Senate Bill 1121 – An Act to create the UNC Center for the Study of Motorcycle Safety and Crash Prevention, was introduced by Senator Pete Brunstetter (R- Forsyth) and referred to the Senate finance committee on 22 March 2007.   Since then, the bill has not moved forward.  This is not an unusual situation, but one would think that the General Assembly would be more concerned about motorcycle safety, and anxious to reduce the number of motorcycle fatalities.  Especially after the helmet fiasco of the 2007 session.

During the 2007 session Representative Ronnie Sutton (D-Robeson) led the charge to make motorcycling safer by championing a bill that imposed FMVSS 218 helmet standards on us.  Except for a few exceptions, the entire majority party voted to pass this bill in the face of our objections.  Even after we presented evidence that convinced the Senate Judiciary committee to determine it was a bad law, the bill passed.  The proclaimed justification: “... it’s for your own good”.  That bill passed.  Why not this one?  It seems obvious that this bill should also be considered, “for our own good”.

In the 1970’s when the original ABATE was formed, life was simpler.  We rode our bikes mostly on two-lane roads. The speed limit was 55 mph.  Congestion in Los Angeles, DC, or Chicago meant a ten/fifteen minute delay, and - when you “t-boned” a ford pinto you flew over the top.  Today many of us find ourselves keeping up with traffic at 80 MPH, on 4 or 6 lane, limited access highways.  In mid-sized cities across the nation, congestion delays are rapidly exceeding those previously reserved for only the largest cities.  And, when you run into the side of a Soccer-Van, you don’t fly anywhere, you stop - abruptly.  

Even politics were simpler then.  It was easy for a politician to understand each of the “big issues.” Because we rode, we were considered the motorcycle experts.   Bikers knew about biker issues, and elected officials could work with us without depleting the state’s resources.   Today, issues are complex, and more demands are being made on limited government resources.  Miniscule details of each “big issue” have become the focus of “Special-Interest” groups.  Elected officials, unable to follow every issue as closely as they did in the 70’s, seek the advice of the current, tax-payer funded, professional subject-experts (aka: bureaucrats).

We often only see bureaucrats as the “managers of resources,” however they do more than spend our money and write oppressive regulations. Many hold advanced degrees, or specialized certifications, in their professional field.  These tax-payer funded subject-experts are professionals in their field of endeavor, and are actually doing what they believe is the right thing. 

Stuck in a Rut:    

As employees within “the system” bureaucrats are required to regularly demonstrate their worth.  Typically these professionals establish specific indicators of accomplishment (goals) which are then used to determine their success by the degree to which they meet these performance indicators.  Consistently exceeding expectations can lead to promotions within the system.  Failure to meet minimum standards can be “cause for release”.

Bureaucrats as professionals make decisions about their responsibilities, and performance indicators, according to the professional materials and methods available to them.   Most professionals belong to a professional association (i.e., Teachers’ Union).  Each of these associations has a professional journal.  Bureaucrats as professionals, frequently attend association, or government, sponsored conferences to keep abreast of the issues in their field.  It is at these conferences, and in these journals, that researchers present their data and analysis.  These findings inform the profession, influence program decisions, and guide the future direction of the profession, and future research.

Safety Professionals who read the journal articles, and attend the conferences, are immersed in the dominant approach to safety.  These professionals make decisions about program changes based on the current findings of research conducted in the dominant approach.  They also invest our tax-dollars in projects that are aligned with the philosophy of the dominant approach.   The end result is a self-perpetuating system that rewards those who conduct business within the structure of the dominant approach, and ignores or rejects the ideas of those who consider alternatives. 

For more than thirty five years, the dominant approach to highway safety has been “crash-mitigation”.  Simply put, the basic idea is to make a vehicle (or include vehicle features) to protect the driver during the crash.  Seatbelts, airbags, collapsing frames, steel door-beams and pillars, are all innovations that are derived from this safety paradigm.  The driver is a passive participant in the crash.  The philosophy of this approach is... “Protect the driver when the inevitable crash occurs.”

The design of the motorcycle does not lend itself to the “passive-protective-measures” that mitigate crash consequences for passengers in an enclosed vehicle.  In spite of the millions of tax dollars wasted on “helmet-use-promotion” campaigns; motorcycle crashes, injuries, and fatalities have not been reduced.  It is painfully obvious - crash mitigation does not work for motorcycles.  We must stop wasting tax-payer dollars on a failed approach to safety.  Bikers must resist the continuation of a system that panders to a bureaucratically convenient “one-model-fits-all” safety paradigm.  We must rise up against the influence of the dominant paradigm and demand a unique approach to safety that concentrates resources on “crash-prevention” measures.

 What you can do: 

Contact your Elected Officials Today:

Ask them to support the “Motorcycle Safety Center” proposed by SB 1121 which would jump-start the development and evaluation of a “crash-prevention” approach to motorcycle safety.  Tell them that our lives depend on the development of a motorcycle specific alternative to the "injury-reduction-following-a-crash" approach that has been killing bikers for more than 35 years. 

Take A Day Off  From Work on 28 May 2008:

Join the dedicated freedom fighters of the Concerned Bikers Association/ABATE of North Carolina and NC Bike-PAC during the annual Lobby day activities in Raleigh.   CBA/ABATE will be establishing a Freedom Fighter support center for any and all North Carolina motorcyclist’s who are interested in sharing their thoughts with their legislators.  Information about locating your elected officials and important biker issues will be provided so that we can all share our experiences and ideas with the people who represent us in our legislature.