Bikes on the Border

Save the Date for the Third Annual Bikes on the Border April 11, 2015

Save the date for the Third Annual Bikes on the Border.  It will be held on Saturday, April 11, 2015.  We are currently working out the venue details and will pass those along as soon as they are confirmed.  If all works out as planned, the Third Annual Bikes on the Border will take place in Danville, Virginia. In keeping with the past format, attendees will be welcome to arrive on Friday, April 10th in order to share time with each other at the hospitality suite.  The actual conference will be held on Saturday, April 11th.   This one day conference will feature presentations on numerous topics of interest to motorcyclists and members of motorcyclist rights organizations.  Once the full agenda is finalized I will pass that information along. There is a $25.00 registration fee which includes a t-shirt and a ticket to the banquet Saturday night.  Walk-ins are welcome at the conference, but those who register will have guaranteed seating.  Only registrants will receive banquet tickets and t-shirts.  This year’s banquet will feature a silent auction and a 50/50 raffle with all proceeds going to the Motorcycle Riders Foundation.  If you have items for the silent auction, please contact Rob Griffin at rob@motorcyclelawgroup.com.  If there is enough interest, on Sunday, April 12th there will be an accident scene management class.  The class focuses on caring for injured riders at an accident scene and how to do so while maintaining the safety of both the injured and the aiding. If you would be interested in attending such a class please let me know.  Once again, please save this date on your calendar.  I will post more details as they become available.   Matt Danielson McGrath & Danielson Tom McGrath's Motorcycle Law Group 1-800-321-8968 Motorcyclelawgroup.com

HOV/HOT Lanes

Motorcycles, Tolls & Transponders on NOVA’s HOV/HOT Lanes November 19, 2014   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.   Matt Danielson McGrath & Danielson Tom McGrath's Motorcycle Law Group 1-800-321-8968 Motorcyclelawgroup.com

Lobby Day 2015

Motorcycle Lobby Day 2015 January 19, 2015

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, 2014.  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 (800) 437-9434.  For Room Reservations call 1- (888) 465-4329.  Make sure to ask for the VCOM rate.  We hope to see you at Lobby Day.   Matt Danielson McGrath & Danielson Tom McGrath's Motorcycle Law Group 1-800-321-8968 Motorcyclelawgroup.com