Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

...................................................... ..................... POLITICAL HOTLINE ~ Support AB 180 -·it's "our" bill Unless you've been active at one o f the recent helmet protests In Southern California, you've' probably not heard of State Assemblyman Paul Carpenter (D) of Garden Grove. When we first heard of him, he was a bit of a badguy, for he'd just introduced another mandato ry helmet bill. What m ade hi m a bit different wasthe courage to be present at a helmet protest to justify hi s views to the bill's most vocifer ous opponents. It turned out that Carpenter was not your garden-variety motorcycle hater; he'd authored his bill o ut of genuine concern for young people's safety after a good frie nd's kid had been killed in a street accident. Because his conern is genuine, he listened to bikers' reasons why mandatory helmets alone weren't the answer, then asked us point-blank: " OK. if helmets won't do it, tell me what will." Upshot of all this was a committee of concerned bikers (including CN 's editor) who met several times to recommend measures which we felt would honestly save street bikers' lives , with especial emphasis on the young or inexperienced rider that statistics show most at ri sk. Among these recommendations were "motorcycle awareness" questions to be added to the Class 1Il (auto) drivers exam, which is in the process of being im p lemented by DMV; scotching the par king-lo t marker cone rider test in of more realistic and favor comprehensive test p roced ures (a reform which still has a way to go , due t o b ureaucratic inertia an d o ther factors); and mo st importan t1y , the inclusi on of m o tor cy cle ri der training in Califo rn ia 's school sys te m . This last is the thrust of Ca rpen ter's bill , A B 1809. It 's a good bill, written carefully to try to get the most be nefit t hrough a reluctan t legislature and a hidebound bureaucracy, man y of whose m em bers would just as soon see the idea sho t down. It would authorize Califo rnia school districts to conduct rider training courses in the adult ,edueation system and would require the Department of Education to develop standards for such classes. It would transfer the $3.25 that Californians pay -for Class IV (motorcycle) operator permits into a fund to reimburse the school districts for the cost of the classes: (In some cases, Federal matching funds and other types of grants are also available to sweeten the kitty) . To u s, it's not that new an idea, nor is it that great a windfall for bikers. Yet it is a landmark for California, and it's the most that Carpen t er felt he could get his starched-collar colleagues to swallow in on e lump . Eve n so, it's go ing to have ro ugh sledding, as two members o f the Assembly Education Co m mittee , Leroy Green e (D) Carmichael an d Le ona Egeland (D) San Jose (Districts 6 and 24, respectively) , have p u blicly opposed the bil1 on grounds that it would "encourage motorcycle riding." How you can help Although Carpenter has .lit tl e hope of changing their set opinions, it w ouldn't hurt, if you lived in Greene's or Egeland's districts, to politely tel1 them they're wrong. Quick, grab y o ur California reference pul1out, find if you live in their district and either drop by their district office, give them a call , or write them. More important, however, are the other members of the Education Committee, many of whom are "SWinj votes." They include : Dixon Arnett (R Redwood City, William Campbel1 (R Whittier, Pau l Carpenter (a definite "yes" vote), John Collier (R) Arcadia, Julian Dixon (D) Los Angeles Dist , 49 , Gary Hart (D) Santa Barbara, Jim Keysor (D) San Fernando Dist. 39, Bill Lancaster (R) Covina, Joseph Montoya (D) La Puente, Floyd Mori (D) Hayward, Alfred Siegler (D) Santa Rosa, Tom Suitt (D ) Palm Springs, John Vasconcellos (D) San Jose and (we th ink) Teresa Hughes Los Angeles Dist, 47. If ever bikers needed to do something different, it is to put up a massive show of support for something. We've already shown our strength as "aginners." AB 1809 comes up before the Education Committee for a rehearing January 8 (The Lame Camel's 35th birthday. Hot Damn), which may seem a little far away yet. But Cycle News is taking a vacation over Christmas, and so are most of those legislators. So mid-December through New Year's is as good a time as any to use that district office whose address you have (if y o u've not thrown away your pullout) . You might catch your man (or lady) at home. And if, d uring the first week in January , those committee members get a to n of mail in favor of AB 1809, so much the better. Got it? We won't let you forget. the department to fol1ow up on the story , the receptionist asked, "Is it in regard to that Cycle News story? " uYes." " Let me transfer you." It seems they'd had to detail somebody ful1 time at one phone to answer the calls. When he answered, the first thing he said was, "Don't believe everything you read." After twenty minutes of question-and-answer.. he asked, "Say, are you a dealer." "No, I'm a Cycle News editor." Chortle, chortle . Sometimes, investigative reporting can be fun. On the serious side,.if anybody up in Oregon has a data sheet or booklet of state legislat o rs ' addresses and districts, so we could do another reference pul1out, it would sure be nice. It's not a super hassle yet, but come January 1, 1976, two counties in Arizona (Pima and Maricopa) will be conducting emissions tests on all vehicles less than 15 years old which are sold thro ugh dealerships. We've seen copies of the test limits in terms of parts , per million of h ydrocarbons (HC) and other crud. It looks like this wil1 have no adverse effect on motorcycles, al though motorcycles wil1 have to take the test when sold through a dealership. The figures indicate a bike would have to be running fairly rotten to fail the test, and the allowable level for two strokes seems acceptable. On a more immediate note, Arizona's Association of Concerned Motorcyclists wil1 try to drum up support for a helmet law repealer, starting with