Tiger Tales - June, 2008

  Hello, my ABATE friends, and welcome to the warmer June riding weather!  Hopefully, the severe weather we usually experience in May didn't disrupt any of your activities or damage your property.  I've gotten to the point, after twenty years of living in Oklahoma, where if the weather isn't too chunky or going counter-clockwise at 300 MPH, I can deal with it!  I’d just gotten into another four-wheeled vehicle, and three days later Oklahoma City got hammered with a serious hailstorm.  Once again, the carport I put in just before the May ’99 tornado came in handy.  I can’t use my garage for a cage, since it’s reserved for bikes (as it should be!).  As we press toward Summer, we've been blessed with much nicer climate, and the numerous motorcycling events happening in the Sooner State have been well-attended.  You'll find ABATE booths at more of them this year, staffed by smiling ABATE member-volunteers, who will be more than happy to explain to participants what YOUR State Motorcyclist Rights Organization is doing to fight for your Riding Freedom.  We’re getting “Rally Packs” put together to provide all materials for recruiting members, and Brook Bullock, our Secretary, has been doing a great job in enlisting folks to staff the tables at events.  Feel free to get your friends to stop by, say hello and pick up a membership application, and I strongly encourage you to urge them to consider joining.  Riders will have a terrific opportunity to find out what ABATE is all about, fun-wise, at our annual State Party October 3-5 in Enid, America, and I’ll have more information to provide as that date approaches!  I also want to express my deep appreciation to some of the event organizers, like those of May Daze, Winding Creek, Pawhuska and Sparks America, who support Riding Liberty and have invited ABATE to set up at their rallies.  Some of these facilities, like Sparks, have demonstrated their commitment by becoming ABATE Sustaining Members.  Remember, friends-if you value Freedom, you belong in ABATE!  If you purchase a new motorcycle and you’re not an ABATE Member, please contact your nearest ABATE Chapter to inquire about a FREE one-year membership--safeguarding your Rights is a valuable motorcycling accessory.  Check out our Chapter locations at: www.abateofoklahoma.org  ABATE is also looking into the possibility of providing one-year memberships free to non-members who take an approved Rider Education Course, as was suggested by our Tulsa Chapter.  Student rosters are closely guarded, so we’re attempting to have membership applications made available for participants to reach out to us if they’d like to.

  Well, the 2008 Oklahoma Legislative Session has wrapped up, and unfortunately, none of the bills we've supported came out of committee.  Sen. Bass tried to include our Red Light Bill and Cell-Phone Bill as riders to other legislation, but they failed as well.  So, we'll attempt to include these issues on next year's agenda, and get them passed in 2009 with some luck.  We also need to address legislation which will put more teeth in David Jaggers' Law, as the Riding Season's begun early-on with several of our Riding Community being victimized by careless and negligent drivers.  If you've been following the latest news from Washington DC, we also may have to fight a Mandatory Helmet Law threat next year as the result of DOT Secretary Mary Peters' attempt to lobby the states to pass Helmet Laws!  On the good side, ABATE is working with the Oklahoma DPS to use our SAFETEA-LU Federal grant money for a number of Rider Awareness and Share the Road programs and advertisements, and we're supposed to receive even more grant money for this purpose.  You might even have seen more "Share the Road" signs around our state as you travel.  I was able to successfully coordinate with the Governor's Office on their once again graciously issuing a Proclamation designating May as Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, in keeping with the law signed in 2004.  Even with the law on the books, it's important that we secure a Governor's Proclamation every year, in order to support publicizing the importance of being observant on our roadways and looking out for two- and three-wheeled vehicles.  I've been forwarding the text and scanned copies of the Proclamation for widest distribution. It's important that we employ Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month every year as a platform to re-emphasize to the Motoring Public that motorcycles are everywhere, they continue to exist as an acceptable form of alternative transportation, and we're not going away--so motorists need to Share the Road!  Please publicize Motorcycle Safety Awareness with everyone you can--our lives and Free Motorcycling as we know it depends on that awareness!  In that vein, let's all look ahead to again emphasizing this important issue on Wednesday, July 16, when we celebrate the 17th Annual National Ride To Work Day.  You can find out more about this important event by checking out www.ridetowork.org   Even though our Red Light bill didn't pass, ABATE is still interacting with the OK DOT on identifying traffic lights not triggered by bikes, so technicians can re-calibrate them.  Also, Bikers and other Patriots flooded Gov. Henry's office in Mid-May with phone calls urging him to veto SB 1507, which had a last-minute amendment attached to authorize construction of the NAFTA Super Highway in Oklahoma.  As a result, the Governor sent the bill back to Conference Committee for re-writing, and the amendment was removed.  Score one for our side!

