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

Virginia Motorcycle Legislative Roundtable July 31, 2014

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 me. 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 me.   Matt Danielson McGrath & Danielson Tom McGrath's Motorcycle Law Group 1-800-321-8968 Motorcyclelawgroup.com

Happy Independence Day

 Happy Independence Day

We motorcyclists tend to have a special place in our hearts for the concept of freedom.  For many it is just a word, but for us it means something.  For many it is what drew them to motorcycling to begin with.  It is therefore fitting that, as we approach the 238^th anniversary of our Country’s independence, we give thanks for the blessings of liberty which we Americans continue to enjoy, and which are an integral part of our social fabric.

On this Independence Day, we would like to say thank you to every military veteran (past and present) who has put on the uniform and stood guard at the wall to protect the freedoms that we hold dear.  Without them there would no longer be an Independence Day to celebrate.

We at the Motorcycle Law Group wish you and your family a very happy Independence Day.  Ride safe, and let freedom continue to ring.
 

Matt Danielson
McGrath & Danielson
Tom McGrath's Motorcycle Law Group
1-800-321-8968
Motorcyclelawgroup.com
 

WHAT KIND OF MEMBER ARE YOU

Are you an active member

the kind that would be missed

are you just content

that your name is on the list? 

Do you attend the rides

and mingle with the flock

or do you stay at home

to criticize and knock? 

Do you take an active part

to help the club along

or are you satisfied

to just belong? 

Do you push the cause along

to make things really tick

or leave the work to just

a few and talk about their clique? 

Think this over friend

you know right from wrong

are you an active member

or do you just belong?

Why Motorcyclists Can’t Afford to Just
Sit Back and Enjoy the Ride

June 14, 2014

There are many different things that draw people to motorcycling.  For some it is the sense of freedom.  For others it is a source of relaxation.  It can also be a source of exhilaration.  If you are like me, it is to some degree all of the above.  That being said, it is the ride that we crave regardless of what each of us gets from it.  This time of year the roads are packed with motorcyclists who are sitting back (or forward) and just enjoying the ride.  That begs the question; can we as avid motorcyclists afford to do that?

I had the privilege this month of riding to Frisco Colorado to attend the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) Best of the West Conference.  For those who have been to Colorado you know that it is some of the prettiest riding country you will ever encounter.  Yet on a gorgeous Saturday in June, I found myself not on my bike riding the Rockies, but in a room with motorcyclists from around the country discussing issues riders are facing all around the United States.  The following is a list of some of the issues that were being addressed by the participants:

• Working to prevent motorcyclists from being excluded from public parking lots, roads, and parking garages.
• Working to eliminate roadside checkpoints aimed only at motorcyclists.
• Working to address the ever growing problem of distracted driving.
• Working to prohibit the use of higher ethanol blends at the pump until the effects on motorcycle engines can be further studied.
• Working for legislation allowing motorcyclists to safely and reasonably proceed when they are stuck at a traffic light that will not recognize them.
• Working to prevent legislation which arbitrarily sets age restrictions for passengers on motorcycles.
• Working with state and local governments to promote sensible motorcycle awareness campaigns.

All of these are real issues being faced by real riders.  As I took in everything being discussed I thought to myself, what would riding be like if there were no one addressing these issues on behalf of motorcyclists?   The answer was chilling.  It is easy to sit back, enjoy the ride, and count on everything being all right.  But can we afford to do that?  If we all did, we may soon find no ride left to sit back and enjoy.

So what can you do to protect yourself and the activity that we all love and cherish?  Take some simple steps to become involved in protecting the rights of fellow motorcyclists.  I am not suggesting that everyone start riding all over the country attending seminars (although it is a great excuse to ride all over the country).  You can get involved locally.  Start paying attention to the positions that your local, state and federal legislators take regarding issues affecting motorcyclists.  Share your thoughts in letters and emails.  Write letters to the editor of your local paper.  Go to City Council or County Board meetings.  Join a motorcycle rights organization and attend their lobby day, where motorcyclists go the State Capitol to discuss issues important to us with elected officials.  I would also encourage you to join the MRF.  This is an organization dedicated solely to protecting the rights of American motorcyclists.  You can learn more and join at mrf.org.

There are numerous ways to protect your rights as a motorcyclist.  The ways are limitless, bound only by your passion and imagination.  There is, however, a wrong way and that is to count on someone else to do it.  That someone else may be sitting back, enjoying the ride, and counting on you.

If you have any questions or comments concerning this article or any other matters concerning your rights as a motorcyclist, please feel free to contact me at 1-800-321-8968 or at matt@motorcyclelawgroup.com.

Matt Danielson
McGrath & Danielson
Tom McGrath’s Motorcycle Law Group
1-800-321-8968
Motorcyclelawgroup.com