Three motorcyclists all on their own bikes were hit by a Pontiac Grand Am on Wednesday night in Clarksville, Tennessee.

The three motorcyclists, Richard Brewster, Tommy Tuchscherer and Amber Tuchscherer, were going through the intersection of Fort Campbell Boulevard and Lafayette Road, when the driver of Grand Am, Martha Gilbreath, turned left from Fort Campbell onto Lafayette in front of them causing the collision. Police stated that the traffic light was green in both directions, (Car hits three motorcycles in Clarksville, Andy Humbles, The Tennessean,

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120329/NEWS01/120329001/Car-hits-three-motorcycles-Clarksville).

Both Brewster and Tommy Tuchscherer were airlifted by helicopter to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Brewster suffered from a serious injury to his leg while Tuchscherer sustained internal injuries. Both have been reported to be in stable condition.

At the scene Amber Tuchscherer was treated and then released.

No injuries were reported for Gilbreath.  Charges are pending as the investigation continues, (Car hits three motorcycles in Clarksville, Andy Humbles, The Tennessean). 

The recent Tennessee Motorcycle Liberty Restoration Act could put an end to the law requiring motorcyclists ages 21 and older to wear a helmet. Helmet laws have always been a topic of controversy and with this being brought up a line has been drawn in the sand, dividing the state into 2 sides.
 

Those against the repeal are coming from a standpoint of health concern. Although Sharon Adkins, director of the Tennessee Nurses Association, feels it is an “individual's right. These individuals have to be cared for. Brain injury is a lifelong issue. The citizens of Tennessee would end up with their tax dollars supporting these individuals, so it is much more than just an individual right. It's no different than seat belts,” (Libertarians push helmet law repeal, The Tennessean,http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120220/NEWS0201/302200021/

Libertarians-push-helmet-law-repeal). 

Motorcyclists in the state really do feel that it is a personal choice to wear a helmet or not, even if they themselves chose to. Preston Shaw, a member of The Steel Horsemen Motorcycle Club, thinks “the government honestly should not legislate whether you have common sense or not,” (Libertarians push helmet law repeal, The Tennessean). Same goes for Andrew Duthie, the owner of the Nashville Motorcycle Repair, “I'm a big fan of motorcycle helmets. As far as changing the law, the libertarian in me says, hey, if someone doesn't want to wear a helmet, that's fine,” (Libertarians push helmet law repeal, The Tennessean).

This act will be discussed tomorrow, Tuesday, March 6, at a noon hearing before the House Transportation Subcommittee.
 

This past Wednesday afternoon a motorcycle-car collision in Bradley County Ohio resulted in one injured and one dead.

As Michael Babb, 34, made a left turn into a driveway, motorcyclist Marty Sandridge, 43, and passenger Jordan Best, 18, attempted to pass Babb's and another's vehicle, resulting in Babb's striking the motorcycle.

On the scene BCSO deputies Casey Kerr and Tim Bohannon performed CPR on Best before paramedics and Fire Rescue officials showed up at the accident. Best was transported to Sky Ridge Medical Center and Sandridge to Erlanger Medical Center.

Best was pronounced dead upon arrival at Sky Ridge Medical Center. Sandridge suffered from injuries to the legs and arms. Babb sustained no injuries from the accident.

The occupants of the other vehicle stayed after the accident to provide assistance and information regarding the happenings of the crash, but left the scene without disclosing their names. The only information the Sheriff's Office has is that they were in a white-colored vehicle. They are asked to call Capt. W.G. Campbell at 728-7326, (One is dead in motorcycle, car accident, Greg Kaylor, Banner Staff Writer, Cleveland Daily Banner,http://www.clevelandbanner.com/view/

full_story/17554676/article-One-is-dead-in-motorcycle--car-accident?instance=latest_articles).

Looking back on 2011, there have been a lot of influential people that have caused ripples of change. One person in particular is being recognized by the American Motorcycle Association (AMA) as the AMA Motorcyclist of the Year for 2011, Nancy Sabater. You may already know the story, but if not Sabater's story is one of hard work, persistence, and believing in making a change.

In August 2008 President George Bush signed into law the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) which was passed because "inexpensive imported children's toys were testing high for lead content which can present serious exposure risks for children," (The AMA Motorcyclist of the Year, American Motorcyclist, Jan. 2012). The CPSIA banned the manufacturing, importing, selling and distributing of products for children 12 and under that contained a trace of amount of lead and that products would undergo periodic testing.

