|
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
HOME Pet Pals Our Rides For Sale Bikes & Bikers Biker Rights Events Updated: Thursday March 30, 2006 Motorcyclists Against Dumb Drivers
Update (6/2007) As of moments ago, SB 1400 which included
the shoulder height handlebar provisions of HB 6937 has passed both the
Senate and the House. Next it requires the Governor's signature and
then it will become law. Once the new law goes into affect (7/1/07) the
15" handlebar height restriction will be replaced by the shoulder height
restriction!! If you or anyone you know has a problem with law
enforcement between now and then, contact your legislator for help and
fight the ticket. You can also tell law enforcement and/or DMV that the
handlebar law has been changed to shoulder height. I will be posting
more helpful information on Bikers4Change.com soon. http://www.cga.ct.gov/2007/TOB/H/2007HB-06937-R00-HB.htm Public Hearing: February 21, 2007
AN ACT CONCERNING THE HANDLEBAR HEIGHT REQUIREMENT. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened: That section 14-80i of the general statutes be amended to revise the current handlebar height requirement to reflect modern handlebar height requirements. It is proposed that the handlebar height requirement is routinely reviewed and revised, if necessary, and the Department of Motor Vehicles shall promptly inform all law enforcement agencies of such revised requirements. Statement of Purpose: To promulgate modern handlebar height requirements consistent with rider safety, comfort and modern manufacturing standards.
Please Forward this email to everyone you
know who rides or cares.
Help is needed in getting the Connecticut 15-inch handlebar law either changed or eliminated (repealed). Proposed Handlebar bill No. 6937 is currently sitting with the transportation committee and they need to be pushed to raise this for public hearing. If the current 15-inch handlebar law is going to be changed, our State Reps, Senators and the Transportation Committee need to hear to hear from that we would like this law gone! If we all pitch in today, this law has a good chance at being eliminated. Please forward this to everyone you know who rides. State Rep Wilber did an OLR Handlebar Research Report last fall which basically concluded that there are no safety issues with higher handle bars, that the law may have been put into place as a way for police to harass so called "outlaw" bikers, and that there is a trend across the U.S. to either raise the height limit or completely eliminate the handlebar height law leaving the choice of height up to each individual rider. 16 states now have no height restrictions (a portion of the OLR report is located at the end of this email). There is an excellent chance that this law will be changed but our Legislators need to hear from each of us, within the next few days, that we want the current law eliminated (repealed). Here is how each of us CAN make a difference: 1) Please forward this email to everyone you know who rides or cares. The more the better. 2) Contact your State Rep and Senator and tell them to eliminate the 15-inch handlebar height law. 3) Contact the Transportation Committee and tell them the same To find your State Rep and Senator and their contact information: Click on the link below and locate your town in the left column click on the numbers under the "House" and Senate" headings Click on this link: Find Your State Rep and Senator The more phone calls from us the more likely the chances will be to get rid of this ridiculous law. The best way to get a message through is to call. If you have never called your State Rep or Senator, you will find that it is very easy and the Legislative Aid that you'll speak with will be helpful and friendly (that's part of what they are paid for!) To contact the Transportation Committee: Senator Donald Defronzo Legislative Office Building Room 2300 Hartford, CT 06106-1591 860-240-0595 DeFronzo@senatedems.ct.gov State Rep Antonio Guerrera Legislative Office Building, Room 2302 Hartford, CT 06106-1591 (860) 240-8585 1-800-842-8267 Tony.Guerrera@cga.ct.gov Please be aware that the Transportation committee receives a lot of email so the best way to reach them is to either write or even better, call. Suggestion of what to say: My name is___________________ and I am from ______________________. I am calling/writing about the Proposed Handlebar Bill No. 6937. Please support this bill requesting that it is raised for public hearing. I would like the right to decide for myself what handlebar height is safest and most comfortable for me. Please support moving this Bill forward with language that completely repeals the current 15-inch handlebar height restriction law Sec. 14-80i (b) so that Connecticut joins 16 other states that have no height restrictions. Thank you. A Portion of the OLR Handlebar Research Report "We were unable to find any unequivocal information or scientific studies that establish a context for either Connecticut's handlebar height standard or for the relationship between handlebar height and accident experience". "It appears that the adoption of the 15-inch standard was common by states during the late 1950's and 1960's. Motorcycle riders generally seem to attribute this to an effort by law enforcement to adopt a means to regulate so called "outlaw" bikers who frequently would customize their vehicles with various adaptations, including extremely high handlebars. Law enforcement officials generally state