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Let
the Proclamations begin!
Cathedral City,
California declared May as Motorcycle Awareness
Month during City Council Meeting on March 9,
2005. |
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Councilman
England, 2nd from left, signed the
Proclamation, adding a small
"M1" beside his name to signify
the importance of being licensed to ride.
Pictured L to R, Bob Bassett, Councilman Bud
England, Mayor Kathleen DeRosa, ABATE Local
36 Public Relations Officer Halle Fetty,
Valley V Twin Owner George Fetty, Councilman
Paul Marchand, Mayor Pro Tem Greg Pettis, Jim
Shuler, Engine Joe's Cycle Shop Owner Lesley
Boniface, Al LaSalle.
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| Proclamations
accepted by ABATE Local 36 of Palm Springs in
2005 |
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Rancho
Mirage |
Palm
Desert |
Desert
Hot Springs |
Coachella |
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It's
a LAW!
Senate Concurrent Resolution SB 16 proclaiming
May of 2005 as Motorcycle Awareness Month in
California. All made possible by Senator Jim
Battin & Staff and Halle Fetty from Valley V
Twin. |
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Indio |
La
Quinta |
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Palm
Springs |
Cathedral
City |
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Indian
Wells |
Assemblyman
John Benoit |
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Many of ABATE of California's
Proclamations for 2004 are now enshrined
in the Sturgis Motorcycle
Museum Hall of Fame.
Much thanks to Linda
"Moxxsie" Wright from ABATE
Locals 1 & 2, and Sturgis Museum
Executive Director Pepper Massey-Swan.
We're looking to fill up
the rest of the wall in 2006!!
Please join in our
effort! |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 3/15/06
May is
Motorcycle Awareness Month
Proclamations have been signed in many cities across
the nation.
The Proclamations emphasize the need
for motorists to share the road safely, urging all
motor vehicle drivers to be on the look out for
motorcycles while also reminding motorcyclists to
ride responsibly.
Motorists often don't think to look
for motorcycles on the road, in fact, the most
common type of collision occurs when a driver pulls
out from an intersection directly in front of a
motorcyclist. Usually they say they never saw the
bike. That's why it's key for all motorists to be on
the lookout for motorcycles and to respect their
right to be there.
Following are a few guidelines for
motorcyclists:
1) Get Trained - Whether
you're a new rider or someone with years of
experience, there's a California Motorcyclist Safety
Program RiderCourse for you. Research has shown that
more than 90 percent of all riders involved in
crashes were either self-taught or taught by
friends. The CMSP's newest curriculum, the Basic
RiderCourse, is available at over 150 training sites
in
California
. Call 1 (877) RIDE-411 or visit www.ca-msp.org/
2) Get Licensed - For
information on licensing requirements in
California
, visit http://www.dmv.ca.gov/dl/dl_info.htm#2505
. If you get caught riding a motorcycle without a
license in
California
, your bike might be towed and you might be
arrested.
3) Ride Sober - Recent data
confirms that alcohol is involved in almost half of
all single-vehicle motorcycle crashes. Don't drink
and ride. And don't ride impaired. Drugs prescription,
over-the-counter, or otherwise) diminish visual
capabilities and affect judgment.
4) Ride Responsibly -Wear
protective gear, eye protection, jacket,
full-fingered gloves, long pants, and over-the-ankle
boots. Keep your bike well maintained. Maintain
proper lane positioning to further increase your
visibility to drivers, and keep a "space
cushion" between your bike and other traffic.
Most importantly, know your skill level and ride
within it.
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How
to Make Motorcycle Awareness Month Happen in YOUR
Community
 ABATE Local 36 of Palm Springs
pioneered the first Proclamation Event of this
kind in 2005, bringing together riders, the public
and local politicians to heighten awareness.
Bikers rented a movie theatre and showed the film
Easy Rider on the big screen. The film was last
seen in theatres in 1969. |
NOW is the time to start
lining up the ducks to have May proclaimed as Motorcycle
Awareness Month in YOUR community. Motorcycle awareness
isn’t “somebody else’s job” or something we should
entrust to another government program. The reality is, if
you ride, it’s YOUR job, and your responsibility to the
riding community to set an example for others and heighten
awareness on behalf of BOTH, motorists and riders.
We achieve awareness
with an all out media assault. It starts with a simple
piece of paper from a city council and you build upon that
success with articles in local newspapers, letters to the
editor, stories on local TV stations, interviews on local
talk radio. If you’ve got the money, sponsor a
billboard, hand out bumper stickers. We’re super
intensifying our efforts this year to beat last year’s
effort, and I hope you’ll find the time to help lead the
effort in your neck of the woods. The life you save might
be your own.
