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United
States Senate confirmed Anthony Foxx as the new Secretary of
Transportation
The Motorcycle
Riders Foundation reports that the United States Senate confirmed Anthony Foxx
as the new Secretary of Transportation. Foxx replaces the out going Secretary,
Ray LaHood.
Foxx, is a relative
newcomer to politics. For the past four years he was the Mayor of Charlotte,
North Carolina and prior to that he served on the Charlotte city council.
Foxx has stated his priorities for his new position would be safety, increasing transportation efficiency and boosting infrastructure development. The MRF looks forward to working Secretary Foxx in his new position.
NCOM BIKER
NEWSBYTES
Compiled & Edited by
Bill Bish,
National Coalition of
Motorcyclists (NCOM)
FEDERAL RULE WILL REQUIRE A
“BLACK BOX” IN NEW VEHICLES
Congress failed to pass
legislation that would have required manufacturers to install event data
recorders (EDRs) in all new vehicles, so a federal safety agency is using its
rulemaking authority to mandate that all new cars sold in the United States be
equipped with so-called “black boxes” - capable of capturing what happened in
the moments before and during a crash.
Citing privacy concerns,
House
Republicans had succeeded in removing a Senate provision requiring EDRs from the
final transportation bill last year, so the Obama administration is bypassing
the legislative process in favor of the administrative rule.
Insisting the devices are
meant for crash investigation purposes, and not for invading privacy, the U.S.
DOT National Traffic Safety Administration mandate will require all automobiles
and light trucks manufactured after September 1, 2014 to have an EDR device that
stores driving information for federal investigators.
Automotive EDRs are similar
to -- though not nearly as sophisticated as -- the black boxes used in
commercial airliners, and they are already installed in nearly 92% of today's
vehicles, according to industry officials, and provide important information for
industry engineers and, in some circumstances, law enforcement authorities.
But Horace Cooper of
the National Center for Public Policy Analysis called the move “an unprecedented
breach of privacy for Americans.” Cooper said that contrary to what is being
claimed, EDRs “can and will track the comings and goings of car owners and even
their passengers” -- and what they can record is virtually
unlimited.
In the meantime,
U.S.
Representatives Mike Capuano (D-MA) and Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) have announced
their intentions to introduce the “Black Box Privacy Protection Act” that will
protect drivers’ and riders’ rights by requiring dealers to disclose to
consumers if a vehicle is equipped with an EDR, would require manufacturers to
allow consumers to deactivate the device, and clarifies that the owner of the
vehicle owns the data and it cannot be accessed without
permission.
"Consumers should
have control over the information collected by event data recorders in vehicles
that they own and they should have the option of disabling the device if they
choose to do so. This is a basic issue of privacy," said Rep.
Capuano.
DESPITE MEDIA HYPE,
MOTORCYCLING IS SAFER
Record numbers of
motorcycles over the past few years have resulted in an increased number of
annual motorcyclist fatalities, and in light of overall motor vehicle fatalities
steadily decreasing gives the impression that motorcycling is becoming more
dangerous, but just the opposite is true.
While so-called safety
experts point to more and more states relaxing their helmet laws as the root of
all this evil, it’s in fact a numbers game that motorcycle enthusiasts are
winning.
Over the past five years,
since 2007 when there were just over seven million motorcycles in the U.S.,
motorcycle registrations nationwide have ballooned to eight and a half million;
an increase of 15% more motorcycles on the road today, while at the same time
fatalities per 100,000 registered motorcycles has actually decreased by nearly a
quarter! Moreover, over the past decade motorcycle registrations have risen
40.7% (from 5,004,156 in 2002 to 8,437,502 in 2011), but the fatality rate
dropped 17.3% (from 65.35 per 100K to 54.66).
Check out the most current
statistics acquired by the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM) from the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting
System (FARS), compared to motorcycle registration numbers found on the U.S. DOT
Federal Highway Administration website:
Year - Registered
Motorcycles / Rider Fatalities = Fatality Rate per 100,000
Motorcycles
2007 - 7,138,476 / 5,174 =
72.48
2008 - 7,752,926 / 5,312 = 68.52 2009 - 7,929,724 / 4,469 = 56.35 2010 - 8,009,503 / 4,518 = 56.40
2011 - 8,437,502 / 4,612 =
54.66
**NOTE: According to these
data analyzed by the National Coalition of Motorcyclists, motorcycle
registrations have increased 15.4% over the past five years, while fatalities
decreased by 10.9% and the fatality rate declined 24.6%...why isn’t the news
media reporting THESE facts?
