MOTORCYCLE STOPLIGHT SB 1700 PLACE ON CALENDAR-OKLAHOMA

Hello, Fellow Riders--

First, thanks again for emphasizing to Sens. Ballenger and Barrington that SB 1700, the Motorcycle Stoplight Bill (authored by Sen. Bass), needs to be heard! They agreed to place it on the calendar: that was only the first step. Now, we Sooner State Motorcyclists need to heed Holly's request below and contact all the Senate Committee Members urging the bill come of out of Committee with a "DO PASS" recommendation--that they vote "YES" on SB 1700 (which would address the issue of motorcyclists being allowed to pass through controlled intersections after stopping and determining it safe to proceed, if their bikes don't trigger the light to turn green). As previously stated, these Committee officials especially need to hear from Registered Voters from their districts, but they certainly need to get calls from HUNDREDS of concerned Sooner State Bikers and Trikers!

I'll also restate the points from my Action Alert: one of the key reasons the bill failed last year was that their offices received only A FEW phone calls. There are at present over 93,000 registered motorcycles and trikes in Oklahoma, and if a significant percentage of us contact these offices AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, we stand a good chance of achieving our goal of getting SB 1700 out of committee with a DO PASS recommendation, and ultimately signed into Law! This bill is NOT a license for motorcyclists to run Red Lights, but an important Safety-related measure designed to safeguard lives and reduce injuries as riders avoid the risk of Tail-End Collisions at intersections from inattentive or drunk drivers, and reduce accident threats by not having to edge into intersections or skirt intersections and drive through parking lots. This legislation has been passed in several states such as Tennessee, North Carolina, Arkansas and Wisconsin, and not only has chaos NOT ensued, but the concept has directly contributed to reducing motorcyclist deaths and injuries in those states! It's high time Oklahoma passes similar legislation, so PLEASE, get on the phones right away, and recommend that they pass SB 1700, the Motorcycle Stoplight Bill! Feel free to pass this on to all your Oklahoma friends and urge them to do the same--this is a Statewide appeal only, and National response is not required at this time.

Remember, friends, that we also need to turn out in force and support passage of SB 1700 and other important legislation at the annual ABATE of Oklahoma Legislative Breakfast, scheduled for next Tuesday, February 19, from 7:30AM until 10:30AM at the State Capitol Fourth Floor Rotunda. I very much look forward to seeing a good number of you there, but for now, PLEASE get on the phones regarding SB 1700! I've heard already from a number of folks who plan on showing up. Oh, and here's a quick reminder: please watch what type of "heavy metal" you're wearing through the Metal Detectors present at all Capitol Entrances, and leave firearms, bullets, knives etc. outside the building--we don't want any embarrassing incidents ("oopsies") in front of the Capitol Police! Again, thanks for listening, continue to Ride Safely, Sober and Aware, and I'll see you on the Road. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, or contact our ABATE Hotline at: 405-329-7254.

Yours in Freedom,
Tiger Mike Revere
State Coordinator,
ABATE of Oklahoma, Inc.
405-596-1072 (cell)