Imagine for a moment you’re on a motorcycle trip during a beautiful August week through the Wallowa Valley. It’s a broad corridor of grass, framed by big mountains and dotted with various ranches. As the road climbs into the Wallowa Mountains you pass old growth forest and clear-running rivers then finally arrive at Hells Canyon. You return home after the weeklong trip to find in your mail box a number of police photo tickets. Huh? At first you think it’s a joke, but then realize that Elgin, OR on Hwy 82 was the start of your Hells Canyon tour and you vaguely remember a police department, city hall and movie theater all being housed in a 1912 brick opera building. You review the photos/information:
- Ticket #1: While entering Elgin rolling over a tread measuring system it was determined your motorcycle tires had insufficient tread depth. $160 fine.
- Ticket #2: You stopped for lunch, utilizing the street side parking. The automated parking meter photographed your 10min overstay. $45 fine.
- Ticket #3: After lunch you make a note of the rough engine idle at this altitude. The automated tailpipe emissions systems profiled the excessive CO2 via air sniffing microphones. $210 fine.
- Ticket #4: As you departed town you may have rolled on the throttle and the automated noise camera recorded a 10 second video clip from a set of microphones and determined you offended the town’s tranquility level. $377 fine.
You laugh and think that this level of government intrusion intervention is not possible? Well think again. It’s not if it will happen, but when. For example in Germany, ProContour’s tread analysis system is being deployed and the European Union regulations authorize fines up to $160 if insufficient tread depth. In Australia, Acoustic Research Labs have deployed the NGARA real time sound acquisition systems and excessive noise tickets are being mailed as you read this! How long until an aggressive city government decides to roll-out these new revenue generating systems in a city near you?
Is this the price of technological progress or the ultimate “Nanny State?” Throw in a little city government enthusiasm to profit from the increased monitoring and….? While we’re at it could we get a “bling” camera…I don’t know about you, but I get distracted when the sun catches all those spinner-wheels wrong. It blinds me as I’m driving.
Maybe it’s time that I park my excessive carbon emitting loud tailpipes and balding tires at home and just invest in hearing impaired products?
Mac, I’ll say it again. Our founders never envisioned a society that needed to be taken care of. Rather, they passed minimal laws, and let common sense prevail.
Tread depth? Well, guess what, on dry surface, slick tires are better. Don’t think so? Ask motorcycle and race car drivers.
Of course, common sense does not usually prevail when it comes to passing laws as we have seen over the years with handle bar heights, (no longer an issue here in Oregon, thank you ABATE and BikePAC. Yes, I know, shameless plug)
Brings up a point Mac. ONLY WE can prevent bad motorcycle related legislation. Last year, out of the 220,000 motorcycle endorsements, there were only about 400 people on 300 plus bikes at the May Awareness rally at the Capitol. Where is everyone? We all howl like werewolves when bad laws are passed, but, we are often absent when it comes to stepping out and being heard.
With some of the changes we are proposing for the May Awareness rally, we are hoping to generate a larger turn out. If everyone that reads Mac’s Northwest Harley blog shows up, and brings two people with them, we could really have some good numbers this year.
How many of Mac’s readers out here are aware that Senator Vicki Walker is proposing for next year a new requirement that all first time endorsee’s MUST have proof they have taken a safety course. Originally, it was for all first time endorsee’s and people renewing as well. However, the fact that the Oregon DMV now ONLY accepts Team Oregon certificates, and not Harley’s Eagle program or MSF training, Team Oregon would not be able to keep up with the demand. So, it was put back to just first timers.
How many of Mac’s readers are aware that when the vulnerable road user act was created last year, motorcyclists were not included. Bicyclists, pedestrians, equestrians, skaters and even people riding on certain types of farm equipment were covered under this new law that affords stiffer monitary penalties as well as suspensions and education for violators. Tell me who spends more time being vulerable……yet…..we were left off.
Things like this, and many more need to be remedied. But, we can not do it without All of the bike riders in Oregon. Sadly, the number of bikers willing to fight for your motorcycling rights here in Oregon is declining at a time when it should be growing. People who have fought this fight for years are giving up because they realize their numbers are so small compared to the number of motorcyclists in the state. They figure a lot of you just don’t care.
