Happy New Year!
1) ABATE of SC Third Annual Legislative Scavenger Hunt
2) Motorcycle shop puts female racers in the saddle
3) NC Helmet law prepares to change
4) '08 ushers in new laws in NC
5) How well do you know your senators?
6) How well do you know your lawmakers?
7) SCHP AWARDED GRANTS TO ENHANCE SAFETY ON ROADWAYS
8) Illinois needs helmet law
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1) ABATE of SC Third Annual Legislative Scavenger Hunt
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FF Note: Scavenger Hunt Lists/Sheets have been printed and the prize stash is really shaping up. The big day is only a week away!
http://www.abatesc.com/events/2008-01-08legislativescavengerhunt.php
ABATE of SC Third Annual Legislative Scavenger Hunt
Arrive early and come prepared to take part in our third annual biker scavenger hunt at the State House on Tuesday January 8, 2008. Scavenger hunt lists will be handed out from 9:00 AM until 11:30 AM in the lobby of the State House under the dome. Participants will earn patches and prizes...
This year’s scavenger hunt will have a few new twists and special guests. Suggested items to bring for a fun and productive day at the capitol include: your motorcycle, warm clothes, notepad, pen or pencil, digital camera, voter registration card, letters for legislators, and a positive attitude...
A current legislative manual might be handy to have ...
http://www.scstatehouse.net/man07/manual07.html
Other useful information is available at
http://www.scstatehouse.net/html-pages/publications.html
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2) Motorcycle shop puts female racers in the saddle
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FF Note: Acme Motorcycles is a cool shop between Lake Lure and Asheville on 74-A. They also have free coffee and WiFi.
http://citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200771230007
Motorcycle shop puts female racers in the saddle
by Anne Fitten Glenn, CITIZEN-TIMES CORRESPONDENT
FAIRVIEW — Scott Olofson likes motorcycles and women. So soon after opening his motorcycle retail and service shop, Acme Motorcycles, in 2006, he organized an all-female vintage motorcycle racing team.
The Acme All Stars Women’s Racing Team has participated in only a few races so far. Team members received their racing licenses in early fall, and they plan to run three or four races in 2008 on their vintage Honda CB 360 bikes. The team members are Dottie Mattern, 63, Linda Cluxton, 56, and Caroline Minicozzi, 34.
“I met these women and decided it would be fun for them to participate in a sport dominated by men. There are other women riders but not many on vintage bikes,” Olofson, 54, said.
The team is one part of Olofson’s plan to promote motorcycle tourism in the area. He’s organized a few riding tours and plans to set up more, and in the spring he’ll start renting motorcycles. He’s also hired Pat Cocciadiferro, a former Formula One photographer and go-cart racer, to start doing service and custom engine work on racing go-carts.
Olofson credits the Small Business and Technology Development Center, a state-sponsored economic development service with offices in Asheville and Cullowhee, for help with the business’ startup. The SBTDC’s Adrianne Gordon enlisted a Western Carolina University business student to help with Acme’s business plan, and she’s also put Olofson in touch with other shop owners in the effort to promote bike tourism. “They’ve been extraordinarily helpful,” Olofson said of the SBTDC.
Acme Motorcycles has two sections, retail and service. The shop repairs motorcycles of all kinds, but about 60 percent of the work is on BMWs, as the nearest dealer is in Greenville, S.C. The retail area sells tires, helmets, gloves, boots and other riding gear, and vintage and used motorcycles are available for sale out front.
“It’s the corner coffee shop of motorcycle shops,” Cluxton said. “It’s also incredibly female-friendly. There’s a dressing room and women’s T-shirts. It’s welcoming for us.”
Olofson added that more and more women are riding motorcycles, so catering to women makes smart business sense.
“Women are the fastest- growing segment of the industry,” Cluxton added. “Our sponsors are thrilled.”
Mattern, the most experienced rider of the three, has been racing for 45 years. Until she joined the All Stars, she said most of her racing had been “in the dirt,” including motocross and endurance races.
