The Primary Election is over

by Steve Panten

November. For some of the races, we already know who will be sitting in the offices in Madison because they do not have an opponent in the General Election. Congratulations to winners of this past election. I was happy to see some of our friends that have helped us in the past survive the last election, because we need all the support we can get.

There were also a few people that are friends of ours who did not survive the primary, and it’s sad to not have them there to fight for us and our rights. We will need all the help that we can get with what is coming. I know that they would have understood our position, and they recognize how important motorcycling is in this state and that motorcyclists’ rights need to be protected as a legal road user.

We will need to introduce ourselves to members of both parties before the next election in November. If you have someone new running, get out and meet them. Know what their position is on protecting combustion engine vehicles and the gas that we need.

Sometimes I think the best part of the elections season is that I don’t want to watch TV because there are too many political commercials. Candidates attacking each other on TV, or the radio makes me wonder if anyone is qualified to guide the future of this state or this country. Don’t believe what you hear, go talk to the people that are going to represent you. Do the research and vote educated so you know that you are voting for the right person to protect your lifestyle. There is a possibility that we will have a new Governor in Wisconsin next year, but do you know how he feels about autonomous vehicles? Is he going to make sure that before a vehicle can legally be operated on Wisconsin roads in driverless mode, it will recognize a motorcycle? If you go to an event that has our current Governor, ask how he is going to protect all the combustion engine vehicles on the road and guarantee that they have a fuel source that is legal to use in their vehicle. Even if you are not comfortable talking to them, go listen to them, but be sure to wear your ABATE clothes so they see us there, it could go a long way when we try to schedule meetings in the future. They will remember seeing us there.

This is an election year for ABATE as well. Make sure you go to the newsletter and vote for the people that you want to represent you for the next two years. There is a bio for every candidate, but if you still aren’t sure, call the person, or email them. Meet with them, have a beverage and find out why they are running. If you are not getting what you want out of your membership, talk to one of our officers and let them know what you think should be done to make this organization better. I enjoy hearing from members about what we are doing right, and what we should be doing differently. I will explain why I think it is being done like it is, and we can talk about different things to try. Just this past weekend I had a member talk to me about something that we might try. I can’t put it writing yet because there are some logistic things that I will need to figure out, but since this suggestion would be part of my role as your Legislative Committee Chair, I need to work on it. You have until the Annual Meeting in October to vote, so please take the few minutes, vote for who you think best represents you and the organization, and send in your vote, or vote in person at the annual meeting.

On to other things. How about that – The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration is starting to investigate Tesla crashes! More specifically, crashes that killed motorcyclists. I read an article that suggested maybe the software that Tesla uses in their “driver assist” mode does not recognize a motorcycle. Isn’t that interesting! We have been saying that for years, but now at least others are starting to listen to us. We need to watch this closely and continue to push for more testing and make sure that the results are made public. This may lead to new regulations on the type of technology these vehicles may be required to use. Are cameras and microphones enough? ABATE of Wisconsin is pleased that NHTSA is finally starting to recognize that we have a problem here but trying to slow technology down is going to be tough. Our hope is that at a minimum, we get more testing before pushing the expansion of driverless vehicles.

I am also starting to notice that more small engine vehicle manufacturers are making labels on their gas tanks regarding the illegal and catastrophic use of E15 clearer. Many combustion engine owners still do not understand that E15 is against federal law to put in their small engines and gas station owners seem to be reluctant to put larger, clearer signs on their pumps educating the public about this.

There are other things that we have been working on for a few years that are starting to make some noise – Right to Repair; Harley Davidson is being sued by the state of Wisconsin regarding the Federal Trade Commission’s ruling that they cannot prevent Harley owners from using aftermarket parts. There is a lot more to that story but just the fact that we have been talking about giving the consumer the ability to repair their own vehicle makes this interesting. Just think about how a strong Right to Repair bill would affect Tesla. You can only have a Tesla service tech do ANY work on your Tesla vehicle. What is that going to do to all the small independent shops if other manufacturer would possibly do the same?

What other things should ABATE be working on? Did you make plans to attend ABATE of Wisconsin’s annual meeting in October? I consider our annual meeting the second most important day of the year for motorcyclists in the State of Wisconsin, behind Lobby Day. During the Legislative Committee meeting on Sunday, we draft our legislative agenda for the next year. Everyone in attendance has an opportunity to bring up ideas on what issues are affecting motorcyclists that we should be working on in 2023. What things should we talk to our legislators about when we travel to Madison for Lobby Day and how can we be successful. Make plans to attend and be part of the discussion, or just spend the weekend with your elected Board Members and other officers. I look forward to seeing you there and hearing your thoughts.

That’s it

Steve