News Bytes
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. If you’ve been involved in any kind
of accident, call us at 1-(800) ON-A-BIKE or visit www.ON-ABIKE.com.
NCOM BIKER NEWSBYTES
Compiled & Edited by Bill Bish,
National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM)
WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH IS NOT PLANNING TO PROTEST 2016 BIKER RALLIES
WHITE HOUSE RESPONDS TO RACING PETITION
A few weeks ago, a purported news story made the rounds
about the federal government instituting a curfew on all bikers, and now the latest trending UNTRUE story claims the
“Westboro Baptist Church Announces Plans To Protest 2016
Motorcycle Rallies.”
Citing a long list of major bike events, the article says a
church spokesperson “confirmed that arrangements have
been made for Westboro Baptist Church members to attend
and protest multiple motorcycle rallies throughout 2016.”
This spam is sourced from a known hoax website, but many
have unknowingly forwarded and shared the “news” across
the Internet.
WBC has no such planned interactions with bikers, although
the group’s vile protests at soldier’s funerals were themselves the catalyst for bikers to come together to shield funeral-goers from the hateful signs and chants, and forming
the Patriot Guard Riders.
While you obviously can’t trust everything you read on the
Internet, the National Coalition of Motorcyclists has been a
proven source of timely, reliable and valuable motorcycling
information for more than thirty years, and NCOM encourages you to confidently share NCOM Biker Newsbytes with
fellow concerned riders via print and social media.
ANTI-PROFILING MEASURE APPROVED BY
MARYLAND LEGISLATURE
Maryland is set to become the second state in the country behind Washington to pass a law restricting police from profiling
motorcyclists. Companion bills HB 785 (passed 136-0) and SB
233 (passed 47-0) call for a statement condemning motorcycle
profiling to be included in police policies and require training of
officers on “motorcycle profiling,” defined in the legislation as
“The arbitrary use of the fact that an individual rides a motorcycle or wears motorcycle-related clothing or paraphernalia as
a factor in deciding to stop, question, take enforcement action,
arrest, or search the individual.”
The motorcycle anti-profiling legislation passed unanimously
30 Thunder Roads Magazine® Colorado
through committees and both chambers of the Maryland legislature, without a single no vote and without opposition from
law enforcement, and heads to Governor Larry Hogan who is
expected to sign it into law.
“Having the Police Training Commission add information
on motorcycle profiling in their current training materials can
only benefit everyone, by helping to raise awareness of any
implicit bias officers may have against those who ride motorcycles or wear clothing associated with those who ride motorcycles,” stated the ACLU in written testimony in support
of the measure, and drawing comparisons to racial profiling.
The White House has been flooded with nearly 170,000
signatures from racing enthusiasts and race industry stakeholders concerned over an over-reaching regulation from
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that would prohibit street-legal vehicles, including motorcycles, from being
modified for racing, and the Obama Administrations “We The
People Team” recently responded, noting that the EPA is still
considering the proposed standards and the issue is still in
review.
The EPA has reopened the proposed regulation for further
public comment, with final approval expected this summer.
While the battle over the EPA proposal continues, the U.S.
Congress has introduced the bi-partisan Recognizing the
Protection of Motorsports (RPM) Act (HR 4715) which would
ensure that street vehicles can continue to be modified for
the track. Regardless of whether the EPA removes the onerous provision to prohibit racing conversions from its regulation, the RPM Act would guarantee that the longtime practice
of modifying street vehicles into dedicated racetrack competitors is continued today, and protected for future generations of race fans as well.
CONGRESSIONAL BILL WOULD
PROMOTE USE OF E15 GAS
Despite controversy over the proliferation of E15 fuel, which is
not approved for use by any motorcycle manufacturer and can
invalidate warranties, Congress will consider a bill to expand
existing infrastructure utilized in the “process of dispensing fuel
containing covered renewable or alternative energy.”
HR 4673, the “Renewable Fuel Utilization, Expansion, and
Leadership Act” (REFUEL Act) would provide federal grant
money to subsidize the installation of blender pumps and
equipment necessary to expand the availability of E15 gasoline, a fuel blend containing 15% ethanol.
The measure directly conflicts with earlier Congressional
action taken in the FARM bill to prohibit funding for ethanol
blender pumps, in an effort to restrict E15 expansion in the
U.S. marketplace.
May 2016
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