FEBUARY 2014 - ABATE of Georgia

44 Pages·2014·5.08 MB·English

FEBUARY 2014
THE FIGHT IS ON!
National news from NCOM and the AMA
ABATE is at the state capital fighting to
on pg 10
enact our legislative agenda find out more
on pg 5
THE ABATE RAFFLE IS ON!, YOU
COULD WIN A HARLEY DAVIDSON
Find out what your local ABATE mem-
SPORTSTER, A 55 inch Vidao LCD TV
bers have been up to , check out the dis-
OR A SAVAGE 320 PG SHOTGUN, get
trict news on pg 24
more info on pg 9

The Cherry Blossum Ride is once again
District 5 is back! Conyers people, come
upon us, read all about it on pg 16
out and say hello! Check out their first
meeting minutes at the new location,

ROCK CITY CYCLES on pg 25
ATTENTION ABATE MEMBERS!
WANT TO WIN SOME MONEY?!?!?!?

Check out the 2014 ABATE OF GEORGIA MEMBERSHIP
CONTEST!
500 DOLLARS IN PRIZES!

DETAILS ON PAGE 33
Fighting for the rights and education of every Georgia motorcyclist
FEBUARY 2014 A.B.A.T.E. OF GEORGIA, INC. NEWSLETTER
STATE OFFICE ADDRESSES Advertising Fees

www.abatega.org
(Mailing Address) ABATE OF GEORGIA, INC.
Website 115 1 Month
P.O. BOX 116
Newsletter
Austell, GA 30168

Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone] Business Card

ABATE OF GEORGIA STATE OFFICERS 2012-2014 Term Black & White Term in Months
State Director
$ 40.00 1
Ned Williams (404) 324 –2037
E-mail [email protected] $ 110.00 3

$ 200.00 6
Legislative Director
James F. Trucks [phone]
E-mail [email protected]
1/4 Page
Treasurer
Black & White Term in Months
Gary Bonds [phone]
Email: [email protected] $ 70.00 1

$ 200.00 3
Membership Director
Ann Crenshaw [phone] $ 360.00 6
Email [email protected]
$ 660.00 12

Sgt. At Arms $ 1 One Month Member Memorial
Dave Woodruffe 678-778-9646
Email: [email protected] 1/2 Page
Black & White Term in Months
Activities Director POSITION OPEN
$ 125.00 1
State Secretary
$ 360.00 3
Ann Turner [phone]
Email [email protected] $ 660.00 6

$ 1,200.00 12

(Acting) Director of Education $ 2 One Month Member Memorial
Chriss Carr [phone]
Email: [email protected] Full Page
Black & White Term in Months
Webmaster
Bill Mattison [email protected] $ 225.00 1

$ 660.00 3
A.B.A.T.E. Legal Advisor
Steve Murrin [phone] $ 1,200.00 6

$ 2,200.00 12
A.B.A.T.E. State Chaplin
Wade Warnock (CMA) [phone] $ 3 One Month Member Memorial
Ads Must Be Received in digital format or ready to scan by the 10th of the month, accompanied by
full payment, to be printed in the next issue. Credit card payments are welcome. Ads must be paid in
advance to receive the multiple ad discount rate. If you wish, we can lay out your ad for you for an
additional $25 charge plus any reasonable costs. Additional charges and services offered at the discre-
tion of the editor. Please allow additional lead time for all ads that we must lay out.
Payment must be received in advance for ad renewals. If not you will lose the discounted multiple ad
rate and the account will revert back to monthly prices. Make your check or money order payable to
A.B.A.T.E. of Georgia, Inc. Send to:
A.B.A.T.E. OF GEORGIA, INC.
P.O. BOX 116
Austell, GA 30168