GERMAN STUDY CLAIMS
MOTORCYCLE HELMETS COULD BE SIGNIFICANTLY SAFER
A study carried out by the
German Hohenstein Institute in Bönnigheim shows that motorcycle helmets could
indeed be a lot safer if some other measurements would be taken into account,
concluding that inner shell size alone is not enough for providing the best
protection-to-fit ratio, and the head shape is just as critical.
The Hohenstein Institute
study narrowed the head shapes to 6 major categories, with an amazing width
variance of 3.5 cm (1.37”), determining that one helmet size cannot possibly
offer the best fit for all these head shapes, even provided the circumference is
the same.
With the way the inner
impact layer fits on the rider's head being one of the critical elements in
shock absorption and G-dispersion, it's apparent that the same shape will create
different pressure points on a motorcyclist's skull, leading to various outcomes
in similar crash conditions.
Spaces between the skull and
the protective layer / liner result in less optimal protection in case of an
impact, and such anthropometric head data could improve helmet design and
manufacturing significantly, should the leading brands take notice of the
study's finding.
JAYHAWKERS SEE THE LIGHT
The
Kansas legislature unanimously passed House Bill 2318 which allows a motorcycle’s headlamp to be wired
with a headlamp modulation system, which must meet federal standards. The bill
also allows certain types of lights on the sides of motorcycles, visible only
from the side and not from the front or rear and to not protrude beyond or
outside the body or wheel of the motorcycle. The side lights may emit white,
amber, or red light without glare.
The legislation was
signed into law on April 4, 2013 by Governor Sam Brownback and goes into effect
July 1st.
RED-LIGHT CAMERA COMPANIES
FIGHT LAWS AND RULINGS AGAINST TICKET CAMS
Purveyors of red-light
cameras continue their quest to place cameras on every street corner in the
nation, and one strategy is to put the hit on states that have traditionally
been “protected” from cameras either through legislation or court
ruling.
Redflex lobbyists recently
swarmed over the Minnesota Statehouse pushing a bill to allow ticket cameras
into the state. The bill was written to thwart a 2007 Minnesota Supreme Court
ruling that Minneapolis’ red-light camera program was unconstitutional. The bill
was defeated in committee, thanks in part to the efforts of ABATE of Minnesota
and the National Motorists Association (NMA).
In Michigan, where a 2007
ruling from the state’s attorney general has been keeping cameras at bay,
recently introduced camera legislation has turned Michigan into the latest photo
enforcement battleground state.
The NMA (www.motorists.org)
warns that if you live in one of the 15 states that have taken steps to keep
cameras out, stay alert. Chances are that a camera company lobbyist is cozying
up to a friendly state lawmaker with a nice campaign donation and a pre-written
camera bill that needs support.
HONDA & BMW EXPERIMENT
WITH “AUTONOMOUS MOTORCYCLE”
Most connected
vehicle technologies have focused squarely on the car, but BMW and Honda are
working to develop autonomous driving technologies that work on two wheels. Both
BMW and Honda have already added plenty of connectivity to their cars, but now
the two automotive giants are working with the University of Michigan and
Australian startup Cohda Wireless to put networking smarts into their
motorcycles.
Adelaide-based Cohda
designs radio systems and software that will not only link nearby vehicles on
the road to each other, but also to the road itself. The idea behind its
autonomous car technology is to create an ever-changing ad-hoc network of
vehicles communicating their intentions and interacting with the infrastructure
of the road.
Known as
vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), these technologies
could help power self-driving cars of the future. The University of Michigan
Transportation Institute (UMTRI) runs one of the key test-beds for that
technology, and its lab is running an ongoing trial of 3,000 connected vehicles
in Ann Arbor, Mich., which is where Honda and BMW will put their connected
motorcycles through the paces, according to a report on
GigaOM.com.
Motorcycles may not
have much room on their instrument panels for the connected infotainment systems
going into today’s cars, but they could definitely benefit from any technology
that makes mounting a motorcycle safer, and one of the major goals of V2I and
V2V efforts is to reduce accidents and improve safety on the road. Vehicles
could make quicker and better driving decisions than drivers because they would
be able to access more info from the networks around them and react to it nearly
instantaneously (they’re also less easily distracted than human
drivers).
