Passes & Canyons Blog

I’ve come to appreciate the lame duck sessions of Congress because sometimes it seems like that is one of the only times when things get done. All sessions long the members work to sabotage efforts from the other party, who cares what would actually be good for the country. Finally, in the lame duck session, when members who are not returning finally feel free to vote their conscience rather than the party line, they do just that.

Now, I’m not sure this piece of legislation is one of those, but it did manage to squeak through before the end of the session. I’ll let the Motorcycle Riders Federation tell it:

Hello all motorcycle riders, I hope you all had an excellent Christmas. Bikers received an early Christmas present from our Congressional people. The motorcycle profiling bill that we have worked on hard since 2016, has scored a major victory. The Senate passed their version of the profiling bill back in 2018. We have not been able to get the House of Representatives to bring their version to the floor for a vote. BUTTTTT! Through the efforts of all of you who filled out the Motorcycle Profiling Project Survey and supported the hard dedicated work of the MRF, and our friendlies and supporters and co-signers in Congress, House Resolution 366 was brought to the House floor last Friday, Dec.23. In one of the last actions by the 117th Congress, H.R.366, the Motorcycle Profiling Resolution, was PASSED! We are awaiting President Biden’s signature. I hope this news puts a bit of icing on your Christmas cake. Keep supporting the MRF and the work we do– for all bikers. See ya on down the road, Bear CO MRF REP

Another thing I’m not totally clear on is whether this is even legislation. As a resolution, is it a law? Or just a suggestion that Congress is saying “We’d very much like you to do this, but we’re not going to give you an order.” I think maybe the latter. Here’s the text of the resolution; decide for yourself.

Whereas motorcycle ridership has continued to increase over time with registrations growing from 3,826,373 in 1997 to 13,158,100 in 2018;
Whereas, as of December 31, 2020, the ongoing National Motorcycle Profiling Survey (2015–2020), conducted by the Motorcycle Profiling Project, found that approximately 1/2 of the motorcyclists surveyed felt they had been profiled by law enforcement at least once, and approximately 90 percent of survey participants urge their State and Federal elected officials to legislatively address the issue of motorcyclist profiling;
Whereas motorcyclist profiling means the illegal use of the fact that a person rides a motorcycle or wears motorcycle-related apparel as a factor in deciding to stop and question, take enforcement action, arrest, or search a person or vehicle with or without legal basis under the Constitution of the United States;
Whereas complaints surrounding motorcyclist profiling have been cited in all 50 States;
Whereas nationwide demonstrations to raise awareness and combat motorcyclist profiling have been held in multiple States;
Whereas, in 2011, the State of Washington signed into law legislation stating that the criminal justice training commission shall ensure that issues related to motorcyclist profiling are addressed in basic law enforcement training and offered to in-service law enforcement officers in conjunction with existing training regarding profiling;
Whereas reported incidents of motorcyclist profiling have dropped approximately 90 percent in the State of Washington since the 2011 legislation was signed into law; and
Whereas, as of 2020, Maryland, Louisiana, and Idaho passed laws addressing the issue of motorcyclist profiling: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) promotes increased public awareness on the issue of motorcyclist profiling;
(2) encourages collaboration and communication with the motorcyclist community and law enforcement to engage in efforts to end motorcyclist profiling; and
(3) urges State law enforcement officials to include statements condemning motorcyclist profiling in written policies and training materials.

Either way, it’s good to see some success after all this time.

Biker Quote for Today

You are one ride away from a good mood.

Stump was at the ABATE District 17 meeting and he updated us on the legislative scene vis a vis motorcycles. That’s his job, as you probably know–he’s ABATE’s state legislative representative.

Stump is hopeful in this upcoming session about a red light bill. Anyone who rides a motorcycle knows that there are user-triggered red lights that do not recognize motorcycles, which puts you in the position of either waiting until a car comes along–maybe for a long time–or ignoring the red and proceeding.

But there’s a funny twist here: Colorado already has a red light bill. Did people just forget? I don’t remember if this was something I knew at one point. If I did, I forgot.

Anyway, Stump is hoping for a small change to make the existing bill work better. Right now the verbiage is that you must wait “during several time cycles” before you can proceed. In most states that have red light bills they are more specific, usually stating a specific time span. In most cases it is two minutes. That’s what we’ll be pushing for, and Stump reports that he has found several legislators who favor making that change. And note that this would apply to all vehicles, so if you’re in your car and a light is broken you could run the red legally.

The issue, everyone agreed, is with the law enforcement folks. What happens when a cop shows up just as you pull through the red and he/she wasn’t there to see you sitting and waiting? If you have that sort of experience and you get ticketed, ABATE wants to know because if it is found to be a real issue then further measures may be needed.

Profiling
The present day issue with profiling is when law enforcement sets up checkpoints that only stop motorcyclists. That is perceived as unfair and therefore flat wrong. When the Motorcycle Riders Foundation had its Meeting of the Minds in Denver recently there was an event where Colorado U.S. Rep. Ken Buck was the keynote speaker. There have been efforts at the federal level to outlaw this practice but they have not gone far. Buck has not been a supporter, but following his interaction and exposure to the motorcycling community he has agreed to sign on to that effort in Washington. It’s a step forward.

Distracted Driving
The proposed distracted driving bill would increase penalties for someone injuring someone else due to their being distracted while driving. By that we primarily mean using their cell phone but it would apply to other distractions as well.

This bill has been supported in the legislature for several years by the Democrats but has repeatedly been blocked by the Republicans. Essentially, neither party has wanted to support the other’s legislative measures so if the Dems support this one the Reps oppose it, and they have. Plus, Stump says, some Republican legislators have told him they feel this would be an impingement on the driver’s liberty. (Never mind the liberty and well-being of the person they injure!) Now, however, the Democrats control both houses of the legislature and the governorship, so sponsor Sen. Lois Court hopes to finally see it move forward.

It’s a whole new ball game in Colorado now with the Dems firmly in control, and we’re likely to see a few things happening. We’ll be eager to see what those changes are, and whether we really think they’re for the best. Here’s hoping.

Biker Quote for Today

There is something about the sight of a passing motorcyclist that tempts many automobile drivers to commit murder. — Hunter S. Thompson