 Memorial Day Weekend. Motorcycle-only checkpoints were also conducted in Utah when thousands of riders attended a world-class road racing event. Three states have since outlawed the practice — Virginia, North Carolina and New Hampshire — and legislation to prohibit them has been introduced in Illinois, California, Missouri and New Jersey.