Archive for “Uncategorized” Category

SB 836 came out of the Senate Transportation Committee yesterday on a 14-1 vote. Senator Ralph Smith from Roanoke was the only no vote. Unfortunately the committee rejected our substitute language, fearing that our language was too broad.  Our language would have simply allowed a rider to stand on the foot rests so long as not done in a manner so at to endanger life limb or property.

As passed by the Senate Transportation Committee, the bill would require motorcyclists to ride upon the permanent seat attached to the motorcycle “unless safety dictates standing on both foot pegs for no longer than is necessary”.  Current law restricts the rider by requiring that he or she ride only upon the permanent seat.  This is contrary to what is taught in the Basic Rider Course, which teaches that it is appropriate to stand on the foot rests under certain circumstances.

VCOM will continue to pursue strategies to improve this bill as it heads to the full Senate and then over to the House of Delegates.  Thank you to all who took the time to email legislators about this bill.  We will continue to look to you for support during this legislative session to ensure that the interests of Virginia motorcyclists are protected.

Our Auxiliary light bill, HB 1700, is scheduled to be heard this Monday (February 2^nd) before the House Transportation Sub-committee chaired by Delegate Scott Garrett.  This bill would allow motorcyclists to utilize auxiliary lighting, such as LED lighting, in order to be more visible at night.  It also removes the five second limit on the amount of time that a motorcycle brake light may modulate.

Current Virginia law requires that all lighting be approved by the superintendent of the Virginia State Police.  That means that all lighting must go through the federal approval process.  The vast majority of smaller lights appropriate for motorcycles have never undergone such a process, and due to the size of the manufacturers making such lighting, most likely never will.

VCOM has worked with Delegate Tony Wilt to fashion a bill which allows motorcycles the protection of side lighting currently enjoyed by operators of cars and trucks.

Below is the name and email address of every Delegate on the sub-committee hearing this bill.  VCOM encourages all motorcyclists to email the members of the sub-committee in support of this bill.  When doing so remember to point out the following:

The bill increases visibility of motorcycles, especially at night;

Unlike automobiles which are required to have side marker lights or wrap around headlights / tail lights which are visible from the side, motorcycle lights are often only visible from the front and rear and do not have the same illumination as automobiles;

NHTSA published a report on the effectiveness of side marker lights on motor vehicles.  The report concluded that side marker lights are a cost effective safety device which reduce the number of nighttime angular collisions that occur in the United States;

Several surrounding states, including Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, have passed similar legislation and motorcyclists from those states are currently riding on Virginia roads with similar lighting.  It makes sense to give Virginia motorcyclists the same safety tools that out of state riders already use on Virginia roads.

Please support this sensible bill which makes motorcycles more visible at night.

The list of sub-committee members is below:

Delegate Garrett (Chairman) –  DelSGarrett@house.virginia.gov

LeMunyon – DelJLeMunyon@house.virginia.gov

Austin – DelTAustin@house.virginia.gov

Taylor – DelSTaylor@house.virginia.gov

Pillion – DelTPillion@house.virginia.gov

Ward – DelJWard@house.virginia.gov

Carr – DelBCarr@house.virginia.gov

This year’s Virginia Motorcycle Lobby Day was another success.  We had an unofficial count of 110 motorcyclists who came to the Sunday informational session where we discussed this year’s legislation that affects Virginia motorcyclists.  The next day we spoke to our legislators at the General Assembly Building about the legislation.  I have already received feedback from legislators and their staff saying that the motorcyclists who came by their offices presented themselves well and were very well prepared to discuss the issues.  Thank you to each and every one of you who participated in this year’s Virginia Motorcycle Lobby Day.  Your efforts and sacrifices make a difference for Virginia motorcyclists.

While we discussed numerous bills, I would like to call attention to two in particular which directly affect motorcycles and motorcyclists.  These are HB 1700 and SB 836.  VCOM is working closely with each of the sponsors in order to ensure passage of both.  You can view all of the legislation on which VCOM takes a position at vcomonline.org

HB 1700 is sponsored by Delegate Tony Wilt of Harrisonburg at the request of VCOM.  This bill would allow auxiliary lighting on motorcycles in order to increase motorcycle visibility.  The bill also eliminates the five second limit on the amount of time that a motorcycle brake light may modulate.  You may follow the bill throughout the session at the following link:

http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?ses=151&typ=bil&val=HB1700&submit=GO

You may read the entire bill at the following link:

http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?151+ful+HB1700

The bill has been referred to the House Transportation Committee.  When it is referred to a sub-committee I will send an email listing the names of the sub-committee members along with their email addresses so that you may voice your support for this bill.

