FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-MMA Motorcycle Safety Call to Action (CTA)
Let’s get Serious about Motorcycle Safety
The Massachusetts Motorcycle Association (MMA) is issuing this Call-To-Action (CTA) to all members to ask their Legislators to make motorcycle safety a number one concern. All members are asked to formally write letters demanding why their safety concerns seemingly fall on deaf ears.
Recent reports in the Boston Globe regarding “The Big Dig’s ‘Safety’ Rails” (February 14, 2010) - http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/02/14/the_big_digs_deadly_safety_rails/ and “Review of Tunnel Handrails is urged” (February 22, 2010) - http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/02/22/review_of_tunnel_handrails_is_urged/ combined with the elimination due to budget reform of the Motorcycle Safety Fund beg the question, “Do Massachusetts Lawmakers care at all about the approximately 400,000 licensed motorcycle riders in the Commonwealth?”
The MMA advocates motorcycle safety in Massachusetts and Dave Condon, Chairman of the MMA states, “I find it appalling that a safer hand railing design was available, that Big Dig managers knew about and could have used the safer design, yet for reasons that are not clear, decided not to use the safer design in favor of the deadly “ginsu guardrail” design. I personally drove through the tunnels this weekend and although not an engineer, I could see these hand railings look dangerous, particularly for a motorcyclist based their height and the sharpness of the edges.”
Condon continues, “As a taxpayer of the Commonwealth, I also find it appalling that the safer hand railing design was available and at a substantially lower cost, somewhere between $300,000-$700,000, yet the powers to be chose this particular design. According to the Boston Globe, the manufacturer of the hand railing even informed them of this yet they chose to ignore them. What the hell were they thinking?”
The MMA's Safety and Education Director Doc D’Errico stated, "It's ironic that this has come to light just as the governor has eliminated, due to budget reform, the Massachusetts Motorcycle Safety Fund. This fund, established in 1987, is funded solely by the motorcyclists themselves through annual motorcycle registration fees.” D’Errico adds, “According to the Boston Globe, Governor Patrick states that ‘Safety is Job One’. How does a proposal to eliminate a long-standing motorcycle safety fund translate to ‘Safety is Job One”? “Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 90, Section 34, clearly states, ‘...fees shall be appropriated solely for the purpose of promoting and advancing motorcycle safety”, explains Rick Gleason, MMA Legislative Director.
D’Errico also adds, “March and April are times of increased motorcycle activity on the roadways of Massachusetts. The MMA has petitioned to have March 22 through April 30 designated as Massachusetts’ Motorcycle Safety Awareness Period and Governor Patrick has agreed and has signed the proclamation.
It's a shame that it took the life of a State Trooper to bring this issue to light. The MMA's heart goes out to the family and we wish them the best of luck in their pending litigation.
“Massachusetts has a mandatory helmet law that lawmakers indicate is for the safety of its riders, yet proposes to eliminate the dedicated motorcycle safety fund and chooses guard rails that are deadly for riders, not to mention more costly. I don’t understand the message here: is safety job one?” questions Gleason.
Members are urged to write their Legislators to make Motorcycle Safety a priority:
- suggest they join Senate President Murray and Senator Montigny and demand a review of the tunnel’s handrails
- suggest they contact Governor Patrick to ask why elimination of the motorcycle safety fund makes sense
- suggest they offer additional solutions the MMA can pursue
It’s time to get serious about Motorcycle Safety in Massachusetts.
For additional information, please contact SafetyDirector@MassMotorcycle.org or visit the MMA Web Site at www.MassMotorcycle.org