NAMS & ‘NAM, POLITICS & POLICY
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Tom Wyld
November 22, 2000 #00-18 Phone: 202-546-0983
MRF Riders’ Alert:
NAMS & ‘NAM, POLITICS & POLICY
November 22, 2000
"NAMS" At the Print Shop...
The long-awaited final version of the National Agenda for Motorcycle
Safety
(NAMS) is finished. Officials with the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) told the Motorcycle Riders Foundation yesterday
that
NHTSA will unveil the report at the International Motorcycle Show, Long
Beach
Convention Center, at a press conference December 8th.
Many motorcycling organizations, including MRF, participated in the
NAMS
working group facilitated by NHTSA. The finished product, NHTSA
officials
said, will by no means represent a consensus of the views of all
working
group participants.
While copies of the finished product will not be available until the
press
conference, NHTSA officials told MRF that motorcyclists’ rights
advocates
will find in NAMS many issues of agreement and disagreement.
Here’s what we know:
NAMS tackles 23 issues (e.g., protective gear, road hazards, ITS, etc.)
of
concern to motorcyclists.
- The agenda consists of 82 recommendations for future action.
- NHTSA officials said they do not see the agency playing a lead role,
necessarily, in the critical implementation phase. "We foresee a role
in
implementation for private citizens, advocacy groups like MRF and
public
private partnerships," a NHTSA official told MRF.
- There will be many NAMS recommendations, with which MRF and SMROs
will agree
and disagree. Agency officials, for example, did not disabuse MRF of
the
notion that one area of disagreement in NAMS would deal with the issue
of
mandatory helmet laws. "I hope everyone will review NAMS carefully and
find
ways to work together in areas of agreement during the implementation
phase,"
one NHTSA official said.
- One of the key recommendations will deal with research, and NHTSA
officials
told MRF that the research needn’t be funded exclusively by government
but by
private parties and joint public-private partnerships.
NHTSA believes they were true to their role as facilitator. While it
doesn’t
necessarily reflect consensus down the line on every issue, it is a
product
of the working group, officials claimed.
A limited number of copies will be made available to MRF to share with
SMRO
leaders. If you would like a copy, e-mail mrf...@aol.com , or fax a
request to MRF
at (202) 546-0986. In the subject line, write "NAMS COPY REQUEST" and
provide your name, address, MRF and SMRO affiliation. Copies will be
provided on a first-come-first-served basis.
Helmetless in Hanoi...
During his visit to the Republic of Vietnam earlier this week,
President Bill
Clinton called for that nation’s sea of motorcyclists to heed the
nation’s
mandatory lid law and don their helmets.
Preferring freedom of the road, most riders there continue to defy
openly the
requirement.
In its coverage of motorcycling in Vietnam Nov. 8 just prior to
Clinton’s
visit, the Washington Post headlined that riders there are "unsafe at
any
speed." Not so, responded James Mirasol of the National Federation of
Motorcycle Clubs of The Philippines. The Post "failed to mention
whether the
propensity to ignore traffic rules was limited purely to motorcyclists
or if
drivers of other motor vehicles as well as pedestrians were just as
likely to
ignore traffic rules, as is certainly typical here in the
Philippines...."
Mirasol, whose presentation at this year’s MRF Meeting of the Minds,
riveted
the attention of American rider rights advocates on the international
scene.
He asserted that media bias misleads government officials and the
public "into
enacting band-aide solutions to the problems that result in too many
motorcycle deaths in every nation every day. This is certainly the case
when
motorcycles, at 32% of the population, [are involved in] less than 1%
of all
accidents, [yet] are officially declared as unsafe by some government
officials, banned from use on all toll expressways here in the
Philippines [or restricted through enactment of] mandatory helmet laws
as is
the case in Vietnam now...."
Safety, Mirasol continued, "is achieved not with a helmet law but with
rider
education and, more importantly, driver education on sharing the road
with
motorcyclists.... [T]ragically misleading articles ... galvanize the
resolve
of riders groups such as the 5,000-strong National Federation here in
the
Philippines, as well as our U.S.-based allies, the Motorcycle Riders
Foundation..."
On November 20, the Washington Times reported that Clinton called on
Vietnamese riders to don their helmets ("Clinton Gives Heads Up to
Unhelmeted
Vietnamese Cyclists"). Vietnamese rider resistance to helmets is so
widespread, it prompted the Times reporter to observe that "democracy
is a
much easier sell ... than mandatory helmet laws."
In response, MRF noted to the Times that riders believe their freedom
is part
of the same deal we call democracy.
"Our streets may not be as frenzied as the corner of Bong Khai and Ly
Tu
Trong in what is now called Ho Chi Minh City," MRF wrote, "but the same
facts
still apply. Helmets are no defense against the undisciplined traffic
of
many nations and no shield against undisciplined motorists here.
Worldwide,
we can advance safety while safeguarding rider choice regarding
helmets.
"In this nation, the next Congress and President can compel the
National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration to embrace, at long last, its
primary
mission of accident prevention by channeling Section 402 grants to
states
specifically to enhance rider training and motorist awareness of
motorcyclists. Also, NHTSA can better focus on prevention by ceasing a
distraction of its own -- its propensity to lobby states to adopt
mandatory
helmet laws, an activity prohibited by a provision of federal law
routinely
flaunted by the agency....