The other bill of particular interest to Virginia motorcyclists is SB 836.  This bill was sponsored by Senator Janet Howell of Fairfax, Virginia.  It concerns riding on motorcycles generally and makes it clear that there are times when it is appropriate to ride while standing on the footrests.  Current law states that the operator of a motorcycle “shall ride only upon the permanent seat attached to the motorcycle . . .” This is contrary to what is taught in the Basic Rider Course, which identifies several instances when a rider would want to ride while standing on the footrests, such as when crossing obstacles.  You may follow this bill at the following link:

http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?ses=151&typ=bil&val=sb836&submit=GO

You may read the entire bill at the following link. However, this is not what the final version will look like:

http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?151+ful+SB836

VCOM has worked with Senator Howell to re-write the legislation in order to make it less restrictive given the fact that riders stand on the footrests for comfort as well as for safety.  A substitute will be offered which simply adds the following language to the statute:

Every person operating a motorcycle, as defined in § 46.2-100 excluding three-wheeled vehicles, shall ride only upon the permanent seat attached to the motorcycle, or while standing on both footrests unless done in a manner so as to endanger life, limb, or property of any person.

There is no sense emailing legislators in support of this bill until the substitute has been filed.  With their hectic schedule during this year’s short session they are not going to consider something that has not been filed and assigned a committee.  However, when it is filed, I will post the names of the members of the Senate Transportation Committee and their email addresses so that you may voice your support for this bill.

Thank you again to all of you who have ever taken your time to support Virginia motorcyclists.  By working together we make Virginia a better place for all riders.

The Virginia Coalition of Motorcyclists (VCOM) is pleased to announce that our bill to allow auxiliary lighting on motorcycles has been filed and officially has a bill number.  It is House Bill 1700 (HB1700).  The bill also eliminates the five second limit on the time that a motorcycle brake light may modulate.  You may follow the bill throughout the session at the following link:

http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?ses=151&typ=bil&val=HB1700&submit=GO

You may read the entire bill at the following link:

http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?151+ful+HB1700

Delegate Tony Wilt, a rider himself, graciously agreed to carry this bill for Virginia motorcyclists.  You will recall that Delegate Wilt also carried the bill which successfully removed the prohibition against two two-wheeled motorcycles riding abreast in Virginia.

As the session progresses, VCOM will continue to send updates concerning this bill, as well as any other bills that are of interest to Virginia Motorcyclists.  Remember that this Monday, January 19^th, is Motorcycle Lobby Day at the General Assembly.  On Sunday January 18th, from 1:00 p.m. until we get through, Virginia Coalition of Motorcyclists lobbyists will lead an informational meeting at the Holliday Inn at 2000 Staples Mill Rd, Richmond, VA, 23230 to discuss this year’s legislation affecting motorcyclists. We will also discuss how to talk to your legislators about these issues in case you have never done that.  Later that evening, attendees will enjoy a free homemade BBQ dinner.

On Monday the 19th, we leave the hotel at 8:00 a.m. sharp for our annual trip to the Capitol. After lobbying our legislators, we will head to Penny Lane Pub where Tom McGrath’s Motorcycle Law Group provides lunch to all who attended as a thank you for coming to support Virginia motorcyclists.  We hope to see you there.

As many of you know, VCOM’s own Jim Cannon is stepping into the political arena and running for the open seat in 63^rd District of the Virginia House of Delegates.  This would not only give us another motorcycle friendly legislator in Virginia, it would give us another actual rider.

Last week speaker Howell set the special election for January 6, 2015.  The deadline to register to be on the ballot is Dec 3, 2014 by 5:00 PM. Because Jim is running as an independent, in order to register to be on the ballot he needs 125 signatures from registered voters that reside in the 63rd District. The 63^rd District includes the City of Petersburg, the Matoaca and Ettrick areas of Chesterfield County, and a large portion of north-western Dinwiddie County.

If you live in the 63^rd District and would like to help get Jim on the ballot, please contact him at (804) 314-9071.  If you have friends or family who live in that district have them contact him as well.  You may also email him at jim@vcomonline.org .  If you are not sure whether or not you live in the 63^rd District you may go to http://whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov/ and enter your address.