This sounds like a good thing, keeping children safe. However the wording of this law included the manufacturing, selling, and distributing of dirt bikes to children 12 and under since trace levels of lead can be found in parts of the bikes such as in the brake calipers and battery terminals. It made no difference that these parts were not accessible and/or highly unlikely that a child would place one of the lead based bike parts in his or her mouth.

Sabater had been riding since she was 19 and her fiancé Billy Schlag, who had a professional motocross license in the 1980s, is deeply rooted in dirt biking as a family activity. Nancy believes that the sport has "been morphed into many different things, but the real sport of motocross racing is a real grassroots, family activity," (The AMA Motorcyclist of the Year, American Motorcyclist, Jan. 2012). It was this passion for the sport and knowing that "children are the future of the sport, and the thought that we would have to put riding aside and not do these family things greatly concerned me. We need kids to grow the sport, and without an exemption to the law, eventually the ban would have killed motorcycling," (The AMA Motorcyclist of the Year, American Motorcyclist, Jan. 2012) that made Sabater jump to action.

It all began with Sabater's effort to interview and video tape riders and their experience about riding. This would show what a huge part motocrossing really played in so many lives, and how the law would affect future generations if kids were not able to grow up riding. Sabater made a total of 20 videos that she posted on YouTube and a Facebook Page dedicated to the change.

What really got litigators' attention was the AMA Family Capitol Hill Climb on May 26, 2011. This organized event gathered over 200 activists from all over the states to raise awareness of the affects of this law on motorcycling families. Sabater dubbed those making a difference "moto-patriots." Wayne Allard, AMA VP of Government Relations states on the event, "the AMA and its members in new events to focus media attention on the issue, lobbied on Capitol Hill, and organized campaigns to encourage riders and parents to contact their federal lawmakers to exempt kids' OHV's from the CPSIA. When it counted, riders and parents responded," (The AMA Motorcyclist of the Year, American Motorcyclist, Jan. 2012).

All the dedication of Sabater's and AMA members paid off as on August 12, 2011, President Barack Obama signed into law H.R. 2715 which exempts kids' OHVs from the CPSIA lead content limits. That same day the bill received unanimous approval from Senate. It was this victory that "demonstrated the fruits of our labors. Something really happened here. We effected change. We showed these kids that if you want something hard enough and you work hard enough that you get results. Who knows what battles we'll fight next in D.C., for the AMA, for the rights of motorcyclists. This was a victory on many levels.

The future of motocrossing no longer is threatened by the CPSIA law, and children and their families continue to enjoy the sport together. It's for this reason that Nancy Sabater was named AMA Motorcyclist of the Year. It did take a huge effort from so many to get the attention that was needed to get the exemption to be made, but as AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman points out, "no question, Nancy was joined by a large number of dedicated motorcyclists and their families. However, she is one of the AMA's most-dedicated, most driven and most well-intentioned members," (The AMA Motorcyclist of the Year, American Motorcyclist, Jan. 2012).

In October 2006 David Hartog was hit while riding on his motorcycle by Laura Eads as she was turning left on Manchester Road. Hartog suffered injuries to his hands, fingers, and shoulder, which is why he filed suit over the matter last year.

A St. Louis County jury ruled in favor of Hartog, awarding him $125,000, even though his attorney James Collins was asking for $750,000 to $1 million. The reason why Hartog was not awarded a larger settlement? As the defendant's attorney Sarah Taylor describes it, the four year gap between the initial medical treatment and Hartog's shoulder surgery caused "a question of whether that was related and why he had waited so long to get more treatment," (Plaintiff wins verdict in motorcycle accident [Missouri Lawyers Media], David Baugher, Insurance Net, http://insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx?id=315352).

Another issue that came up in trial; the depositions from every provider stating that "they had actually written off or adjusted their bill and the amount that was owed was really significantly less than the original amount charged. I think that was significant in what the jury ended up returning," said Taylor.

In the state of Missouri if someone is injured in an accident there is a 5 year statute of limitation; meaning that they have 5 years to file suit in the matter. If you were recently in an accident please don't hesitate to call our toll free number for free advice at 248-355-4701.