a 10 mile ride (under a parade permit) and State Cap it o l rally on J anuary 11. The ride wil1 - begin fr om Phoenix Municipal Stadium, leaving for the Capitol at 1 :00 p .m . sharp. For further info , write AACM, P.O. Box 501 , Glendale, AZ 85311. Quiet progress at MSF December 12 (a Friday) if you 're ar ound Palmdale, that's the day the Riverside and Bakersfield District BLM Advisory Boards are m eet in g jointly, to talk about the Red Mtn ./EI Paso Desert Plan, at the Palmdale Holiday Inn, starting at 8 a.m , Less well-publicized, but equally important to riders who use the area , is the Management Framewor k Plan for the Escondido-Border Units of BLM desert land in District 3 8. Like the El Paso plan, this one is avail able through the Riverside office, 1695 Spruce St., Riverside, CA 92507. Write for a copy, study it, and be prepared to make specific comments. In the Eldorado Nat'!. Forest (California) bikers are reported to have good representation, but it's being largely ignored by the local officialdom. Write USDA Forest Service, 10 0 Forni Road, Placerville, CA 95667, ask for a copy of their ORV management plan and, again, be prepared to comment if you know and ride the area. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation is not the so rt of outfit t o conduct its affairs in a high-p ressure P.R.-type environment. Instead the organization, privately funded, chooses to do things quietly, undertaking "seed-kernel " projects that bear rich fruit in years to fol1ow. Such an effort has been their slow, step-by-step development of motorcycle rider education training methods and materials, training and qualifying in structors at all educational levels so those folks might in tum teach others how, in a project that gradually mushrooms. Part of the harvest is the Motorcycle Safety Education Recognition Program whereby motorcyclists can obtain insurance discounts after suceessful1y completing rider education courses. Backed by Universal Underwriters and Midwest Mutual, the program enables schools and colleges to gain the necessary approval for their courses. Educators and interested folks should write for in fo on the program to MSF, 6755 Elkridge Lan d ing Rd ., Linthicum, Maryland 21090. More good news - MSF's President Charles Hartman and Public Affairs Director Eugene de Stefano were elected to National Safety Council's Board of Directors . This means that for the first time, mo t o rcy clists have a voice right at t he top of the safety "establishment." MSF has a couple of tips for folks thinking of teaching motorcycle riding. For classroom instruction, a teacher can handle up to 30 students, same as any other class. However, for on-the-bike training, things differ. MS F suggests that on the school's riding range, 5-10 As reported by bulletin earlier, Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality agreed, after meeting with MIC reps, to ligh te n u p a bit on t h eir noise control regs. Race bikes can be displayed if placarded for competition use o nly, hassles will be minimal, and prospective buyers will only have to sign a simple affadavit instead o f being subjected to the harassment of the " applicati on" procedure. It turns out that CN 's original articles on the subject generated a certain amount of heat. When our editor called HAPPENINGS USFS - OREGON OREGON DUNES NA T'L. REC. AREA ADVISORY COUNCI L December 15 at Suislaw Nar'I. Forest Headquarters, Corvallis, Oregon. Starts 10 a.rn, Review of final environmental statement. Open to p ublic, persons wishing to attend no tify Marne Irwin, 855 Highway Ave ., Reedsport , O R 97467 . Ph : (503) 2 7 1-36 1 1. Written statements may be filed . I-. IlJ ..0 E IlJ U IlJ a Arizona's tum in the spotlight Land Use: A passel of hassles Winding down the Oregon noise flap ••••••••••••••••• students per period is about what a good teacher can handle, based on two students per motorcycle, up to five bikes available to the class. For on-street instruction, it's two to four students max per instructor per period experienced instructors only. Of course, the numbers can vary, depending on how good the teacher is, and the nature of the lesson being taught. Professional journalism? What's that? The American Association for Automotive Medicine, a doctor-oriented grou p that di scusses how to p u t accident victims back together again, had a periodic conclave in San Diego late in November. One of the co nvention's many wor k sessi ons dealt with m otorcycl e accidents, an d in a keynote tal k for that group, Albert Kelley, senior' vice pre siden t of the Ins urance Inst itu te fo r High way Safety, called on his colleagues to face so me hard- nosed choices concerning motorcycle safety. He then laid out the alternatives, which ranged from an outright ban to high school driver education and training. Naturally, the Southern California daily papers picked it up, and in nearly all cases, the headlines shouted " Safety expert urges ban on motorcycles" or variations on that theme. Contacted by phone in his office on the seventh floor of the Watergate complex in Washington, Kelley asked to see copies of the offending articles and offered to send Cycle N ~ w s the transcript of the meeting, including his original remarks. "You probably won't like or agree with what I've said, but it was not what. the articles reported," he explained, noting the group's emphasis on reducing the human toll of accidents, with whatever means were available. Call for volunteers District 36 officer and CAMAD re p Bruce Young has an idea for a " wa t chdo g" network of volunteers who can react t o lan d use crises, attending meetings, doing general legwork, mapping potential riding areas (as D-37's UEA is currently doing n ear Red Mountain) , and generally hel pin g spread the workload that currently rests on the established organizations. He wants t o start by cre ating a me of names, addresses and phone numbers of potential volunteers, so if interested, get in touch with him at 1301 Sheffield Way , Roseville, CA 95678 , ph : (916) 78 3-5676. • 31

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