TMRA-2 Update

For your information concerning matters that effect us all.
SKooter


1. TMRA2 update on Helmet Bill, by Sputnik

2. Toll Roads update, we need letters, By Linda Curtis, Indy
Texans

3. Motorcycle Safety Resolution, from the MRF, Jeff Hennie

4. Motorcycle Safety, why we should support the MRF, by David Die

5. IMPORTANT "DO YOU SEE ME NOW" RUN, Corpus Christi May 9th at
10:00am







1. At the request of Senator Carona we set out to draft a Bill
that would

make riding safer for all. During several meetings with his staff,
representatives from TxDot, DPS, Insurance Industry, Baylor College of
Medicine, Attorneys and a lady representing Education we began
negotiations. Paul Landers representing the Texas COC and I
representing TMRA 2 were the opponents.

The Senator's plan was to ride without a helmet you would need the
Rider Training Certificate and $150,000 in medical insurance policy.
But he said if we could come up with a plan we could agree on he would
accept the Bill. It was pointed out that $25,000 PIP would cost over
$7,000 per year and only one company would carry it in Texas. Not
Acceptable. We kept pushing for training and enforcement for those who
cause collisions.

The representative from DPS spoke up and said that what we have now
doesn't work. The sticker is so small it is a waste of time and money.
We bantered back and forth for three meetings and I was ready to call
it quits when we began the fourth meeting. Fortunately all the points
we had discussed over the last few days began to gel. The following is
what we agreed to:

From funds appropriated for that purpose, the department shall conduct
a continuing public awareness campaign to promote motorcyclist safety
and the concept of sharing the road with motorcyclists.

New Riders must pass the Rider Training Course to be licensed. Upon
receiving a license they will receive written information on the organ
donor program.

If a Person fails to yield the right of way and causes a collision the
minimum fine is $500, if the collision results in injury to another.
If the collision results in serious bodily injury or death to another
party other than the operator the minimum fine shall be $1,000.

To ride without a helmet you must have the Rider Training Certificate
or Medical Insurance.(no dollar amount is mentioned.) The insurance
department shall come up with type of acceptable health programs.

Motorcycle Awareness shall be included in the driver education program
or driving safety course.

And finally

A peace officer may not stop or detain a person who is the operator of
or a passenger on a motorcycle for the sole purpose of determining
whether the person has successfully completed the motorcycle operator
training and safety course or is covered by a health insurance plan.
(No more sticker to buy) The Bill has been heard in Committee already
and no one opposed it.

Ride Free - Ride Sober

Sputnik



2) From Linda Curtis



FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS,



Contact YOUR Senator ASAP and ask that he stand up for constituents
and future generations and Vote NO on both:

a.. SB 17

b.. & SB 404

and tell him why you think these 2 bills are NOT the way to finance
ANY of the roads in Texas. Here are some of the reasons these
contracts are BAD for Texas.



In these CDA and Public Private Partnerships agreements WE WILL BE:

1.. Handing over our public transportation assets to corporations
for long periods of time.

2.. Having to pay for police, fire, EMS, and Hazmat service on PPP
toll roads

3.. Agreeing to long contracts within which time transportation will
certainly undergo dramatic changes but we will be locked into
antiquated technology.

4.. Putting billions of dollars of profits into corporations which
do not stay in Texas or support our economy.

5.. Allowing financial giants from Wall Street like Goldman Sachs
and UBS who have received billions of our tax dollars in bailouts to
continue in the feeding frenzy over privatizing our transportation
infrastructure in Texas.

6.. Allowing a public private partnership (PPP) consortium to
determine how (the

design) and where (the route) they can make the greatest profit and
manage the toll roads to incur the least cost in maintenance and
upkeep to maxamize profits over the long contract period.

7.. Assuming the risks and surely we have learned from the bailouts
about who really assumes the risks.

8.. Agreeing to guarantee that the State will not build "competing
roads" UNLESS we agree to pay the PPP for the lost revenue which might
result if the toll road users switch to the free roads.

9.. Allowing the consortiums to receive various kinds of favorable
tax breaks too complex to include here.

10.. Accepting fundamentally bad financial deals in every way to
measure them.

11.. Etc., etc.

When your Mother said that... IF it seems too good to be true, it is
too good to be true... she was talking about the claims of CDAs and
PPPs as the miraculous solutions to building transportation
infrastructure in Texas.



My opinion: We need to raise the fuel tax and index it to inflation
and use the bonding authority already available to TxDOT to build our
roads. IF we choose to build toll roads we should be the ones
collecting the tolls and plowing the money back into the costs of
roads in the region. Private contractors through a bidding process
will be building the roads, as they do now. Jobs will result to pump
money into our state's economy. TxDOT has not been building our roads
"in house" for years.



