Motorcycle Discrimination in the State of Georgia for Daytona Bi

    • 844 posts
    February 15, 2011 4:07 PM PST
    Hollywood, speed may not be the major cause of death for motorcyclists, but it is still a cause that cannot be over looked. I just read not to long ago (and will have to remember where) but the majority of accidents involving motorcycles where the motorcyclist was at fault did involve excessive speed.

    Now that doesn't mean that I don't agree that automobiles and truck are still our biggest danger, and I certainly don't agree with laws that single out motorcycles, but lets not forget there are a LOT (not just isolated cases) of people out there on bikes that are way above their ability level.

    (sorry, I know we are getting a little off the original topic of the Georgia vs biker)
  • February 15, 2011 10:10 PM PST
    Does anyone know how long Georgia plans to have these motorcycle checkpoints in place? I live minutes from the Ga/Fl line and dont plan to ride one mile into Georgia if this happens.
  • February 15, 2011 11:53 PM PST
    I located this posted on the Honda Shadow web page this morning:

    02-13-2011, 09:56 PM #21 (permalink)
    "Captain D"
    Senior Member


    Join Date: Jun 2008
    Location: SW Georgia. Where`s Plains???
    Posts: 2,116

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    I got this e mail from Dan too...


    .February 11, 2011
    The Governors Office of Highway Safety [GOHS] has requested a meeting with A.B.A.T.E. of Georgia's Legislative Director, Linda Allen and the State Director Dan Forrest.
    This meeting is to discuss the concerns that A.B.A.T.E. and our membership have regarding the reported Motorcycle ONLY Safety Check Stops.
    Your calls and letters are in part responsible for this meeting. Your voice is being heard in Atlanta.
    Do not let up on this important issue. Keep calling and writing you Senators and Representatives. Let them know that you feel this is against all that Freedom stands for.
    Thank you

    State Director
    A.B.A.T.E. of Georgia
    Dan Forrest

    ================================================== ======================
    Keep the calls and e mails coming
    __________________
    Ride Safe, Ride often

    `98 VT750 A.C.E.
    www.MSF-USA.org /> www.ABATEGA.org /> http://www.ama-cycle.org/ />
  • February 15, 2011 11:54 PM PST
    It would appear that it is being worked on, but all need to let their legislators know. What state might be next??
    • 202 posts
    February 16, 2011 12:08 AM PST
    sjsak1 wrote...
    I seem to remember this from a while back, and that there was a way to email the NTSB about this grant program.I think that the congressmen/womens and senators offices from every state should be flooded with emails, calls, and letters asking these same questions from every rider.. You can bet mine will be.


    i agree, if someone has a contact i will surely give my two cents. 

    • 202 posts
    February 16, 2011 12:18 AM PST
    I can't believe how surprised everyone is... I am not surprised at all about this checkpoint.  And don't think it is going to stop there (in Georgia) or with anything particular about bikes, or with bikes for that matter. 

    This country is no longer the country it once was.  You need a freakin' permit to do ANYTHING now... and EVERYTHING has a mile long list of regulations.  Hell, just try to open a legitimate business.  There are more laws than ever, all to keep us safe.  WTF!   It's bullshit! 

    Don't be fooled that it is just motorcycles.  Big trucks go through a LOT of bullshit and look at the 'inspection' regulations on our vehicles.  It's all about lining THEIR pockets.  And just think about it, it is US taxpayers that are paying these assholes to sit at desks and think up new regulations.  I am not sure of the Caifornia motorcycle laws, but don't they have an arm's list of regulations?

    Not only do they require helmets in most/many states, but they have to be THEIR helmets (DOT).  

    I think we should all quit our jobs, (thereby no income taxes will be paid to the states/government) and work together to survive.  **** them! 

    Anyone got a BIG piece of land!  
  • February 16, 2011 12:21 AM PST
    You can also email the Georgia gov at the following:

    http://gov.georgia.gov/00/gov/contact_us/0,2657,165937316_166563415,00.html />
    May not make a difference, but tons of emails make draw more attention to the issue.
    • 202 posts
    February 16, 2011 12:30 AM PST
    GoFur wrote...
    Hollywood, speed may not be the major cause of death for motorcyclists, but it is still a cause that cannot be over looked. I just read not to long ago (and will have to remember where) but the majority of accidents involving motorcycles where the motorcyclist was at fault did involve excessive speed.