As for motorcycle
applications, Cohda and UMTRI plan to test technologies that let bikes talk to
traffic lights, roadside beacons and other cars, warning them of green lights
about to turn red and dangerous curves ahead requiring them to slow down. By
using a long-range secure form of Wi-Fi, a motorcycle could communicate with a
car long before the drivers can see one another as they both approach a blind
intersection.
Previously, a
riderless motorcycle was developed in 2005 by graduate students from UC Berkeley
to compete in a 150-mile off-road race for autonomous vehicles to further
develop self-navigating vehicles for the Department of
Defense.
CANADIAN INSURER TO
TRACK MOTORCYCLIST BEHAVIOR WITH “TELEMATICS”
With an eye to
calibrating insurance rates, Saskatchewan Government Insurance plans to use new
technology to track how fast and how far motorcycles go. It's called telematics
and someday could be used to help set insurance rates, among other things, but
for now SGI is just trying the technology out with a pilot
program.
It's looking for
several hundred motorcycle users to volunteer to have their bikes equipped with
telematics technology. The “black box”-type gadgets would record speed,
braking, mileage and location. The volunteer riders would have weekly updates
on their driving behavior, to show them what information SGI would be looking
at.
"Usage-based
insurance is the ultimate in rating fairness because it essentially lets the
driver control their own insurance rate through their driving behavior," said
Donna Harpauer, the minister responsible for SGI. "Simply put, those who drive
responsibly pay less and those who don't pay more."
While no one's rates
will be affected by the pilot program, the experiment is one of the ideas coming
out of the Motorcycle Review Committee, a group formed in the wake of a storm of
controversy after SGI had proposed boosting motorcycle rates an average of 73%
to compensate for high injury claims. Government-owned SGI later withdrew its
proposal and came back with some milder proposed increases for motorbikes,
including the telematics pilot program that could begin as early as this
season.
POPE BLESSES HARLEYS &
RIDERS
Thousands of Harley riders
from around the world were blessed by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square on
Sunday, June 16 as one of the stops in a worldwide celebration of the famous
motorcycle maker's 110th anniversary, which will roar across 11 countries before
concluding in Milwaukee over Labor Day Weekend.
Choral music mixed with
revving engines as the Holy Father blessed a sea of Harley-Davidson motorcycles
and riders from all parts of the planet flocking to Italy over the weekend of
June 13-16 to celebrate Harley-Davidson’s milestone, and earlier in the weekend
festivities, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church was presented with two
white classic Harley-Davidson motorcycles for use by Papal police and his own
black leather jacket.
Get in on the action while
the anniversary tour is still in high gear. Check out
www.110.Harley-Davidson.com for schedules and cities.
QUOTABLE QUOTE: “Men love
their country, not because it is great, but because it is their own.”
Seneca (4 BC – AD 65), Roman philosopher and statesman CALIFORNIA: http://www.mercurynews.com/mr-roadshow/ci_23538002/roadshow-outrage-over-comments-slamming-motorcyclists Outrage over comments slamming motorcyclists By Gary Richards June 27, 2013 12:21 PM GMT Q To Barbara Waaland and Sarah Morgan -- the ladies who were complaining about motorcycle riders and freeway signs urging drivers to look twice for motorcyclists in Monday's column: I have been riding motorcycles for more than 20 years and have been nearly run over or hit on freeways and surface streets by distracted drivers, most of whom have been women. Women in minivans full of unruly children, "chatty Cathys" having social time while driving with friends, people texting and talking on their phones, women with their yappy dogs on their laps or turning to give a child a juice box. There are "little old ladies" with poor timing pulling out of driveways in their tank-like sedans, and drivers listening to music so loud that they can't hear my bike next to them and who then change lanes. Oh, then there is the "I have to put my lipstick on while driving 65 mph." So ladies, it is not just riders that are dangerous. Although you may feel that we all deserve tickets, the lifetime consequence if you kill or maim one of us with your vehicle won't be worth not looking twice. Look twice for motorcycles (and bicycles for that matter). Your long-term mental health may depend on it. Rose Litvin San Jose A Monday's column on this generated a large response, and today motorcyclists and others who like the safety messages posted on electronic freeway signs weigh in. But let's be fair, Rose. Men and women drivers both need to be on the alert. Q I was shocked by your "Don't tell me to look out for motorcycles" column. When Barbara Waaland says she "has yet to see a motorcyclist that didn't deserve a ticket for some unsafe maneuver," and "if one chooses to get too close with a