Call the State Office @ 770-881-7438 for more info.
A.B.A.T.E. of Georgia, Inc. All rights reserved. This newsletter is published
monthly and distributed throughout the state of Georgia as well as to other
motorcycle organizations nationwide. A.B.A.T.E. of Georgia accepts no re-
sponsibility for the comments or opinions from reprinted materials contained
within this publication. We welcome your news, opinions, comments, com-
plaints, and suggestions on Motorcycle related issues. All articles must in-
clude your name and address. We do not accept slanderous, accusing letters;
profanities (photographic or written); non-A.B.A.T.E. related letters.
A.B.A.T.E. of Georgia reserves the right to refuse or edit any article, photo,
letter, or advertisement that is decided is not in the best interest of the organiza-
tion or its members.
2 FEBUARY 2014 A.B.A.T.E. OF GEORGIA, INC. NEWSLETTER
ATTENTION
ABATE OF GEORGIA
MEMBERS

If you have had trouble
with your member card, a
pin or a patch
A new hotline has been set up to
make sure your issue is addressed

Please call the membership hotline
At
[phone]
(The hotline is monitored during business hours 7 days a week. Calls made after hours will be returned the next business day
3 FEBUARY 2014 A.B.A.T.E. OF GEORGIA, INC. NEWSLETTER
Some of A.B.A.T.E.’s accomplishments over the years: WHAT IS
•
Successfully lobbied for legislation that created the Georgia
A.B.A.T.E. OF GEORGIA, Inc.?
Motorcycle Safety Program (GMSP), our state’s rider education
program that is available to all.
•
Lobbied to have legislation passed to modify the existing manda-
The letters “A.B.A.T.E.” stand for
tory helmet law to allow adults age 21 and older freedom of choice
as to the wearing of a helmet. American Bikers Active Toward Educa-
•
Successfully lobbied for legislation leading to the repeal of the
tion. A.B.A.T.E. is composed of motor-
Georgia law prohibiting use of speakers or headphones while riding
a motorcycle.
cyclists from all areas of the state, from
•
Fought and stopped legislation introduced in the 1992 Session of
the Georgia General Assembly that would have made it illegal for all walks of life, and who ride all makes
kids age 10 and under to ride as passengers on motorcycles.
• of bikes. A.B.A.T.E. is not a club, it is a
Established May as “Motorcycle Awareness and You” month
through a proclamation signed by the Governor and through non-partisan politically active organiza-
resolutions passed by the Senate and House each year. This is an
annual effort that raises public awareness of motorcycles. tion working on motorcyclist’s rights.
•
Successfully lobbied legislators to approve increased funding for
We are affiliated with national rights
the Georgia Motorcycle Safety Program, in the amount of
$170,000 after the license tag rate was raised on all vehicles to groups like the American Motorcy-
$20.
• clist Association (AMA), the Motorcy-
Successfully stopped proposed legislation that would have
increased the size of motorcycle tags. cle Riders Foundation (MRF) and the
•
Successfully lobbied for handicapped tags for motorcycles without
further enabling legislation, by bringing it to the attention of the National Coalition of Motorcyclists
Department of Revenue that the code section was written in such
(NCOM).
a way that it was already authorized.
•
Successfully lobbied for antique tags for motorcycles in the 1998
legislative session.
• Our main focus is to keep motorcy-
Established a 15 District organization that has led to more
participation locally, while raising our membership statewide. The cle legislation in its proper perspec-
more members we have, means the more clout we have at the
State Capitol. tive. Many restrictive laws are enacted
•
Sponsor and promote the largest Swap Meet/Bike Show in
by uninformed legislators. A.B.A.T.E.’s
Georgia, 5 times a year.
•
Successfully forced prosecution of a trucker who, while making an goal is to keep our lawmakers informed
illegal turn, killed fellow motorcyclist Mark Bonner.
• of our members collective position on
Successfully lobbied to pass the “Frank-Lee” (ROW) bill to enhance
penalties to those who cause death or serious injury to a Motorcycle related legislation.
motorcyclists by failing to yield the right of way.
• Successfully lobbied to pass the “Tag/Title” bill SB-437 that allows Preventing unfair legislation from be-
for registration of kit/assembled bikes. Signed by Governor Purdue
coming law is easier than fighting to get
May 14, 2008.
the law repealed.