 Here’s some news from the National Scene: After a close call last year with near-passage of Nebraska LB253, the bill that would have allowed Freedom of Choice regarding helmet wear for motorcyclists over 21, this year’s version, LB70, was introduced at the beginning of the 2008 Session.  Also, LB69, Nebraska’s Right Of Way bill establishing penalties for drivers who exhibit Failure to Yield, is currently in committee.  ABATE of NE has again for 2008 issued a General Warning to all riders in the state, particularly in the Omaha and Kearney areas, that Law Enforcement has been pulling over motorcyclists to check their helmets both for a DOT sticker on the outside and a DOT certification label inside.  If a helmet doesn’t have both, riders risk a fine and helmet confiscation, and they wouldn’t be allowed to proceed without a DOT-compliant helmet.  Keep that in mind if you’re headed through that area on your way to Sturgis!  Two bills of interest are on the calendar in Missouri.  HB 1532 would legalize use of Modulating Headlights to increase visibility, and HB 1393 is the Freedom of Choice bill exempting riders twenty-one and older from Mandatory Helmet Wear.  Both of these bills are currently being crafted in their respective committees, and we should have word about the Helmet Law Modification bill by the end of June.  Texas Freedom Fighters are supporting HIPPA on the Federal Level, which would make it illegal to discriminate regarding health insurance based on personal lifestyle or activities, and are pursuing HIPPA legislation on the state level as well.  For more information on HIPPA, check out the Motorcycle Riders Foundation Website at: www.mrf.org  Texas ABATE is also working on a Failure to Yield bill, and on composing a resolution prohibiting the ‘Cheese Slicer” Cable Barriers on highway medians which are so dangerous to motorcyclists.  I wish Texas lots of luck on that one, as Oklahoma remains committed to continued installation of over 500 miles of these dangerous contraptions on our Interstate highways.  I guess our State Government, in its infinite wisdom, has decided that it’s worth sacrificing a few Biker lives for the great good of the majority!

   Tiger's Tip O' The Month: I've been noticing a gradual decline lately in civility on our highways, and an increasing amount of road rage accompanying it, even to the extent of people pulling firearms and shooting at each other in Oklahoma City and Tulsa lately.  For some reason, some people pushing a lot more steel around than we do seem threatened by motorcycles, or feel the need to assert their imagined superiority.  I don't know about you, but I have absolutely no time for playing their little games, and I attempt to see and avoid, look ahead and deconflict whenever possible.  We don't need to challenge them, succumb to anger, and risk a confrontation with a vehicle possessing a much greater amount of mass and inertia.  Remember that anger can provide a distraction, and while you’re focused on venting your rage at the jerk who just violated your Right of Way, the next idiot is taking you out!  It's far better to let the fast and the furious get away from you, and have you live to fight another day.  Their Karma will come full circle eventually, in the form of a wreck or a bust.  I can't check out this month without telling you about this year's National Coalition Of Motorcyclists Convention which took place May 8-11 in Houston, TX.  Texans like doing things bigger, and the Texas Motorcycle Rights Association, Texas ABATE, and the Texas Confederations of Clubs ensured that this year's event was the largest ever, with over 1,700 motorcyclists from all over the country attending.  The Convention seminars were educational and informative, covering a wide range of topics such as Freedom of The Road and use of the Courts, Insurance issues, Women in Motorcycling, successful programs like the establishment of a Free Biker Clinic in Tennessee, and increasing Legislative effectiveness. "Slider" Gilmore once again gave his famous "Two-Wheeled Trauma" presentation on how to save your fellow rider's life in the "golden hour" following a bike wreck.   Motorcycling's Spiritual Groups got together at the Christian Unity Conference, on the heels of the Christian Unity meeting held in Oklahoma City April 19.  I can't say enough good things about these fine folks who are always there for riders when we're hurting or need some spiritual support.  The Confederation of Clubs Meeting was attended by over a thousand Bikers, convening in the spirit of cooperation on issues common to and threats facing all motorcyclists.  Finally, the Silver Spoke Awards Banquet again honored key contributors to Biker Liberty, including PA Supreme Court Justice Shamus McCaffery, a Retired USAF Colonel who's a longtime tattooed hard-riding Biker, and musician Jimmie Vaughn, who left Nashville early to attend the banquet and brought his guitar along to play!  Sooner State riders will have opportunity to attend a similar event on a regional level October 17-19, as ABATE of Oklahoma hosts the annual Mid-South M.I.L.E. Seminars in Tulsa--please consider taking part!  I’ll provide more information on this important event as the year progresses.  Enjoy a good, warm June, Ride Safely, Sober and Aware, and I'll see you next month!!

Keep It On The Black Strip Between The Trees,