As the unveiling of the newest HOV/HOT lanes in Northern Virginia has drawn closer, there has been much consternation among motorcyclists about whether the Commonwealth is going to require motorcycles to be equipped with an E-Z Pass transponder in order to use the lanes. On these HOV/HOT express lanes, E-Z Pass transponders automatically deduct tolls from the owner of a motor vehicle when the vehicle does not qualifying as a high occupancy vehicle.

We had previously discussed this issue with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and had been told that motorcycles would not be required to be equipped with a transponder. VDOT assured us that since motorcycles are already considered high occupancy vehicles under state code, there was no need to require a transponder to use the express lanes.

Recently, signage has gone up along the newly constructed HOV/HOT lanes stating that in order to use the lanes, every motor vehicle must be equipped with a transponder. This has concerned many motorcyclists in the Northern Virginia area. There is no reliable way to mount a transponder to a motorcycle, especially motorcycles without windshields. Additionally, unlike automobiles and trucks, motorcycles are always considered high occupancy vehicles and are never required to pay to use the express lanes. There is simply no logical reason to require a transponder, which in automobiles and trucks can be turned on or off depending on the number of people occupying the vehicle.

We again reached out to VDOT. Below is the email that we received in response to our inquiry:

Dear Mr. Danielson,

The Secretary’s office asked me to thank you and respond to your question regarding motorcycle use on the HOV/HOT lanes.

Motorcycles will not have to pay tolls to use either the 495 Express Lanes or the soon-to-be-opening 95 Express Lanes. In addition, motorcycles are not required to be equipped with an E-Z Pass transponder. The toll collection system on these two facilities will properly identify the vehicle as a motorcycle whether or not it is equipped with a transponder and apply the appropriate business exceptions.

I hope this addresses your concern. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me.

Thank you,

David

David Caudill, P.E.
Division Administrator
Tolling Operations Division
Virginia Dept. of Transportation

This will come as welcomed news to those who regularly ride along the I-95 corridor in Northern Virginia. Of course, any comfort that this news brings to those riders will be short lived because they will still have to regularly travel the I-95 corridor in Northern Virginia. (My Northern Virginia readers will understand this all too well).

As always, if anyone has any questions or comments about anything that I have written, please feel free to contact me.

The Virginia Coalition of Motorcyclists and Tom McGrath’s Motorcycle Law Group would like to invite all interested motorcyclists to attend this year’s Motorcycle Lobby Day.  This year it will be held on Monday January 19, 2015.  This is a holiday, so many people are off.  That morning, Virginia Coalition of Motorcyclists lobbyists, as well as members of other state motorcycle rights organizations, independent motorcyclists and any other interested people will go to the Virginia General Assembly to speak to the Delegates and Senators about upcoming legislation that affects motorcyclists in Virginia.

On Sunday January 18th, from 1:00 p.m. until we get through, Virginia Coalition of Motorcyclists lobbyists will lead an informational meeting at the Holliday Inn at 2000 Staples Mill Rd, Richmond, VA, 23230 to discuss this year’s legislation affecting motorcyclists. We will also discuss how to talk to your legislators about these issues in case you have never done that.  Later that evening, attendees will enjoy a free homemade BBQ dinner.

On Monday the 19th, we leave the hotel at 8:00 a.m. sharp for our annual trip to the Capitol. After lobbying our legislators, we will head to Penny Lane Pub where Tom McGrath’s Motorcycle Law Group provides lunch to all who attended as a thank you for coming to support Virginia motorcyclists.

This year we know that there will be a bill to amend the Code of Virginia to allow motorcyclists to use auxiliary lights in order to increase visibility to other motorists.  The bill will also eliminate the five second limit on the amount of time that a motorcycle brake light may modulate.  The purpose is to increase the visibility of the motorcycle to motorists approaching from behind, thus reducing rear-end collisions.

As always, there will be numerous bills submitted at the last minute which may negatively affect motorcycling.  As these bills are filed, we will identify them and discuss them at Lobby Day so that we can convince legislators to oppose them.  Those who have participated in Lobby Day in the past remember bills that we have defeated such as the one that would have required proof of insurance before one person could sell another person a motorcycle, even if the person buying the motorcycle had no intention of putting the bike on the road.  We defeated that one with the help of all of those who participated at Lobby Day.  A few years ago we defeated a bill that would have prohibited children under eight from riding on a motorcycle as a passenger.  We pointed out that the proposed law improperly infringed on the rights and responsibilities of parents.  Those at Lobby Day also pointed out the fact that in the prior ten years not a single child under eight was killed on a motorcycle. Both of these bills may have become law if it were not for the efforts of Virginia motorcyclists who took the time to come to Richmond and oppose them.

