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News from the United States of America

TENNESSEE HELMET REPEAL BILL PASSES SENATE

Congratulations to CMT/ABATE of Tennessee for their recent victory in their State Senate, winning by a margin of 23-8 to send their repeal bill to the House of Representatives. The bill, S.B.47, would allow Freedom of Choice for any rider with five or more years of licensure as a motorcycle operator, regardless of age. This victory represents the first time that a helmet repeal bill has been approved by any legislative body in Tennessee...and we wish CMT/ABATE luck as they prepare to take their fight on to the House.

OKLAHOMA RIDER ED AND TATTOO BILLS ADVANCE.

A positive step has been taken toward establishment of a state-sponsored rider education program in Oklahoma. On March 2, H.B. 1474 passed the entire House of Representatives by a vote of 92-6. A key sticking point was resolved regarding program funding, which will primarily come from earmarking ten dollars of every misdemeanour and felony DUI conviction in Oklahoma for RIDER education. The bills next challenge will take place in the Senate, where some key enemies to motorcycling freedom reside. Oklahoma is one of only four states that do not have either a legislated or budgeted rider education program.

In other legislative news from the Sooner State, S.B. 44, the Tattoo Studio Authorisation Act, has passed the entire Senate! The bill would require tattoo parlours to be licensed by the state Health Department. The bill would prohibit getting tattoos that promote violence, gang names or symbols or pornography. Only Oklahoma and North Carolina make tattooing illegal. As of right now, the only other amendment attached is the prohibition against tattooing of the face, head and neck. ABATE of Oklahoma

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BIKER ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LEGISLATION.

Following on the heels of Minnesota's first-ever biker anti-discrimination legislation passed last year, several states have introduced similar proposals in hopes of ending decades of discrimination based primarily on false Hollywood stereotypes. Although such efforts have failed recently in Maine, Illinois and Arizona, other states feel they have a good shot at making it illegal to discriminate against motorcyclists because of their chosen mode of transportation or style of dress.

In Texas, their Equal Access To Places of Public Accommodations Act will soon be heard in committee, and Sputnik of the Texas Motorcycle Rights Association and member of the NCOM Legislative Task Force remains optimistic. The meat of the bill states: A place of public accommodation may not restrict equal access, admission or usage to any person, or group of persons, solely because the person, or persons, operate a motorcycle or wear clothing which displays the name of an organisation or association.

Likewise, a similar anti-discrimination bill in New Mexico, authored by long time rider and rights activist State Representative Rick Miera, also a member of the NCOM LTF and recipient of this years NCOM Silver Spoke Award for Government, is expected to receive a hearing soon. NCOM

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NEW MEXICO BIKERS GO ON THE AIR.

As several ABATE of New Mexico members were listening to their favourite RocknRoll radio station, Stealth 103.7, they were shocked to hear disc jockey John Van Landingham make the comment right after airing a public service announcement for motorcycle safety classes that, JUST WHAT WE NEED, MORE OF THOSE MOTORCYCLES ON THE ROAD.

Incensed, ABATE wrote Randy J. LaBelle, station manager, demanding an on air apology. Curtis Lombardi, New Mexico A.I.M. Attorney (Aid to Injured Motorcyclists) also wrote the station, labelling Van Landinghams comments discriminatory.

Surprisingly, ABATE got just the response they want, and much more! Not only did Van Landingham make an on air apology for his remarks, but the station manager invited ABATE to go on the air for an hour talk show to discuss their organisation and other motorcycle issues! Way to go! NCOM News & Notes

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CLEANER AIR BUT DIRTIER FUEL.

The road to a cleaner environment has a pothole. The discovery that a gasoline additive designed to make the air cleaner has been polluting water supplies when spilled is a nasty example of the law of unintended consequences.

The additive, methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MTBE was launched in 1995 as an alternative to benzene, which produced a variety of volatile organic compounds. It was to cut those emissions by about 15 percent, helping to meet stricter federal air standards.

In practice MTBE has gotten into ground water supplies and wells as a result of spills. The MTBE moves more quickly than other components of gasoline. Even tiny quantities can make water unpalatable, and larger amounts pose a health hazard.

These properties were evidently unrecognised when the use of MTBE was approved. The discovery has prompted some defenders to argue that the problem is not MTBEs characteristics - the additive does reduce air pollution when used properly - but the way in which gasoline is handled. That argument fails to allow for the inevitable accidents and human frailty.

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Gasoline is ubiquitous. It plays a major role in both transportation and recreation. In freshwater boating it can easily be lost overboard. As fuel for mowers, saws, and many other outdoor tools, it can sink into the ground and contaminate water.

