Bikers rev up in response to critic

The Baltimore Sun

The people from the motorcycle group ABATE are a lot of fun. Each year they descend on Annapolis to make their case for their causes, and they make the stuffed-shirt capital a more lively, colorful place with their rumbling machines and their nonlawyerly dress code.

But criticize their position on motorcycle helmet use and question their choice of hangouts and you're going to hear from them.

Last week's column did criticize and did question. No apologies will be forthcoming. But ABATE and its members deserve a chance to vent - particularly when their critic is not a motorcyclist and has no intention of becoming one. (Just driving a small car on Maryland roads provides excitement enough.)

There was no official response from the group, but Steven P. Strohmier, legislative representative for ABATE of Maryland's Baltimore chapter, weighed in with his rebuttal.

Some key points:

"You warned the public about when an ABATE chapter meeting will be ending at a local tavern to help perpetuate the myth that the bikers will all be leaving intoxicated and recklessly."

Reply: All? Never said that. Some? The venue speaks for itself. I'm sure many ABATE members drink soda during and after the meetings. But if some of its members didn't want something stronger, ABATE wouldn't be meeting in bars.

ABATE "went to 40+ establishments looking for a meeting place and because of the stereotype, which I believe you are perpetuating with this column, only a few taverns would agree to have us meet there."

Reply: So meet in a public library and help put an end to the stereotype.

"When our forefathers were fighting what they felt was oppressive rule by an unfriendly government they frequently met in taverns ... and if it was good enough for Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, etc., to meet in taverns it's good enough for us!"

Reply: And they roared into the night on their Harleys?

"You also were incorrect by calling ABATE of Maryland part of a national group. Each state's ABATE is a separate entity. At least you called us a "social club" and not a "gang" although we are neither. We are a Motorcyclist's Rights Organization.

Reply: I defer to your description of your own organization.

"ABATE has done quite a bit for motorcycle safety and within our community has quite a bit of credibility. ABATE was instrumental in the formation of the Motorcycle Safety Program and through the years has fought to keep it a viable and affordable program."

Reply: ABATE is to be commended.

"For the last several years ABATE's main goal in Annapolis has been to fight for the passage of a bill to increase penalties for Right of Way violators. A bill, which if passed, would have helped all road users, not just motorcyclists."

Reply: Great idea. I'll see your bet and raise you. Why not increase the fines and then double them when a vehicle in a larger weight class fails to yield to a smaller vehicle? We can find common ground when it comes to SUV thugs.

If riders feel "more in control and attuned to their environment without a helmet, we believe they should be permitted to operate their motorcycle in that manner."

Other readers also weighed in on helmets. Steve Sanner of Brandywine presented an interesting argument:

"The issue of helmets can be correlated to the issue of floatation devices. Anyone going in water over their heads is entering a dangerous environment, be it in a boat or in a swimming pool. By the same logic of having to wear a helmet, then anyone engaging in water sports should be wearing a floatation device."

R.A. Ryan, a disabled person who appreciates ABATE's help in getting him disabled plates so he can park in Annapolis, was refreshingly direct:

"Your leading the public on toward your own one-sided agenda is disgusting. P.S. I always wear a helmet and pay my taxes. However, freedom of choice is not allowed in the People's Republic of Maryland because of people like you!"

Reply: Freedom is a much-abused word. There are essential freedoms - free speech, free press, habeas corpus, religion, the ballot, to name a few - that are worth fighting for. Then there's simply foolish behavior we're used to getting away with.

Once we were free to let little kids ride around with no restraints. Few patriotic Americans seem to miss that liberty. At one time many people felt they had a "right" to light up a cigarette in an airliner. There were great howls at the loss of that "freedom." Now the idea seems quaint.

The "freedom" to ride around on a motorcycle bareheaded falls in the same category. Where state ABATE chapters are successful in getting their way on helmets, real people die as a result. With this one legislative position, ABATE cancels out all its good work.

Anyone interested in this issue should read the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's "Evaluation of the Repeal of the All-Rider Motorcycle Helmet Law in Florida." The report, which has interesting statistics on motorcycles and alcohol, is posted on The Sun's Web site at www.baltimoresun.com/dresser. You'll also find the full text of Strohmier's letter as well as other reaction to last week's column.

Next week: The other side weighs in.

gettingthere@baltsun.com

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For past columns by Michael Dresser, go to baltimoresun.com/dresser

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