Dear Friends:
Since the CNN news segment aired on Wenesday, 9/12, in conjunction with the NTSB report advocating immediate efforts to adopt universal helmet laws for all riders, I am receiving e-mails requesting suggestions from our members as to how to best respond. The AMA and MRF have already released responses indicating their disappointment with the NTSB conclusions. While one could respond directly with the NTSB, I believe you are wasting your time and effort trying to communicate with a government sponsored consortium whose agenda was set from the start. CNN news is a different story but with a similiar result. As a profit making corporation which must compete in this fast paced internet society to be the first with cutting edge reports, journalistic integrity routinely takes a back seat to being the first on the scene with the story. You cannot present the issue of rising national motorcycle fatalities in approximately two and one half minutes and expect to provide a fair, balanced and comprehensive insight into the real factors contributing to the current state of affairs. Certainly you cannot have a meaningful dialogue on the underlying controversial question of universal motorcycle helmet laws in that context.

So what do we do to vent our anger with having been manipulated and played by the press and the coalition of this government/private sector advisory body? I would suggest we play the cards that have served us well in the last thirty years of winning this philosophical war: we focus on our state legislators who hold our fate. While it will disappoint some and anger others, I would urge you all to recognize that we do not need to win the "hearts and minds" of the general public on this issue. First of all, it's futile. Secondly, its irrelevant. We have neither the resources nor the manpower to convince the masses. We need only to convince those who make our laws that our collective voice should prevail. CNN may hold the power of media manipulation but we hold the power of constituent concern. If we are still committed and diligent enough to make the effort, we will win every time. The big "if" is whether the average rider still cares enough to do the legwork that only he or she can provide. Call your State Senator, call your State Representative and tell them you saw the CNN newspiece and you are outraged as a motorcycle rider. Use CNN like they used us. Refute their biased "reporting" using your own experiences as a rider. It is the sweetest and most effective method of beating our opponents at their own game. As a pawn in the CNN story, I say we use this assault to grow twice as strong on this issue. After thirty years, I know we can meet this challenge.

For those who want to do something beyond contacting their State Representatives and Senators after the CNN news coverage and NTSB press release, you should consider coming to the CMRA poker run this Sunday to support us financially. Sign in is at the Moose Lodge in Wallingford from 9:30 - 11:00 am (see next item below...)
Richard Paukner

Thank you in advance for your support!

The Connecticut Motorcycle Riders Association (CMRA) is a grass-roots advocacy group which is membership based and recognized as a not-for-profit corporation. Our primary purpose is to protect and advance the interests of motorcyclists in the political process. Our agenda includes improving motorcycle safety through education, motorist awareness, the defeat or repeal of all motorcycle related legislation that is unjustifiably restrictive, and improving the public's perception of motorcycling. We employ a full time professional lobbyist.

All CMRA Officers, Trustees and workers are volunteers.