daytona bike week…

with the daytona 500 behind us, we can start the countdown to bike week starting next weekend. are you planning on riding down there?? for once, the better option may be to trailer your bike!! that or detour around georgia through alabama to get there. why?? because georgia is planning to use some federal funds to set up motorcycle-only checkpoints during bike week.

according to this action alert from the ama, georgia might be taking new york’s lead in setting up motorcycle-only checkpoints. and as if that isn’t bad enough, they want to set them up during daytona bike week to target as many bikers as they can.

what can you do?? besides trailering your bike – which of course was only mentioned in jest. i, for one, would never suggest someone trailer their bike over riding. the best option is to follow the ama’s suggestion to contact governor deal. you can send him a prewritten letter. once you follow the link, click on the contact tab –> click on ‘web form’ (contact governor nathan deal via web form) –> select ‘please suspend grant to conduct motorcycle-only checkpoints’ and click next step. fill out your contact information and send it on its way.

the other option is to contact him directly from his web site. fill in the contact information, select ‘transportation’ for the category, and the message section. the ama suggests the text below for the message section. i also suggest leaving the ‘i just want governor deal to know my opinion so it will be counted’ unchecked. i know i want to get a response from him.

As a motorcyclist, I understand the Georgia Department of Public Safety was awarded a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to conduct a series of motorcycle-only checkpoints (MOCs). The NHTSA Motorcycle Law Enforcement Demonstrations grant is in the amount of $70,000 and Georgia is the only state to receive this grant for Fiscal Year 2010. I request that Georgia suspend the motorcycle-only checkpoint program until questions raised by the motorcycling community have been addressed.

Specifically, how do MOCs increase the safety of motorcyclists? Where does Georgia draw their authority to conduct MOCs? Will "probable cause" be required to stop a motorcycle under the terms of this grant program? If so, what will constitute "probable cause?" What types of infractions will be recorded by law enforcement officials at these traffic stops? What criteria will be used to measure the success of the MOCs? And, do states have the jurisdiction to inspect vehicles registered in another state?

Again, please suspend this program until questions raised by the motorcycling community have been addressed.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

hopefully with enough response no one will get hassled in georgia on their way to daytona… unless, of course, they deserve it!!