U.S. SENATOR BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL WINS PRIMARY

U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado won his Republican primary election on August 11 by a landslide margin! Campbell defeated his opponent Bill Eggert handily with over 70% of the Republican vote, the largest margin of any primary in the state, and now the Harley riding incumbent will face Democrat Dottie Lamm in the November general election. Campbell still faces a tough reelection bid against Lamm, a onetime newspaper columnist and wife of former Governor Dick Lamm (who challenged Ross Perot for the Reform Party presidential nomination in 1996).

The race is expected to be one of the most costly and closely watched campaigns in Colorado history, with the national Democratic Party focusing on the election because it believes Campbell, who switched to the GOP midway through his first term, is vulnerable.

Campbell has the support of the nation's motorcycle community because of his steadfast support of bikers' rights in our nations' capital. Campbell is a member of the National Coalition of Motorcyclists' Legislative Task Force, and NCOM has supported his reelection bid through the sale of Campbell pins and patches, and by hosting a benefit auction at the NCOM Convention. According to Campbell, more that $50,000 has been contributed to his campaign through the sale of pins and patches, along with contributions from motorcycling supporters throughout the country.

"That's terrific!" Campbell told the National Coalition of Motorcyclists after winning his primary, "and we believe it is an all time high for donations from bikers for any political campaign." Campbell enthusiastically thanked those who supported his reelection campaign, stating "We are very pleased with the overall support that I've received from motorcyclists, and with their continued support I will win in November!"

Please help keep motorcycling's strongest advocate in Washington by sending your contribution to: The Campbell Victory Fund, P.O. Box 639, Ignacio, CO 81137. National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM)

YOU'RE ON CANDID CAMERA...PAY UP! Drive aggressively on the Beltway north or east of Washington, and a computer-operated radar gun and camera will single your car out; the computer will look up the registration and send a warning letter to the owner.

Run a red light at some intersections in Howard County, Md., and even though no police officer is in sight, a $75 ticket will be mailed to the car's owner. Do the same in Oxnard, Calif., and the computer-generated fine will be $270, plus points on the driver's license.

Robocop has arrived, although not as the gun-toting cyborg envisioned by Hollywood. Cameras and computers at strategic intersections are taking note of thousands of violations annually, and doling out more citations than an equivalent number of flesh-and-blood officers could write up.

About two dozen police departments around the country have begun automated ticketing. New York City was one of the first, five years ago, and now operates red-light cameras in all five boroughs. As in Maryland, tickets are sent to the owners of the cars caught on film. Some departments initially feared a public backlash, and have mostly avoided using the systems for speed enforcement, a technology that threatens virtually every driver and thus raises the public's ire. But the police say they have found widespread support — or at least, few complaints — for using the technology to catch drivers who run red lights.

Robocop has plenty of work to do. Nationally, the leading cause of crashes are drivers who ignore red lights or stop signs, said Richard A. Retting, a safety engineer at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The Maryland State Police are trying a highway variation on the robocop approach, with a camera that can pick out the fastest-moving car in a group. Big overhead signs warn, "Aggressive driver imaging in use." State law does not permit computerized ticketing for speeding, so the system is now being used to issue warnings.

If the idea of machines reprimanding people seems too harsh, it sits well with people who put safety first. "Your civil rights are different in a car," said Stephanie Faul, a spokeswoman for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, an affiliate of the auto club. "The Constitution mentions your house and your gun, but not your car," she said.

But traffic surveillance troubles some civil liberties watchdogs. "It has a Big Brother aspect," said R. Kent Willis, director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Virginia. "We don't like it." But he added that his group had not yet mounted a court challenge. "Legally, we haven't been able to come up with a good theory yet," he said.

Ms. Faul of the AAA Foundation said automated ticketing "does not harm lawabiding citizens," adding, "If we can put up red-light cameras, and keep people from running them without endangering officers, I'm all for it."
By MATTHEW L. WALD, NEW YORK TIMES

TRANSPORTATION DEATHS HOLD STEADY The number of Americans killed while traveling last year was roughly the equivalent of eliminating everyone in Ocala, Fla., or Loveland, Colo., or Lafayette, Ind.

