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Washington, DC: Efforts to fight distracted driving move into high gear. President Obama's administration and federal lawmakers are making it clear that they are serious about reducing distracted driving on the nation's roads. In October, Obama signed an executive order banning federal workers from text-messaging on cell phones while driving government vehicles, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told federal lawmakers at hearings that he will work to "raise the awareness (of the dangers of distracted driving) and sharpen the consequences," and U.S. House and Senate committees held hearings on the issue.
The U.S. House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure held a hearing on Oct. 29, "Addressing the Problem of Distracted Driving." At the hearing, LaHood said education and awareness campaigns are essential for getting people to stop texting or engaging in other distracting activities while driving.
"We are still researching the effectiveness of combining high-visibility (law) enforcement with outreach campaigns in the distracted-driving context," LaHood said. "But we are hopeful that such efforts may prove effective in the same way that we've been able to use them to reduce drunk driving and increase seatbelt use."
Riders can contact their U.S. senators and representatives to thank them for having these hearings on combating distracted driving and urge them to include the motorcycle community in the ongoing discussions on legislation and development of technologies. To find contact information for elected officials, go to the
Issues & Legislation section of the AMA's website.
Source: www.amadirectlink.com/news/story.asp?id=1490
U.S. Senate holds hearing on pro-OHV bill. The U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, chaired by Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), recently held a hearing to receive testimony on various bills, including H.R. 689.
Introduced by Rep. Wally Herger (R-Calif.), H.R. 689 would reduce unnecessary bureaucracy for OHV enthusiasts looking to use the Chappie-Shasta OHV Area near Redding in Northern California. The AMA supports this bill and will continue to advocate its passage.
Source and link to webcast: www.amadirectlink.com/news/story.asp?id=1484
Washington, DC: AMA, others meet with new forest service head. AMA Government Relations Vice President Ed Moreland and Government Affairs Manager Royce Wood, along with representatives of various other outdoor recreation groups, met with new U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell recently to discuss forest trails.
Specifically, they discussed travel management plans for the forests, planning efforts related to various uses of forestland, and national forest policies. "Chief Tidwell seemed genuinely interested in what we had to say concerning recreational use of the national forests," Moreland said. "We're hopeful that there will be a lot of collaboration between Forest Service officials and recreational users of the forests under Tidwell's leadership.
The meeting was held Oct. 15 in Washington, D.C. and was arranged by Americans for Recreational Access, of which the AMA is a member. Also attending were representatives of the BlueRibbon Coalition, the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), Specialty Vehicle institute of America (SVIA), Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association, Specialty Equipment Market Association, Personal Watercraft Industry Association, and American Council of Snowmobile Associations. The U.S. Forest Service manages roughly 193 million acres of public lands across 155 national forests and 22 grasslands nationwide.
National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council (NOHVCC) OHV Public Land Advocacy Webinar series registration is now available for fall sessions. These webinars, interactive web based workshops, are for OHV riders and anyone interested in OHV land use. They are designed to give riders and land managers the skills they'll need to keep trails open in their areas. Each session will be approximately 2-3 hours long, and will be conducted by the same OHV management experts who conduct NOHVCC's on-site workshops.
The workshop modules were developed in cooperation with the American Motorcyclist Association, BlueRibbon Coalition, Motorcycle Industry Council, Off-Road Business Association, Specialty Vehicle Institute of America, and United Four Wheel Drive Associations.
Visit
www.nohvcc.org/education/webinars.asp for more information.
Montpelier, Vt.: Legislative committee debates proposal to allow ATVs on state lands. A rule change under consideration at the Agency of Natural Resources would, for the first time in state history, allow ATVs to establish a network of legal trails on state-owned lands. The proposal to lift the ATV ban on state lands has re-ignited a years-old debate about whether ATV's belong on public forests, fields and mountains.
State officials say the rule is intended to create short "connector" trails linking segments of a 600-mile network of legal trails created by the Vermont All-Terrain Vehicle Sportsman's Association. Committee members deferred a decision until their upcoming Nov. 17th meeting. Questions may be sent via email to:
ATVRULE@state.vt.us or via mail to: Meghan Purvee, Agency of Natural Resources, 103 South Main Street, Waterbury, VT 05671.
Source: www.anr.state.vt.us/
Atlanta, Ga.: The Georgia State Patrol and the Governor's Office of Highway Safety have announced a new safety education initiative aimed at reducing the number of motorcycle accidents across Georgia. The project was announced at the First Army Commander's Motorcycle Safety Rally at Fort Gillem.
Major Mark McDonough, commanding officer of the Georgia State Patrol, said Georgia State Troopers assigned to the Safety Education Unit would immediately begin incorporating motorcycle safety information as part of their safety presentations at schools, civic clubs, and other organizations. The safety program is also being offered at military facilities across Georgia.
"Educating all drivers is the foundation to build a program that will reduce the number of deaths on our roads," Major McDonough said. "Our goal is to make all drivers aware of motorcyclists and educate motorcyclists on the safe operation of the vehicle."
