ews Bytes
U.S. INTERIOR DEPT CREATES RECREATION
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
On November 7, 2017, Secretary of Interior
Ryan Zinke announced the creation of a Recreation
Advisory Committee to help improve visitor
experiences on America’s public lands and waters
through expanded public-private partnerships.
“We used to have a Bureau of Recreation – we’re
bringing recreation back,” Zinke said, adding that
“I look forward to hearing from the best and the
brightest in our private sector on how to improve
the public experience on our federal lands and
waters by expanding access for all Americans.”
According to the Outdoor Industry Association,
outdoor recreation generates $887 billion in
economic impact and supports 7.6 million jobs
across the country. “The creation of the Recreation
Advisory Committee – combined with meetings,
declarations and events – is an important step in
harnessing the might of the outdoor recreation
economy and shows the department’s commitment
to supporting its continued growth,” reports the
Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) in announcing
the formation of the committee.
The committee will offer new opportunities
for experienced and committed supporters of the
Great Outdoors to collaborate with the secretary
and other Interior officials on a range of issues,
including expansion of world-class visitor services
and infrastructure, skillful management of peak
visitation, improving fee collection, incorporating
new technologies and much more.
This action is the result of numerous meetings
between the Department of the Interior, the
Outdoor Recreation Industry Roundtable (ORIR), of
which the MIC is a member, and others.
“Creation of the Recreation Advisory Committee
is great news for the outdoor recreation industry,”
said MIC president and CEO Tim Buche. “We are
excited to work with the Department of Interior to
address issues facing outdoor recreation, including
trail maintenance and expanding access to public
lands.”
NEW YORK TO REQUIRE MOTORCYCLE SAFETY
SAVVY BEFORE LICENSURE
Those seeking a drivers license in the state of
New York will soon be required to take and pass
a series of Motorcycle Safety scenarios. A7486/
S2119, signed into law on October 23, 2017 by
Governor Andrew Cuomo, establishes a motorcycle
safety awareness component as a requirement for
licensing.
Introduced by Assemblyman Marcos Crespo
(D-S Bronx), the legislation creates a “Motorcycle
Safety” component to licensure, and requires
“The commissioner to provide in the pre-licensing
course, a mandatory component in “Motorcycle
Safety” awareness education as a prerequisite for
obtaining a license to operate a motor vehicle. The
purpose of the component is to educate prospective
licensees on the potential dangers to persons
operating motorcycles on the roadway.”
So “Motorcycle Safety” will now join alcohol and
drug education, “Road Rage” awareness and “Work
Safety Zone Safety” as subject matters for the pre-
licensing course.
FRAUDULENT MOTORCYCLE ENDORSEMENT
DOCUMENTS IN INDIANA
“It has come to our attention that some Indiana
residents have been caught up in a scam regarding
documents necessary to obtain a motorcycle
endorsement,” reports Jay Jackson of ABATE of
Indiana (www.abateonline.org), which “represents
all Hoosier motorcyclists and is very concerned
anytime one of us is harmed.”
Although details from the Indiana Bureau of
Motor Vehicles (BMV) are incomplete, “it appears
that someone has made copies of the state form
used to issue a waiver for skills test and forged
the signature of a former ABATE instructor. This
unlawful act of greed casts an ugly and undeserved
shadow on the instructor’s reputation, as well as
that of ABATE of Indiana.”
Jackson related stories of people caught up in this
situation, with some paying money for these documents
or attending and “passing” makeshift classes. If the BMV
is unable to confirm that the applicant had successfully
completed a legitimate rider course, “they suspend
not only the motorcycle endorsement, but also the
operator’s license, and in some cases the Commercial
Driver’s License (CDL), of the individual.”
If you have any information related to this situation,
please reach out and contact the Indiana State Police,
or call the ABATE office at (317) 422-8040 (Indiana
residents call (800) 23-ABATE). “We want to get to the
bottom of this in hopes that it may assist those that were
victimized.”
HUMANITY TRIUMPHS OVER MACHINERY
Humans have been getting their tails handed to
them by computers, as artificial intelligence (A.I.) has
been regularly trouncing humanity in classic games like
chess, Go, and Mortal Kombat, but at least there’s one
area where we still reign supreme (for now): motorcycle
racing!
In a tale bearing striking resemblance to that of folk
hero John Henry, the “steel-driving man” who proved
his human prowess in a race against a steam-powered
contraption, an A.I.-piloted motorcycle recently lost a
race against a modern-day riding champion.
Renowned MotoGP racer Valentino Rossi
outperformed MOTOBOT, a motorcycle-riding robot
from Yamaha that controls six actuators aboard a non-
modified motorcycle; steering, throttle, both brakes,
clutch and gearshift.
The Yamaha MOTOBOT project began in 2015, and
after three years of trials the computer has developed
a much better understanding of motorcycle racing that
Yamaha hopes by 2020 will “deliver new value from
Yamaha to our customers.”
QUOTABLE QUOTE: “People Make Choices. Choices
Make History.” ~ facinghistory.org
www.thunderroadslams.com | December 2017 | Thunder Roads Magazine Louisiana/Mississippi
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