This past July 4th I joined ABATE at their booth at the dry pits for the boat races. Although I do not own or ride a motorcycle I have many friends that do. For more information check out the links

PiratePat


FALLEN FREEDOM FIGHTER

It is with deepest regret that we report the death of Marty Schultz, ABATE of Maryland state director, who was riding home on the morning of August 30th after picking up his bike at a shop when he was struck and killed by the driver of a Jeep Liberty
who ran a stop sign, violating the 44-year old rider's right-of-way.

Since that time there has been considerable speculation in print and heard over the airwaves about whether or not he was wearing a helmet,said ABATE of Maryland in a prepared statement. Yes, in fact he was wearing a helmet that came off during the collision or its devastating aftermath. The focus should not be on the helmet, which in many cases provides little or no protection. A helmet can become dislodged or come off during a collision; which is precisely what happened in the collision that took Marty's life. Instead, shift the focus to what happens before an accident occurs and strive for accident prevention.

Legislation advocated by ABATE of Maryland, Inc. during the 2006
session of the Maryland General Assembly sought to increase the
penalties for right-of-way violations that result in serious injury or
a fatality.

The National Coalition of Motorcyclists and the motorcyclists rights
community extend our sincerest sympathies to the officers and members
of ABATE of Maryland and the family and friends of Marty Schultz for
their tragic loss.

Another Freedom Fighter falls in the line of duty, thanks to one of
the many irresponsible motorists out there, said Tiger Mike Revere,
ABATE of Oklahoma state director and member of the NCOM Board of
Directors, who further expressed a sentiment shared by our entire
board; "I'm sick and tired of burying my Brothers and Sisters for
America's right to drive stupidly!"


NHTSA REPORTS RISE IN MOTORCYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN DEATHS An increase in
motorcycle and pedestrian deaths contributed to an overall rise in
highway fatalities in 2005, reports the U.S. Department of
Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA). According to the federal agency, the total number of
fatalities rose 1.4 percent from 42,836 in 2004 to 43,443 in 2005.

Acting Secretary of Transportation Maria Cino noted that a 13 percent
increase in rider fatalities from 4,028 in 2004 to 4,553 in 2005 and
an increase in pedestrian fatalities from 4,675 to 4,881 offset an
overall decline in highway deaths.

In 2005, new motorcycle and scooter sales topped the one-million level
for the third straight year, according to the Motorcycle Industry
Council, and increased from 1,063,00 in 2004 to 1,116,000 in 2005,
marking 13 straight years of increased sales.

Cino added that the number of people injured in motor vehicle crashes
declined 3.2 percent from 2.8 million in 2004 to 2.7 million in 2005.
Passenger vehicle occupant fatalities also dropped by 451, from 31,866
in 2004 to 31,415 in 2005, the lowest level since 1994.


MORE MOTORCYCLES, MORE NOVICE RIDERS Not everybody is screaming
bloody murder over rising gasoline prices, reports ConsumerAffairs.com
-- motorcycle manufacturers are ecstatic.

According to the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, more than 350,000
people will take its new-rider course in 2006 -- a 10 per cent
increase over the year before. So many people want to ride that
there's a waiting list for spots in the class. The wait can sometimes
take months.

The Motorcycle Industry Council, also based in California, knows the
number of riders is rising rapidly. Sales of motorcycles and scooters
climbed 8 per cent in the first quarter of 2006, compared to the same
period of last year, and is expected to continue its upward spiral.

Because of rising fuel prices, there are a lot more novices on
motorcycles. In fact, the American Motorcyclist Association reports
that 35 per cent of motorcycle owners plan to be on their bikes more
as a direct result of pumped-up prices at the pump. The typical
motorcycle gets 50 miles per gallon of gas, while the average
passenger car gets less than half of that -- 22.4 miles.


PRESIDENT IMPRESSED WITH HARLEY-DAVIDSON President George W. Bush
became the third American president to visit Harley-Davidson when he
toured the York, Pennsylvania plant on Wednesday, August 16, but told
reporters I'm just looking so far.

Cheers and applause erupted inside the Harley-Davidson Inc. vehicle
operations plant when Bush straddled a blue and white Softail and
revved its engine again and again.

After meeting employees, the president shouted, "I'm impressed with
the quality of the product here," over the sounds of the assembly
line. "I'm impressed by the fact that these people really enjoy what
they're doing," Bush told national and local media.

Later, following an economic sit-down discussion with company workers
and management, Bush vowed to make the quality American product he'd
seen firsthand open to more international markets. "There's a direct
correlation between exports and jobs," Bush said. "The more Harleys
that are sold in places like Vietnam, China and India, the more likely
someone is going to be able to find work."

Harley-Davidson's worldwide dealer network sold more than 125,000
motorcycles in the second quarter of the year, a 10 percent increase
from the prior year. International retail motorcycle sales grew by
17.3 percent. The motorcycle maker also set a milestone this year when
it opened its first dealership in China, a large new market for the
company.

Bush also promised to help make permanent business tax credits for
research and development, citing the company as a model for, as the
president put it, "one of America's finest products."


WHO WANTS HELMETS The World Health Organization (WHO), a specialized
health agency of the United Nations with 191 member states, is
stressing the need for mandatory helmet laws worldwide and has
published a road safety manual giving technical advice to governments
on how to assess current helmet use and design programs to increase
helmet wearing.

According to their estimates, motorcyclists account for more than 50
percent of the 1.2 million killed in road crashes every year, adding
that the majority of those who die or are disabled in motorcycle
accidents are from low and middle income nations, which is why the WHO
is intensifying efforts to support governments to increase helmet use
through their new publication "Helmets: a road safety manual for
decision-makers and practitioners".