that it is related to safe control of the motorcycle. We found no specific information to refute either position". "The number of states maintaining a 15-inch above seat level standard had decreased from 27 to 20 since 1997 and the number of states with a "below shoulder height" standard has decreased from 13 to 10. Conversely, since 1997 10 states have eliminated their standard (6 states to 16). Most recently, in 2005 Arizona and New York changed from a 15-inch standard to a shoulder height standard, Delaware and South Carolina went from a 15-inch standard to no restrictions, and Kansas went from a shoulder height standard to no restrictions". "Several of the most recent efforts in other states to modify or repeal motorcycle handlebar height limits appear to have been triggered by stepped up enforcement of the requirement by police". "It appears not all officers may interpret the law the same way"
Posted February 19, 2007
AN ACT INCLUDING MOTOR SCOOTERS IN THE MOTORCYCLE SAFETY COURSE. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened: That the general statutes be amended to require the Department of Motor Vehicles to include motor scooters in the motorcycle safety course. Statement of Purpose: To require the Department of Motor Vehicles to include motor scooters in the motorcycle safety course.
Posted March 6, 2006 http://www.cga.ct.gov/2006/TOB/H/2006HB-05487-R00-HB.htm
AN ACT REDUCING EXCESSIVE NOISE FROM MOTORCYCLES. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened: Section 1. Section 14-80 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): (a) Each motor vehicle and the devices on such vehicle shall be operated, equipped, constructed and adjusted to prevent unnecessary or unusual noise. (b) Each motor vehicle operated by an internal combustion engine shall be equipped, except as hereinafter provided, with a muffler or mufflers designed to prevent excessive, unusual or unnecessary exhaust noise. The muffler or mufflers shall be maintained by the owner in good working order and shall be in use whenever the motor vehicle is operated. No person, including a motor vehicle dealer or repairer or a motorcycle dealer, shall install, and no person shall use, on a motor vehicle, a muffler or mufflers lacking interior baffle plates or other effective muffling devices, a gutted muffler, a muffler cutout or a straight exhaust except when the motor vehicle is operated in a race, contest or demonstration of speed or skill as a public exhibition pursuant to subsection (a) of section 14-164a, as amended, or any mechanical device which will amplify the noise emitted by the vehicle. No person, including a motor vehicle dealer or repairer or a motorcycle dealer, shall remove all or part of any muffler on a motor vehicle except to repair or replace the muffler or part for the more effective prevention of noise. No person shall use on the exhaust system or tail pipe of a motor vehicle any extension or device which will cause excessive or unusual noise. (c) The engine of every motor vehicle shall be equipped and adjusted to prevent excessive fumes or exhaust smoke. (d) All pipes carrying exhaust gases from the motor shall be constructed of, and maintained with, leak-proof metal. Exhaust pipes shall be directed from the muffler or mufflers toward the rear of the vehicle and shall be approximately parallel with the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and approximately parallel to the surface of the roadway, or shall be directed from the muffler upward to a location above the cab or body of the vehicle so that fumes, gases and smoke are directed away from the occupants of the vehicle. Exhaust pipes on a passenger vehicle shall extend to the extreme rear end of the vehicle's body, not including the bumper and its attachments to the body, or shall be attached to the vehicle in such a way that the exhaust pipes direct the exhaust gases to either side of the vehicle ensuring that fresh ambient air is located under the vehicle at all times. The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles may adopt regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 to establish safety standards for passenger vehicles equipped with exhaust pipes located in front of the rear axle. (e) Every motor vehicle shall, when operated on a highway, be equipped with a horn in good working order and capable of emitting sound audible under normal conditions from a distance of not less than two hundred feet, but no horn or other warning device shall emit an unreasonably loud or harsh sound or a whistle. (f) No vehicle shall be equipped with, nor shall any person use on a vehicle, any siren, whistle or bell as a warning signal device, except as otherwise permitted by this section. Any motor vehicle may be equipped with a theft alarm signal device which is so arranged that it cannot be used by the driver as an ordinary warning signal. Any authorized emergency vehicle may be equipped with a siren, whistle or bell, capable of emitting sound audible under normal conditions from a distance of not less than five hundred feet and of a type approved by the Department of Motor Vehicles. Such signal shall not be used unless the vehicle is operated in response to an emergency call or in the immediate pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of the law, in which event the driver of the vehicle shall sound the signal when reasonably necessary to warn pedestrians and other drivers of the approach of the