Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125997
.. ; National Day of Protest III Biken rally against Federally mandated helmellaws Da ~ t there are now >n r-... C"l 00 • >- = 'J • aluminum handlebars approved by theAMA theirs and ours DISTRIBUTOR INQUIRIES INVITED _ ~a 'tJ ~ _-.Wsw. ...~ 4' '~"''''''''~ .i -W . ~ DALLAS.TEX AS 2141428·8357 By Lane Campbell LOS AN GELES, CAL. ,J UN E 29 . Organization apparently made the difference between positive impact and fizzle as motorcyclists attempted a nationwide, looselycoordinated "National Helmet Protest D a y " at federal buildings .in major ci ties. In Los Angeles, a rally staged by the Modified Motorcycle Association (MMA) drew an e stimated 3000 to 5000 ride rsand came off with clockwork precision under _OFF-ROADI Specializing in Off-Road Vehicles & Motorcycles New & used parts. Motocross & Desert accessories SUNDAY JULY 13 ~rnW~~rnffi~~ RACEWAY AN INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY PARKS, INC fA CILITY . Irwindale Ave . exit off 2 10 f reew ay . 213-334-4 9 49 . Right -on Assemblyman Carpente r. 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Reports from the re st of the co un tr y are spotty at best , as media in 'o ther citi es barel y noticed the happening an d th e Al\I A ch o se to rem ai n al o of. th ough n ot o p posed to the rallie s in principle. Early report s indicate 50 0 riders ga the re d in San Fra ncisco a nd abo u t 3 00 in Wash ingto n. D.C. In all kn own cases, th e rallies we re peace ful. In Los An geles , the police ga the re d ear ly near th e L. A. Federal Building on Wilsh ire Bo ulevard. wit h squad car s trickling into th e are a and uniformed officers taking station o n nearby rooftops. The riders gathered a t the me rry-go-round in Griffith Par k , and having been denied a parade permit to run on su rface streets, proceeded toward th e Federal Building in the normal traffic stream on the freeways, creating a procession over three-quarters of a mile long. Meanwhile, people began to trickle in in ones and twos from all directions . The procession peeled off the San Diego freeway j ust after Noon , led by a Harley side ha ck (ex- LAPD surp lus) bearing American and Cal ifornia state flags, and the MMA sound tru ck. Riders co n tin ued to pou r into th e Fe de ra l Building p ar kin g lot for the nex t hour. Wha t im p ressed the m ed ia types was the clockwork , p recision with wh ic h M~ IA co nd ucted the ra lly and the genera lly low-key, peaceful atmosphere. On ly on e potential tro ublemaker a ppeared - some kind of provocateur dressed in a yellow Turkish towel with ,,' . sh~,:e!l, hei'~ t\(tl,t. .c;u' AA)\'ll9' ~rt,e~,to hassle one of the TV cameramen. This rather strange individual disap p eared quickly when it became evident he'd be dismantled with surgical precision if he didn't wrap u p . Though abo u t 80 pe rce nt ch opper, enough general to uring riders an d cafe racers showe d up to give the protest a fairly broad base. Most showed up bareheaded (California has no helmet la w as yet) though some wore helmet s and ca me to protest the Fe de ral standards on p rinciple. Bob Bitchin. of Biker News set the to ne in a short speech by saying, "We're not just here to ra lly against something b ut to rall y fo r good legislation. " He specifically mentio ne d two bills in Co n gress, H R 3869 and SR 6 211 , each of which would preven t D.O.T. fro m usi ng b lackmail tactics to force states to adopt helme t la ws. (This p ra ctice wi ll also co me up for adm inistrative re view by the Na tional Commission o f Unifo rm T raffic Laws & Or d n ances]. State Assembly man Paul Carpenter (D-Garden Grove) ste pped up to ur ge su p por t for his bill. AB 1809, a measure t o a u t h or i z e m o t o r c y cle safety ed uca tio n in the California schools. Assem bly man Carpenter is a fo rmer h e I m et I aw advocate wh o; after co nsu lt a tio n with re sp o nsible bikers, de cided t o tak e a new tac k t ha t e m p h a s ises ed ucatio n rather th an p unit ive co m p u lsion. Carpen te r also announced th at he ha d been in confere nce with DMV's newl y-appointed Dire ct or Herman Sillas a nd that both th e Class Three driver's test and the Cal ifornia Driver's Manual were being revised to include questio ns on motorc ycle safety for car drive rs. He also gave the asse m b ly some good off-the-cuff advice about writing their state legislato rs. The Los Angeles gathering m ade both the lo cal news and TV network news on all three maj or ne t wor ks, apparently the only lo ca l rally to do so. Mu ch of the su ccess in obtaining favorable media attention can be credited to the MMA organizers, who had done their spadework with t he networks weeks in advance to assure full .J coverage. • ~ III Q. ::; et o Z 'et " .J > III III o b J: Q.