Despite rigorous new rules that have required the replacement of underground tanks at filling stations, leaks have caused alarming problems in a number of places.

Water pollution, especially when it involves human consumption, trumps air pollution as a serious problem. It is insidious because sources are often difficult to trace and because it can cause intense local problems that are not easily dispersed, unlike air pollutants. MTBEs unexpected side effects have disqualified it as a solution to the exhaust problems of the internal combustion engine. Its use should be suspended. Boston Globe Editorial

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NEW HELMET TWISTS WITH TURNS.

A radical new idea could improve the effectiveness of crash helmets and help save many of the people killed in motorcycle accidents every year in the UK. The new design would incorporate an elastic skin on the exterior of the helmet capable of moving independently from the hard layers underneath. This would give added protection in the type of impact where the brain is forced to rotate inside the skull. This usually occurs when the rider's head hits the road or a vehicle with a glancing blow. The resulting injuries are very difficult to treat and are often fatal.

The inventor behind the new idea, Dr Ken Phillips, says he got the inspiration from the human scalp.

I realised that the scalp is a very important part of the protection of the brain, he told the BBC Science program Tomorrows World. Energy is absorbed in the compression of the scalp and what we call the rotational acceleration is taken up by the movement of the scalp. I went from there to saying how could this be incorporated into a protective system for the head.

The design has been tested at the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL). By simulating accidents, it has developed a way to measure the rotational forces within the helmet and compare these with the brain injuries sustained.

This has led to the discovery of a threshold at which serious brain injury is likely to occur.

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The lab covered an ordinary helmet with an elastymer - a material capable of stretching - and dropped it from a height of four meters on to an inclined surface to make it spin on impact. Instruments incorporated into the dummy head inside the helmet monitored the resulting rotational forces, which were analysed by computer.

The peak taken from the test with the new idea is over 50% lower than the peak from the standard helmet, Dr. Brian Chinn from the TRL said. This represents well below the threshold for brain injury whereas the test with the standard helmet shows that the rotation was well above the threshold and represents potentially serious or fatal injury.

Dr Phillips is now looking for a manufacturer to take the idea forward. It can make such a difference to the head injury and the misery that goes with it. And its not just with motorcyclists - its every situation where head protection is necessary...It just needs somebody to come up with the means of converting it from my idea into something which is available to help people. BBC

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EGG JACKET -- THIS AIN'T NO EASTER JOKE!

Can air bag technology be used to protect motorcyclists? This was the puzzle Mugen Denko Co., a Nagoya-based electric-equipment dealer, set for itself. Its answer was the Egg Parka, a safety jacket that went on sale in August. When a rider wearing an Egg Parka is thrown off a motorcycle, a small cylinder inside the jacket emits compressed carbon dioxide, inflating the jacket in .08 second to protect the rider's neck, chest, and back. A wire connected to the motorcycle rips off the lid. Four types of Egg Parka are available, costing 45,000 yen to 68,000 yen ($391 to $591). The jacket can be reused if it is not severely damaged and the cylinder is replaced.

Mugen Denko President Kenji Takeuchi came up with the idea of a safety jacket about three years ago. When I was young and riding a motorcycle, I didn't realise how defenceless riders are. Then I began to drive a car and see motorcycles from that perspective, he said.

Development was a matter of repeated trial and error. The cylinder valve requires a shock to work -- it won't go off if a rider forgets to unhook the wire before trying to walk away from the motorcycle. From the Internet, courtesy of ABATE of Wisconsin

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AIR HEADS.

Those industrious R&D guys at Honda are busy again. This time researching the feasibility of motorcycle air bags. Like we don't have enough to contend with these days. But one good thing is their initial tests are anything but promising. Some of the tests actually showed to have reduced injuries while other runs increased injuries & hell, one time the damn thing deployed accidentally (just what you need on the freeway at sixty plus -- accidental deployment!). But at least it's a bike company doing the testing & not our dear government. Maybe their experiments will show what we all know: it's a bad idea. Fat Robert, Nutz-n-Boltz, Skunk Dots magazine

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QUOTE OF THE MONTH.

Helmet law opponents love to talk about motorcyclists right to decide whether or not they will wear helmets, but some rights are not worth having. Janice Golec, Director of GEICO Insurance Company, in testimony against Marylands helmet law repeal bill (the bill was defeated in the Maryland State Senate by a vote of 20-27) (GEICO stands for Government Employees Insurance Company)

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