    Now that doesn't mean that I don't agree that automobiles and truck are still our biggest danger, and I certainly don't agree with laws that single out motorcycles, but lets not forget there are a LOT (not just isolated cases) of people out there on bikes that are way above their ability level.

    (sorry, I know we are getting a little off the original topic of the Georgia vs biker)


    I agree with you GoFur:  I can't tell you how many times i have seen irratic motorcyclists, weaving in and out of traffic, going way too fast for the traffic conditions.   If that isn't bad enough, it really pisses me off when a biker does this and has his lady on the back.   One youngin' cut me off one day with his lady on the back and i followed the little twit; when he stopped... i stopped and i let him know if he wanted to endanger his life, go ahead, but he has no right to endanger her life.  He was quite surprised and apologetic.  (sometimes my temper gets the best of me!)  Hopefully, in the future he will think of the crazy lady that jacked him up!  

    Not to say there aren't an equal amount of four-wheelers that are just as bad or worse, but the fault is not on one, it is on all.  And maybe instead of finding fault (seems to be our nature) we should look within! 


  • February 16, 2011 12:48 AM PST

    Rumor or not always be ready for the "DO RITE BOYZ"!

  • February 16, 2011 1:14 AM PST

    While I don't agree with it, I am personally not worried about it. My issues are:

    1. What law did I break in order to get pulled over? Was I speeding? Headlight burned out? Crossed the solid line? Give me a reason other than GA feels they have to be my big brother.
    2. Are my "documents" which are perfect in my home state good in Gerogia? I know that registration / liscence is good, but does GA copper know that I don't get plate / tag unless I have paid my taxes? NC issues your registration when taxes are paid, not another piece of paper; and so on.

  • February 16, 2011 1:18 AM PST
    Forgot....Yes, the local yokels here in NC also do spot checks for liscence, registration, tags. Went thru one the other day, but while my stuff was being checked, another officer had a cager stopped in the other lane. Point is, EVERYONE was being checked, not just bikes.Took all of 2 min and the dude really liked the ride!
    • 3006 posts
    February 16, 2011 3:37 AM PST
    Lets hope that we get some results out of the upcoming meeting,which hopefully will be before the real start of riding season for all those riders in GA. Any word on that yet?

    I agree with sjsak #1.

    IMHO..the more the public rolls over for this sort of intrusive action by our govt the more the door is left open to more offensive & arbitrary action by some local yahoooie pd person w/ a hair up their crack,and they pick you for their next target...the more we voice our displeasure with it the more apparent it becomes to our govt how repressive this sort of action truly is..and a real damper on the free flow of commerce..
    • 114 posts
    February 16, 2011 9:50 AM PST
    A couple of posts here have requested a link. I used this one to send a letter to the NHTSB administrator. Yes the letter is a form letter, but you have the option to cut and paste and add your own text. The link is

    http://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/rights/issueslegislation />
    Look down this page and click on the link that begins "Administrator Strickland"..... Then at the bottom you'll see the form letter....
    Prayer was removed from schools because good people sat back and did / said nothing. I will continue to do my part, as I hope some of you will also.
    Ride safe,
  • February 16, 2011 11:57 AM PST
    Received an e-mail from the MRF association that this is to start the week of March 3. According to them, there are roughly 600 bills being addressed to this act in progress in Ga. Congessman Jim Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-WI) is leading the way on bill 11NR07.
    This is profiling as they are only stopping motorcycles.
    • Moderator
    • 19067 posts
    February 16, 2011 10:57 PM PST
    Good Link Carrie!
    • 1780 posts
    February 17, 2011 12:04 AM PST
    I'm coming down the slab the other day (Interstate 30 between Fort Worth and Dallas) I look over on the other side (west bound) and notice a Rice Rocket Rider standing up on his seat at about 70 MPH. Here's the problem for these kinds of dip shits (if you've done the same thing before then your a dip shit, don't care if I hurt you little feelings or not) ......the non knowledgeable motorcycle public thinks "ALL" Bikers are dip shits" because what they see these speed junkies doing on the highways. Not only is this kind of dip shit a libility to him self, but other's behind him.
    It's been a while since I have a good vent......felt good!
    Ride on everybody
    The Night Dragon
  • February 17, 2011 2:55 AM PST
    I hear you nightdragon. When I see that kind of thing, I almost wish they would locate that one little pebble in the road, or let me pull over, get my cell and make a call, etc. To themit is nothing more than a toy, and they could care less if it gives all riders a bad name.
  • February 19, 2011 4:48 AM PST

    FYI......