Your benefits as a member of A.B.A.T.E. of Georgia:
Organized lobbying of State and Federal legislators to make your Rider education and public aware-
views on motorcyclist rights known to your Representatives.
ness of motorcyclists are goals of
Current information on all motorcycle related legislation and where
your legislators stand on the issues that affect your motorcycling
A.B.A.T.E.. We are not against the
rights and freedoms.
Monthly newsletter with legislative updates, event dates and wearing of helmets, and we encourage
places, and information
Membership card, patch, and one year pin for new members. all riders to ride safely. An informed and
Yearly pin for renewals.
educated rider is a safer rider. Helmet
Admission discounts at most A.B.A.T.E. events around the state,
including ALL State Swap Meets.
laws do nothing to prevent an accident,
Discounts at many motorcycle shops and dealers around the state
Personal satisfaction of joining your brothers and sisters in pro- and a helmet only provides the illusion
moting the great sport of motorcycling while supporting your right to
ride by participation at State and District meetings, toy runs, blood of safety, while rider education is
drives, camp-outs, bike shows, swap meets, etc.
proven to prevent accidents and save
Spiritual consultation with the Christian Motorcycle Association
(CMA) for ride prayers, weddings, and visitation.
lives.

A.B.A.T.E. OF GEORGIA, Inc. IS A TEAM EFFORT
WE WELCOME ALL RIDERS, ALL BRANDS
4 FEBUARY 2014 A.B.A.T.E. OF GEORGIA, INC. NEWSLETTER
Ned Williams, State Director

As we go to press, we are working with multiple legislators at the Georgia Capital.
The Motorcycle Mobility Safety act, formerly known as HB161 is in the hands of
Representative Yates at the time of this writing it does not have a new bill number
yet but we will let everyone know as soon as it does. Last year's SB116 was carried
over as part of the two year session and now sits in the house judiciary committee.
We are monitoring it closely and encourage every ABATE member to call their
house member and tell that representative that you are a motorcyclist and you want
SB116 sent to the house floor for a vote. We have also met with an in town-
legislator in Atlanta to discuss the possibility of them sponsoring Lane Filtering
legislation. Last year Nevada’s riders tried for the more aggressive practice of Lane
splitting, and had it not been for last minute political issues they might have had it
signed into law. We are pursuing the more conservative practice of Lane Filtering.
If you are not sure of the difference check out our infographic on it on page 35.
Also we have been working very hard over the last two months to help improve
ways ABATE of Georgia can help its members. New automated member lists now
are updated every night on the ABATE of Georgia website. We are also working
very hard to improve the time it takes to print member cards. We hope by the time
you have this newsletter, those improvements will be in place if not, they will be
before the March newsletter comes out.

Also make sure you check out the Swap Meet Raffle on page 9. We will draw the
winners on Sunday April 6th at the swap meet; 20 bucks buys three chances to win
a prize. That’s an offer that”s pretty hard to beat. To make this raffle a success we
need every district to pitch in and help sell raffle tickets. Every district has their
own tickets, the more tickets we sell the more improvements we can make to
ABATE of Georgia; this effort is truly in our members’ hands, so let’s make it a
good one.

Ned Williams
State Director, ABATE of Georgia
5 FEBUARY 2014 A.B.A.T.E. OF GEORGIA, INC. NEWSLETTER
Closed Districts are a complete loss to ABATE of Georgia.
Districts 10 and 14 need to be reopened and made productive once again. These Districts closed for different
reasons and for the most part they still have a membership base.
If you have friends or family members in those areas please talk with them about reactivating the districts so
we can continue with the growth we need in order to accomplish the fight for our rights.
I have made an effort to contact those that have an e-mail address however a friend’s request is much more
likely to have an impact in getting this done.
It only requires 3 officers to open a district. One must be the District Coordinator and the other must be a
Treasurer and the third can be any position.
Make the phone calls and see what we can accomplish.

