A United Voice

by Chubby

ABATE of Wisconsin’s goal is to give the motorcyclists of Wisconsin a strong, united voice, with regard to their future, their way of life, their safety and their legal rights as motorcyclists and citizens. This statement should be familiar if you are a state or regional officer in ABATE of WI. It is our mission statement which is the first paragraph in our bylaws and is in every officer training manual out there. When I look for direction, it is the first thing I think of, and our adherence to it is probably why we have remained a driving force in motorcyclist’s rights nationwide for forty-five years now. If you’ve never seen it before, or if you’ve never paid attention to it, take the time to memorize it. It summarizes exactly what we’re about in one sentence and it can simplify how you explain ABATE to others. It doesn’t say anything about riding a Harley-Davidson, belonging to a club, not wearing a helmet, or what political party we should belong to. To me it is the glue that binds us. How you view that statement is probably how you view ABATE of WI. How do we live up to that goal? What are you, as a member, doing to ensure the success of that goal?

When looking at what the future may hold, you need to have some knowledge about the past and how things have changed. I’m sure fifty or so years ago you didn’t need any type of endorsement to ride a motorcycle, you just needed to be able to ride one. Training, what is that? In my fathers’ era, if you kept your bike running the whole riding season you were living large. Fifty or sixty mph, who knows how many mpg, and add a little oil every gas stop. And if you put on a few thousand miles a year you were a hardcore rider. As motorcycling grew in popularity manufacturers started aiming their engineering towards reliability, comfort, speed, and fuel mileage with an aftermarket supplier to help you make an older bike keep up with the new ones and give new bikes that just a little bit better than the next guy feel. But, what does the future hold? In the past fifty years, great strides have been taken to make motorcycles safer, more economical, and easier to ride. In the next fifty years I have a legitimate fear that they may become a thing of the past on our roadways. Without the vigilance of passionate riders and motorcycle rights organizations like ours, it is likely that technology will ultimately force us off the roads that currently give us that feeling of freedom that we crave. Electric cars, tighter emission standards, intelligent vehicle systems, and ultimately driverless cars may leave motorcycling in the dust. Keeping motorcycles at the forefront as these new technologies are developed is essential in the survival of motorcycling. And, it’s what we do.

What do the words “biker lifestyle” mean to you? Is it a patch on your back, or black leather and long beards? Is it riding all day and partying all night with your friends? Or could it be dragging a knee on the twisties or plotting the quickest way through a rally event? Whatever it means to you, it should have something to do with freedom of the road. A motorcyclist, biker, rider, or whatever you want to label yourself as puts that love of the road above almost anything else in life. To someone who is part of the lifestyle it’s riding to work every summer day that you can. It’s vacations in the saddle possibly to meet with others out enjoying the same thing. It’s spending the cold winters working on repairs and projects to make the next riding season even better. Or for the hardcore enthusiast it may mean that winter doesn’t keep you off two wheels at all. Whatever that lifestyle means to you, remember ABATE of WI is there to make sure you will be able to enjoy it and that generations to come will be able to enjoy it too.

Safety isn’t something that most people think of when they think of a motorcyclist’s rights organization. To some, if you say ABATE, they think quite the opposite. After all aren’t we the anti-helmet people? People that take the time to understand what we’re about know that safety is a responsibility that ABATE of WI takes quite seriously. Some think that safety is all about rider skill and education. Some believe safety is about all the gear, all the time. And others believe safety is about making sure that drivers pay attention and are aware of motorcyclists on the road. At ABATE of WI we know that safety is multi-faceted and there is no one approach that keeps us safe on the road. With our award-winning Safe Rider program, you can learn skills to keep you safer at both the beginning and advance levels. Our anti-impaired riding program promotes responsible alcohol consumption by offering alternatives to drinking too much and getting in the saddle. For years we have been the only entity in WI to promote motorcycle awareness and we’ve been instrumental in pushing the WIDOT to step up their awareness campaigns to their current levels. We have also remained at the forefront of awareness education by developing and maintaining the most comprehensive motorcycle awareness program in state with our Share The Road program. Legislatively, we have worked to ensure that other roadway users act responsibly and made sure that motorcycles are considered in roadway planning. We clearly recognize that there is no “silver bullet” to motorcycle safety and in cooperation with groups around the state and the DOT we are ensuring that motorcycle safety efforts in our state have a well-balanced approach with measurable results.

Making riders aware of their legal rights as motorcyclists and citizens is something we take very seriously. Discrimination is not taken lightly, and we are receptive to the needs of all citizens of our state when we approach making or removing laws that we find are discriminatory or unjust towards motorcyclists throughout Wisconsin. No, we can’t take on every battle that touches the lives of bikers; it would be all consuming of our cherished volunteer time. But we passionately take on motorcycle specific issues without question and thoroughly examine all issues brought to us with regards to our constitutional rights as citizens. Ultimately, what you know about your rights and how you use that knowledge is up to you as a citizen. But you can be sure that ABATE of WI will be working hard to give you the information and support that you need to protect and preserve your rights.

If you’re paying attention you may have noticed that I haven’t yet mentioned the beginning of our mission statement, to provide a strong, united voice. Our power rests on these words. A united voice is what gives us the ability to make a difference. We have not grown as an organization over the last forty-five years by letting one or a dozen people dictate the positions of the organization. Our state officers not only get paid the same as our regional officers and our members for that matter, a whopping zero dollars per hour, their voices are all equally important. The only difference I see is the experience level. If our state officers offer to help on an issue in a particular area of the state, those regional officers and their members should know that those state officers are trying to guide the issue with their experience, not take the issue out of the hands of the members it affects. It takes all of us working together to succeed. Every motorcyclist in Wisconsin should know that ABATE of WI is doing their best to provide that strong, united voice and it takes the vigilance of everyone to keep and maintain the freedoms and lifestyle that we so cherish. 2018 has been an incredible year for ABATE of WI. I hope that our success continues in 2019. We have a lot in store in the upcoming year and I hope that you’re ready to be a part of it. I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season. I look forward to seeing you in the upcoming year. Until then…Ride Free

Chubby