Biker Republic: BIKERnews Message

Date: August 7th 2007

Biker Republics, E-news for bikers
Home to The Extreme Activists of the Biker Rights Movement!

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Contents:
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1. State targets aggressive motorcyclists
2. The MRF issues urgent call to action. Hensarling amendment
3. FBI plans a database system to focus on gangs
4. US Transportation Secretary Names ITS Advisory Committee Members
5. Motorcycle Crash Claims Patriot Guard Rider
6. New and Improved Interactive Helmet Law Map
7. State cracks down on biker wheelies
8. OKC FOX 25 Helmet Poll
9. Enjoy a free lesson from the state
10. HERO AND DORK of the week

Show your support for the fight.
http://www.bikerrepublic.org

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1. State targets aggressive motorcyclists
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State targets aggressive motorcyclists
Police cite nine rider deaths on Del. roads
By SONIA DASGUPTA, The News Journal
Posted Wednesday, July 25, 2007
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007707250402

Crashes on Delaware highways have killed nine motorcyclists this year, but state police and safety officials hope to prevent further deaths with a crackdown on aggressive riders.

"This is too close for comfort," state Office of Highway Safety spokeswoman Andrea Summers said. "It's not the highest number we've ever had, but it's pretty bad.

"The nine deaths represent an increase of three over the same period in 2006, safety officials said Tuesday. Altogether, 11 motorcyclists died in Delaware that year, and 254 were injured in accidents.

To curb fatalities, police will target motorcyclists who are driving unsafely or aggressively. State officials also will encourage all riders obtaining their first motorcycle licenses to take a safety course. The state offers a 15-hour course for about $50.

Among the reasons for the rising number of motorcyclist deaths are an increasing number of riders and good weather that draws them to the roads.

"The number of bikes on the road has doubled in the last five years," Summers said. "With gas prices still rising, more people find it reasonable to travel on bikes because they are more efficient.

"In 2001, Delaware was home to 12,722 registered motorcyclists. Last year there were 21,240.

Further, Delaware does not require motorcycle riders over age 19 to wear a helmet; they need only carry one with them.

Additionally, officials said, three of the nine motorcyclists killed this year were riders who recently obtained their endorsements; the average age of the victims was 44.

Safety instructor Bruce Taylor has been riding a motorcycle for 30 years but did not take a safe-riding class until he wanted to become an instructor.

"I look back now and wish I could have taken a course like that when I started," Taylor said. "Back then we had to learn on our own.

"Taylor said he encourages his students to wear safety gear and to take a safety course.

"The biggest mistake people make is not turning corners correctly," Taylor said. "They are either going too fast or turn too much and they go down."


VIEW ALL COMMENTS
http://forums.delawareonline.com/viewtopic.php?t=46979


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2. The MRF issues urgent call to action. Hensarling amendment
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The Motorcycle Riders Foundation issues urgent call to action.

Washington DC July 25th 2007 10:54 PM


US House of Representatives passes transportation appropriations bill (HR
3074) by a vote of 268-153, with no restrictions on any motorcycle funding
the Motorcycle Riders Foundation reports.

The US House passed the much-needed transportation, housing and related
agencies funding bill late Tuesday night without provisions eliminating
funding for what is known as the Section 2010 motorcycle safety funds.

The day before debate began on this bill it became known to the MRF that
Representative Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) was going to propose an amendment
that would have zeroed the funding for fiscal year 08 on the motorcycle
safety grants. The same grants that were welcomed by 44 states in fiscal
year 07. This amendment would have saved the taxpayers a paltry six
million dollars.

After hearing from hundreds of motorcyclists, some intense political
advice, and a healthy amount of careful consideration Mr. Hensarling
decided not to introduce the amendment. Hensarling was faced with the
choice of potentially saving a few thousand lives or saving the taxpayers
a few dollars. In the MRF’s view he made the correct choice.

The section 2010 motorcycle safety specific funds that the MRF and its
supporting organizations worked so hard to have included in the last
highway bill (PL 109-59) remain intact and the popular grant program
continues to be a success.

To put things in fiscal perspective, the motorcycle safety grant program
accounts for about one half of one one thousandth of this entire spending
package. “In other words, the motorcyclists are asking for chump change
in the grand scheme of this legislation” Said Jeff Hennie, MRF vice
president of government relations.

“What a great example of how motorcyclists get things done in Washington
DC” Hennie continued. “Every motorcyclist who phoned in to their federal
representative earned and deserves the freedoms that we all enjoy”.