The manual is a follow-up to the World Report on road traffic injury
prevention, published in 2004 by WHO and the World Bank, which
provided evidence that establishing and enforcing mandatory helmet use
is an effective intervention for reducing injuries and fatalities
among two-wheeler users. The manual has been produced under the
auspices of the UN road safety collaboration, in collaboration with
the Global Road Safety Partnership, the FIA Foundation for the
Automobile and Society, and the World Bank, as one of a series of
documents that aim to provide practical advice on implementing the
recommendations of the World Report.

"We want to make helmet use a high priority for national public health
systems," says Dr. Anders Nordström, Acting Director-General of WHO.
"We need to stress not only the effectiveness of helmets in saving
lives, but the fact that helmet programs are good value for money.
Countries will recoup their investment in these programs many times
over through savings to their health care systems, as well as savings
to other sectors."

Many countries have succeeded in raising rates of helmet use through
adopting laws that make helmet use compulsory, enforcing these laws,
and raising public awareness about the laws, as well as the benefits
of helmet use.

The importance of increasing helmet use follows dramatic growth in
motorization around the world, largely from increasing use of
motorized two-wheelers, particularly in Asian countries. In China, for
example, motorcycle ownership over the last ten years has increased
rapidly. In 2004 it was estimated that more than 67 million
motorcycles were registered in the country, and approximately 25% of
all road traffic deaths were among motorcyclists and their
passengers, reports the WHO.

The manual will be implemented in a number of countries over the next
two years, starting in the ASEAN region through the Global Road Safety
Partnership's GRSI initiative, but extending to cover countries from
Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.

In addition to the publication of this manual, WHO has also
established a network of experts working to increase helmet use, and
supports helmet programs directly in its country work on road safety.


CELEBRITY CHOPPER BUILDER HURT IN FATAL CRASH Custom chopper-building
legend Billy Lane, who has appeared on the Discovery Channel's Biker
Build-Off and Monster Garage, was injured in a head-on traffic
accident on Labor Day that killed a man riding a small motorbike.

According to Florida Highway Patrol investigators, the 36-year old
Lane was trying to pass two other vehicles on a double yellow-lined
portion of A1A near Melbourne Beach, Florida when his southbound 2006
Dodge Ram pickup collided with a northbound 1983 Yamaha moped ridden
by 56-year old Gerald Morelock. The motorcyclist was wearing a helmet,
but suffered extensive injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Lane hit the street-legal motorbike head-on, and then his pickup hit a
power pole, injuring himself and his female passenger.

Florida Highway Patrol traffic homicide investigators said no charges
were filed, but added they were waiting on the results of
blood-alcohol tests. "We do believe he was impaired based on the
evaluations the trooper did on Mr. Lane," said Trooper Kim Miller,
Florida Highway Patrol. (he has been charged in this death)

This was not Lane's first road incident this year. In June, he was
arrested by the North Carolina Highway Patrol and charged with drunken
driving. Police said Lane was riding a motorcycle the wrong way on a
two-lane road without a helmet.


CANADIAN CITY INSTITUTES /NO COLORS/POLICY Wearing colors of known
criminal biker gangs is now officially unwelcome on city property,
reported the Alberta Daily Herald Tribune, as Grande Prairie Mayor
Wayne Ayling put up the first no-gang-colors policy sign on the front
doors of City Hall to officially start the city's public campaign
against criminal biker gangs.

"We believe it is inappropriate for people to advertise that they
belong to a criminal gang on city property," said Ayling. He said
although Grande Prairie is the first city in Western Canada to have
such a program in place, three other major cities in Ontario - Barrie,
Durham, and Toronto - already have similar programs.

Ayling said the goal now is to get local businesses to put up
no-gang-colors signs on their premises, though he admitted that may be
a hard sell for some local businesses that regularly have
motorcyclists as customers.

Quality Hotel, for example, is involved in the Canadian Championship
of Bike Building in Wembley and was involved with the Western Canadian
Bike Builders Showcase last year. The hotel's general manager, Felix
Seiler, said volunteering to support such a policy would put staff
into the role of enforcers, something many are not qualified to do or
should not be asked to do.

Mark Rodacker is manager of Countryside Motor Sports Inc., which deals
with many clients that are into motorcycles. He felt the policy was
"ridiculous" therefore his business wouldn't be involved with the
program. "They seem to label anyone who owns a motorcycle as a biker
and that being part of a biker club means they're going to be bad.
They're stereotyping all bikers," he said.

The National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM) has long fought against
discriminatory legislation and opposes dress codes in public
accommodations that unfairly discriminate against bikers. NCOM
supports anti-discrimination laws that prevent establishments from
discriminating against motorcyclists based on style of dress or mode
of transportation.


WEIRD NEWS: NEW STAMP ISSUE MISSPELLS MOTORCYLE The Postal Service
recently, with great fanfare, issued a new set of stamps depicting
motorcycles. Collectors who buy copies issued on the first day the
stamps are available can get them with a special commemorative
postmark. Unfortunately, the colorful postmark issued during the
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota misspells it "motorcyle."

Having discovered this, the post office announced Friday that new
orders for first-day envelopes will have a corrected postmark. Unless
the buyer wants it spelled wrong. In that case they can still order
the version with the incorrect postmark. Just include a note asking
for the incorrect version.

Any collectors who already have misspelled versions can trade them for
the corrected version by sending them to INFORMATION FULFILLMENT, DEPT
6270, US POSTAL SERVICE, PO BOX 219424, KANSAS CITY, MO, 64121-9424.


QUOTABLE QUOTE: "To believe is very dull. To doubt is intensely
engrossing. To be on the alert is to live. To be lulled into security
is to die".
Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900) Anglo-Irish poet/playwright


And that's all the News that fits!

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