Governor’s Highway Safety Conference and TV Stars

by Gary Klinker

Last week Larry Geist and I attended the Governor’s Conference. It is the first real one since 2119 so there was a lot of information. Things started Monday afternoon with the Motorcycle Peer Exchange. I was disappointed in the small group that attended, but there were a lot of good ideas. We covered the crash statistics for this year and talked about possible solutions. Once again, the two big topics were single bike crashes and unendorsed riders dying. The majority of attendees were from ABATE and the DOT. The MOSAC meeting followed the Peer Exchange, chaired by our own John Reblin. A lot of the discussion here was how to get more people trained and getting public service type spots out to a varied audience. There is a push to get younger riders informed and involved. A man from the DOT’s publicity contractor was there getting ideas and taking notes.

The Conference started Tuesday morning with one of the best keynote speakers I have seen in quite a few years of attending. Robert Bemis, a Marine Corps vet and retired Pennsylvania State Trooper was involved in a terrible roadside crash in 2015. He was assisting a motorist when his car was hit by another vehicle, driving it into him. He was near death, but after many months of surgery and rehab he returned to work. Since retirement he has been involved in many projects and organizations and has written a book about his experience, Forged in Scars and Stripes: A Troopers Victory Over Critical Injury. He was very inspirational and informative.

Other breakouts I attended were interesting. One concerned lesson learned from two huge crashes, one near Hixton in December 2021 and another near Wausau in February 2022. Both closed roads for many hours. Procedures are being put in place to prevent things learned in after action reports. Many of our members probably remember these events. There were several sessions concerning Connected and Automated Vehicles.

Another was a follow-up from a session I attended in 2019 concerning roadside testing for drug impaired drivers. With legalization of marijuana and rampant drug abuse we as motorcyclists should be very concerned about who is on the road with us. Even here in rural Monroe County the bulk of the police report in the paper every week is for meth busts. In a session about Ignition Interlock systems for convicted DUI drivers I asked. “Approximately how many of these devices are in use at any one time in Wisconsin?” The number about made me fall out of the chair. Wait for it…22-24,000 devices. Larry will be submitting some more in-depth reports so watch for them.

On another more upbeat event, I got a call this week that the Third District Congressional candidate, Derrick Van Orden needed some motorcyclists for filming a campaign ad. We rounded up four ABATE members on short notice and headed for the location at six the next morning. We were mostly background furniture for the filming, but like any TV, it was a lot of standing around waiting for set-up, lighting, and sound work. We had some ABATE and MRF gear on. It gave us a good chance to talk to Derrick about autonomous vehicle concerns and availability of suitable gasoline for our bikes. The filming was done at the gas pumps in front of a convenience store. It also built up a lot of good will and relationships for the future should he win the election in November. I’d be happy to visit with him during Bikers in the Beltway.

Work on Safe Rider for next year is in full swing. I hope to see many of you at the annual meeting in Shawano. It will be a good ride to get there and to join the regional event that day.

Ride Safe,

Gary