Special Report:
Special Report:
LEGISLATION FORUM
The Moving Forces Behind Motorcycle Legislation
BRADLEY FLIPPIN
PART III
THIS is the third article of a series dealing with governmental organizations influential in formulating motorcycle legislation.
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF MOTOR VEHICLE ADMINISTRATORS (AAMVA)
The AAMVA is a voluntary, nonprofit organization. Its members are state public officials who have the responsibility for administration and enforcement of motor vehicle laws. The association is international in scope. In addition to the 50 states and the District of Columbia, the AAMVA includes the 10 Canadian provinces, the Yukon Territory in Canada and the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the Canal Zone.
The association's executive director, Louis P. Spitz, knows of what he speaks. He served with the Reno, Nev., Police Department from 1939 to 1958, with the exception of three years with the Army Military Police during World War!!.
Spitz, became the first director of the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles when it was created on July 1, 1959. He was an active member of the AAMVA for eight years prior to assuming his present post. During this time he served as president of AAMVA’s Region IV, which covers the 11 western states, Alaska, Hawaii, and the three western Canadian provinces.
The AAMVA executive director is no stranger to the motorcycle, having ridden one while with the Reno police force and during the war inNew Guinea. He has organized small groups for cross-country scrambling—all for the competitive spirit.
Spitz has been active in his profession; he has worked with numerous professional organizations which address themselves to highway safety, in general, and to motorcycle safety in particular.
He has been active in the International Association of Chiefs of Police since his time with the Reno Police Department. He is a member of the five-man administrative committee of the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Laws and Ordinances—the group which sets policy for the National Committee—as well as a member of the group’s executive committee. He also currently is vice-chairman of the Traffic Conference of the National Safety Council, the division of the NSC to which all highway safety matters— including motorcycle safety—are referred.
For the past two years, Spitz has served as chairman of the 14-man advisory committee to the Motorcycle, Scooter and Allied Trades Association. One of the principle recommendations which this group of nationally recognized highway safety experts has made to the MS&ATA was to integrate a motorcycle driver education program into the nation’s school systems. The recommendation led to the signing of a contract between the MS&ATA and the National Commission on Safety Education of the National Education Association to make such a program a reality. Spitz also served as a member of one of the advance study clinics which the National Commission on Safety Education has convened prior to a national convention to develop the body of knowledge requisite for implementing motorcycle driver education into existing programs.
Furthermore, while Spitz was director of the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles, the state became the first in the U.S. to require a practical driver test—which made the applicant demonstrate virtually all of the skills necessary to master operation of a two-wheeled vehicle—in order to obtain a license to operate a power-driven cycle. Although this did not apply to motorcycles when initiated in 1963, the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles was in the process of adapting the test to the larger two-wheelers when he left state service in 1967. (Continued on page 26)
Continued from page 24
Nevada also was among the first in the nation to require a special test for two-wheeler license applicants and to put information on motorcycles in a special section of the state driver license manual.
Spitz stated, “The AAMVA has long been aware of the motorcycle ‘problem.’ Its growth was coincident with the growth of motorcycling, starting in the mid-’50s when the number of motorcycles registered in this country began to increase rather than decline. It was substantially intensified about two years ago with passage of the National Highway Safety Act of 1966, and the subsequent Highway Safety Standard 4.4.3 covering ‘Motorcycle Safety.’
“Discussions at AAMVA conferences and workshops were addressed to solving problems posed to the state motor vehicle administrators and chiefs of traffic law enforcement, such as how to proceed with motorcycle licensing, what to do about the noise factor and so forth. We also received a substantial number of requests from governors and their highway safety representatives, requesting assistance in this area.”
What is the AAMVA doing for the motorcyclist today?
“There are several ways in which the AAMVA has assisted the motorcyclist -both directly and indirectly.
“AAMVA has produced a 15-min. color film, “Licensing Operators of Two-Wheeled Motor Vehicles.” This film, which is designed primarily to aid state and provincial driver licensing examiners in developing procedures for testing, has been accorded an ‘Award of Merit’ by the National Committee on Films for Safety. Personally, I feel that it is the best of its kind available.
“Through the association’s Equipment Approval Program, in which the AAMVA serves as approvals agent for 29 states, we issue certificates of approval for several items of motorcycle equipment, including lighting equipment, windscreens and helmets. At present, 24 of the states participating in the Equipment Approval Program require helmets. Eight passed compulsory helmet legislation in 1968. The standard which all require is the USA Standards Institute’s Z90.1-1966, commonly referred to as a ‘double impact’ standard.