The $104.4 billion dollar spending measure is now slated to be debated in
the Senate, where no anti motorcyclists provisions are expected, and then
on to the White House for final signature under a potential veto threat.
The MRF thanks all of its members and supporters and will continue to keep
you up to speed on all happenings in your nation’s capitol of Washington
DC.

As for the remainder of Mr. Hensarling’s proposed amendments? They all
failed on the House floor. Maybe there is hope for wisdom in Washington
after all.

Ride With The LeadersTM by joining the MRF at http://www.mrf.org/join.php
or call 1-202-546-0983


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3. FBI plans a database system to focus on gangs
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www.gcn.com/print/26_18/44693-1.html?topic=state-local

FBI plans a database system to focus on gangs
07/23/07
By Wilson P. Dizard III, GCN STAFF,

Tracking cases across many jurisdictions could reduce conflicts in investigations


The FBI is looking to build a system that would correlate information from about 20 databases across more than a half-dozen agencies as part of an effort to curb gang activity.

The bureau is reviewing proposals submitted earlier this month to build the system to support the National Gang Intelligence Center (NGIC). Congress provided $10 million for the system in fiscal 2005.

The new systems and tools would have, among their several functions, the
job of helping to prevent conflicts among investigations carried out by
various law enforcement agencies that might be probing crimes committed
by the same gang. The center brings together law enforcement workers
from several agencies.

The system design the bureau described in detailed procurement documents
states that the deconfliction function is to be carried out by a case
tracker database that will provide a high-level overview of several
agencies’ gang crime investigations.

The bureau recently unveiled the first phase of its new investigative
case management system, called Sentinel. But the FBI’s record in
building large-scale case databases has been marked by conspicuous
failures, such as the $100 million Virtual Case File debacle (GCN.com,
Quickfind 810).

The as-yet-unnamed NGIC database support systems are intended to help
the center provide gang intelligence to law enforcement agencies at the
federal, state and local levels.

The new system is designed to correlate information provided by a
collection of different networks and databases NGIC already uses:

• FBI Automated Case Management System
• FBI Investigative Data Warehouse
• National Crime Information Center
• Violent Gang and Terrorist Organization File through NCIC
• Treasury Enforcement System maintained by Homeland Security
Department’s Customs and Border Protection
• Law Enforcement Online maintained by FBI
• RissGang secure Web site
• GangNet and CalGang
• Regional Data Exchange
• Illinois Citizen Law Enforcement Analysis and Reporting System
• EPIC-Online.

The data flowing through those systems supports the anti-gang work of
several Justice Department agencies, including the FBI, the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA), the Prisons Bureau (BOP) and others, including
outside organizations such as DHS.

Each partner agency contributes information from its own system. Some of
those native organization-based systems are:

• Homeland Security Information Network
• ATF’s NFORCE system
• BOP Sentry
• BOP Automated Intelligence Management System
• BOP Inmate Telephone System
• DEA’s Narcotics and Dangerous Drug Information System
• Immigration and Customs Enforcement network
• U.S. States Marshals Service (USMS) Warrant Information Network
• USMS Prisoner Tracking System.

The procurement documents direct bidders to rely on specified commercial
products. The FBI also requires that the new system, like all being
ordered by Justice and the law enforcement agencies that it funds
through grants, comply with the National Information Exchange Model.

The NGIC technology upgrades would include tools that crime analysts
could use for link analysis — detecting and mapping connections among
crimes, vehicles, weapons, drugs, money, locations and people —
according to the procurement documents.

The planned intelligence system will consist of several elements
intended to work together to improve information sharing across the
intelligence community on gang-related topics.

Limits on sharing

However, the design of the intelligence system, as described in FBI
procurement documents, provides a potential stumbling block to
information sharing.

One requirement of the system’s design mandated by the bureau states:
“No information obtained from the system may be used in any official
investigative report, affidavit or paper without the specific permission
from the originating agency.”

That sentence expresses the essence of the Orcon — or originator control
— policy that formerly governed the use of many documents and other
forms of intelligence in the national-security sector of the
intelligence community.

Senior intelligence community technology officials have emphasized
repeatedly in interviews since 2001 that traditional intelligence
agencies, such as the CIA, National Security Agency and Defense
Intelligence Agency, have worked hard to stamp out the use of Orcon
limits on information sharing.

