Articles for State Watch are from the AMA

Pennsylvania
State Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R- Monongahela) has introduced legislation prohibiting grass clippings from road ways. She said clippings can cause the surface of the roadway to become extremely slippery, causing motorcycle crashes. Grass on the roadways can also clog storm drains and contribute to run off pollution into streams.
Bartolotta’s bill would treat offenses related to grass clippings on roadways in the same way as other litter. Fines would range from $50 to $300 for a first offense and $300 to $1,000 for a subsequent offense. Offenders also would be required to remove clippings from the road.

Texas
A bill to include motorcycles in the states electric vehicle rebate program failed to make it to the Senate floor. S.B 486, sponsored by state Sen. Kirk Watson (D-Austin) would have allowed a rebate of as much as $2,500 for the purchase of an electric motorcycle.
The AMA believes this bill was important because it would have ended a discriminatory policy against motorcyclists, who should be eligible for the same benifits as other motor vehicle owners.
Ensuring motorcyclists have access to the same rights and programs as the owners of other vehicles is a key goal. Importantly, this bill also recognized motorcycles as part of the future of transportation and something to be encouraged and incentivized for the benefit of all road users.

Missouri
A bill passed by legislature would allow motorcyclists 18 or older to ride with out a helmet. The bill also requires motorcyclists to be covered by heath insurance policy before riding without a helmet.

Michigan
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson unveiled the awareness campaign ”Motorcyclists Are Hard to See. Look Twice. Save a Life” The campaign is amid at preventing motorcycle crashes in Michigan by teaching people about the importance of constantly looking for motorcycles while driving. The effort will include billboards,radio ads and social media spots. It will be funded through the Motorcycle Safety and Education Fund, which was created by the Michigan Legislature.

Louisiana
H.B.141, which creates a law enforcement training program on motorcyclist profiling, passed the House, 91-0, in May and passed the Senate, 38-0 in June and was signed by the Governor. The bill defines motorcyclist profiling as the “arbitrary use of the fact that an individual rides a motorcycle or wears motorcycle-related clothing pr paraphernalia as a factor in deciding to stop,question,take enforcement action,arrest or search the individual or his motorcycle or motor vehicle”

Michael Theodore
National Road Captain

State Watch is from the AMA

New York
New York Assembly Members introduced A.B. 6080, which would exempt all motorcycles from congestion pricing program fees if such a program is adopted. Current and past congestion pricing proposals for New York City would have charged motorcycles the same amounts as cars and trucks. The AMA is urging New York riders to write to their New York State Assembly members in support of this commonsense legislation that recognizes the benefits of motorcycling for city traffic.

New York
The AMA is supporting an effort by Harley Davidson to expand the state’s Drive Clean Rebate program for electric vehicles to include motorcycles. Currently, the program is limited to four-wheeled vehicles. The rebates available through the program range up to $2,000.

North Carolina
A state house committee has approved a mandatory-helmet repeal bill, H.B. 267 The bill would require helmets for riders younger than 21, but would allow those 21 and older the option of riding without a helmet.
In a story in the Raleigh News & Observer, the bill sponsor- state Rep.John Torbett said, “It’s not a matter of wearing a helmet or not wearing a helmet. It’s just a matter of, ‘Does a state tell you to wear it?”

Texas
S.B. 273 would allow lane splitting in congested traffic if the motorcyclist is traveling no faster than 20 mph and no more than 5 mph faster than surrounding vehicles. The provision would apply only on limited-access highways. The companion bill is H.B.1270. The AMA fully supports both bills.

Utah
Utah became the second U.S. state to formally recognize a type of lane splitting,with the governor’s signature on a bill legalizing the filtering of motorcycles between lanes of stopped traffic. H.B. 149 allows motorcyclists traveling no faster than 15 mph to filter between lanes of stopped traffic traveling in the same direction on roads where the speed limit is 45 mph or less.

Virginia
The Virginia Senate and house of Delegates passed bills prohibiting motorists from touching their cell phones while driving. The bills would allow the use of hands-free mode.
State law currently prohibits only reading email or text messages or manually entering letters or text in a hand-held personal communications device while driving. It is still legal to operate phones while stopped or while reporting an emergency.

Michael Theodore
National Road Captain

Motorcycle Parking Tips

Article is from the AMA

Where is the best spot to park a motorcycle within a parking lot space?

Park so the rear of your bike ( or the front, if you’ve backed your bike into the space) is at the entrance of the space, similar to where the rear of the average car would be positioned.
In this way, a driver or other rider hunting for a space will see your bike and not start to enter the space and then come upon your bike at the last moment. If you are traveling with other riders, park two to a space, when possible, to minimize the group’s “footprint.”
In some lots the spaces are narrow, so there may not be enough room for two motorcycles to park side-by-side and still leave enough room for the doors of the adjacent cars to open. In that case, try staggering the bikes fore-and-aft.
Also when leaving a parking space, be alert for motorists distracted by their own quest to find a parking spot.
Keep it between the lines.
Michael Theodore
National Road Captain