Fall Brings About Changes

by Steve Panten

As our short summer starts disappearing in the mirrors, we come into my favorite time of year for riding. Some think that I am crazy, but the warm days and cool nights with bursts of chill, is something that I really enjoy. Fall riding presents new challenges with quickly falling temperatures, leaves and sticks in the roads, and the sight of more deer moving around. This year we have seen more motorcycle fatalities than we experienced in the past few years and new challenges added during fall may add to that.

We have been watching the way Law Enforcement and Courts have been handling a few of these fatalities and we are noticing some areas where the ball is being dropped. In one case when a driver caused a fatal accident, a citation was issued that the District Attorney said was not correct, so he dropped that charge but never charged the driver with the correct one. In another one, a driver in a fatal right-of-way crash negotiated a lesser penalty with the District Attorney.

In all these cases a citation that we felt was proper for the crash was issued, but the ball was dropped after that. Act 466 and all the technical corrections that we worked so hard on can only work if the correct state statute is used. We are going to have to go back to following crashes and let law enforcement and the courts know the correct way to handle these. It is unfortunate that after all these years we still have follow crashes. If you have a fatal crash in your area and need more information on how to follow it, please ask for help. Sometimes it is a matter of keeping on top of it by calling law enforcement and following the case as it makes its way through the courts. Letting them know that we are following it and what we would like to see can influence decisions that are made regarding how violators are charged. If you need help, please let me know but I can’t follow them all, so we will need help from the regional members to be successful.

The Senate in Washington DC is still working on their version of the Highway Bill. The House of Representatives passed a bill that included language to renew the Motorcycle Advisory Council and added a seat for a motorcycle rights organization. It also included provisions to prevent motorcycle profiling, so we are looking to have those included in the Senate version. When we met with Senator Johnson’s staff in July, he said that the Senator would do his best to make sure it is included. This bill needs to be completed before the end of September and since we are dealing with a Democrat controlled House and a Republican controlled Senate, I am sure that it will have to go to a joint committee before the final version is drafted. It is important that our language is in both versions in order to solidify its chance to be in the joint bill and we are doing our best to make sure that happens.

Fall is also the time of year that we get to help shape our government through elections every two years. This year we have some contested races for some of our friends and we will have some newcomers coming into Madison and Washington DC. A great way to learn about the candidates is to invite them to your Regional Meeting. Be sure to offer an invitation to everyone running or if a candidate asks for an opportunity to speak at your meeting, try to make it happen. In the District is where relationships are built and that can go a long way in Madison and Washington DC. Be educated and vote in November.

This is also the time for ABATE elections. There are people running for Regional elections as well as state elections. I am not sure how many contested races there are at the Regions, but there are quite a few candidates running for your Board of Directors. Like in the past, many of the candidates put their profiles in this month’s newsletter and I encourage you to reach out to them and ask questions if you need to. With so many candidates running from across the state it is difficult to learn about them from a paragraph in the newsletter, but there is a lot of knowledge and excitement in this field.

Elections are the best way for most of us to have a voice in Madison or Washington DC. When we travel for meetings or hearings, we bring every member’s voice with us. You get to help decide which candidates we are going to be working with. Will the candidate from your area listen to us and help? We can only work with whomever is willing to work with us, so make sure you ask the people running how they feel about expanding E15 by the use of blended nozzles at the pumps. Or how do they feel about Law Enforcement Agencies profiling a group of residents simply because of their mode of transportation or what they are wearing.

In my opinion, there are many reasons to enjoy Fall. Leaves changing colors, getting out in the woods with family and friends for hunting, or of course the Motorcycle Riders Foundation’s Meeting of the Minds. This year we will be reuniting with motorcycle rights experts from across the country in Indianapolis to set the agenda for the MRF in Washington DC next year. ABATE of Wisconsin will be sending a very motivated group to share what we have learned through the years and to learn from wins and mistakes that other groups have found. We will get to congratulate Missouri on the passage of their helmet repeal bill allowing us to travel through that state without a helmet if we choose.

Fall is also when I get to get together with ABATE members from across the State at our Annual Meeting. This year it will be held in Green Bay in October and the members from that area go out of their way to make sure we all have a great experience. This Annual Meeting weekend is when the winners of our elections are announced and seated at the ABATE Board Meeting. For the next 2 years, this group of people from across the state will steer our organization through the twists and turns that come up. Get to know them and do your part to shape our future as an organization.

That’s it

Steve