Such limits have long hampered the effectiveness of intelligence
information sharing in both the national security and law enforcement
fields, according to specialists inside and outside the government.

In addition to that policy stumbling block, organizational resistance to
information sharing remains a factor in the gang intelligence world,
according to criminologists.

Randall Paul McCauley, former criminology professor at Indiana
University of Pennsylvania and an expert witness in gang trials, said,
“The key to criminal investigations is information, and that has been
true since Robert Peel created the Metropolitan Police in London on
Sept. 29, 1829.

“Sharing of information means we will increase the availability of
information, but the issue is fraught with political and jurisdictional
problems,” McCauley said. “People protect their turfs.”

As for information technology systems, McCauley added, “Sometimes the
systems work, and sometimes they don’t.”

McCauley and other specialists in criminal gang matters repeatedly and
independently responded with the phrase “garbage in, garbage out” when
asked about the likely impact of an upgraded gang intelligence system.

Fresh info needed

Michael Munoz, who also is an expert witness on gang matters and worked
as a Los Angeles police officer for more than 20 years, spent many
months working undercover and infiltrating gang organizations in several
cities.

He cautioned that the level of usefulness of a gang intelligence
computer system would depend on the freshness and quality of the
information entered.

“It is going to depend in part on the personalities of the people who
choose to share the information,” Munoz said. “The more you develop a
rapport with them, the more they are going to understand the legitimacy
of your goal.”

Munoz added, “There is [another] potential drawback — that there has be
some specific method as to how a person can be removed from the database
if they are no longer a gang member.”

He said that in many cases, people who may have joined gangs of various
kinds, including the “baby gangs” for children that serve as portals to
full-fledged gangs, decide to reject the gang lifestyle as they mature.

“This process [of rejecting gang life] can occur as an individual’s
original reasons for gang membership — including the advantages of
protection, camaraderie, acceptance, livelihood, esteem and excitement —
give way to the influence of other mentors or religious faith,” Munoz
said.

Lewis Yablonsky, a former professor of sociology and criminology at
California State University at Northridge, was skeptical of the
prospective value of the upgraded gang intelligence system.

“I think this [computer system] would be almost totally ineffective,”
said Yablonsky, who has participated in more than 250 cases involving
alleged gang-related crimes. “The assumption here is that street gangs
are coherent organizations with consistent leadership. That’s just not
the case. It’s more accurate to call them a ‘near group.’ ”

Yablonsky said, typical criminal gangs, apart from the most
well-regimented organizations such as the Italian or Mexican mafias, are
highly informal organizations.

“You have to consider the [gang members] you are dealing with here. They
are scatterbrained…idiots.” He went on to say that in half the cases he
had seen, the crimes that were being prosecuted as gang-related
offenses, such as robberies, were independent acts of criminals who had
no intention of delivering any proceeds to the gangs.

“The police have an exaggerated view of the gangs,” Yablonsky said. He
noted that in some instances, adding the factor of “gang related” to a
given offense can lead to a heavier sentence for a convict, which gives
prosecutors an incentive to stretch the definition of gang membership.

Sidebar | Another management system?


Gang intelligence system to sift data from many sources, but stops short
of case management

The FBI’s planned system to support the National Gang Information Center
won’t have an investigative case management system like those planned
for the succession of unsuccessful projects that have culminated in the
bureau’s Sentinel system [GCN, July 2, Page 5]. But it will have case
tracking and deconfliction features that come close.

The NGIC system’s Case Tracker database is intended to provide a
high-level view of various law enforcement projects so as to prevent
conflicts among cases and focus investigative resources.

The bureau described that function in the following example in the NGIC
system concept of operations: “For example, if the FBI opens a Latin
Kings case in Los Angeles and [the Drug Enforcement Administration]
already has an open investigation with that group, the case tracking
capability will bring the two agencies together to discuss strategies
for expanding the case or leaving it alone.”

But that goal could be hindered by limits on the types of information
the Case Tracker database will be allowed to handle under federal laws
and rules that govern access to classified data.

The bureau has struggled for years with how to make sure that special
agents pursuing leads on a given gang don’t interfere with existing law
enforcement agencies’ projects targeting the same criminals.

The law enforcement community has established procedures for
deconflicting cases, say law enforcement officials. To support that
effort, the FBI already operates an independent system to help protect
undercover agents and controlled sources inside criminal gangs from
criminal probes, according to vendors familiar with the FBI’s work.