I encourage everyone who can to join us.  It is a lot of fun, it is educational, and most importantly it shows the legislators that motorcyclists are a significant and active portion of the electorate.

For more information you may call VCOM at (804) 353-3971.  For Room Reservations call 1- (888) 465-4329.  Make sure to ask for the VCOM rate.  We hope to see you at Lobby Day.

On Sunday August 31, 2014, the Virginia Coalition of Motorcyclists held its annual Motorcycle Legislative Roundtable. Despite being the Sunday before Labor Day, over thirty interested motorcyclists gathered at the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Richmond to discuss issues important to Virginia Motorcyclists. We identified issues which we want to pursue in 2015 and formulated strategies to pursue them. Along with many concerned independent motorcyclists, members of ABATE of Virginia, Virginia Bikers Association, and United States Military Vets MC were in attendance. We also had the benefit of having several motorcycle safety instructors take part. All in all, we had quite a bit of knowledge and experience in the room.

The group was unanimous in it’s wish to have a bill introduced during the 2015 legislative session which will amend Virginia Code Section 46.2-1012 (lights on motorcycles) in two ways. The first proposed amendment will make it easier to install and use auxiliary lights on motorcycles in order to increase visibility to other motorists. The second proposed amendment would remove the five second limitation on modulating brake lights. Under current Virginia law, a brake light may only modulate up to five seconds. It must then burn steady. Many brake light kits on the market today do not meet that limitation. In addition, motorcyclists often find themselves stopped for longer than five seconds. It makes sense to allow the light to continually modulate in order to increase visibility to motorists approaching from behind.

The next issue we considered was increasing the penalties for motorists who kill someone while committing a right of way violation. In the past we have attempted to make such an offense reckless driving, most recently last year. Making the offense reckless driving would force the offender to come to court and would give the court the ability to impose jail and/or suspend the offender’s license. Too many times those who kill others in right of way violations are charged with failure to yield the right of way. That is a traffic infraction which is often pre-paid. After much discussion, it was decided that we would take a non-legislative approach this year. This is due to the bill’s repeated failure in the General Assembly and the open hostility that our closest friends there have to this issue. VCOM will attempt to set up meetings with state and local law enforcement officials to discuss having the investigating officers charge such offenders with reckless driving instead of failure to yield the right of way. Virginia law defines reckless driving as driving in a manner so as to endanger the life, limb, or property of any person (46.2-852). Certainly violating the right of way of another and killing them meets that threshold.

The group also agreed that VCOM, in conjunction with ABATE of Virginia, will meet with officials of the Virginia Department of Transportation in order to discuss the feasibility of using current overhead traffic warning signs to display “Watch for Motorcycles” throughout the year. Other states have been doing this in recent years and have been able to show a reduction in motorcycle crashes in areas where such messages were displayed.

Another issue discussed was legalizing lane splitting, or at least, allowing motorcycles to use the shoulder when traffic is at a standstill. It was pointed out that there have been issues, particularly in Northern Virginia, with air-cooled motorcycles shutting down in congested traffic. This is especially a problem during the summer months. It was decided that, since there is a study on the subject which is expected to be published within a few months, we would wait on that study before deciding whether or not to take any steps in that direction.

The last matter that was seriously discussed was the status of our attempts to amend Virginia’s helmet law to allow adults, who are at least twenty-one years of age, to decide whether or not to wear a motorcycle helmet. That would make Virginia the 32nd state to allow adults to make that choice. As many who were involved with that bill two years ago know, a majority of both the House of Delegates and Senate would support such a measure. VCOM is currently working to determine the Governor’s position on this matter, as well as the position of other legislative leaders who have the ability under Virginia rules to ensure that such a bill would never get a vote regardless of the support that it may have in each chamber of the General Assembly. Until now we have not been in a position to have those discussions due to the fact that the key members with whom we need to speak were too busy working out budget issues as well as the fate of Medicare expansion in Virginia. When we have more information we will make it known.

As always, if anyone has any questions or comments about anything that I have written, please feel free to contact me. Thank you again to all who took their time to attend this year’s Motorcycle Legislative Roundtable. There are many other things that you could have done with your time. Instead you used it in to improve motorcycling in Virginia. Thank you.