Mattern and Cluxton attended road-racing school at Nashville Speedway last fall, where Mattern had her first experience racing on a road course. Mattern recently broke a speed record at the Maxton Mile in Maxton, south of Fayetteville.
“The short version is that I got the 1937 Indian up to a record-breaking (for that class) 91.74 miles per hour. And believe me, on a 70-year-old bike that has little suspension, that feels like you are flying,” Mattern said.
Mattern and her husband split their time between Fairview and Key West, Fla., where their children and grandchildren live.
Cluxton works as director of communications for Christ School in Arden. She considers herself a novice racer, although she’s ridden motorcycles for fun and photographed motorcycle racing for 30 years.
“I’m just passionate about racing,” she said. “I feel like it’s what I’m supposed to be doing. I had no idea how much fun it was going to be.”
Minicozzi works as a behavioral analyst for children with autism. She said she’s a retired downhill mountain biker, and she thinks motorcycle racing is much safer. “Things feel normal for me at high speed,” Minicozzi said. The women mostly race against men and each other.
“You line up. They say go. There’s this incredible surge of noise and exhaust and, hopefully, speed. It’s great,” she said.
In addition to Acme, the All Stars’ sponsors are Wheels Through Time museum in Maggie Valley and Carolina Motorcycle Rentals in Hendersonville. AB Emblem of Weaverville is creating badges for the team.
“It’s a fun place to hang out,” Minicozzi said of Acme motorcycles. “It’s like a clubhouse,”
Olofson added: “Motorcycling is an enthusiast sport. Customers want to be here. They want to hang out. I wanted this to be a place that I want to be.”
Mattern agreed: “The place is sort of like everyone’s dream garage — coffee, comfortable chairs, motorcycles and people to share experiences. They are willing to help anyone who calls or comes in with a problem. It is a place you enjoy even if your bike is running fine.”
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3) NC Helmet law prepares to change
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http://news14.com/content/top_stories/591147/helmet-law-prepares-to-change/Default.aspx
Helmet law prepares to change
By: Jennifer Moxley
SALISBURY -- The motorcycle helmet law in North Carolina will change Jan. 1, 2008.
In the past, many motorcyclists successfully fought helmet tickets because the law didn't say what kind of helmet had to be worn. That all will change when the law takes affect and requires safety-approved helmets.
Kristi Stewart helps customers with helmet-related questions at Tilley Harley Davidson. “As long as Tilley's been in business (since 1972) they've only sold [Department of Transportation-approved] helmets,” she said.
Starting Jan. 1, that's all you can use. Novelty helmets won't be allowed. Hazel Rollings used to wear novelty helmets because they were more comfortable. “For the past four months, I've wore a DOT helmet just to get used to it because I knew this law was coming,” he said.
The law used to only say helmets had to be "approved by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles.” The new law clarifies that statement, saying helmets “need to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.”
There's an easy way to make sure your helmet is approved. There's usually a sticker or an indication on the inside.
“They come in every style, every shape every color that you want,” explained Stewart. “The DOT helmets that we sell, they are lightweight, that they will protect you if something were to happen and you were to have an accident.”
Stewart said cost and comfort are no excuse. Tilley’s sells DOT-approved helmets ranging from $30-400. “Harley Davidson and other manufacturers have started producing helmets that are very lightweight. That make it really comfortable for the riders so it's a good thing that now that the law's in affect, or they're going to be pushed, that they have some options to wear light weight helmets.”
Violators will be issued a $25 fee plus court costs. Several Freedom Ride protests across the state are planned Jan. 1 to coordinate with the new law. Many bikers will ride to the People’s Executive Mansion in Raleigh to protest the law.
Another law affecting motorcyclists just took effect Dec. 1. Bikers can now drive through red lights that work on motion sensors that don't pick up the motorcycles. According to the law, Bikers have to wait at least three minutes at the red light first before going through it.
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4) '08 ushers in new laws in NC
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http://citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007712310302
'08 ushers in new laws
By Jordan Schrader
JSCHRADE@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM
December 31, 2007 12:15 am
RALEIGH- Add another New Year's resolution to the list: obey North Carolina's latest laws.