The toll - 44,603 - was little different from the year before, the National Transportation Safety Board reported Monday. There were 44,619 transportation deaths in 1996.

"It is encouraging that transportation fatalities did not rise in 1997, even though more people are traveling every year," said Jim Hall, chairman of the safety board.

He noted that highway deaths, the most preventable of accidents, continue to claim the most lives, with the largest increase involving the popular light trucks and vans. Highway fatalities totaled 42,000, up from 41,907 in 1996.

Here's a rundown of 1997 transportation fatalities as reported by the safety board:

Highway, 42,000, up from 41,907. Includes passenger cars, 22,227, down from 22,416; light trucks and vans, 10,323, up from 9,901; pedestrians, 5,300, down from 5,412; motorcycles, 2,099, down from 2,160; bicycles, 800, up from 761; medium and heavy trucks, 711, up from 621; buses, 15, down from 21; other 525, down from 615. Rail, 746, down from 752. Includes trespassers and others on tracks, 584, up from 570; employees and contractors, 49, up from 42; train passengers, 6, down from 12; light and commuter rail, 107, down from 128. Marine, 870, up from 814. Includes recreational boating, 800, up from 709; cargo transport, 16, down from 29; commercial fishing, 54, down from 76. Aviation, 976, down from 1,093. Includes general aviation (private planes), 646, up from 631; airlines, 8, down from 380; air taxis, 40, down from 63; commuter, 46, up from 14; foreign airlines, 236, up from 5. Pipelines, 11, down from 53. Includes gas pipelines, 11, down from 48; liquids, 0, down from 5.

Randolph E. Schmid, The Associated Press

AIR FORCE GENERAL DISCOURAGES MOTORCYCLE RIDING Just days before his retirement, USAF General Walter Kross, a four-star general and commander of Air Mobility Command and U.S. Transportation Command, issued the following memo in hopes of reducing the number of personnel who ride motorcycles:

SUBJECT: MOTORCYCLES — REDUCING THE RISK
1. AS I REACH THE DOORSTEP OF RETIREMENT, I TAKE TIME TO REFLECT ON THE PRECIOUS GIFT OF LIFE. MERE WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS MY FEELINGS CONCERNING THE FATALITIES WE'VE EXPERIENCED AS A RESULT OF MOTORCYCLE MISHAPS. JUST THIS FISCAL YEAR, THE AIR FORCE HAS LOST 11 INDIVIDUALS. WHILE THESE NUMBERS MAY SEEM SMALL COMPARED TO PREVIOUS YEARS, THEY REPRESENT HUMAN BEINGS, LOST FOREVER TO THEIR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS.
2. THREE AMC AIRMEN ARE DEAD BECAUSE THEY RODE MOTORCYCLES FOR THE APPARENT BENEFITS OF FREEDOM, ECONOMY, AND PERSONAL CHOICE! A1C SHAWN (name deleted) LOST CONTROL AT HIGH SPEED, WENT INTO A DITCH, AND STRUCK A POWER POLE. SSGT BRANCHE (name deleted) WAS DRIVING A BORROWED MOTORCYCLE WELL ABOVE THE POSTED SPEED LIMIT, STRUCK A CURB, AND WAS EJECTED. MSGT DONALD (name deleted)'S MOTORCYCLE WAS HIT BY A CAR MERGING INTO HIS LANE, CAUSING HIM TO IMPACT ANOTHER VEHICLE.
3. MOTORCYCLISTS OFTEN CRY "FOUL" WHEN THE FINGER OF BLAME IS POINTED AT THEM. THEY POINT TO FOUR-WHEEL VEHICLE OPERATORS WHO SHOW LITTLE RESPECT BY SEEMINGLY IGNORING THEIR PRESENCE ON ROADWAYS. HOWEVER, 8 OF THE 11 USAF FATALITIES WERE SINGLE VEHICLE MISHAPS, MEANING THE CONDITIONS AND/OR MOTORCYCLIST WAS AT FAULT.
4. RIDING MOTORCYCLES IS A HIGH RISK GAMBLE. INSURANCE RATES SUPPORT THIS. EVEN THOUGH MOTORCYCLISTS MAKE UP ONLY ABOUT 3% OF HIGHWAY VEHICLES, THEY ACCOUNT FOR MORE THAN 10% OF THE FATALITIES! HIGH-POWERED "SPORT" CYCLES ARE EVEN MORE DANGEROUS; WHO REALLY NEEDS A VEHICLE THAT WILL DO 150 MPH?
5. I CHARGE EACH AMC COMMANDER AND SUPERVISOR TO IDENTIFY THEIR PERSONNEL WHO RIDE MOTORCYCLES, THEN SIT DOWN WITH THEM TO ENSURE THEY UNDERSTAND THE ASSOCIATED HIGH RISKS. ASK THEM THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS FROM ME: - "HAVE YOU APPLIED OPERATIONAL RISK MANAGEMENT TO ONE OF THE DEADLIEST THREATS YOU FACE?" - "CAN YOU OBTAIN ALTERNATIVE, SAFER TRANSPORTATION, ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT OR DURING INCLEMENT WEATHER?" - "HAVE YOU COMPLETED A COMPREHENSIVE MOTORCYCLE SAFETY RIDER CLASS?" - "DO YOU OWN AND USE PROPER PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT?" - "DO YOU REALIZE THAT YOU'RE EVEN MORE VULNERABLE WHEN YOU'RE INTOXICATED, TIRED, STRESSED, OR OVER THE SPEED LIMIT?"
6. THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT RIDING MOTORCYCLES POSES A SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER RISK TO INDIVIDUAL SURVIVAL THAN DRIVING AN AUTOMOBILE. WE DISCOURAGE THE USE OF TOBACCO, BECAUSE OF THE DOCUMENTED RISK. LET'S NOW DO THE SAME FOR MOTORCYCLES IN THIS SPECIAL WAY. AT LEAST IF OUR PEOPLE RIDE THEM WE WILL HAVE INSURED THEY DO IT RESPONSIBLY.
7. FOR YOUR PERSONNEL WHO CONTINUE TO ACCEPT THIS UNNECESSARY RISK, YOU MUST URGE THEM TO THINK OF OTHERS—EACH TIME THEY CLIMB ON A MOTORCYCLE. THEY SHOULD ASK THEMSELVES WHAT SORROW, LOSS, AND EXTRA WORK THEIR PREMATURE DEATH MIGHT HAVE ON THEIR FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND CO-WORKERS. LET'S SAVE SOME LIVES WITH OUR INTEREST.
Signed, GENERAL WALTER KROSS, COMMANDER

In case you were unaware, military personnel are required to pass a Motorcycle Safety Foundation rider ed course before operating a motorcycle on a military installation. They are also required by regulation to wear a helmet, full-fingered gloves, over the ankle boots, long pants, a brightly colored long sleeved shirt or jacket, goggles or eye protection, and some commands even require an orange reflective vest! Apparently, even all this is not enough protection for General Kross, and reveals how our "leaders" often feel about motorcycles. God, protect us from our protectors! From Technical Sergeant Michael Stenger, USAF/Honda Sport Touring Association (Nebraska/Dakotas Area Director)

TEXAS BIKERS WIN DEMOCRATIC SUPPORT ON ISSUES On June 26-27, 1998, Texas motorcycle riders descended in force on the Democratic State Convention in San Antonio, and with hundreds of bikers representing almost a third of the delegate votes in the convention, won support on all four Resolutions they presented. Included in the four Resolutions that the party endorsed as their goals for the next two years was the removal of the controversial insurance and rider education provisions placed on their recent helmet repeal. It reads; "To remove the discriminatory insurance and rider ed provisions placed on S.B.99, making it a clean 21 and over law." Texas rights activists intend to have a bill introduced next session to strip the onerous amendments. The other three Resolutions were; "To oppose any insurance plan which would discriminate against bikers, most notably No-Fault insurance"; "Make it Illegal to refuse service to a person because they are riding a motorcycle or wearing motorcycle or club related attire", and; "To demand that the Democratic Party stop supporting candidates who lie to the public to get their vote. A demand for honesty & integrity in government." Congratulations once again to Sputnik and his Legislative Warriors in the Texas Motorcycle Rights Association (TMRA-II)!

NCOM

THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH: "You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man's freedom. You can only be free if I am free."

Clarence Darrow (1920)