1. Ask your ABATE Local
if you can help get an awareness proclamation for YOUR
city. ASK FIRST, as a matter of courtesy and to avoid
duplicate efforts! ABATE is the Official Motorcycle
Awareness Month Organization serving California. We’re
going to need the help of many other riding organizations
to get the job done. If your group would like to get
involved, we’d be happy to help you. Contact an ABATE
Local in your area and let’s work together to achieve a
common goal. See pictures of what ABATE achieved last
year: http://www.oocities.org/palmspringsabate/motorcycleawareness.htm
2. Visit
www.bikernation.us to find the official language and the
talking points you'll need to take to City Hall. Once
you've got the language, 95% of your work is done. Note:
the language has been changed this year, to more
accurately reflect the number of riders and enthusiasts in
California. (1 Million)
3. Contact City Hall,
the Mayor's office, a City Councilperson or even your
County Board of Supervisors and let them know you'd like
to see May proclaimed as Motorcycle Awareness Month. Let
them know that you already have the desired language in
hand. When you’ve gained interest, you have options. You
can either accept the proclamation at a city council
meeting and say a few words, or simply stop by the front
desk and pick it up. We prefer you clean up real nice like
and get a picture of you shaking hands with your Mayor for
our website and the Bailing Wire. Helpful Hint; Local
36 P.R. Guru, Halle contacted the Mayor in one city and
had the proclamation in less than 2 days. Councils could
take much longer. Always remember, your Mayor might be
running for State Assembly next year. These proclamations
help us develop good working relationships early in a
politician’s career.
4. ABATE is working on a
Resolution at the State Senate and State Assembly level
with SCR 16, a Senate Concurrent Resolution authored by
Senator Jim Battin. Senator Battin will handle the bill in
the Senate; Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia will carry the
effort in the State Assembly. Call, write, email or fax
YOUR representatives and ask them to support SCR 16, to
proclaim the month of May as Motorcycle Awareness Month in
California. We hope to have the Official Resolution
presented to us on the steps of the state capitol at the
California Motorcycle Awareness Rally on April 18, 2005.
5. A National Resolution
is in the works, probably to be introduced by motorcyclist
and US Senator, Max Baucus of Montana. If passed for each
of the next two years, it will fulfill the 3 year
obligation to be enacted as national law. The effort was
begun by Senator Ben Night Horse Campbell, who recently
retired from the US Senate. More details when we get 'em.
6. We're asking you to
BRING your Resolutions and Proclamations to the California
Motorcycle Awareness Rally on the State Capitol steps,
April 18, 2005 to show off to the media, and maybe even
Ah-nuld the Governator! Schedule an appointment with your
reps and show off your new hardware, whether they're on
our side or not, motorcycle safety and awareness is a
non-partisan issue that everyone should agree on. It’s
also a wonderful opportunity to begin developing
relationships with your representatives. A good
relationship with an elected official is the key to
attaining results in California, and you can never have
enough of that.
7. Bring your Resolution
to the Motorcycle Awareness Parade at the ABATE Regional
Rally in Lake Elsinore, scheduled for May 6,7 & 8,
2005. We expect to have a few VIPs there to present ABATE
with even more honors, and we'd like your efforts to be on
display as well, for all to see.
8. To be included in the
special Motorcycle Awareness Month Web Page for 2005 and
possible articles in the Bailing Wire, Quick Throttle
Magazine or the Thunder Press, please submit the following
items to palmspringsabate@yahoo.com.
- · A close up photo
of your proclamation from a digital camera.
- · A picture of you,
or your group, shaking hands with elected officials.
- · A digital picture
of your entire group standing with your proclamation,
along with the proper spelling for everyone’s name.
9. Contact your local
media. Get an article in the local newspaper. Get a story
on the local TV news. Schedule an interview on a local
radio program. Put together a motorcycle awareness party
at a local hangout and invite the media and elected
officials for a public reading and acknowledgement. A
simple blurb in just one local newspaper could save the
lives of many local motorcyclists and their passengers.
10. When Motorcycle
Awareness Month is over, the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and
Hall of Fame would like to display your Proclamation or
Resolution! Our friend, Pepper, serves as Executive
Director at the Museum. Pepper has given us a special wall
of honor for the display of our Resolutions. You'll need
to put it in a nice frame because the museum doesn't have
the budget to buy a bunch of frames. Ask everyone in your
Local (or at your big party) to autograph the backside of
the frame for posterity, then submit a nice photo showing
your entire group. Send it to: Sturgis Motorcycle Museum
999 Main Street, PO Box 602, Sturgis, SD 57785 ATTN:
Pepper Massey-Swan, Executive Director
11. Catchy slogans and
phrases are needed. Memorable quips like, “Look twice,
save a life” and “Let’s not meet by accident.”