Please TAKE ACTION TODAY by CALLING or Faxing YOUR Senator.

TX SENATE Members - 81st Legislative Session Contact INFO:

1.. Averitt, Kip (512) 463-0122 & Fax: (512) 475-3729


2.. Carona, John (512) 463-0116 & Fax: (512) 463-3135


3.. Davis, Wendy (512) 463-0110 & Fax: (512) 475-3745


4.. Deuell, Bob (512) 463-0102 & Fax: (512) 463-7202


5.. Duncan, Robert (512) 463-0128 & Fax: (512) 463-2424


6.. Ellis, Rodney (512) 463-0113 & Fax: (512) 463-0006


7.. Eltife, Kevin (512) 463-0101 & Fax: (512) 475-3751


8.. Estes, Craig (512) 463-0130 & Fax: (512) 463-8874


9.. Fraser, Troy (512) 463-0124 & Fax: (325) 676-8060


10.. Gallegos, Mario, Jr. (512) 463-0106 & Fax: (512) 463-0346


11.. Harris, Chris (512) 463-0109 & Fax: (512) 463-7003


12.. Hegar, Glenn (512) 463-0118 & Fax: (512) 475-3736


13.. Hinojosa, Juan "Chuy" (512) 463-0120 & Fax: (512) 463-0229


14.. Huffman, Joan (512) 463-0117 & Fax: (512) 463-0639


15.. Jackson, Mike (512) 463-0111 & Fax: (512) 475-3727


16.. Lucio, Eddie, Jr. (956) 968-9927 & Fax: (956) 447-0583


17.. Nelson, Jane (512) 463-0112 & Fax: (512) 463-0923


18.. Nichols, Robert (512) 463-0103 & Fax: (903) 589-0203


19.. Ogden, Steve (512) 463-0105 & Fax: (512) 463-5713


20.. Patrick, Dan (512) 463-0107 & Fax: (512) 463-8810


21.. Seliger, Kel (512) 463-0131 & Fax: (512) 475-3733


22.. Shapiro, Florence (512) 463-0108 & Fax: (512) 463-7579


23.. Shapleigh, Eliot (512) 463-0129 & Fax: (915) 544-1998


24.. Uresti, Carlos (512) 463-0119 & Fax: (512) 463-1017


25.. Van de Putte, Leticia (512) 463-0126 & Fax: (512) 463-2114


26.. Watson, Kirk (512) 463-0114 & Fax: (512) 463-5949


27.. Wentworth, Jeff (512) 463-0125 & Fax: (512) 463-7794



28.. West, Royce (512) 463-0123 & Fax: (512) 463-0299


29.. Whitmire, John (512) 463-0115 & Fax: (713) 864-5287


30.. Williams, Tommy (512) 463-0104 & Fax: (512) 463-6373


31.. Zaffirini, Judith (512) 463-0121 & Fax: (956) 722-8586




3) For Immediate Release



06 April 2009



Contact: Jeff Hennie, Vice President of Government Affairs, MRF

Email:



Motorcycle Safety Resolution



The United States House of Representatives' Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure passed H. Res. 269, a bill entitled
"Supporting the goals of a motorcycle safety month." The bill is
sponsored by Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) who is both co-chair of the US
House Motorcycle Safety Caucus and an avid rider. Rep. Giffords is
joined by her fellow co-chair of the Motorcycle Safety Caucus, Michael
Burgess (R-TX), as an original co-sponsor.



The bill puts the Congress on record as recognizing the contribution
motorcycles make to the transportation mix. It encourages all road
users to be more aware of motorcycles and motorcyclists' safety. This
is in addition to encouraging all riders to receive appropriate
training and practice safe riding skills and supporting the goals of a
Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month.



The bill was passed unanimously by the committee with many positive
statements from committee members. Transportation and Infrastructure
Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN) cited many positive aspects of
motorcycling and was complementary to his constituents who have been
in touch with him concerning motorcycle awareness programs. The bill
will next head to the House floor for a full vote.



The Motorcycle Riders Foundation encourages its members to contact
their individual member of congress to sign on as cosponsors of this
legislation.





Consumer Product Safety Commission - Lead issue



Recently the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC) announced that
off-road motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles marketed to children
ages 12 and under are now banned for sale in the United States. As you
may already know the 110th Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety
Commission Improvement Act which set limits on the amount of lead that
products marketed to Americans 12 years old and under may contain.