Together with our chief ally in the Pacific Rim, the National
Federation of
Motorcycle Clubs of the Philippines, MRF is working to identify riders
throughout the region, including Vietnam, who, without our help,
already find
themselves at the embryonic stages of an emerging motorcyclists’ rights
movement.
"The motorcyclists’ rights movement is one of many footnotes in the
closing
chapter of war," MRF wrote. "Returning U.S. combat veterans who took to
the
road turned to political action when forced by non-riders to ride what
they
didn’t want to ride and wear what they didn’t want to wear. Today, this
movement may become part of a first chapter on peace that is still
being
written, as an ABATE of Vietnam -- Asian Bikers Aimed Toward Education
-- is
now being seriously discussed by our allies in the Pacific Rim and the
founders of the motorcyclists’ rights movement in America.
"Whether they ride Vespas or V-Twins, bikers of every description and
in
every nation realize that motorcycling is not merely an expression but
a
catalyst of freedom."
First Politics, Then Policy...
In Election 2000, MRFPAC, the Political Action Committee of the
Motorcycle
Riders Foundation, endorsed the MRFPAC RIDERS’ MAJORITY -- 263
candidates for
the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives and 1 candidate for
the
Presidency of the United States. Less the agonizing quest for the White
House, which is still undecided, in excess of 91% of our endorsed
candidates
won their bid for public office. In an election that produced some of
the
closest contests in U.S. history, American motorcyclists can be proud
they
helped write that history by voting for the MRFPAC RIDERS’ MAJORITY and
reaching out to like-minded friends and family.
But our measure of effectiveness is not the lofty success rate we
achieved
but the fact that political involvement leverages gains in public
policy.
MRF has received numerous letters from lawmakers who numbered among
this
year’s RIDERS’ MAJORITY who wrote to thank MRF and riders everywhere
for our
strong showing at the polls and our direct support of their campaigns.
"I value your endorsement and the motorcyclists’ vote," wrote one
Congressman, "and I look forward to working with MRF and motorcyclists
in my
district in 2001."
"You supported me, and I appreciate it," said another. "Please count on
me."
Politics prepares the beachhead of public policy where the fight for
our
rights and safety is fought. Riders in Virginia, for example, are
making
strides in advancing their rider-choice agenda in the state
legislature.
This state-based legislative progress is helped by motorcyclists’
involvement
in elections, even in federal political contests. In the race between
MRFPAC-backed George Allen and Chuck Robb for the U.S. Senate seat from
Virginia, riders nationwide responded to and ultimately defeated a pro-
Robb
advertising attack that sullied the good character and reputation of
motorcyclists. Days later, riders, their friends and families went to
the
polls and delivered the votes that defeated Robb and seated George
Allen.
Just before the election, Allen wrote personally to MRF asking that we
count
on him to protect motorcyclists’ rights and advance our safety. Now,
the
Virginia House of Delegates appears responsive and supportive. Our
voice in
public policy is heeded when our vote at the polls is strongest.
After the election, MRF Member Paul Cotes of Massachusetts observed
that the
MRFPAC RIDERS’ MAJORITY prompted many motorcyclists to get involved in
political campaigns for the first time in their lives. "Please express
my
thankfulness to the MRFPAC Board ... [which] agreed to ‘endorse’
candidates
versus sit on the sidelines," Cotes wrote. "Riders need to be ‘citizen
bikers’.... I know a lot of riders who never, in 20 or more years,
worked on
someone's campaign.... MRF put the message out right, i.e., build
signs,
hold signs, make phone calls, write ‘dear friend’ letters. That's part
of
what it takes, it’s real easy and you meet great people, even if they
don't
ride. And we, working on the campaigns, lessen their misplaced fear of
us.
Good stuff MRF. Keep it up!"
We will.
This Thanksgiving, have a happy holiday, as motorcyclists worldwide
have
plenty of reasons to give thanks and look forward to a brighter, safer
future.
Yours for the right to ride,
Thomas C. Wyld
Vice President, Government Relations
Motorcycle Riders Foundation
–––––
The first motorcyclists’ rights organization to establish a full-time
legislative advocacy presence in Washington, the Motorcycle Riders
Foundation is the only Washington voice devoted exclusively to the
street rider. MRF established MRFPAC in the early 1990s to advocate the
election of candidates who would champion the cause of rider safety and
rider freedom. MRF proudly claims state motorcyclists’ rights
organizations and the very founders of the American rider rights
movement among its leading members. Motorcyclists worldwide can thumb-
start their search for rider rights and safety on the web at
www.mrf.org.
a.. MRF: My Ride is Freedom –
<<30>>
For further information contact Tom Wyld at 202-546-0983 or by e-mail
at wy...@mrf.org
© All information contained in this release is copyrighted.
Reproduction permitted with attribution. The Motorcycle Riders
Foundation, incorporated in 1987, is a membership based national
motorcyclists' rights organization headquartered in Washington D.C. The
MRF is involved in federal and state legislation and regulations,
motorcycling safety education, training, licensing and public
awareness. The MRF provides members and state motorcyclists' rights
organizations with direction and information to protect motorcyclists'
rights and motorcycling. The MRF sponsors annual regional and national
educational seminars for motorcyclists' rights activists and publishes
a bi-monthly newsletter, THE MRF REPORTS. Voice: 202-546-0983, Fax: 202-
546-0986, E-Mail: wy...@mrf.org, website:
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