vehicle. (g) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, after notice and opportunity for hearing in accordance with chapter 54, shall suspend the registration of any motorcycle that is the subject of (1) two or more written warnings issued under the provisions of subsection (c) of section 14-103 of the 2006 supplement to the general statutes within a period of six months for a violation of subsection (b) of this section, or (2) two or more violations of subsection (b) of this section within a period of six months. [(g)] (h) Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be fined one hundred fifty dollars for each offense. Sec. 2. Section 14-80a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): (a) No person shall operate a vehicle or combination of vehicles, nor shall the owner of any vehicle allow the vehicle to be operated, at any time or under any condition of grade, surface, speed, load, acceleration, deceleration or weather condition in such a manner as to exceed the decibel levels established under subsection (c) of this section. This subsection applies to the total noise generated by a vehicle and shall not be construed as limiting or precluding the enforcement of any other motor vehicle noise provisions of this title. (b) No person shall sell or offer for sale a new vehicle which produces a maximum decibel level which exceeds the decibel levels established under subsection (c) of this section. (c) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall, with the advice of the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, adopt regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 establishing the maximum decibel levels permissible for motor vehicles, which shall not exceed the maximum decibel levels established for motor vehicles by federal law or regulation. The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall establish the procedure for checking maximum decibel levels. The decibel level shall be measured fifty feet from the centerline of the vehicle. The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles may provide for measuring at distances closer than fifty feet from the centerline of the vehicle. In such a case, the measuring devices shall be calibrated to provide for measurements equivalent to the noise limit established by this section measured at fifty feet. (d) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, after notice and opportunity for hearing in accordance with chapter 54, shall suspend the registration of any motorcycle that is the subject of two or more violations of subsection (a) of this section within a period of six months. [(d)] (e) Violation of the provisions of this section shall be an infraction.
Statement of Purpose: To reduce excessive noise from motorcycles that are the subject of two or more written warnings or violations within a period of six months by suspending the registrations of such motorcycles. [Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]
Posted September 7, 2005 On September 8, the ACLU will launch a new chapter in
the history of activism, with the premiere of Beyond the Patriot Act,
produced by the ACLU and Robert Greenwald (Unconstitutional, Outfoxed).
For the first time, the power of TV to motivate will combine with the
power of the Internet to activate and the power of people to make a
difference.
Posted May 12, 2005 AMA members help defeat federal helmet lawhttp://www.ama-cycle.org/news/2005/Helmet_law.asp The U.S. Senate has voted down a provision that would have forced states to impose mandatory helmet laws or risk losing federal money for their highway and trail projects. Action by American Motorcyclist Association members, many of them using AMADirectlink.com's Rapid Response Center, helped defeat the amendment. The AMA worked alongside the Motorcycle Riders Foundation, the American Highway Users Alliance, and many state motorcycle rights organizations to defeat this amendment. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), along with Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), had offered the amendment to a six-year, $294 billion transportation bill currently being debated in the Senate. The amendment was voted down 69-28 on Wednesday, May 11. The AMA first learned of the impending amendment when the Senate was out of session and quickly alerted AMA members to the impending action. Based on feedback by Congressional staff, AMA Government Relations Department staff believe that AMA members voiced their personal opinions on the issue in great numbers. “I am pleased that AMA members and other groups and organizations worked closely together on this issue,” said Edward Moreland, AMA vice president of government relations. The amendment would have penalized any state without a mandatory motorcycle helmet law for all riders by denying the state the ability to determine how their federal transportation dollars were spent. The AMA believes that states should be able to determine their respective helmet policies free from the threat of federal sanctions. Congress affirmed this as recently as 1995 in the National Highway System Act, when it removed federal penalties placed on states without mandatory helmet laws. While victory was achieved by this latest action, this is still not the end of the transportation reauthorization process. Check AMADirectlink.com and the Rapid Response Center to watch for future “Action Alerts” related to this important piece of federal legislation as it moves toward final passage and signing by the president.
