March 2010
Washington, D.C.: President's Budget
Proposal Would Slash Trail Funding.
President Obama's newly submitted proposed budget for fiscal year
(FY) 2011 could be disastrous for motorized trail users. Buried in
the nearly 200-page document is one paragraph dealing with the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's Capital Improvement and Maintenance (CIM)
program. The CIM program funds improvements, maintenance and
operations of U.S. Forest Service roads, trails and recreation
infrastructure. Under the budget proposal, the CIM program would be
cut by $100 million -- from a $538 million appropriation in FY 2010
to a proposed $438 million in FY 2011.
The proposed cut is particularly disturbing in light of
the Forest Service's recent work on off-highway vehicle (OHV) travel
management. Many National Forests have only recently completed their
travel management plans and will need funding for implementation. As
these plans were developed, local Forest Service staff repeatedly
told OHV enthusiasts that they lacked sufficient funding to maintain
existing trails, provide trailhead facilities or to adequately
inventory existing trails. Furthermore, funding for good trail
design, construction and maintenance is essential to meeting the
Administration's stated goals of erosion control, watershed health
and forest restoration.
The AMA urges its members to contact their federal
elected officials and request that they oppose any cut in the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's CIM budget.
Visit
http://www.amadirectlink.com/legisltn/rapidresponse.asp for more
information.
Washington, D.C.: A report released by
the Consumer Product Safety Commission
(CPSC) shows a continuation in the decline of fatalities and
injuries associated with all-terrain vehicle (ATV) use. According to
the CPSC, total ATV-related injuries in 2008 decreased 10 percent
from 2007, with injuries to children under 16 declining six percent.
The CPSC also reported that the risk of injury per
10,000 four-wheel ATVs in use declined by 15 percent from 2007 to
2008. This is the seventh straight year that injury risk for ATV
riders has decreased, and it is now lower than at any time since
CPSC began calculating this injury risk in 1985. Four-wheel ATVs
have become increasingly popular, with the number of vehicles in use
increasing more than 300 percent since 1998.
Source:
http://www.amadirectlink.com/news/story.asp?id=1706
Washington, DC: Transportation Department
bans texting for commercial truck
drivers. Following up on last year's distracted driving summit, in
which the AMA was an invited guest, U.S. Transportation Secretary
Ray LaHood announced new federal guidance to expressly prohibit
texting by drivers of commercial vehicles. The prohibition is
effective immediately and is the latest in an ongoing series of
actions taken since the national summit was held.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) research
shows that drivers who send and receive text messages take their
eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds out of every 6
seconds while texting. At 55 miles per hour, this means that the
driver is traveling the length of a football field, including the
end zones, without looking at the road. Drivers who text while
driving are more than 20 times more likely to be involved in a crash
than non-distracted drivers. Because of the safety risks associated
with the use of electronic devices while driving, FMCSA is all
working on additional regulatory measures that will be in the near
future.
To read the AMA's position statement on distracted and
inattentive driving, please go to
www.AmericanMotorcyclist.com/legisltn/positions/distracted.asp.
Boston, Mass.:
Attorney General recovers $11.1 million in motorcycle
insurance overcharges for consumers. The Attorney General's Office
(AGO) has entered into settlements with Safety Insurance Company
("Safety"), Liberty Mutual Insurance Company ("Liberty") and Quincy
Mutual Fire Insurance Company ("Quincy") resolving allegations that
they overcharged consumers for motorcycle insurance by using
incorrect motorcycle values to calculate premiums. The settlements,
which return $11.1 million to consumers, stem from an investigation
that the Attorney General's Office began over a year ago, after a
consumer filed a complaint with the office's Insurance & Financial
Services Division.
The Massachusetts Motorcycle Association (MMA) is
spearheading the effort to ensure that all motorcyclists entitled to
refunds get them.
"The AGO has reached out to the motorcycling community,
through the MMA, out of concern that the insurance companies might
not be able to identify and locate the riders," said MMA Chairman
Dave Condon. "All riders are encouraged to contact the MMA directly
for assistance in expediting your refund."
To qualify for a refund, you must answer "yes" to the
following questions:
o Did you buy motorcycle insurance from the Safety,
Liberty or Quincy insurance company?
o Did your motorcycle insurance policy contain the
collision or comprehensive options?
o Did you buy this optional motorcycle insurance at any
time during the years 2002 to the present?
If you answered "yes" to all three questions, then you
may be due a refund and are urged to send your contact information
via e-mail to:
MyRefund@MassMotorcycle.org. Or by mail to the following
address: Attn: MA AGO Insurance Settlement, P.O. Box 378, Brimfield,
MA 01010.
The contact information will be shared only with the
Massachusetts Attorney General's Office Insurance and Financial
Services Division and the named insurance carrier, Condon said. The
information should include your name, address (past and present),
telephone number, e-mail, and the year, make, model and VIN number
of the motorcycle or motorcycles that were insured.
Alternately, the AGO has worked with the three insurance
companies to establish the following hotlines: Liberty (800)
569-5411, Quincy (800) 899-1116, and Safety (877) 951-6416.
