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NEWS FROM THE ARCHIVES SPONSORED BY...
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THE AIM/NCOM MOTORCYCLE E-NEWS SERVICE is brought to you by Aid to Injured Motorcyclists
(A.I.M.) and the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM), and is sponsored by the Law
Offices of Richard M. Lester. For more information, call us at (800) ON-A-BIKE, or visit
us on the web at From The
GUNNY'S SACK
You know there is no end to some of the nastiness we see in the media about riders and
motorcycles. We've had a few reports recently from my boss, Oregon A.I.M. Attorney Sam
Hochberg, about what he sees on TV now and then that gets HIS hackles up. He just told
me another one: Seems that on the VERY popular NBC show "ER," there was a scene with a
young girl who was on the back of a bike when it wrecked. She arrived basically DOA in
the emergency room. Not much talk in the script about what CAUSED the wreck. Not ANY
talk about safety training. Just this little exchange. One doc says "What was she doing
on the back of a motorcycle?" The British doctor, "Dr. Corday," says: "What is ANYBODY
doing on a motorcycle?!"
It couldn't hurt to complain to NBC. They're big boys, they can take it. Tell 'em your
Gunny sent you, and e-mail an extra copy of whatever you write to me, if you would, at
AIMGunny@aol.com.
NEWS BITS'N PIECES:
TORONTO, CANADA: Here's some more media hype I saw; this one online. The headline:
"Dozens of Outlaw motorcycle gang members, including some top leaders, were arrested in
raids on biker clubhouses in Canada and the United States."
In Canada there were supposedly over 500 officers involved in this abomination, but the
press made it look even bigger than it really was. In the USA, the same game is being
played. I'm not saying I think all riders are saints. We have a few sour apples, too.
Our biggest problem as I see it is much the same as the Harley parked outside a bar that
everybody sees but no one ever sees the five or six pick-ups parked there too.
HARRISBURG, PA.: This is some good news. Pennsylvania Motorcyclists have "taxed"
themselves to ensure safer riding. They voted in some increased funding for their state
Motorcycle Safety Program. It's the best way to prevent motorcycle accidents, injuries
and deaths, says ABATE of Pennsylvania. And Joe Public still thinks we have a death wish
because we ride. This bill had 68 co-sponsors.
All SMRO's (State Motorcycle Rights Associations) could take a lesson here. In Oregon we
did about the same thing a couple of sessions ago and it works.
NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA: This bit comes to me (word for word) from Animal, my good buddy from
the north country: "Each year I emcee a toy run up in New Brunswick. This year we raised
over $10000 in cash and toys which is an awesome amount for up here. $5000 of it came
from the inmates of the Dorchester Penitentiary." Wow! Even convicts in Canada love
kids. And why not.
TOKYO, JAPAN: Government is stickin' it's paws where they shouldn't be again, this time
in Vietnam, and it's about motorcycles. In September, their government put a cap on how
many bikes and bike parts they would allow Yamaha build in their Vietnam plants. I guess
they wanted to give a leg up to their locally-owned motorcycle businesses there. Nice
idea, but it sorta backfired. Yamaha just said "screw it," and shut down their Vietnam
plant, at least for now.
EARTH ORBIT: A biker's wife is the pilot of the space shuttle Atlantis, at this writing.
The crew is headed up to the international space station. Pilot-astronaut Pamela Melroy
is the third woman to fly as a space shuttle pilot. Seems she hesitated about her
husband getting a scoot. But listen to what she said:
"I thought to myself, the guy's an airline pilot flying international and I'm a shuttle
pilot. Who am I to tell him it's not safe enough? To hold either of us back from doing
something that we're really excited about, because the other person would be worried
about you, would just be wrong. We just don't do it." Now THERE'S a "top-flight" woman
with the right attitude!
NHTSA:(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) From these good safetycrats comes
this critical information: "{...on a national level, motorcycle deaths have for the last
four years been steadily rising. The latest figures show that 3,181 people died in
motorcycle crashes in 2001, up nearly 10 percent from 2000, according to Rae Tyson of
NHTSA in Washington, D.C. It's fairly obvious to me that some folks don't take into
account that ridership has increased phenomenally in the last several years and many of
these new riders - some of 'em baby-boomers who are just NOW starting to ride - have
NEVER TAKEN A RIDING COURSE! NHTSA says they are perplexed at the sudden rise and tend
to blame it on states that have repealed their helmet laws. Well let me tell them this:
If we had BETTER and MORE rider ed, you'd see a big DROP in accidents and death. And a
LOT of these new boomer-riders have never ridden a big bike, and that's what NHTSA's own
stats say they're riding. Well, if the last time you rode was on a Honda 350 in 1973 and
you get yourself up on a brand-new Fatboy, you're just askin' for it if you don't get out
and get some training. A WHOLE lot has changed in the past 30 years about riding. If
we're all better riders and crash LESS, we can continue to tell NHTSA where to put their
statistics.
DEHLI, INDIA: So I come across this article from Reuters, and I find out that India's
transportation situation is the same as in a LOT of the poorer but up'n coming countries.
In short, they all go nuts for motorcycles! Now, some folks think it's just because the
buggers can't afford a car, and that IS part of it. These are countries that are just
now getting invigorated with growth and change -- kinda like it was here in the USA, a
long time ago. Bikes are THE most practical thing a person could buy there! Cheap on
gas, but flashy and cool. There are a whole slew of models and wild colors -- even from
major companies like Honda -- that we NEVER, ever see here in the US. Sounds great for
them -- I'll stick with my Valkyrie.
GUNNY AGAIN:
Remember that the Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (A.I.M.) program is in place to help
riders who have had any sort of mishap on the road. Our A.I.M. Attorneys around the
country are here for us and they are part of our riding world, so they know of that which
they speak. You can reach these guys by dialing 1-800-ON-A-BIKE or 1-800-531-2424. You
can reach Sam Hochberg here in Oregon at 503-224-1106, or toll free at 1-800-347-1106.
Keep the round side on the bottom.
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