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For Immediate Release
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September 26, 2020
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WASHINGTON – Congressman Troy Balderson (R-OH) was today named the Champion Legislator of the Year by the Motorcycle Riders Foundation. In his first full term as the U.S. Representative for Ohio’s 12th Congressional District, Balderson—a member of the Congressional Motorcycle Caucus—has already introduced multiple pieces of legislation that would directly support the hundreds of thousands of motorcycle riders in Ohio.
“In a representative government such as ours, it’s fundamentally important that Congress be made up of many different kinds of people, who all bring unique backgrounds and interests to the table,” said Balderson, an avid motorcyclist himself. “I’m proud to be one of the few motorcycle riders in Congress, as I personally understand the needs of riders across the country, including the thousands who live in my district. I’m honored to be named the Champion Legislator of the Year by the Motorcycle Riders Foundation; I’ll never stop working for the needs of Ohio’s fellow riders.”
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Balderson rode his motorcycle to his Worthington office in June on 'Ride Your Motorcycle to Work Day' 2020. |
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Balderson, a member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, fought for the needs of Ohio’s motorcycle riders during the committee’s June review of surface transportation reauthorization legislation, including the INVEST in America Act. Balderson submitted an amendment that would have included motorcyclists in a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) study on safe interactions between automated vehicles and road users. Another Balderson amendment would have prevented the profiling of motorcyclists through the use of motorcycle-specific checkpoints.
Last year, Balderson co-authored the Motorcycle Advisory Council Reauthorization Act, bipartisan legislation that would extend the Motorcycle Advisory Council (MAC) at the DOT for 6 years. The legislation also outlines clear guidelines of operation, including a requirement that the council submit recommendation reports to DOT every two years, and clarification of the makeup of the council to include highway engineering experts from state or local governments, a traffic safety engineer who is a motorcyclist, a roadway safety data expert on crash testing and analysis, and other transportation, motorcycle, and safety experts.
Most recently, Balderson introduced a resolution to recognize July 11th as ‘Antique Motorcycle Enthusiast Day.’ The resolution celebrates those who restore and ride antique motorcycles, what these motorcycles represent in American history, and the jobs supported by the restoration of these bikes.
“Congressman Balderson has been a true champion for our nation’s motorcyclists,” said Kirk Willard, Motorcycle Riders Foundation President. “His work on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has been invaluable to the protection of the rights and freedoms of the more than 8 million riders nationwide. We are honored to present him with our Champion Legislator Award for 2020.”
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Office Locations |
WASHINGTON, DC OFFICE
1221 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-5355
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WORTHINGTON OFFICE
250 East Wilson Bridge Rd
Suite 100
Worthington, OH 43085
Phone: (614) 523-2555
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ABATE of Ohio, Inc. Elections
Nominations for Positions in Offices within ABATE of Ohio, Inc. are NOW open for the 2021/2022 term.
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Motorcyclist Profiling Pushed in the House
Today the Co-Chairmen of the House Motorcycle Caucus, Rep. Burgess (R-Texas) and Rep. Walberg (R-Michigan), released a letter they authored to Speaker Pelosi and Republican Leader McCarthy asking for a vote on the House floor of H. Res 255, the motorcyclist profiling resolution. Joining Reps. Burgess and Walberg as signatories on the letters were Rep. Balderson (R-Ohio), Rep. Peterson (D-Minnesota) and Rep. Raskin (D-Maryland). These five bipartisan lawmakers should be commended for seeking a vote in the House of Representatives on this topic. The Senate passed an identical version of this resolution in 2018 and action by the House of Representatives in overdue.
Click HERE to view the letter
In the past three Congresses similar resolutions have been introduced in the House. In the 114th Congress H. Res 831 garnered 18 cosponsors, in the 115th Congress H. Res 318 had 37 cosponsors, and in the now H. Res 255 has 138 cosponsors and counting. This continued growth of cosponsors demonstrates that the issue of motorcyclists profiling is not going anywhere.
Put simply, 32% of House Members are cosponsors of this resolution. It is time for the House of Representatives to act! We, as motorcyclists, demand our concerns and grassroots work not be ignored. We have spent far too long fighting this battle to be ignored any longer.
A vital tool in driving awareness and education of the issue with lawmakers has been the Motorcycle Profiling Project (MPP). For over 5 years the MPP has sought to collect data on the profiling of motorcyclists and use that data as a tool to change public policy. The MPP has been at the forefront of the fight to pass state laws on profiling. Four states, Idaho, Maryland, Louisiana and Washington have all passed state laws to address the issue in part because of the efforts of the MPP.
This year the MPP hit a milestone with 10,000th respondent to its annual survey. We at the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) commend the MPP for achieving this milestone. We at the MRF have used the data provided by the MPP to educate lawmakers and make the case that profiling is real and happening in their home states. If you haven’t taken the MPP 2020 survey yet, please click here.
Thank you to these five Congressmen and the Motorcycle Profiling Project for leading the charge on this important topic. Now get to work Congress and pass this bipartisan resolution!
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R.I.P.
Joe Pickens |
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From the Chairman of the Board page
Mike Stock (5-7-2020) Even with the slow down and limited miles we are making statistics that should be lower than they are. In 2020 we have 246 crashes with 10 fatalities and 61 serious injuries. In 2019 at this same time there were 291 crashes with 14 fatalities and 72 serious injuries. I feel that 2020 should be a lot less with the stay at home policy. The issue of speed is higher this year than last. What’s up with that? We should be enjoying that ride. It’s the single vehicle crashes that need to stop. Let’s stop killing and injuring ourselves.....................................( Read more....)
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From the Exective Director Page
Ed Shetter
(9-18-2020) ABATE of Ohio was in Columbus to stand in opposition to HB 550. Short Version: This bill would give any Motorcycle Safety class recognized either nationally or in another state the ability to teach their curriculum here in Ohio and anyone passing it would receive a motorcycle endorsement. We feel that the Motorcycle Ohio Program (MORE) has taken good care in educating Ohio’s riders for over 25 years. Also a class being taught with no oversight can’t be good. There is nothing in the bill regarding funding and we don’t feel our motorcycle safety funds (collected $6 at a time from your motorcycle registrations) should be used by a for profit training course................( Read more....) |
From the Legislative Page
Kolman Fuzy
(9-18-2020) A new website has been made available by NHTSA that enables users to track where autonomous vehicles are being tested. It is http://nhtsa.gov/automated-vehicles-safety/av-test-iniative-trackingtool. It will be continously be updated as information is made available to it.
Planning for the 2012 State Seminar is underway. It will be held Jan.29/30,2021. Look for details on the State and Region websites as they develop.
Lastly, please take the time to educate yourselves about all the candidates in all the upcoming races and excercise your right to vote!!!................ ( Read more )
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Tired of sitting on your bike at Red Lights
that won't turn GREEN ????
To enlist the help of Ohio’s motorcyclists, ODOT set up a special phone number & E-mail for motorcyclists for reporting problem intersections.
When reports come in,
ODOT will notifiy signal owners ( often a city or county ) about the situation and offer recommendations for improvement.
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Red Light Hotline
614-387-0722 |
Red Light E-mail
bike.report@dot.state.oh.us |
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Help Wanted:
E-Mail the
State Office
or call
1-800-252-4537
for details |
State Newsletter Editor
Should be experenced in Magazine Publishing and/or
Microsoft Publisher software. E-mail the Outspokin' Editor for details |
Web Crew Member
Work on ABATE.com and/or Regional web pages. Should have F.T.P. and HTML experence.
E-mail the State Webmaster for details. |
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