ASAP Chair, Larry recently made mention of a possible
contest. Get involved with ASAP, the ABATE Safety and
Awareness Program. Visit their website: http://www.abatesafetyandawarenessprogram.org.
Larry has asked for one liaison from each Local to be in
contact with ASAP to relay info to members. This benefits
us all.
12.. What are you
waiting for? You've got work to do.
Thanks for your selfless
dedication to the cause! ~splatt
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How to Get
a Proclamation From Your City
Contributed by ABATE of CA Local 36 Public Relations
Officer, Halle Fetty
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Getting Started
a.
Get the verbiage for the
Proclamation & supporting documentation from your
Local and read it. Let
me emphasize that, READ IT.
Become knowledgeable about your subject.
b.
Write your Proclamation
request letter. Find
a way to make the issue a personal one…i.e. “I was hit
by the driver of a vehicle who didn’t see me” is more
effective than “Too many riders are going down”…
however, don’t tell any untruths because they may come
back and haunt you if you are asked to speak when the
Proclamation is handed to you. Be humble,
swallow your pride, bury your ego – elected officials
need to feel like they’re appreciated. Put emotion into
it – be passionate about your request.
c.
Always start the letter
with “Dear Honorable Mayor” and their last name (i.e.
Dear Honorable Mayor Fudrucker)
d.
Use formal business
letter formatting – it gives a much better impression. Also, plan on
using a nicely formatted FAX Coversheet if you’ll be
faxing your request.
e.
Make sure you include
your name, your contact information, and your position in
the Local (member, officer, etc)
f.
Grab a pen or pencil, a
large piece of paper and go to Step 2….
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Gathering Information
a.
Find out who the Mayor is
of your City
b.
Using either the internet
or a phone book, look up the phone number for your City
Hall.
c.
Call the main number and
ask, “Who would I speak to regarding Proclamation
requests?” (This is normally someone in the City Clerk’s
office)
d.
Write down the name of
the person you are transferred to (Very important!! This person will
probably be the person you talk to next year).
e.
Politely introduce
yourself and act like you know nothing about City
Government. Ask
them how they like to receive Proclamation requests. Tell them you
already have the verbiage for the Proclamation (they LOVE
that). Most
cities prefer requests to be faxed to them. Try your best to
have a conversation about your specific request – become
a person with a purpose in their mind. Jot down notes
about the person you speak to (see “d” above), and the
specifics about sending your request. Be prepared to
send the fax, or email immediately while that person still
has you fresh in their mind – this is very important.
3. Making the
Request
a. Fill
in your FAX Coversheet with the appropriate phone numbers,
people, date, how many pages, etc.
b. Fill
in your letter – include Mayor’s name, City Hall
address and phone/fax numbers, Salutation, etc.
c. Fax pages to
City Hall – Cover sheet, Letter, Supporting
Documentation, Resolution verbiage.
d. After sending
the request (unless you’ve U.S. Snail Mailed it), wait
about 10-15 minutes and call back and ask for the
person you spoke to.
Say something like, “Hi Sally (assuming of
course that is her name!), this is Frank Biker
(assuming of course that is your name). I just wanted to
check and see if you had received my Proclamation request
fax (or email).” If she
says no, verify the fax number and try again. If she says
yes, thank her very much and ask her how long it may take
to get a response. After she
responds, thank her again and hang up. Write down the
time frame she gives you. Make a point of
calling back around that time just to check and see
if there’s anything else they need from you in order to
honor your request.
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May is
Motorcycle Awareness Month
PROCLAMATION LANGUAGE
WHEREAS, Motorcycle riding is a
popular form of efficient transportation and recreation for
more than 1,000,000 people in California; and
WHEREAS, It is important that the
drivers of all vehicles be aware of one another and learn to
share the road and practice courtesy; and
WHEREAS, Motorcycles provide
transportation that use fewer resources, cause less wear and
tear on public roadways, and increase available parking
areas; and
WHEREAS, The safety hazards created
by automobile operators who have not been educated to watch
for motorcyclists on the streets and highways of California
are of prime concern to motorcyclists; and
WHEREAS, It is especially important
that the citizens of California be aware of motorcycles on
the streets and highways and recognize the importance of
motorcycle safety; and
WHEREAS, The American Brotherhood
Aimed Toward Education (ABATE) of California Local ___ of
______________ is an organization that is actively promoting
the safe operation, increased rider training, and increased
motorist awareness of motorcycles; and
WHEREAS, It is important to
recognize the need for awareness on the part of all drivers,
especially with regard to sharing the road with motorcycles,
and to honor motorcyclists' many contributions to the
communities in which they live and ride; now, therefore, be
it
Resolved by _____________________
that the month of May, 2005, is hereby officially designated
Motorcycle Awareness Month in the _________ of
___________________.
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"Helmet use
is a safety issue--helmet law is politics"---Roger
Hull
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