The MRF certainly agrees with the intent of the law which is to
protect younger Americans from unknowingly being exposed to dangerous
amounts of lead.



However, as with many things that come from Washington, this all out
ban seems to be a case of unintended consequences. In order to correct
this oversight legislation has been introduced. Congressman Denny
Rehberg

(R-MT) has introduced HR 1587 which would exempt the off-highway
vehicles the CPSC has banned. The MRF does support HR 1587 and
encourages its members to contact their representatives to cosponsor
the important legislation.



The Motorcycle Riders Foundation has been working this issue hard,
after making an unprecedented decision to advocate for an issue that
does not affect street riders. Vice President of Government Relations
Jeff Hennie, along with MRF Vice President Michael Kerr, have been on
Capitol Hill together the past week. Working with members from our
state partner organizations ABATE of Illinois and ABATE of Minnesota,
this issue has been raised in over 30 congressional offices.



While this seems to be as straight forward as an issue can be, after
working with Capitol Hill over the past few weeks the MRF has learned
just how political this issue can be. Several members of Congress
expressed that supporting the above legislation could be used against
them in upcoming elections by their opponents because it can be viewed
standing in the way of child safety. That point of view is certainly a
stretch, but one that will be advocated for by many child safety
organizations. The MRF believes it should be the parents that choose
to allow their children to ride and race. With the proper amount of
supervision and instruction, youth use of motorcycles and ATVs is as
safe as any other sport. It is our challenge to convince Members of
Congress that supporting (and

co-sponsoring) legislation to exempt off highway vehicles from the
CPSC ban can have a positive political impact as well.



Save the Date.

May 14th, 2009 is the first official National Motorcycle Awareness
day.

The MRF has secured motorcycle parking on the United States Capitol
grounds from 10am-2pm. Due to space restraints and security concerns
by the administration of the House of Representatives; we may be
forced to limit the number of motorcycles that we can bring onto the
grounds. So please let us know as soon as possible if you plan to ride
your motorcycle to this historic event. Please call 202-546-0983 or
email to register your interest.

The Motorcycle Riders Foundation encourages its members to contact
their individual member of congress to sign on as cosponsors of this
legislation.



We all should support this as well and call our US Representatives The
United States House of Representatives' Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure passed H. Res. 269, a bill entitled "Supporting the
goals of a motorcycle safety month."

The bill is sponsored by Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) who is both
co-chair of the US House Motorcycle Safety Caucus and an avid rider.
Rep. Giffords is joined by her fellow co-chair of the Motorcycle
Safety Caucus, Michael Burgess (R-TX), as an original co-sponsor.



The bill puts the Congress on record as recognizing the contribution
motorcycles make to the transportation mix. It encourages all road
users to be more aware of motorcycles and motorcyclists' safety. This
is in addition to encouraging all riders to receive appropriate
training and practice safe riding skills and supporting the goals of a
Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month.



The bill was passed unanimously by the committee with many positive
statements from committee members. Transportation and Infrastructure
Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN) cited many positive aspects of
motorcycling and was complementary to his constituents who have been
in touch with him concerning motorcycle awareness programs. The bill
will next head to the House floor for a full vote.





DDie 409-749-4995

Safety & Awareness Coordinator, TCOC&I-Beaumont Region 9 Vice
Chairman, Texas Motorcycle Safety Coalition State Legislative Officer,
Texas ABATE Confederation Unit Commander, Texas Defenders-Beaumont
Region 9 Legislative Coordinator, TCOC&I-Beaumont Region 9 Red Knights
M/C TX Chapt 1/TMRA/TMRA2/MRF/AMA http://www.looklearnlive.org/
http://www.ite.org/crashes/newmap.htm

Ride Safe, Ride Responsible, Ride Another Day ____________



Do You See Me Now?!!!



Join us for the 1st Annual Corpus Christi Motorcycle Awareness Ride.

Saturday, MAY 9th 10 am

Furniture World

1601 Flour Bluff Drive



The motorcycling community has been targeted for years by drivers not
paying attention. We are going to let the drivers in Corpus know we
are here and we share the road, too!





Donations to this event will be used to assist bikers involved in
accidents. We will gather at Furniture World on Flour Bluff Drive and
ride as a group to Labonte Park. Our goal is to show the number of
bikers in our area and hopefully bring attention to our community.

We are asking a $10.00 donation to be used in our "Do You See Me Now?"
fund.

Any questions please feel free to contact Dan Creswell


386-956-8991

 

I'll think about it

 

Me too.

 

I was as far away from that deal as I could be.

Redshad