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The best news we've heard so far is a couple of Senators have said the bill needs to die in committee. They says as it is written it is a poor bill and should have never made it out of the House. I hope they kill it there and not let it make it to the floor for a vote.


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That is good news. This is not an unusually situation. Many, many bills are written as knee jerk, emotional reactions and pet peeves. Most of these rarely make it out of committee or pass in both houses.
 
We've finally heard from the AMA.

Texas House of Representatives Passes “Sport Bike” Law
Could establish dangerous precedent for Texas motorcyclists
On May 4th the House passed House bill 2470, which defines “sport bikes” as a separate class of motorcycles and places special restrictions on the operators of “sport bikes”. The bill would also require motorcycles designed to carry more than one person to be equipped with passenger foot pegs and handholds for use by the passenger.

While the requirement for passenger accommodations is redundant (these requirements are addressed in federal regulation) the AMA is most concerned by the state’s arbitrary definition of “sport bike” and the potential of establishing a dangerous precedent of regulating motorcycles and motorcyclists differently based on this definition.

The bill’s definition of “sport bike” is so broad that it may even be counterproductive to motorcycle safety. In a position statement, the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) observed that,

There are small displacement (250 cc) motorcycles that, because of the vague and subjective criteria proposed, would be included in the definition of “sport bike” that are as appropriate, or more so, for novice riders than certain other larger displacement motorcycles that create much more horsepower yet would not fall under the “sport bike” definition and therefore not have restrictions placed on them.

HB 2470 is currently in the state Senate.

The AMA encourages all Texas motorcyclists to review the legislation which is posted on the StateWatch section of AmericianMotorcyclist.com and contact their state senator with their concerns.
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This legislation IS redundant!

I don't know of any Sport Bikes sold in the USA that don't have passenger footpegs or passenger grab bars already!

Furthermore......passing such a law doesn't actually force anyone to USE the grab handles. Lets face it, on a Sport Bike, the pillion rider is always holding onto the driver and not the grab handles.
 
The Seeker said:
This legislation IS redundant!

I don't know of any Sport Bikes sold in the USA that don't have passenger footpegs or passenger grab bars already!

Furthermore......passing such a law doesn't actually force anyone to USE the grab handles. Lets face it, on a Sport Bike, the pillion rider is always holding onto the driver and not the grab handles.
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well thats what you do if you dont want to end up lying on your back on the road !
 
You can't legislate common sense.

The real problem is either owner's who lack common sense or the youngsters who buy these sport bikes who've never learned to ride correctly and safely on smaller machines. You always see these guys who go out and buy a Hayabusa as their very first bike!

We had an example of this a couple years ago where a kid just 16 years old riding a Ninja was showing off with his girlfriend on the back in front of the local high school. He popped a wheelie and she flew off the back, cracking her skull open on the street, DOA.
 
A short back rest might be OK. Where I was coming from, is that most passengers are leaning forward holding on the the rider. A hit from behind (like at a traffic light or in when slowing down in traffic) would snap the rider backwards and across that backrest. That would not do the spine any good.
 
STATUS REPORT

Just to summarize a few of the things that have happened in the past few days, since we discovered the passage of HB 2470 in the Texas House:

1. We have personally contacted multiple senators and policy analysts who have asked good questions, provided honest feedback, and agreed with many of our positions.

2. We successfully solicited the help of the American Motorcyclist Association, who authored an action alert supporting our cause. AMA have sent a letter to the Texas Senate by now and will hopefully lobby for us to one degree or another.

3. AMA has enlisted the assistance of the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), who are the voice of the motorcycle manufacturing industry, and who help fund the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. They have authored a position statement supporting our cause, and have considerable legal and lobbying resources.

4. Cycle World Magazine is helping us spread the word through social media and their blogs.

5. In only a few days, we've attracted close to 500 fans to our FB page who oppose HB 2470.

Keep up the fight, and thank you for your time, effort, and tenacity in supporting the cause of preserving motorcycle rights in Texas.
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Thanks for the update, Tony. A restriction on engine displacement for younger and inexperieinced riders would make a lot more sense that this idiotic proposed law.

@ DaveM: This is only a Texas issue; it is not a USA wide issue. The only voices that "count " are those of Texas voters and industry representatives. Votes and money are the keys.
 
That is great news and the news I wanted and expected to hear. That is exactly why we two legislative houses. Kudos to your State Senate and to that particular committee. TUP TUP
 
One thing positive has come from this battle over the bill. We have a group of riders united in making sure this bill does not resurface in the next State Congressional session. I do not know the actual number but many of us have notified the Senate that we request status as witnesses for motorcycle safety related issues/bills. A couple have established a relationship with their Senators and we will work on getting a proper bill introduced in two years, the Texas Congressional sessions occur every two years.

I want to thank each of you that "liked" our Facebook page as this was a help in showing members of the Transportation sub committee that in a very short time we were able to gather a good amount of riders that were concerned about this bill. I'm sure that this along with our letters, emails and phone calls had the Senators actually look at the bill. I know for a fact that all the contact with the Senators did get them and their staffs to looking into our concerns, so once again, THANKS FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE in this fight.


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