Virginia Freedom Riders :: Freedom Forums

faceman · Road Warrior Joined: 01 Jun 2004 Posts: 393

On April 29th I attended a meeting of the Motorcycle Advisory Council. As in the past, a major topic of discussion was the rise in motorcyclist fatalities in 2007.

The Deputy Secretary of Transportation, Ralph M. Davis gave a presentation. Ralph has recently received his "M" endorsement and is a new motorcycle rider. Ralph painted a grim picture of fatalities in Virginia using a mixture of data from the DMV, National data, and U.S. DOT. Of course his was trying to paint a picture of Virginia but using data from all over the country. At one point in his presentation he states that 94% of motorcycle fatalities in 2007 "were in the 21 to 65 age group [DMV]"?????!!!!! I guess most of the fatalities were people old enough but not too old to ride a motorcycle!

The DMV also provided a presentation. Their's was pretty good for the most part. They are sending fliers to motorcyclists at time of registration renewal that reminds riders of safety facts. They have also mailed fliers to people that have registered motorcycles but do not have the "M" endorsement on their license. Some of you may have already received these in the mail. The one thing I didn't like about their presentation was the flier they sent to the state police. It is a flyer designed to go into their ticket book. On it they list some of the codes of the Commonwealth. Among them are 46.2-716 License Plates, 46.2-848 Signals Required, 46.2-857 Driving Two Abreast, 46.2-909 Riding on Motorcycles, 46.2-910 Motorcycle Helmet Wear, 46.2-1078 Using Earphones, and 46.21157 Requirement of Inspection. Please look up these Virginia codes to make sure you comply. In addition the card has a "Safety Checklist" that includes the following;

Check license for all classifications and restrictions

If stop is initiated for another reason, take time to check for valid current inspection, plate position, and anything else that looks dangerous.

Look out for erratic behavior, no signals or incorrect signaling, lane changing, shoulder or center lane splitting.

If the motorcycle has no signals present, hand signals MUST be used. (Before enforcement action is taken, review the applicable code sections.)

More info? www.dmvnow.com/highwaysafety

The State Police also gave a presentation. I have yet to get an electronic copy of the presentation and there were no hard copies available at the meeting. The state police have already decided to step up their enforcement and inspection. They plan to set up motorcycle check points and inspection points around the Commonwealth to solve the "problem" of motorcycle fatalities.

The bottom line is this - because of the increase in fatalities, our government agencies are springing into action. Be prepared to be scrutinized. I would strongly suggest that if you are operating a motorcycle in the Commonwealth of Virginia this summer have your shit together, make sure you have your "M" endorsement on your license, have your motorcycle inspected and in good working order, and don't drink and ride!

If you get stopped please be polite to the officer. If you think the officer has over stepped his/her bounds and has violated your constitutional rights please contact us. Remember, if you get stopped for speeding and the officer decides to perform a rode side inspection of your bike (lights, breaks, etc) he may be over stepping his bounds. Please let us know if this happens to you.

Be careful out there and remember, the man is watching close this year!

Faceman
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Bernie Adams, President
Virginia Freedom Riders