The database operates at multiple levels of classification, according to
vendor sources. That feature shields the most sensitive counterterrorist
and counterintelligence information in the database from law enforcement
officials who lack the proper security clearances.

The procurement documents the FBI released publicly about the new NGIC
system state that the databases generally will operate at the sensitive
but unclassified (SBU) level.

That classification, and even the higher secret classification, can fall
below other information the bureau uses. The SBU information is less
classified not only than some information in the existing investigation
deconfliction databases but also the information in the FBI database
used to track Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants, say
law enforcement officials.

That FISA Warrant System, used to track the process for requesting
warrants from the FISA court, contains information at several levels of
classification, the law enforcement officials said. The FISA panel meets
in secret every week to consider requests for wiretaps and
communications intercepts that the bureau seeks for counterintelligence
purposes.

Some information in the FISA warrant requests is very highly classified,
according to federal law enforcement sources. The database that handles
it allows users with low-level clearances to access parts of the system,
while granting wider access to users with higher clearances, the sources
said.

Another part of the planned information technology system for gang
intelligence includes a GangNet node, which will store information from
the FBI’s existing Violent Gang and Terrorist Organzations File.

The planned gang intelligence system also will include a Signs, Symbols
and Terminology database, including images of gang tattoos, graffiti,
hand signs and symbols. It will have gang codes, terminology and gang
literature.

Prison gang images denote various aspects of a gang member’s status (see
chart, Page 12). FBI officials declined to provide images of gang
tattoos, and the Los Angeles Police Department also refused to divulge
any gang tattoo information. California’s freedom of information law
contains a special exemption that shields gang intelligence from public
release.

The planned NGIC support system’s RISSNet node will use capabilities of
the Regional Information Sharing System Network to store intelligence
products, according to procurement information. An associated
work-in-process database is planned to help compile raw data for
intelligence analysis and help create intelligence products.

Sidebar | On the inside: Prison gang tattoo symbols


Cell window with sun or bird showing: waiting to get out.

Eight balls: behind the eight ball or bad luck.

Face of female crying: has someone on the outside waiting.

Granite block walls: time in Folsom prison.

Clock faces without hands: doing time.

One laughing face, one crying face: play now, pay later.

Prison block wall with bricks falling outward: inside waiting to get
out.

Spider or cobwebs on arms or shoulder: doing time.

Tombstones with numbers on them: the years they were inside.

Tombstones with numbers and RIP: mourning the death of a friend.

Source: U.S. Marine Corps. The corps provides guidance to its leaders
about how to deal with possible infiltration of the service by gang
activists bent on recruiting additional members.



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4. US Transportation Secretary Names ITS Advisory Committee Members
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www.its.dot.gov/press/advisory_comm.htm
07/26/07

US Transportation Secretary Names ITS Advisory Committee Members

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters has named the following
candidates to serve on the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)
Advisory Committee, pursuant to Section 5305(h) of the Safe,
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for
Users (SAFETEA-LU). The ITS Advisory Committee is charged with
reviewing areas of ITS research being considered for funding by the
Department and advising the Secretary on ITS aspects of the Department's
strategic plan. The ITS Program is overseen by the Department's
Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA). For more
information, contact Marcia Pincus in the ITS Joint Program Office.