bonehead maneuver, he will have to take the consequences," I saw red. What a ridiculous thing to say. The vast majority of automobile vs. motorcycle accidents are caused by motorists who don't follow the rules of the road and take a good look. And when a motorcyclist goes down the question is never, "Did he get hurt?" It's "How badly was he hurt?" or "Was he killed?" There's no such thing as a fender-bender on a motorcycle. Dave Martens San Jose A Unfortunately, a year ago Dave and his wife were injured in a motorcycle crash on Highway 84. Q We were out for a pleasant ride one afternoon when an automobile coming from the opposite direction outside Livermore pulled an illegal U-turn in front of us and we hit him broadside at 50 mph. The aftermath has been horrible for us, to say the least. Perhaps if he would have heeded the "Look twice for motorcyclists" warning, an awful lot of pain and suffering could have been avoided. Dave Martens A Continue, please. Q We were both taken to a trauma center. My wife, thank goodness, used me as her personal air bag and then went airborne for 10 or 15 yards, ending up on the side of the road. She was scraped and bruised, with a sore neck and missing tooth. I took the majority of the impact, and needed to be airlifted by the Stanford Life Flight helicopter. I had a broken arm, torn tendons in my hand, massive rotator cuff tear (three of the four shoulder muscles were torn clean off the bone), broken hip socket, crushed knee and ankle as well as a concussion and road rash. I've had four surgeries at Stanford, with one more to go. I will wind up with two new and one rebuilt joint on my left side alone. Dave Martens A Dave has one final comment. Q I say that reminding motorists to "Look twice for motorcyclists" is some of the best advice ever given. Dave Martens A I so agree. It is silly to rail against a freeway message to look twice for motorcyclists. Q Thank you, CHP. You have made my life much safer since the start of your "Look twice for motorcyclists" campaign. I couldn't believe my recent experience lane-splitting south on Highway 1 through Santa Cruz. Motorists were giving my friends and I a wide berth and some hand-waving as we passed. Be assured there were a few motorists with issues, but what a wonderful difference. Looks like we have a chance that most everyone may get the word that to share the road is a good thing. I now have a little hope. Bud LeVesque San Jose A I hope your hope spreads ===== http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/murrieta/murrieta-headlines-index/20130609-murrieta-longer-yellow-lights-under-consideration.ece MURRIETA: Longer yellow lights seen as traffic camera remedy In Murrieta, a group says extended caution lights help reduce red-light runners but a city staff report says it could be confusing A motorist drives through the intersection of California Oaks Road and Jackson Avenue in Murieta under a yellow light on June 6. BY AARON CLAVERIE | STAFF WRITER A group of Murrieta residents, including some who fought to remove the city’s red light cameras, is working to lengthen the time of many of the city’s yellow lights in the name of safety. Murrieta officials, however, have questions about the benefits of lengthening yellows, which are set via a state-approved formula that includes the speed limit of the road leading to the light and conditions that would affect the ability of a motorist to stop in time. In addition, city officials said that tweaking times in Murrieta, without a corresponding move by neighboring cities, could create confusion for motorists. According to the group supporting the change, which includes Diana Serafin and ally Jay Beeber of Safer Streets L.A., longer yellow lights help solve many of the problems that red light cameras are supposed to fix, such as red-light running and collisions, and they allow for more people to be safer drivers. The group pointed to other cities that have extended yellow lights, such as Loma Linda and Fremont — which haven’t seen problems at adjacent intersections that are set according to the state’s formula or adjacent corridors, according to Beeber. During a special workshop on the subject, the council heard a presentation from city traffic engineering consultant Brian Stephenson and Police Chief Mike Baray. In a report for the council, which recommended leaving the timing as is, city staffers said drivers may get used to longer yellows at certain intersections and then expect those same times at other intersections. Yet organizations that study traffic issues said there are few issues with lengthening times. Marie Montgomery, spokeswomen with the Automobile Club of Southern California, said the club’s traffic experts have studied the issue and they have no problem with cities boosting yellow light time. “As long as they’re following engineering guidelines, longer yellows are a good thing,” she said. “The state standards are a minimum.” The benefit, she said, is that drivers entering the “dilemma zone,” the period when a motorist isn’t sure whether to brake or cruise through an intersection, get more time to make a wise decision. John