Posted May 9, 2005 Federal helmet-law blackmailA federal lawmaker wants all states to impose mandatory helmet laws or risk losing federal money for their highway and trail projects. Democratic U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey plans to introduce the proposal as early as today as an amendment to a federal highway bill that authorizes funds for highways, safety programs, transit programs, and other purposes. Under Lautenberg's proposal, states without mandatory helmet laws would lose 1.5 percent of their overall federal transportation dollars. The AMA is urging Congress to reject this amendment. While the AMA encourages helmet use by all motorcyclists, the Association believes that Congress should leave it up to the states to decide whether to enact mandatory helmet laws. Let your federal lawmakers know that you oppose the Lautenberg amendment. An easy way to do this is by sending a message through the AMA Rapid Response Center. http://www.amadirectlink.com/news/helmet_law.asp
From the CMRA Website! New CT Helmet Law Proposed
From the CT.GOV Legislation Website Referred to Committee on Transportation Introduced by: SEN. NICKERSON, 36th Dist. AN ACT REQUIRING THE USE OF HELMETS BY MOTORCYCLE OPERATORS AND PASSENGERS. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened: That section 14-289g of the general statutes be amended to require all operators of motorcycles and their passengers to wear protective headgear. Statement of Purpose: To require the use of helmets by motorcycle operators and passengers
What every Motorcycle Club and/or Riding Club needs to read (Click on the link below)
AN ACT INCREASING THE FINE FOR INSTALLING OR USING MUFFLER SYSTEMS THAT CAUSE EXCESSIVE NOISE http://www.cga.state.ct.us/2003/TOB/h/pdf/2003HB-05145-R01-HB.pdf
CMRA's membership is down to less than 1500. Since they do so much lobbying for the NO HELMET laws, pass the word. According to Mike Joyce our new governor, Jodi Rell, is NOT MOTORCYCLE
FRIENDLY!!! If more of the 50,000+ motorcycle riders in Connecticut don't unite WE WILL BE WEARING HELMETS without choice. Look at what happened with the seat belt law, it was passed right under our noses. CMRA is looking to increase it's membership before it ceases to exist as an organization that rally's for our
rights. Please keep in mind that it only costs $20.00 per year. JOIN....get everyone you know to JOIN.
A Guide to Provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act and Federal Executive Orders that threaten civil liberties (Click Here to read the interpreted version of the Patriot Act) On October 26, 2001, President Bush signed into law the USA PATRIOT Act (acronym for "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism"). Passed hurriedly (many Congressmen stated later they had not even had time to read the law) it creates a new crime, "domestic terrorism," so broadly defined that it could conceivably apply to acts of civil disobedience. This article summarizes how the USA PATRIOT Act and certain Federal Executive Orders threaten and diminish the civil liberties of U.S. citizens and noncitizens guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.
Vietnam Vets MC speak up! Posted 2/13/2004
Massachusetts Beacon Hill Roll Call Tuesday, December 23, 2003 MOTORCYCLE HELMETS (H 206)- The House gave near final approval to and sent to the Senate a bill allowing motorcyclists over 18 year of age to ride their motorcycle in a parade without helmets. Current law requires all motorcyclists to wear helmets.
Fighting the Connecticut Helmet Law Proposals
Know Your Rights to Fly Colors
Miscellaneous Connecticut Motorcycle Laws
MOTORCYCLE RELATED LEGISLATION FOR THE 2003-2004 SESSION IN MASSACHUSETTS
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
