As the number of bikers and fatalities rise, cops hit the road to check their gear

Photos by Nancy L Ford / UDN

ONEIDA COUNTY, June 16, 2009 -- For the past year or so, State Police have been setting up checkpoints for motorcyclists during group rides and events.

Some bikers say the police are unfairly singling out riders.

"They always have a huge number of troopers because they think they're dealing with "evil" bikers, which is a false T.V.-inspired image to begin with," said 49-year-old biker Rob Stacconi, of Remsen.

State Police Lt. Jim Halvorsen, the person that designed the checkpoint programs in New York State, said bikers are in fact, being singled out in these checks.

However, he said all different types of motorists get singled out for safety checks at different times. 

"You'll hear that we're single them out because they're motorcyclists," he said. "That's true, but we also single out passenger cars when we're doing seat-belt checks. We single out trucks when we're doing truck inspections. We single out boats when we're looking for life jackets. We regularly single out certain types of vehicles when we're doing safety checks." 

Halvorsen said the program is funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as part of it's efforts to combat alarming fatality statistics. 

 THE NUMBERS ACCORDING TO A NHTSA STUDY

• The number of motorcycle fatalities in 2007 was 5,154 as opposed to 2,116 in 1997.  
• 25 percent of all motorcycles involved in crashes were with fixed objects. 
  
• In 2007 
• The fatality rate in motorcycles was 5.5 higher than that of passenger cars. 
  
• Helmets are 37 percent effective in preventing fatal injuries

One reason for the sharp increase in fatalities, is also an increase in registered motorcycles. New York has experienced an increase in motorcycle registrations of 70% over the past 10 years (1998-2007). With the growth in registrations, operator and passenger fatalities have also risen at the alarming rate of 54% over the same ten-year period.

Halvorsen said he knows how riders feel because he's a rider himself, and he puts about 10,000 miles on his bike ever summer. However, he said, he's confronted with a high amount of head injuries in motorcycle accidents and because of this, he said, officers are looking for the proper type of helmet initially when they pull bikers over. After that, he said troopers will check other things such as registration, licenses and vehicle specification if someone is pulled to the side for a helmet infraction. He said the reason State police target large riding events is because it's the best way to get bang for the taxpayers' buck.

"We try to maximize our manpower," he said. "We're not going to put any officer in a situation where they're going to see one or two motorcycles in a whole day. We're going to be somewhere where there's a known propensity for riders to be there."

ABATE of New York, a motorcycle rights organization, believes that helmet use should be a choice and should not be mandated by law. While they encourage the voluntary use of helmets, gloves, sturdy footwear, and protective garments by adult motorcyclists, as part of a comprehensive motorcycle safety program, they do not support laws mandating use of helmets at all times by all riders. 
 
ABATE believes that accident prevention and avoidance are more important to significantly reducing injuries and fatalities than any mandatory equipment laws and that mandatory helmet laws do nothing to prevent accidents.

Many states, including Pennsylvania and Conneccut, do not have a helmet law and riders can make their own choice on whether they want to use them or not.

Each year in August, the Oneida County Chapter of ABATE holds a ride to protest the helmet law, and hundreds of riders take a 50+ mile ride helmetless throughout the Mohawk Valley. In addition, the state chapter also hold a simiar protest ride to the state capitol in Albany.

State Rep. Dave Townsend (R-Sylvan Beach) is also an avid bike rider, and has particpated in the rallies at the capital.

"There's no better feeling than the freedom of being out on a bike," he said.

Townsend is also a former highway patrolemen  said he's been through five or six of the State Police stops himself, but said they're neccessary to ensure the safety of the drivers. 

"I don't feel likke they're targeting bikers," he said. "They just want make sure people are riding legally and safe....You don't go riding through town, on bike night, when you know they're going to be out there checking, with an illegal helmet. " 

Still, Stacconi said, the stops are an inconvenience to riders. He said things like license plates being in the wrong place are being checked. He added that the bikers are trying to live down an image created by Hollywood.

"To the people that don't know us, I think we're stereotyped," he said. "Absolutely. Once people know who bikers are, they like us because we spend money. I know, as a member of American Bikers Aimed Toward Education, we give to all kinds of businesses and charities. The people I ride with are business owners, engineers and most everybody is a family man."

Townsend said it can't just be stops alone that get financed, but rather a blend of that and programs to educate drivers. 

"In May, we just had National Motorcycle Safety Awereness Month," he said. "We have spent a whole lot of resources on letting people know that the season is coming and motorcycles are going to be out and to be aware." 

Townsend cited a number of recent motorcycle crashes to illustrate that precautions need to be taken. 

One problem is a lower visablity of motorcycles because of their size, and cars don't often notice them coming down the road and will pull out in front of them.

Stacconi said the majority of accidents are not caused by the bikers, and he suggested that a better way to try to deal with biker safety would be to educate passenger cars. 

"They're taught to look for other cars," he said. "They have to be educated to look out for motorcycles, not to turn in front of them, just general respect for motorcycles on the road."