1. Randell H. Iwasaki. Mr. Iwasaki is Chief Deputy Director of the
California Department of Transportation.
2. Alfred Foxx. Mr. Foxx is Director of the Baltimore City Department
of Transportation.
3. John M. Inglish. Mr. Inglish is General Manager on the Utah Transit
Authority Board of Trustees.
4. Ann Flemer. Ms. Flemer is Deputy Director of Operations for the
Metropolitan Transportation Commission of the San Francisco Bay
Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.
5. Dr. Lawrence D. Burns. Dr. Burns is Vice President of General
Motors for Research and Development and Strategic Planning.
6. Tomiji Sugimoto. Mr. Sugimoto is Vice President of Honda Research
and Development Americas, Inc.
7. Robert Peter Denaro. Mr. Denaro is Vice President of NAVTEQ.
8. Iris Weinshall. Ms. Weinshall is former Commissioner of the New York
City Department of Transportation.
9. Ronald Greer Woodruff. Mr. Woodruff is Senior Vice President of
Corporate Safety and Security for J.B. Hunt Transport.
10. Bryan P. Mistele. Mr. Mistele is Founder, President, and Chief
Executive Officer of Inrix Technologies.
11. John Worthington. Mr. Worthington is President of Transcore.
12. Joseph Averkamp. Mr. Averkamp is Director of Product Strategy for
Sprint-Nextel.
13. Dr. M. Granger Morgan. Dr. Morgan is a Professor and Department
Head of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University.
14. Dr. Joseph M. Sussman. Dr. Sussman is JR East Professor in the
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering within the Engineering
Systems Division at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
15. Dr. Kenneth J. Button. Dr. Button is a Professor of Public Policy
at the George Mason School of Public Policy and is Director of both the
Center for Transportation Policy, Operations and Logistics, and the
Center for Aerospace Policy Research.
16. Dr. Adrian Lund. Dr. Lund is President of the Insurance Institute
for Highway Safety and affiliated Highway Loss Data Institute.
17. Michael Replogle. Mr. Replogle is the Transportation Director for
Environmental Defense.
18. Thomas C. Lambert. Mr. Lambert is Vice President and Chief of
Police of the Department of Police and Traffic Management at the
Metropolitan Transit Authority in Houston, TX.
19. Steve Albert. Mr. Albert is Director of the Western Transportation
Institute at Montana State University.


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5. Motorcycle Crash Claims Patriot Guard Rider
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Saturday, July 28, 2007
http://www.wkrg.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WKRG%2FMGArticle%2FKRG_BasicA
rticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173352179142&path=!news!local

LOCUST FORK, Ala. (AP) - A Patriot Guard rider was killed this morning in
a motorcycle crash while on his way to honor a Locust Fork soldier killed in
Iraq.

State Trooper Curtis Summerville says 57-year-old Paul S. Robbins of
Prattville died at the scene when the motorcycle and truck collided.

The driver of the truck was transported to the hospital with injuries.

The 10:07 a.m. collision happened on Blount County 13 between Alabama 160
and Alabama 79, a few miles north of Locust Fork.

Robbins was among other Patriot Guard riders on their way to a medal
ceremony for Army Private First Class Johnathon Millican in Locust Fork.

Millican was killed by insurgents in Iraq on Jan. 20. His family received
the Silver Star on his behalf.

According to Jim Lorenzo of the Patriot Guard riders, Robbins' wife was
riding behind him and witnessed the crash.

Patriot Guard Riders attend funerals for soldiers killed in the line of
duty, and act as barricades to prevent interference by war protesters


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6. New and Improved Interactive Helmet Law Map
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New and Improved Interactive Helmet Law Map
http://www.fastfreds.com/helmetlawmap.htm
Helmet Law Map and State Motorcycle Helmet Laws of the United States

Some states have modified their motorcycle helmet laws recently. This new map is up to date as of today. The North Carolina helmet law link will likely need to be updated January 1, 2008.



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7. State cracks down on biker wheelies
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State cracks down on biker wheelies (Chattanooga Times Free-Press/Hill)
Motorcyclists who ride on one wheel on Tennessee's public roads or in areas
frequented by the public now can be cited for reckless driving. A state law
that went into effect July 1 opens the way for a misdemeanor change for
driving a motorcycle with the front tire intentionally raised off the
ground. "I had talked to Judge Clarence Shattuck in Chattanooga, who had to
dismiss a ticket because it wasn't a part of reckless driving
(legislation)," Rep. Vince Dean, R-East Ridge, said. "That's what prompted
the bill." Rep. Dean, who owns a motorcycle and is a former Chattanooga
police officer, and Sen. Dewayne Bunch, R-Cleveland, sponsored the bill
"It's not only a danger to the rider but to others on the roads," he said.
"I'll argue with any rider that even if you're trained, you can't have
control on a roadway if you're doing a wheelie. Even on two wheels, if you
hit a patch of gravel, it can throw you off your bike." Chattanooga
motorcyclist Christopher Cavin, 23, said he thinks the reckless driving
charge is too harsh. "If there's no traffic, I don't see the problem if you
know what you're doing," he said. "If you're in traffic and doing wheelies
in and out of cars, that is reckless."HYPERLINK
"http://www.timesfreepress.com/absolutenm/templates/local.aspx?articleid=188
22&zoneid=77"





Mike Hays

Legislative Director

CMT/ABATE, Inc.



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8. OKC Fox 25 Helmet poll
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Here's the link okcfox.com on the lower left.
http://www.okcfox.com/newsroom/poll/index.shtml
is the link to the actual poll. (Thanks, Todd, for forwarding this info to me!)