Auto insurance companies are required to calculate
premiums by following the rules in their rating manuals. The
settling insurers' rating manuals required the insurers to use
current motorcycle book values to calculate the collision and
comprehensive premiums charged to consumers. However, rather than
using current book values to calculate premiums, the settling
insurers in many cases allegedly used motorcycle values that were
inflated and out-of-date.
Under the terms of the settlements filed in Suffolk
Superior Court, it is anticipated that Safety will return $7.2
million to policyholders; Liberty will return $3.1 million to
policyholders; and Quincy will return $800,000 to policyholders. The
three insurance companies will also make payments to the state
totaling $510,000. The settlements cover alleged overcharges going
back to 2002 and require the insurers to pay six percent interest to
consumers on the alleged overcharges. Average refunds to consumers
are anticipated to be approximately $300 with some consumers
receiving thousands of dollars. Tens of thousands of policies are
believed to have been affected.
Source:
http://www.massmotorcycle.org/content.aspx?page_id=5&club_id=769540&item_id=11858
Lake Elsinore, Calif.: Roadracing World
Magazine interviews AMA President and
CEO Rob Dingman. Roadracing World Magazine's David
Swarts talked with Dingman about professional racing, vintage racing
and the current state of the AMA. Broken into three parts, the
interview addressed many questions about the AMA's past and present
activities, including how the Association benefits from the sale of
AMA Pro Racing assets, the new direction of vintage racing in
America, and how the AMA will grow membership moving forward.
- Part 1, AMA Pro Racing:
http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=39217
- Part 2, Vintage Racing:
http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=39219
- Part 3, The State of the AMA:
http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=39218
Ocotillo, Calif: California State Parks
recently kicked-off a comprehensive
update of the General Plan for the popular
Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area. A General Plan
is a broad-based policy document that establishes a long-range
vision and goals. The plan also provides direction on future types
of improvements, services, and programs. An Environmental Impact
Report (EIR) will be prepared as required by the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The EIR will
evaluate potential environmental effects associated with adoption of
the General Plan.
A consulting firm is assisting Ocotillo Wells with this
process and has a short questionnaire posted. Visit
PlanOcotilloWells.com to help identify key planning issues
to be considered.
Washington State: The Department of Natural
Resources (DNR) has released its Draft Reiter Foothills
Forest Recreation Plan. While approximately 4,000 acres of the
10,000-acre area being studied have seen off-highway motorcycle use
in the past, the new DNR plan proposes limiting motorized use to
1,100 acres. That would represent a 72.5 percent reduction in
available riding opportunities despite a DNR survey that showed
motorcycling is the most popular use for the area (60 percent of
user groups surveyed). The DNR admits that the 1,100 acres proposed
is inadequate to accommodate existing use, and their own research
has identified additional area suitable for OHV use. Furthermore,
because the plan does not explicitly identify motorized single-track
motorcycle trails, there is no guarantee that there will be any left
open to motorized use.
A "Save Reiter" Facebook page has been created and the
Northwest Motorcycle Associations website has the latest
information.
Source:
http://www.nmaoffroad.org/index.shtml
Hot Springs, Ark.: Members of Arkansas'
congressional delegation say a U.S. Forest Service plan to
close areas of the Ouachita National Forest to OHVs is misguided and
have requested a halt to the implementation of the project.
Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor and U.S.
Representative Mike Ross say any such rule could hurt the economy in
western Arkansas. Lincoln cites the Mena area in particular as one
that would be hard-hit by any ban in the National Forest. Pryor and
Ross also asked officials of the National Forest to "re-engage" with
local and state officials to find a commonsense solution.
"Reasonable access to our nation's public lands, for both jobs and
recreation, is something many Arkansans depend upon," Lincoln said
in a news release.
Source:
http://www.baxterbulletin.com
Great Falls, Mont.: the National Off
Highway Vehicle Conservation Council (NOHVCC)
is holding another round of Public Land Advocacy webinars soon.
These webinars will complement the highly popular Public Land
Advocacy DVD series. The webinar series will help participants
understand and be effectively involved in OHV management and agency
planning processes. Topics such as, writing effective comments,
working with land managers, the agency process for designating
routes, and so on are intended to help individuals promote and
preserve OHV riding opportunities. There will also be information
for land managers including getting to know the enthusiasts and how
to provide excellent trail systems for riders.
Individuals will have the opportunity to ask questions
of the presenter and to interact with other participants.
Visit
http://www.nohvcc.org/education/webinars.asp for dates and sign
up information.
Columbia, S.C.: South Carolina's highest court
has heard arguments over whether a city can require
motorcycle riders to wear helmets, despite the lack of a state law
requiring them.
In September 2008, the Myrtle Beach City Council voted
unanimously to pass 15 ordinances intended to crack down on rallies,
including the helmet requirement. Violators of the helmet law face a
$100 fine but no jail time. Justices questioned an attorney for the
city over what they seemed to view as the intent of the ordinance:
which was not to make Myrtle Beach's roads safer for riders, but
instead to discourage attendance at two popular biker rallies.
State Rep. Thad Viers argued that a state law governing
traffic ordinances specifically spells out what local governments
are allowed to do regarding traffic laws. He also contended that
allowing the municipal ordinance to trump existing state law would
have serious consequences statewide.
Source:
http://www.thestate.com/statewire/story/1139849.html