    Motorcyclists Across the Country Anxiously Await Court Decision on Constitutionality of New York's Motorcycle Checkpoint Program

    NEW YORK, Feb. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Motorcyclists across the nation are awaiting a decision from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York which they hope will declare New York's "motorcycle only" roadway checkpoints to be unconstitutional. The case Wagner et al. v. The County of Schenectady, et al. could end up in the United States Supreme Court. The checkpoints, which target well-known motorcycle events, force motorcyclists traveling to and from those events to leave the roadway, regardless of any wrongdoing, and have their vehicles and equipment inspected for safety and non-safety equipment violations and stolen VIN numbers. Motorcyclists have been detained as long as 45 minutes in makeshift stockades while undergoing the inspections. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration recently began Federal funding for motorcycle checkpoints nationwide in order to assess their effectiveness despite objections raised by members of Congress.

    The New York lawsuit is the first to challenge the constitutionality of motorcycle checkpoints. The plaintiffs are being represented by Proner & Proner, a plaintiffs personal injury law firm with a long history of doing "pro bono" legal work on behalf of motorcyclists. The Proner firm commenced the lawsuit on behalf of four motorcyclists who were detained at two separate checkpoints.

    The checkpoints are funded by a grant from the New York Governor's Traffic Safety Committee and the troopers who work them are paid overtime. Although the stated purpose of the checkpoints is to promote safety, the majority of the more than a thousand tickets which were issued during the first year of the checkpoints had nothing to do with safety and instead focused on non-safety violations such as loud pipes. The written guidelines for the checkpoints specifically state that one of the purposes of the checkpoints is to look for stolen and forged VINs and the police readily admit that they often have undercover members of their gang and auto theft units working the checkpoints looking for signs of criminal activity.

    The Supreme Court of the United States has repeatedly made it clear that any roadway checkpoint whose primary purpose is general crime control constitutes an unreasonable search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment and is presumptively unconstitutional. Notwithstanding that fact, the progress reports which the police prepared on the checkpoints specifically state that the grant funds are used "for overtime for intelligence gathering and the subsequent criminal and traffic enforcement." The police admit that the checkpoints, which focus only on equipment violations and forged and stolen VINs, do not address any of the major causes of motorcycle accidents such as reckless driving, driver inattentiveness and alcohol impairment.  

    Lawyers for the Plaintiff Riders and Defendant State Police are both seeking summary judgment on the Fourth Amendment claims. The future of motorcyclists' rights hangs in the balance.

    For more information contact: Mitchell Proner 212 986-3030 or MProner@Prolaw1.com


  • February 19, 2011 6:48 AM PST
    I saw that one also, and if motorcycle only check points can be shown to be constitutional in NY we are screwed everywhere. Once they take away one of your rights it will be a cold day in hell before you ever get it back! Keep us posted jbasile if you find out the verdict.
    • Moderator
    • 19067 posts
    February 19, 2011 7:30 PM PST
    Ditto, great reporting jbasile. We will be watching.
  • February 19, 2011 11:46 PM PST
    Another great article Jbasile, I have contacted my congressmen about this subject numerous times an all I seem to get from them is an automated e-mail the next day saying blah blah blah an nothing else.
    • 1161 posts
    March 4, 2011 1:00 AM PST
    Ok since I live here is Georgia for now,  I figured I would chime in here on this crap.  I was in my cage the other day and saw some moron doing the same crap that NightDragon was talking about so when I finished getting on the interstate as he blew buy me like I was sitting at a stop light.  I could not help but hear my dads voice in my head saying "job security" for him about morons doing dumb things.  I dont care if your trying to be a pro at it that is fine but dont do it on the highway or any road with traffic in other words " Closed Course"

    Now that that part of my rant is done....

    As for some of these people with out lights or tail lights and running around on the little spare tire on the highways going 70-90 mph when they have tire on that say on the side of them max speed is 45 mph and running their car like it is built for speed instead of being something that needs alot of work and they should take it easy untill it is fixed.  But yet none of them get pulled over going past cops doing things dangerous to others and them selves.  But hey, at least  they have 3 other wheels to keep accidents from happening right? 

    Now for the final thought...

    Maby they need to start checking EVERY ONE  or LEAVE US THE HELL ALONE!