The Myrtle Beach Harley-Davidson rally has long been known for its crowds, fun, and great location along the beach in South Carolina. More recently however; there have been complaints about stricter rules. Sonny Copeland, promoter of the rally, is planning a new event in Florence being called the Myrtle Beach Bike Week West.

Copeland of Sonny Productions will be organizing the event and owns MyrtleBeachBikeWeek.com. The event is scheduled to run from March 2-3 at the Florence Civic Center. There will be 100 vendors present and officials are estimating roughly 3,000 to 5,000 motorcyclists to attend, (Myrtle Beach Bike Week West in the works for Florence, Dawn Bryant, Myrtle Beach Online-from The Sun News,

http://www.thesunnews.com/2011/12/12/2546958/myrtle-beach-bike-week-west-in.html).

The idea is that the event will attract bikers from Interstate 95 coming down for the Daytona Beach rally which is the week after from March 9-18. The location will be at the Florence Civic Center, which is 50,000 square feet and includes outdoor space as well. Although this will be the first time the center has held a bike expo like this, officials are excited at the possible economical profits that local hotels, restaurants and businesses could profit from, (Myrtle Beach Bike Week West in the works for Florence, Dawn Bryant, Myrtle Beach Online-from The Sun News).

So why have another rally at a different location other than Myrtle Beach? Copeland believes that the event will provided "a lot of stuff we can't do at the beach. You can't do anything at the beach anymore. Florence has been overwhelmingly welcoming," (Myrtle Beach Bike Week West in the works for Florence, Dawn Bryant, Myrtle Beach Online-from The Sun News). The reason for sticking with the Myrtle Beach name for the event however; Copeland has worked on and built up the current event at the beach, so would like to push and utilize the brand he has created for the Florence event as well; "people relate to Myrtle Beach Bike Week and what I've done there for decades," says Copeland.

The spokesman for the Myrtle Beach rally, Mark Kreua, finds it a bit off to use the Myrtle Beach name for an event that is not taking place right on the beach, "it is a little unusual in that it is 70 miles to our west in a different county. I think it is an indication that the organizers of the massive motorcycle rallies realize that Myrtle Beach is no longer the destination for them," (Myrtle Beach Bike Week West in the works for Florence, Dawn Bryant, Myrtle Beach Online-from The Sun News). As Denise Triece, Marketing Manager for the Myrtle Beach event states, they are not concerned that this Florence event will take away from the beach event.

So if you're looking for warmer weather and an awesome bike event, there are a couple down south to chose from! Start checking out websites and locations now to plan your weekend getaway this winter.

Under the new legislation proposed by Massachusetts State Senator Stephen Brewer, bikers 21 and older would be provided the choice to wear a helmet or not.

In the 1,150-reported motorcyclist accident in Massachusetts last year, a 78.5 percent of riders were wearing a helmet. And of this percent, 88 percent were 21 or older. This means that roughly 897 of motorcyclists involved in accidents in 2010 would have had the option to chose to wear a helmet or not. This makes some nervous, while others await the right to chose.

Those for the legislation believe that it is not a bad thing to wear helmets; what is wrong is that it is not personal choice, but required by law. Advocates for the choice believe that when “a motorcyclist gets hurt and killed because of an accident, that is the cause we should go after. We would rather advocate (more) rider training, crash avoidance and more motorist awareness,” said Rick Gleason the legislative director for the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association, (Bill aims to ease motorcycle helmet law, David Riley, Wicked Local-Patriot Ledger,

http://www.patriotledger.com/features/x1622888278/Bill-aims-to-ease-motorcycle-helmet-law). 

Others who oppose the legislation worry that if a motorcyclist is injured in an accident it could potentially cost the government depending on the type of insurance the rider has, or if they have any at all. As Russ Rader, proposed by states Senator Stephen Brewer, argues “it is a personal choice, but when people crash, it becomes a weight on society as a whole because there are higher care costs associated with crash injuries,” (Bill aims to ease motorcycle helmet law, David Riley, Wicked Local-Patriot Ledger). Rader also states that studies have shown that when helmet laws are weakened that the usage of helmets when riding is reduced by roughly 50 percent.

Check back here for the latest news on this proposal.

