As most of you have been
reading, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters has been very,
very busy lately. This is not necessarily a good thing.
Secretary Peters recently sent letters to House
and Senate leaders, urging Congress to allow states to divert the
federal 2010 grants, which are currently being used for motorcycle
training and awareness, to promote the use of motorcycle helmets.
Arizona received 2010 grants in the amount of $102,000
in 2007 and will receive approximately $100,000 in 2008. The Arizona
Motorcycle Safety Advisory Council currently advises the Governors
Office of Highway Safety, on how to spend that grant, as well as the
monies in the Motorcycle Safety Fund. The latter, being made up of
the $1 extra that all Arizona registered motorcyclists pay on their
yearly registration.
Therefore, our biggest concern is that diverting federal
motorcycle safety funds to promote helmet use could harm the awareness
campaigns and programs, which are already hurting for funds.
Even more disturbing is the fact that Peter’s actions
contradict sections of transportation bills passed in 1998 and 2005
that ban the use of federal motorcycle safety funds to lobby state
legislatures in favor of mandatory helmet laws and could effectively
reverse those bans. |