If the things that Mac pointed out in his article get your attention, don’t say no way, never happen here. They can, and they will unless more people get involved to stop it. If you ride a bike, and are in ABATE, MRF, BikePAC, thank you. If you ride a bike, and your not, well, why not? It is one meeting a month, and lots of rides, events and stuff that your already attending anyway. We need your help, We need your support, we need numbers to face the opposition with.
And, if you come to a meeting, bring a couple of your riding buddies.
Mac’s not just blowing smoke here folks, this stuff is real. We are already trying to change bad laws, we need bigger numbers to stop more bad laws and idea’s from taking root.
WJ
@ WJ – well stated!
Let me be the first to admit that I have done little to help the situation over the years beyond raising a little visibility to issues on this blog. I hold little regard for the political process in general because it no longer exists to promote the freedoms it did when first created. I’m not a person that joins organizations, but rather enjoyed not being a member of any group. I am looking, but haven’t found yet the group that deserves monetary support to promote my agenda. But, clearly I need to invest some time on converting my thoughts into some action.
Riding, being a very personal experience, makes it difficult to unify motorcyclists due to brand loyalty, personality conflicts, bad press, biker lore, fear of patched clubs, political cynicism, amount of effort, etc. One thing is certain, politicians across the U.S. are using our inability to unite to pass any law they like with little or no opposition.
I’m sure there are many examples in Oregon, but the recent HB137 Bill in Florida is a classic example of the “do-gooder’s” original intent being geared to controlling a segment of the motorcycle community in Florida that blatantly violates laws and places the public in danger yet it was punishing legislation that affected the motorcycle masses. The Florida ABATE provides a detailed explanation of what went wrong at: http://www.floridaabate.com/Library/Library/HB137explained.htm
The old adage applies… just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you…
For those of us who have been around awhile, George Orwell’s ‘1984’ doesn’t sound so far fetched anymore.
Not far fetched at all Retired. In fact, look around a bit, if you were a rookie today instead of retired, in a few short years they would have been recruiting people for the thought police.
My wife’s parents were………..interesting folks. As a kid they would send her to John Birch society camps. She did learn a few interesting things that stuck with her in adult hood.
Any government that wants to control the populace completely take certain steps in a certain order.
First, they go after the kids and indoctrinate them. They have been doing this for years, teaching affermative action, lowering standards to the lowest common denominator so everything is always “fair”. They hammer away at diversity while ignoring competition. Self esteem becomes more important than production. Math and reading are hammered on while science, social studies, history (history is sometimes changed because the real history is at times ugly, and we can’t expose them to that can we) are neglected.
Then, they will control the money and fuel. Can you say 700 billion dollar bail out? I thought you could, buying up a controlling interest in a lot of the major banks. Nuff said.
Then they will come for your guns and means of self defense, saying they will defend you. Obama has that covered as he is a major gun grabber, and on a roll.
Our guns are what have always protected our freedom of speech. There was always that prospect that a well armed society are citizens and a disarmed society are subjects, silent and compliant.
2 out of 3 have been accomplished and the country is plunging headlong to secure number three.
If the prospect of U.N. troops patroling our streets puts you off, use your votes wisely in a couple weeks.
It’s real folks, and all these little laws do, such as motorcycle laws, is get us conditioned to being used to being controlled in every aspect of our life. We are being conditioned to accpet whatever they say and want, just not about motorcycles, but on how we live and think.
Ok, off the soap box.
Ya got room on that soap box?
Only been retired a couple of months but I know what you are saying. Our hard fought freedoms are continually being chipped away at by those who think they know what is best for us. The same ones that WE elect and put in office.
Sometimes the silent majority rises up and says enough already…. and they back down for awhile. But only for awhile…
Ran accross this article outside the U.S. where proposed new motorcycle regulations set a minimum chest size for licensed drivers. Good grief.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3277253/Vietnam-to-ban-small-chested-drivers.html
Uh, gee Mac, thought for a minute it was going to be only FEMALE riders. lol
It is so sad to say I’m not surprised.