“The AAMVA has long endorsed the concept of a ‘classified driver’s license,’ which provides for a special license for the motorcyclist. This concept is among the provisions in the NHSB’s Highway Safety Program Standard 4.4.5 on Driver Licensing. Because a classified license is a special license, the cyclist must demonstrate his skill on a motorcycle to be eligible for that classification
of license. I’m optimistic about seeing this concept on a nationwide basis in the near future.
“Association staff members served on the task force which assisted the National Highway Safety Bureau in drafting its motorcycle manual, which is designed as a guideline for implementing the standard on motorcycle safety. Staffers also helped on manuals for motor vehicle inspection and driver licensing.
“Also, the AAMVA sponsored regional workshops specifically addressed to the motorcycle ‘problem.’ In addition, more than 40 states and provinces now have special sections, related especially to motorcycle operation, in their driver’s license manuals.
“Finally, several of our staff served as consultants to the advance study clinics of the National Commission on Safety Education in its effort to implement motorcycle driver education into the current curriculum. Therefore, the AAMVA feels that it is doing a considerable amount for the motorcyclist today.”
What do you believe is the biggest problem the motorcyclist faces today?
“Properly educating the motorcyclist himself to be constantly cognizant of both the limitations of his vehicle and the problems that the automobile and truck driver experience in actually seeing the motorcyclist.
“Of course, there is the auto driver with the anti-motorcycle attitude—the one who attempts to push the cyclist over a little farther on the edge and so on. The motorcyclist must be prepared to cope with this type of driver, but in this case, the auto driver needs a little education, too.
“The motorcyclist has a right to the road, just as any other motor vehicle operator. And he should be afforded courtesy. On the other hand, he must not take advantage. When he does, he tarnishes the image which motorcyclists have been working hard to upgrade over the past several years.”
What effect do you believe the Highway Safety Act of 1966 has had on the motorcyclist?
“I think that it has had a tremendous positive effect on the motorcyclist. It has made other vehicle operators aware of the fact that the cyclist is on the road-and has a right to be there.
“Riding a motorcycle takes considerable skill. There are certain basic problems involved in cycle operation, and I feel that the Highway Safety Act of 1966, and the subsequent standards, address themselves to these problems quite effectively.”
There has been much discussion on the dividing line between motor-driven cycles and motorcycles with regard to limited access highways. What are your views? (Continued on page 28)
Continued from page 26
“I believe that a limit should be established. It might be a somewhat arbitrary limit at the outset, but it should be reasonable. There is a possibility that, because of traffic conditions and technological advances, this limit will have to be adjusted in the future. However, if a vehicle does not possess the performance capability to keep up with the flow of traffic, it should not be there.”
The MS&A TA, in its position paper, proposes a 60-mph performance.
“The MS&ATA did propose a 60-mph performance rating. This probably is a somewhat arbitrary, but reasonable, limit, such as I suggested above. Matters such as this are subject to perpetual reconsideration. Better training for the motorcyclist, engineering developments, and other factors which influence our attitudes are items which will govern future consideration and decisions in this area.”
What do you believe is the motorcyclist's most effective weapon against prohibitive or over-restrictive regulations?
“As in any other endeavor, it is organization by the motorcyclists and the cycling clubs—teaming-up under competent leadership. This includes appearing before legislative bodies and public support groups such as local safety organizations.
“A vast majority of the motorcyclists are good people. They are not all ‘oddballs’ or Hell’s Angels as some want to label them. The authorities at all levels-federal, state and local-will sit down and listen to these people, if they represent an organized viewpoint.”
There has been much controversy over the compulsory helmet laws. What is your organization's view?
“The AAMVA believes that the motorcycle rider should wear an adequate helmet. As previously mentioned, our Equipment Approval Program participants require the Z90.1-1966 Standard—a standard which requires the ‘double impact’ performance rating.”
Is this the standard used by many law enforcement agencies?
“Yes. I believe that it is the most commonly used standard among law enforcement agencies today. During the National Safety Congress, held in Chicago in October 1968, I had the opportunity to discuss this with several law enforcement administrators. Their consensus was that the helmet which meets the Z90.1-1966 Standard is a bit heavy and cumbersome; but, by the same token, they felt that it provided a greater factor of safety.” [o]