In Georgia, motorcycle training is available through a course coordinated by the Georgia Department of Driver Services. If you would like to schedule a motorcycle safety presentation for a civic group, contact the Georgia State Patrol Safety Education Unit at 770-229-3422.
Source: www.millercountyliberal.com/news/2009/1028/community/009.html
Wisconsin Assembly Bill 544, introduced by Asm. Spencer Black (D-Madison) and Senate Bill 364, introduced by Sen. G. Spencer Coggs (D-Milwaukee), would prohibit the installation, sale or distribution of wheel weights or balancing products that contain lead.
Aspen, Colo.: An association of mountain bikers in the Roaring Fork Valley has formally come out in opposition to the Hidden Gems Wilderness proposal. Already the focus of numerous state OHV and snowmobile groups, including the Colorado Off Highway Vehicle Coalition, the proposal would potentially affect many historically available riding areas.
The Roaring Fork Mountain Bike Association informed part of Colorado's Congressional delegation recently that it couldn't support the proposed "Hidden Gems Wilderness "in its current form. The letter was also sent to the county commissioners in Pitkin, Eagle and Garfield counties.
A wilderness designation prohibits motorized and mechanized vehicles and uses from public lands. The mountain bike association wants a slightly lower level of protection used on most of the lands targeted as Hidden Gems. Those "companion designations" would protect lands from natural gas development and motorized travel but leave them open to mountain biking.
Advocates from the Wilderness Workshop had previously agreed to seek a "Wilderness with bikes" designation for an area that includes parts of the popular Arbaney Kittle Trail between Woody Creek and Basalt. But overall these wilderness proponents want these areas closed and not available to any form of wheeled recreation.
Source: www.valley-journal.com/article/20091103/NEWS/911039995/1010/NONE&parentprofile=1001
San Francisco, Calif.: Bridge Toll Hike Proposed. The Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) is considering a toll increase that would most likely include motorcyclists riding on the seven state-owned Bay Area toll bridges: the Antioch, Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael, San Francisco-Oakland Bay and San Mateo-Hayward bridges. (The toll proposal does not affect the Golden Gate Bridge, which is owned and operated by an independent authority).
Three options were presented at the recent October BATA Oversight Committee meetings (
www.mtc.ca.gov/news/info/toll_increase.htm). BATA will hold three additional public hearings in the upcoming weeks. Written comments will also be accepted until 4 p.m., December 21, 2009 and should be submitted to the BATA Public Information Office at 101 Eighth Street, Oakland, California, 94607-4700; faxed to BATA at 510.817.5848; or sent via e-mail to
tolls@mtc.ca.gov. For more information on the hearings or the proposal, visit the MTC Web site at
www.mtc.ca.gov or phone the BATA Public Information Office at 510.817.5757.
El Centro, Calif.: Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area (ISDRA) season ramps up with new road, and increased emphasis on safety, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced recently. Long considered one of the premier recreational riding areas in the country, the ISDRA offers 118,000 acres of sand dunes open for OHV use.
ATV riders are reminded that California state law requires that all ATV riders under 18 years of age possess an ATV safety certificate issued by the state or be supervised by an adult possessing a certificate. An adult must supervise all ATV riders under the age of 14. More information regarding the ATV rider course, including free enrollment, can be found at
www.ohv.parks.ca.gov or by calling the ATV Safety Institute, (800) 887-2887.
All visitors are reminded that a permit is required at the dunes. They can be purchased from a number of different vendors online, at many local area stores, as well as at the dunes themselves. Visit
www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/elcentro/recreation/ohvs/isdra.html for the latest information.
Wasilla, Alaska: Wasilla City Council ponders ATV restrictions. In response to community requests to address the use of ATVs inside city limits, the Wasilla City Council recently met to discuss the results of a survey it conducted on the issue. The survey, which was posted to the city's website on August 24 and ran for 60 days, received 140 responses to the 10 questions asked. Questions included age limits, training, education, registration and identification required to operate ATVs. Of those responding, 70 percent identified themselves as ATV owners. The majority of respondents were between the ages of 30 and 60 years old, and almost all live in the city limits or the greater Wasilla area.
To see the survey and view the results visit:
www.frontiersman.com/articles/2009/10/22/local_news/doc4ae11791a907d449823793.txt
Shanghai, China: U.S. seeks help on drywall, ATV standards compliance. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) Chairman Inez Tenenbaum said that the CPSC delegation to China, which included a representative from the MIC/SVIA, was updating the Chinese side on U.S. regulations. One of them was the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act or CPSIA, which took effect in August 2008 and imposes heavy fines for violation of rules meant to protect children from lead (which can cause irreversible brain damage).
The talks were mainly devoted to new mandatory safety standards for ATVs. "In a global economy, with goods coming from all over the world, it's important that we have clear standards that we can enforce on imports," she said.
Source: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/23/AR2009102301531.html
