Thunder Roads Magazine of Oklahoma/Arkansas TRMOKAR July 2017_FINAL | Page 8

BIKERS INSIDE THE BELTWAY NEEDS YOUR PARTICIPATION TO MAKE CHANGE
THE ABATE UPDATE

THE

ABATE

UPDATE

The mission statement of ABATE of Oklahoma is to promote and defend motorcyclists freedom , safety , and awareness through education and legislation to make Oklahoma the best place to ride .

BIKERS INSIDE THE BELTWAY NEEDS YOUR PARTICIPATION TO MAKE CHANGE

If you never attended a MRF Bikers Inside the Beltway event , you have missed one of the most important ways motorcyclists can influence federal motorcycle legislation . This event is like the State Legislator Day , but on steroids .
Dressed in leathers and boots , Paula “ Rose ” Matteuzzi , Charlie and Bernie Williams , and I attended the 2017 event in Washington , D . C .. We visited every Oklahoma Senator and Congressman ’ s office to discuss the following issues that affect Oklahoma bikers . We met directly with Senator Inhofe and Congressmen Cole and Mullin . We met with assistants for Senator Lankford and Congressmen Bridenstine , and Lucas . We were not able to meet with Congressman Russell
8 Thunder Roads Magazine of OK / AR or his representatives .
Anti-profiling – Motorcyclists are profiled and treated unconstutionally by law enforcement and governments agencies . Example : the Oklahoma State Fair in OKC bans motorcyclists wearing motorcycle vests . In a recent MRF survey , approximately 50 % of motorcyclists said they had experienced some form of law enforcement profiling including no probable cause traffic stops to be photographed , asked to search motorcycle , demanding to know the bikers ’ travel plans . We need the same constitutional protection given to other groups in our society . We asked our legislators to support HR 318 and SR 154 , or pass a law to protect us .
E15 Fuel – We are
concerned that the EPA is pushing and funding for E15 fuel sales without sufficient testing of potential damage to small engines like ours .
Motorcycle Safety Council Members – When the FAST Act ( transportation bill ) was reauthorized last year , it reduced the number of experienced motorcyclists members to 1 out of the 10 members on the Motorcycle Safety Council . We feel bikers are inadequately represented .
Autocycles – We are concerned that statistics , especially crash statistics of 3-wheeled cars like the “ Slingshot ” will adversely affect motorcycle statistics which in turn will affect insurance rates and legislation . These “ cars ” need standardized and separate