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MRF E-MAIL NEWS
Motorcycle Riders Foundation
236 Massachusetts Ave. NE, Suite 510
P.O. Box 1808
Washington, DC 20013-1808
202-546-0983 (voice)
202-546-0986 (fax)
MRF website
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Hennie,
Vice President of Government Relations
Email: Jeff Hennie
July 3, 2008
Washington, DC
Mary Peters Offers Motorcycle Community an Apology:
A Motorcycle Riders Foundation representative attended a July 1 meeting
with United States Department of Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, in
her office, to discuss among other issues, the 2010 funds.
Earlier this year, Peters sent proposed legislation to Capitol Hill that
would allow the 2010 funds to be used by states to promote helmet use (not
law). This is in addition to the other two areas where the funds are
already allotted now; rider education and motorist awareness programs.
Also in attendance at the meeting were representatives from the Motorcycle
Safety Foundation and the Motorcycle Industry Council.
The motorcycle community was disappointed, to say the least, by this new
demand on 2010 funding. When Congress included the section 2010 grant
programs in SAFETEA-LU it was debated and decided that helmet use
promotion already occurs under all rider education programs, which is the
proper venue to talk about personal protective gear.
Secretary Peters explained that the genesis of the proposed legislation
came from a Senate appropriations hearing where she was taken to task by
Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) on the rising number of motorcyclist
fatalities and the reduction of state helmet laws. The third term Senator,
who chairs the Senate appropriations subcommittee on transportation, asked
Peters if she would support the use of the 2010 funds for helmet
promotion. Peters said she would support using 2010 for that purpose, and
in order to preserve some political cover, Peters sent some shell language
to the Hill. Upon closer review, Secretary Peters now agrees that the 2010
funds should not be used for helmet promotion but should remain for rider
education and motorist awareness campaigns only. She is not backing off
promoting helmet use, but rather is in favor of finding or creating
another pool of funds for this cause.
Peters then issued an apology for failing to work with the motorcycle
community and pledged to work more closely, and personally, with the
motorcycle community at large. She then went on to add that this current
administration will never even consider a national helmet mandate.
The Secretary then offered to send a letter to all 50 governors asking
them to take motorcycle safety more seriously, to increase funding for all
motorcycle programs, and to never raid the dedicated motorcycle safety
funds as some governors have already done.
The Motorcycle Riders Foundation also asked Peters to explore the creation
of a new class of vehicles for the emerging auto-cycles, or 3-wheeled
enclosed vehicles, that are currently licensed as motorcycles, and are
therefore skirting any safety standards that are required for autos. These
non-motorcycles need their own classification in order to keep any
additional fatality data separate from data collected on "true"
motorcycles.
We at the Motorcycle Riders Foundation thank Secretary Peters for her
apology, and we look forward to working with her as she finishes out her
term as Secretary in January of 2009.
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