Laws taking effect as the ball drops Tuesday will affect everyone from state employees who smoke at work tojailers keeping watch over people they suspect to be in the country illegally.
Some of the new laws chip away at big, intractable problems affecting the country.
Mounting home foreclosures led this year to a mandate that lenders make sure homebuyers can afford their payments even after interest rates jump up from introductory, or "teaser," rates.
A flood of undocumented immigrants prompted a law that jails must try to determine the immigration status of inmates brought in on charges of a felony or impaired driving.
Multiplying lawsuits against doctors, seen as driving up health care costs, led lawmakers to make it easier to solve such disputes through mediation.
Rep. Bob England, in 42 years as a primary-care physician and obstetrician, said he was never sued but still paid the price of malpractice lawsuits.
"The premiums we paid, are paying, have to cover for those that are sued," said England, D-Rutherford.
England and Rep. Ray Rapp, D-Madison, helped push a new law that lawyers must tell clients they can settle their disputes at a negotiating table instead of in a courtroom.
Once at the table, a settlement must be reached in less than a year and awards to victims are capped at $1 million.
A concern that out-of-state residents are taking advantage of North Carolina's low auto insurance costs led to a law.
Pushed by House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman and Rep. Bruce Goforth, D-Buncombe, it was designed to make it easier for the state to pursue violators and for insurers to drop their policies or refuse to pay out claims in cases of fraud.
Because of another law, smoking inside state government buildings is banned as of Tuesday.
And people who are thinking of running for office in 2008 had better not be running from their past.
Political candidates for state and local offices will have to disclose any felonies on their records.
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5) How well do you know your senators?
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http://www.thestate.com/local/story/271101.html
How well do you know your senators?
South Carolina’s senators are making a name for themselves in Washington.
It’s hard to watch Sunday morning talk shows and not see U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham. And U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint has a growing following online from conservatives.
Washington correspondent James Rosen offers this take on South Carolina’s senators. His offering on the state’s six U.S. House members was published Sunday. Along with today's profiles of Graham and DeMint, a link to the House profiles is provided to the right.
NOTE: Key activities, issues, achievements and votes were provided by members. An influential Democratic political consultant offered candid views of the Republican senators in exchange for anonymity.
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6) How well do you know your lawmakers?
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http://www.thestate.com/local/story/270288.html
How well do you know your lawmakers?
Here’s the inside scoop on people who represent you in Congress
S.C.’s delegation in the U.S. House
For a pretty small state, South Carolina carries out-sized clout in Washington.
While no one likely will challenge the late Strom Thurmond’s record of 48 years in the U.S. Senate, John Spratt has passed the quarter-century mark in the U.S. House and counts the money in federal coffers. U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint has a growing fan club in conservative bloggerdom. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham is a Sunday talk show regular. Jim Clyburn counts the votes in the U.S. House.
In the spirit of goodwill befitting the season, Washington correspondent James Rosen offers this take on South Carolina’s congressional delegation. Learn about congressmen today and senators Monday.
[NOTE: Key activities, issues, achievements and votes were provided by members. An influential Republican political consultant offered candid views of the delegation’s two Democratic members in exchange for anonymity; a prominent Democratic consultant provided perspectives on the six Republican members under the same guidelines.]
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7) SCHP AWARDED GRANTS TO ENHANCE SAFETY ON ROADWAYS
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http://www.scdps.org/oea/nr2007/122107B.htm
SCHP AWARDED GRANTS TO ENHANCE SAFETY ON ROADWAYS, ASSIST FAMILIES OF HIGHWAY FATALITIES
COLUMBIA – The South Carolina Highway Patrol announces that it has been awarded three grants from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) totaling $318,671. The grants will add two additional troopers to the SCHP Motorcycle Enforcement Team ($203,590); allow SCHP to develop a public education campaign/curriculum to address motorcycle fatalities ($75,000); and continue the department’s Families of Highway Fatalities’ program ($40,081).
