Riders Asked To Oppose Georgia Motorcycle-only Checkpoints
The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) is urging riders
nationwide to contact Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal to urge him to stop
the Georgia State Patrol from conducting any motorcycle-only
traffic checkpoints.
Tens of thousands of motorcyclists from around the nation could be
subject to Georgia motorcycle-only checkpoints if those checkpoints
are in place before, during and after Daytona (Fla.) Bike Week,
which runs March 4-13.
Ed Moreland, AMA senior vice president for government affairs,
suggests that riders contact the governor through the AMA website
at http://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/rights/issueslegislation and
ask that any motorcycle-only checkpoints be suspended until key
questions are answered. Those questions, which have been posed by
the AMA to Deal and other officials, include: How do
motorcycle-only checkpoints increase the safety of motorcyclists?
Where do states draw their authority to conduct motorcycle-only
checkpoints? Is "probable cause" required to stop a motorcycle and,
if so, what constitutes probable cause?
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gave
Georgia a $70,000 grant to conduct one or more roadside
motorcycle-only checkpoints. New York state has operated a similar
program. The AMA has been tracking this disturbing development of
motorcycle-only checkpoints since it first appeared in New York
several years ago.
"The AMA believes that the primary source of motorcycle safety is
in motorcycle crash prevention and not in arbitrarily pulling over
riders and randomly subjecting them to roadside inspections,"
Moreland said.
"The NHTSA should focus on decreasing the likelihood of crashes
from occurring in the first place," Moreland said. "No public money
should be applied to promoting such a program without first
addressing questions from the motorcycling community," he said.
In addition to letters submitted to the past and present governors
of Georgia, the AMA has questioned the potential discriminatory and
legal nature of this program and submitted a list of questions for
clarification to the New York State Police concerning that agency's
program.
The AMA also sent a letter to NHTSA Administrator David Strickland
urging him to suspend the grant program that gives states money for
motorcycle-only checkpoints until questions have been addressed. To
view the AMA's letter, Click here. To view Strickland's response,
Click here.