If you ride, then you may have come across this yourself. You're riding along a suburban street with little traffic and you get stopped at a red light. You wait, and wait, and wait…with no other vehicles approaching the light does not change to green. Why? Because your bike does not weigh as much as an auto vehicle and therefore does not alert the sensors under the pavement that someone is there, time to turn green and restart the cycle. Illinois has been working on a law that could alleviate this problem for bikers, which has been receiving mixed reviews.

The legislation would allow motorcyclists to treat a red light as a stop sign if the light does not change to green in a reasonable amount of time. Carey Caldwell who has been a rider for over 40 years and also sells motorcycles, states that it would be "similar to a right on red. Full stop, take a look, make sure there's no traffic and proceed safely through it," (Proposal Would Allow Bikers to Treat Some Red Lights as Stop Signs, Mike Parker, CBS Chicago,

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/08/03/proposed-law-would-allow-motorcyclists-to-run-some-red-lights/).

Many believe it is not an issue of bikers sitting frustrated at red lights, but rather one of safety. It is not uncommon for a biker to "fear stopping at red lights because they know how hard it is at times for drivers to see the riders and the situation leaves them vulnerable to rear-end collisions," (Proposal Would Allow Bikers to Treat Some Red Lights as Stop Signs, Mike Parker, CBS Chicago).

This is not the first time this issue has been addressed in the U.S. Twelve other states have a law similar to the proposal being discussed in Illinois, including Missouri, Wisconsin, and in 2008 South Carolina joined in the ranks as well.

The proposal in Illinois was sponsored by Senator Gary Forby of Benton, but was originally vetoed by Governor Pat Quinn. However, the proposal passed the House with a 45-6 vote, and the law will go into effect June 1, 2011, (‘Straight on red' law not yet in effect in Illinois, Kurt Erickson, Courier Lee News Service,

http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/straight-on-red-law-not-yet-in-effect-in-illinois/article_6653953a-183a-11e1-9271-001cc4c03286.html).

Up until then, law enforcement will use this time to look over the law to better understand how it will be monitored and to determine an appropriate amount of waiting time before going straight on red. Once the details are worked out, headquarters will send out a notice to all state troopers of the changes to be enforced, (‘Straight on red' law not yet in effect in Illinois, Kurt Erickson, Courier Lee News Service).

The Japanese company gained its popularity in the ‘70s as it produced a line of smaller bikes that were geared towards new riders to introduce them to the world of riding. They have continued with this sense of safety and education as they have developed the SMART (Safe Motorcyclist Awareness Recognition Trainer), or the SMARTrainer.

This SMARTrainer consists of a cockpit much like that of an actual motorcycle, handlebars and seat, active throttle, clutch, front brake, shift lever that mimics a bike's, and foot pegs with rear brake (Honda SMARTrainer-Wise up your riding skills with Honda's SMARTrainer, Jeff Buchanan, Motorcycle.com,

http://www.motorcycle.com/how-to/honda-smartrainer86756.html). The system uses Honda's proprietary software which creates seventeen different road environments on a computer screen in front of the rider and then the system responds to the rider's reactions. The rider has the choice between day, night, or even a fog setting along a city, mountain or suburban roadway.

The specific purpose of the SMARTrainer is to provide a safe place for beginners to practice before jumping into a beginners' riding course and then real-world riding. The program is set up to confront riders with real world dangers on the road like erratic traffic, bad drivers, merging vehicles, congestion, blind spots, etc., (Honda SMARTrainer-Wise up your riding skills with Honda's SMARTrainer, Jeff Buchanan, Motorcycle.com). Although the SMART does provide all of these aspects, it is not a riding simulator and so does not produce any actual movement. Nonetheless, it is still a great education tool for riders.

At the end of a riding session, the program provides a performance review, not just from the rider's perspective, but other vehicle's as well. This is helpful in that it allows riders to physically see the results of their reactions to hazards and their interaction with other vehicles on the road. The rider will receive a detailed print-out of their results for themselves and the trainer to note progress and potential areas of weakness, (Honda SMARTrainer-Wise up your riding skills with Honda's SMARTrainer, Jeff Buchanan, Motorcycle.com).

If you are interested in hopping on one of these SMARTrainers, call your local Honda dealer as there are 38 dealerships have one available for use. These are not only beneficial for beginners but also riders who are returning to the road and are looking for a little practice before heading out on the open road.