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9 Enjoy a free lesson from the state.
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http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-07282007-1384695.htmlhttp://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-07282007-1384695.html
Enjoying a free ride from state

By BEN FINLEY
The Intelligencer
At 47, Jody Bender is experiencing a midlife crisis, so she told her husband: “Do you want me to have an affair or buy a motorcycle?”
Her husband replied: “I want you on a motorcycle.”
At least he can rest a little easier because Jody did what the majority of motorcyclists in Pennsylvania don't do — she took free riding lessons offered by the state.
For decades, the commonwealth has provided free classes on how to drive a motorcycle to anyone who wants them. The state even contributes the bikes. Yet fewer than half of all bikers have taken advantage of the courses — even as the number of riders and fatal crashes increases.
This week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that motorcycle fatalities constitute 11 percent of all road deaths in the nation. That statistic surpasses the number of pedestrian deaths for the first time since the NHTSA began collecting data, according to AAA.
“You're crazy not to take this course,” said Jody Bender, a Bryn Athyn resident who just completed her lessons last week at the Middle Bucks Institute of Technology in Warwick.
The courses span five hours in the classroom and 10 hours on the road, said Chet Reimer, an instructor at the Middle Bucks location.
Reimer said some insurance companies offer motorcyclists a 10 percent to 15 percent discount on their premiums if they successfully complete the program.
“The important thing is that this doesn't cost anything — it's free,” Reimer said. “In so many other states, it costs anywhere from $250 to $400 to take a similar course.”
The program is by no means limited to beginners. There is also an advanced course available.
Since 1985, when the program began, nearly 290,000 people have completed the lessons, according to PennDOT officials. But that number is dwarfed by the 788,000 licensed motorcyclists in the state.

And the number of motorcycle rider deaths in Pennsylvania rose from 157 in 2004 to 188 in 2006, according to PennDOT. More than half of those deaths occurred with riders who didn't wear a helmet, something that is no longer required by state law.
But at these classes, helmets are required and highly recommended afterward.
“The state doesn't mandate it, but they do,” Bender said of her trainers. “They make you take the course with a helmet, gloves, long sleeves, pants and boots.”
One lesson tells riders where to sit and lean on their bikes when they have to swerve to avoid a deer in the roadway, Bender said. Trainers will also clock riders around turns and tell them what their speed should be and when they should brake. They also offer pointers on where their bike should be in a lane so other drivers can see them.
“These things you just never learn on your own,” Bender said.
Bender, who co-owns the B&R Health Club in Lower Southampton, owns a Suzuki GZ 250. But she feels like she's earned the right to drive a Harley.
“When I went out to get my training, I saw people in their 40s, 50s and 60s,” Bender said. “It's a fabulous way to go out and bond with people. This course saves lives.”
Catherine Rossi, a spokeswoman for AAA, said the “more educated the rider, hopefully the better driver they will be. But none of us have control over other motorists. Motorcyclists are inherently more at risk because they're more vulnerable.”
Ben Finley can be reached at (215) 949-4203 or bfinley@phillyBurbs.com.

July 28, 2007 7:19 AM

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10. HERO AND DORK of the week
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HERO’s

All the Rescue workers in Minneapolis.

DORK: Chad Rippy of KENTUCKY
Man charged with murder after fatal motorcycle crash
Aug 3, 2007 03:13 PM MDT
LOUISVILLE (WAVE) -- A Louisville man is now charged with DUI and murder after an accident that killed his passenger.
It happened around one a.m. Friday on Cane Run Road. Police say 36-year-old Chad Rippy and 34-year-old Carrie Orr were on a motorcycle when they struck a mailbox and crashed.
Neither Rippy or Orr were wearing helmets. Orr died at the scene from her injuries.
In addition to DUI and murder, Rippy was also charged for driving without a motorcycle license.




The Biker Republic has formed to fight the overbearing government intrusion into our lives. Our primary is the fight for biker rights. These two fights are intertwined and cannot be compromised. The average citizen is now aware our liberties are steadily being whittled away. We are working to stop this erosion of liberty and while simultaneously working to restore lost liberties. To this end we are active in the political, legislative, and judicial arenas. Our only charity is to help our fellow bikers and restore liberty. We are dedicated to returning to the roots of the motorcycle rights movement. We are the premier news and information source for biker rights activists.