The motorcycle grant will allow the Highway Patrol to hire two troopers for the Motorcycle Enforcement Unit and fund the purchase of their motorcycles and related equipment. These two motor units will be used specifically to work the high-crash interstate corridor of I-26 that runs through Orangeburg and Calhoun counties. The purpose of the additional enforcement is to reduce traffic collisions and fatalities in those areas especially targeting speed and alcohol-related collisions.
From 2004-2006, there were 664 collisions on I-26 in Calhoun County. This accounted for 54 percent of the county’s total collisions. Calhoun County ranked fourth in the state for fatal/serious injury collisions caused by speed. Orangeburg County had 808 collisions on I-26 during that same time period, accounting for 11 percent of total collisions. Orangeburg County ranked fifth in speed-related collisions.
The troopers will begin patrolling in the area in Spring 2008.
The Highway Patrol was awarded a second grant to develop a motorcycle safety awareness program in response to the rising motorcycle fatalities in the state in recent years. The goal of the program is to reduce motorcycle collisions and fatalities in the state. The grant funding will be used to develop a DVD instructional/safety presentation geared toward inexperienced riders. The video will use the expertise of the Highway Patrol Motor Units to demonstrate proper riding techniques, highlight some of the most common collision causes and how to interact with the motoring public to prevent collisions.
The DVD, along with printed materials, will be distributed to motorcycle dealerships around the state. The department will work closely with motorcycle groups and apply some of the recommendations from the SC Department of Public Safety’s Motorcycle Safety Task Force in development of the awareness program.
The third grant is to continue the 2007 grant award for the Families of Highway Fatalities’ program. This program, housed under the Highway Patrol, assists families who have lost a loved one in a motor vehicle collision. In addition to providing access to counseling and other services, FHF members work closely with the Highway Patrol attending safety talks and other functions to raise awareness of deadly driving behaviors. FHF members also serve as advocates for safety in their community, distributing safety literature etc.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 21, 2007
CONTACT: Sgt. R.K. Hughes, 803-896-7920
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8) Illinois needs helmet law
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http://www.galesburg.com/opinions/x531356412
Illinois needs helmet law
Dec 29, 2007 @ 08:29 AM
The Register-Mail
CANTON -
LETTER -- Maybe 2008 will be the year the Illinois General Assembly and the governor will do what is the right for Illinois and pass a motorcycle helmet law. In 1969, the Supreme Court of Illinois ruled that the helmet law of the state of Illinois was not constitutional. Ever since, the Illinois General Assembly and the governor have pointed to this ruling as their reason for not addressing this vital safety issue and passing a law that will be constitutional.
Thirty eight years have passed and lives are still being lost needlessly. In 2005, 157 motorcyclists were killed on Illinois roads, making Illinois the seventh highest in motorcycle accident fatalities in the United States. In 2006, 4,810 people died in motorcycle crashes nationwide, 132 of them in Illinois.
Sen. John J. Cullerton has tried to be the voice of reason to help Illinois wake up and pass a helmet law for motorcycles. His efforts have been blocked by A.B.A.T.E. organizations in Illinois. When a law comes before the General Assembly, A.B.A.T.E.’s voice is the only one heard because the average Illinoisan believes that if they don’t ride a motorcycle, they have no stake in the issue. But it does figure in the amount of taxes they pay each year.
Fifty percent of motorcycle crash survivors, who often have major, life-changing injuries, do not have private health insurance. Medicaid and other public assisted health care funds help pay the bills. We need to tell our lawmakers that there are Illinoisans who care about the safety and life of motorcyclists and who support a helmet law. If we can pass a constitutional seat belt law, booster seat laws, life jacket laws, why not a motorcycle helmet law?
It is time for the Illinois General Assembly and Governor Blagojevich to pass a motorcycle helmet law for Illinois. It will save lives and save millions of dollars in the state’s budget each year. Please write or call your state senator, state representative, and Gov. Blagojevich today, telling them that your want Illinois to put an end to this needless cost in lives and dollars each year. It is time for them to do what is right for Illinois and pass a Motorcycle Helmet Law.
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