UPDATE:Disitrict 10 is REOPENING! Contact Ann Crenshaw for information! [phone]
District Coordinator Contact Information
District 1st Name Last Name Phone # EMAIL
1 Dennis Warren [email protected]
1W Frank Chaney 706-694-8626 [email protected]
2 Anthony G Love 706-754-8517 [email protected]
3 Dave Woodruffe 678-778-9646 [email protected]
4E Paula LaValley 678-231-9942 [email protected]
4S Rod Hargrove 770-363-4515 [email protected]
4W Jon Lambert 404-3682093 [email protected]
5 Tim Brown 404-606-4810 [email protected]
5-N Allen Kennedy 770-231-4824 [email protected]
6 David Neal 678-770-9188 [email protected]
6-2 Kevin Brooks 803-730-6045 [email protected]
6-3 Jim Blessitt 770-235-9642 [email protected]
7 Leigh Jester 478-319-4013 [email protected]
8 Nancy James 706-592-1015 [email protected]
9 Cyndi Griffith 706-332-7675 [email protected]
11 David Jackson 912-441-7586 [email protected]
12 Dez Harris 229-206-0481 [email protected]
13 Dennis Crenshaw 229-924-7449 [email protected]
15 Mac Waters 912-276-2597 [email protected]
6 FEBUARY 2014 A.B.A.T.E. OF GEORGIA, INC. NEWSLETTER
A.B.A.T.E. of Georgia District Boundaries
1W: The Fourth Monday of each month at the 1:1st Tuesday of the month at the 2:1st Sunday of the month 2:00pm, Location
Dari Dip on Villanow St. Lafayette. Meeting Logan’s Roadhouse 2140 East Walnut alternates every other month: Chattahoochee
starts at 6:30pm Avenue Dalton, GA Biker Gear in Helen or Lorena’s in Dawson-
ville
4E : 1st Wednesday of the Month 7PM, Con-
3 The Watering hole ,Tri
fetti’s Bar and Grill, 6470 Spalding Dr.
County Plaza 451 W
Bankhead HWY Villa Norcross, GA 30092-4656
Rica 1st Sunday of each
month at 2:00 pm 5N: third Tuesday of the month 7PM at Cycle
World 4225 Atlanta Highway ,Athens
Ga
4W :1st Thursday of the
Month B3 bar and grill,
Austell, Ga
5 : 7:00PM 2nd Tuesday
of the Month at Rock City
Cycles, Conyers Ga.
8: 4th Sun-
day of the
month @
2:00pm at
Road Runner
Cafe, 2508
6/2:1st Thurs- Peach Or-
day of the 6 :1st Tuesday chard Rd.
month at 7PM of the month (Rt. 25),
@Jekyll and at 7:00 PM at Augusta
Hyde's, 10 The Grove Bar
The Blvd and Grill,
7: 1st Sunday of
HWY 29 4681 Bill
the month at 2:00
North, New- Gardner
PM at AP's Hidden
nan Pkwy.,
Hideaway on
Broadway in
Macon
9: 1st Tuesday
of the month at
7:30 PM at
Player’s on 54th
St. Columbus. 10: Current ly
working to re-
open
6/3: 1st Monday of
every month at 11: 2nd
7pm at Johnnys Sunday of
Pizza, 494 Cross- the month
town Drive, Peach- at 3:00 PM
tree City at The
Corner Bar
& Grill
Savannah,
GA
13: Meets 1st Sunday of Month
@2PM at The Henry T. Elrod 12: Meets Last Saturday of
Welcome Center 100 Washing- Month @2PM at Mr. Chicks
ton Ave. Ashburn, Ga Chicken, 1125 US.84 Cairo, Ga 15: 1st Sunday of every
month at 2PM at Toucans Ale
House 2450 Perry Lane
Road Brunswick, GA 31525
7 FEBUARY 2014 A.B.A.T.E. OF GEORGIA, INC. NEWSLETTER
8 FEBUARY 2014 A.B.A.T.E. OF GEORGIA, INC. NEWSLETTER
9 FEBUARY 2014 A.B.A.T.E. OF GEORGIA, INC. NEWSLETTER
NCOM BIKER NEWSBYTES
Compiled & Edited by Bill Bish,
National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM)