Bowman, communications director for the National Motorists Association — a Wisconsin-based advocacy group — said the benefits of longer yellows are pretty clear cut, especially when comparing and contrasting longer yellows to cameras. “All of the lights where they had cameras … they dropped their violation rates by over 90 percent,” he said, using Loma Linda specifically as an example. “People don’t willingly run red lights when given enough time to make the decision to stop before the light. It’s when you shorten those yellow lights is when you put people into this dilemma zone.” Asked about the city’s concern about going alone with longer yellows, Bowman said he has never ran across that type of objection before. “Cities blend together all the time … I think most of the public policy makers are looking at what’s right in (their) community,” he said. Mayor Rick Gibbs said the matter will be discussed in more depth at an upcoming meeting of the traffic commission, which could come as soon as mid-July. The commission, he said, would dial into all of the specifics of the issue and make a recommendation to the council. Before making a decision to change the lights, however, Gibbs said the city needs to be assured the council has the power to change lights, that it would make traffic better and that it wouldn’t negatively affect neighboring cities. Talking about the issue of creating a sort of Murrieta “long yellow” island, Serafin said the city wasn’t concerned about neighboring cities when it decided to install red light cameras so it doesn’t make sense that they’re using that argument now. “Why worry about other cities? Maybe they’ll jump on board,” she said. ===== http://hometownstation.com/santa-clarita-news/los-angeles-county-sheriff%E2%80%99s-department-promotes-motorcycle-safety-35982 L.A. County Sheriff’s Department Promotes Motorcycle Safety Wed, 06/26/2013 - 10:43am . | David Mariuz .Category: Santa Clarita News .Despite a decline in motorcycle fatalities, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials are seeking to promote the importance of riding safely.  Graphics Credit: Shannon Fitzgerald “Riders and drivers need to respect each other and share the road,” said California Office of Traffic Safety Director, Christopher J. Murphy. In California from 1998 to 2008, the number of motorcyclists killed rose from 204 to 560. After a decade of steadily increasing fatalities – the trend has changed. In 2010 the number of motorcycle fatalities fell from 394 to 352 – a 37 percent decrease since the peak in 2008. However, in the area policed by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, the number of motorcyclists injured over the last 13 years nearly quadrupled with 47 in 1998 compared to 184 in 2013. Also, the number of motorcyclists killed over the same time period tripled with two killed in 1998 and six killed in 2011. Some of the reduction in deaths can be attributed to fewer improperly licensed riders. In 2008, a third of motorcycle operators killed under age 25 were not properly licensed. In 2009, that number fell to about a half.  In an attempt to continue lowering deaths and injuries,
the Los Angeles County Sheriff’sDepartment’s Risk Management Bureau will conduct a specialized Motorcycle Safety Enforcement Operation on June 26 in Diamond Bar. “The terrible trend of rising motorcyclist fatalities has been reversed, though there is more that everyone can do to save more lives,” Murphy said. Deputies will patrol areas frequented by motorcyclists and where motorcycle crashes occur. They will look for drivers and riders who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Deputies will also crack down on traffic violations made by motorcyclists as well as other vehicle drivers that can lead to motorcycle collisions, injuries and fatalities. California collision data reveals that primary causes of motorcycle-involved crashes include speeding, unsafe turning and impairment due to alcohol and other drugs. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is also reminding all motorists to always be alert and watch out for motorcycles, especially when turning and changing lanes. Riders, young and old, are encouraged to be properly licensed and to seek training and safety information. ===== http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_23553240/whittier-police-plan-enforce-motorcycle-safety Whittier police plan to enforce motorcycle safety By Venusse Navid, 06/27/2013 12:40:22 PM PDT Whittier police officers will increase patrol in July to enforce motorcycle safety, according to the Whittier Police Department. As part of the Motorcycle Safety Enforcement Operation, areas frequented by motorcyclists and motorcycle crashes will be closely observed. In Whittier, since 2009, there have been 87 motorcycle crashes resulting in 78 injuries and three fatalities, officials said. Motorcycle riders can get training through the California Motorcyclist Safety Program. For information and locations, visit CA-msp.org or call 1-877-743-3411. The program is funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. |
Sunday, June 30, 2013
BIKER NEWSBYTES
OFF THE WIRE
