TEA Conference Letter

To Members of the Transportation Equity Act Conference Committee

We are writing to respectfully urge you to include in the final conference agreement provisions ensuring that a council to advise the Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration on issues relative to the motorcycling community will be established and that states will receive funding for operating motorcycle safety programs. Language for these provisions is contained in the House version of the reauthorization legislation, HR 3550.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently released preliminary data from a motor vehicle injury and fatalities study, while motorcycle injuries are down; fatalities are up for the sixth year in a row. One point is certain; with effective rider safety education we can reduce the number of motorcycle crash related deaths.

The language in HR 3550 sponsored by Chairman Young will establish an advisory council comprised of members of the national motorcycling community with professional expertise in motorcyclist safety advocacy. The council would advise the office of the Federal Highway Administration on road and barrier design and on the planning and integration of intelligent transportation system technologies. This fulfills important recommendations of the National Agenda for Motorcycle Safety (NAMS), the November 2000 collaborative effort by NHTSA, law enforcement, the insurance industry and safety advocates that charts the future for motorcycle safety.

The grants made available for individual States would assist as well as encourage state motorcycle safety education programs. Again, this is one of the recommendations set forth in the NAMS study and will give the States the resources to prevent crashes and ultimately save lives.

We strongly urge the Conferees to support these provisions in the conference report version of this bill.

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