2014 PREDICTED TO BE A BREAKOUT YEAR FOR ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLES
Navigant Research recently released a report titled “Electric Vehicles: 10 Predictions for 2014″ in which it is estimated that
700,000 plug-in vehicles will be on the road around the world by the end of this year.

The given justifications? Rebounding economies, better products, battery prices that have come down providing competitive price
points for e-motorcycles, a large potential clientele that has already had a positive electric experience via e-bicycles, e-scooters and
e-mopeds.

STUDY SHOWS WOMEN WHO RIDE ARE HAPPIER
The old adage that you never see a motorcycle parked outside the psychiatrist’s office may prove more insightful than previously
considered, as a new study reveals that the key to happiness for the better half of U.S. is a bike key!

The Harley-Davidson Female Riders Survey, conducted by a leading global insights firm and commissioned by the Harley-
Davidson Motor Company, shows that women who ride their own motorcycles are noticeably happier, sexier and more confident
than women who don’t ride. After interviewing 1,013 adult female riders and 1,016 adult female non-riders, the findings make it
clear that riding a motorcycle greatly improves a woman’s feelings of overall self-worth.

• More than twice as many always feel happy (37% of riders vs. 16% of non-riders)
• Nearly four times as many always feel sexy (27% of riders vs. 7% of non-riders)
• Nearly twice as many always feel confident (35% of riders vs. 18% of non-riders)

More than half (53%) of women who ride cite their motorcycle as a key source of happiness, according to the findings, and nearly
three in four (74%) believe their lives have improved since they started riding.

When it comes to romance, the market research collected by Kelton Global also shows riding can improve relationships, as female
motorcyclists are more content than non-riders with:

• Communication with their significant other (60% of riders vs. 38% of non-riders)
• Physical intimacy (51% of riders vs. 35% of non-riders)

More and more women are, in fact, riding. A 2012 study by the Motorcycle Industry Council found that women accounted for 12%
of U.S. motorcyclists — up from 10.5% in 2009, and Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson is selling more motorcycles to women
than all their competitors combined, according to Claudia Garber, Director of Women’s Outreach for Harley-Davidson.

LIMIT ON LEARNER’S PERMITS IN PA
Pennsylvanians who perpetually renew their motorcyclist permits to avoid having to take the state’s motorcycle safety course will
soon have their strategy derailed, as a new law will limit the number of times a motorcycle rider can reapply for a learner’s permit
to three times in a five-year period. Representative Seth Grove (R-Dover), author of House Bill 892, said some riders have been
treating permits like actual licenses since current law allows them to reapply for a permit every year.

“Permits are temporary and their purpose is to get riders to obtain full driver’s licenses,” said Rep. Grove. “This legislation will
enable riders to learn properly while pushing them to actually get their motorcycle licenses.”

Under current law, a permit is valid for one year, but some motorcyclists apply for it year after year so they are never required to
take the safety course that’s required to receive the full four-year license, said Charles Umbenhauer, spokesman for ABATE of
Pennsylvania, which supported the measure.

Umbenhauer told the York Dispatch that the legislation is a continuation of other safety measures for which the ABATE organiza-
tion has pushed. Grove also introduced legislation that, when signed into law last year, required minors who hold motorcycle per-
mits to successfully complete a free 15-hour riding course.
10 FEBUARY 2014 A.B.A.T.E. OF GEORGIA, INC. NEWSLETTER