This year’s Virginia Motorcycle Legislative Roundtable will be held on Sunday, August 31, 2014 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Downtown Richmond, which is located at 501 East Broad St., Richmond, VA 23219.   While we understand that this is Labor Day Weekend, we have no other weekends available that do not put us to close too the start of the 2015 legislative session.

The Legislative Roundtable is where Virginia Motorcyclists gather to discuss issues of importance to the motorcycling community, and to have input on the 2015 legislative agenda to be presented to the Virginia General Assembly by the Virginia Coalition of Motorcyclists.

The Roundtable will start at 12:00 P.M. and usually lasts three to four hours.  If you can make it we would welcome your voice in deciding the issues that need to be addressed in 2015.  In past years the Roundtable was the starting point for legislation such as Virginia’s red light bill, our prohibition against motorcycle only checkpoints, the modification of the Virginia Code to allow two two-wheeled motorcycles to travel abreast in a single lane, legislation improving Virginia’s Rider Education Program, and the creation of the autocycle category in Virginia Code in order to remove three wheeled automobiles from Virginia’s motorcycle accident data.

If you are interested in attending we would welcome you around the table.  If you are unable to attend but want to express your ideas, or if you have any questions concerning this year’s Virginia Motorcycle Legislative Roundtable, please do not hesitate to contact VCOM.

On a final note, Tom McGrath’s Motorcycle Law Group is accepting nominations for this year’s Tom McGrath’s Leading Wheel Award.  If you know of an individual who has made an outstanding effort to improve motorcycling or motorcycle safety, please send me their information and a description of their achievements.  Nominees can be someone who has made a significant achievement to improve motorcycling, or someone who’s body of work over time has significantly benefited motorcycling or motorcycle safety.  Remember that members of the Motorcycle Law Group are not eligible to receive the award.

As always, if you have any questions or comments concerning anything that I have written please do not hesitate to contact VCOM.

We are almost to the half-way point and here is where we stand. Both HB 122 and SB 383 are crossing the hallway to the other chamber respectively and are on fast track for passage. These two bills are identical and will create a class of motor vehicle called an autocycle. Autocycles will cover three wheeled motor vehicles which, while currently classified as motorcycles, have more in common with cars in that the operator sits in a seat and uses a steering wheel. The Virginia Coalition of Motorcyclists has worked with several state agencies for the past two years in order to bring this legislation before the General Assembly. Motorcyclists do not want crash data for these three wheeled cars lumped into our statistical data. That would skew our data negatively by making it appear that there are more motorcycle crashes, injuries and fatalities. It is important to note that trikes will continue to be classified as motorcycles under these bills.

HB 542 is our bill to clarify that Virginia’s prohibition against wearing masks in public only applies when the offender has the intent to conceal his or her identity, not when the wearer is trying to stay warm or keep dust out of his or her face. It came out of the House Courts of Justice Committee unanimously. It will now go on the uncontested House calendar and should move over to the Senate with relative ease. Of course, we never take anything for granted in the General Assembly.

We experienced great disappointment yesterday when HB 1215 failed to pass the House Courts of Justice Committee by a 9-13 vote. This was our bill to increase penalties for those who kill or seriously injure others in right of way violations. We knew that we had opposition to this bill in the legislature but had expected it to pass the House Courts of Justice Committee. Our patron, who is the vice chair of the committee, had informed us that we should be good with his committee and that we needed to start working the Senate. He was as surprised as we were by the strength of the opposition in the full committee. He called immediately after to express his disappointment. We assured him that we appreciated all of his help.

The greatest disappointment was in Delegate Loupassi, who had specifically told us that he would support the bill. He was the one who led the charge against the bill in committee. I will be speaking to him next week.

For your information the breakdown of the vote was as follows: YEAS–Bell, Robert B., Cline, Gilbert, Miller, Minchew, Morris, Leftwich, Watts, Mason. NAYS–Albo, Kilgore, Loupassi, Villanueva, Habeeb, Chafin, Adams, Campbell, Toscano, Herring, McClellan, Hope, Keam.

If anyone intends to email any of the no votes to express your disappointment please do so politely and civilly. We will have to continue to work with these legislators in the future. However, it is by no means out of line to express your disappointment in a civil manner.

Thank you to all who have worked to move all of the legislation through the General Assembly. While VCOM is disappointed that HB 1215 will not pass this year we still have work to do on the remaining bills and will continue our efforts at the capitol.

As always, if anyone has any questions or comments about anything that I have written please do not hesitate to contact VCOM.