Government Bureaucracy can and WILL drive you crazy

Bureaucracy - our governments thrive on creating confusion and disconnect of that I am convinced!

I have been working with a gentleman out of New Brunswick who is having huge frustrations with the New Brunswick Government regarding rigid motorcycles. The New Brunswick Government seems to be one of the governments in this country that feels that rigid motorcycles are unsafe or at least their inspectors do. It has taken about 6 weeks to get a phone appointment with the Deputy Minister of Public Safety to discuss this issue - today is the day I finally get to talk to Mr Comeau - it was supposed to be yesterday - but as many of you may know, West Jet decided to hold me up in Edmonton over night - and then on top of that, our flight from Edmonton to Grande Prairie had 2 delays and instead of being home for 2 pm - I never got in until almost 4pm.  It will be interesting to find out why a motorcycle that was registered for a number of years has had it's registration put on hold - meaning that the man can't ride his motorcycle until an engineer has inspected it.

I have some grave concerns about the bureaucracy in our governments and the hiring of independents or the contracting to independent companies for the handling of certain issues like registries. In the Edmonton Journal today there is an article about a gent who is experiencing the same kind of disconnect as Mr Cronkhite in New Brunswick - in Edmonton, the man asked the important questions regarding out of province inspections for a 1965 motorcycle that has never been registered in Canada. It would appear that an independent contractor gave this man the wrong advice. According to the letter in the Journal, he asked the question as to whether or not he needed an inspection, was told - NO - only to find out - yes he did. Now some may think that it is only common sense that you need an inspection, but if you are unsure or have never gone through the process before and you call a contractor to the government - like an Alberta Registries Office -  to educate yourself and you are given misinformation - there appears to be absolutely zero recourse for you.

The same appears to be true in New Brunswick. The situation for Mr Cronkhite is similar - he calls in to find out about restoring a 1942 Harley and about getting it registered for the highway, he is directed to speak with an engineer - a contractor to the Government. Reportedly, the engineer expresses that he feels rigids are unsafe and he would not approve it for the road - Mr Cronkhite expresses that he has been riding a rigid, legally registered in New Brunswick for three years and has had no issues with the bike's safety. The discussion between the two gents concludes, and a few days later Mr Cronkhite gets a letter in the mail telling him his motorcycle's registration has been put on hold until he has it inspected.  Why - that is the question I hope to get the answer on - I actually have many questions about this situation.

I am looking forward to understanding more about the NB Rigid frame law and will pass the knowledge I glean on to you all.

In the mean time - Liane Langlois is raising money for the June 30th appeal of the Stuart Young - Noisy Motorcycle Ticket.  You see, here again the bureaucracy can and will drive you into the deep end and then around the bend.

If we do not support Liane & Stuart in thier efforts to have ALL ROAD USERS treated the same with regards to the excessive noise issue - then police will continue to have the ability to pull over anyone riding to check their pipes and then profile you farther. No other road use is treated like this. When I speak of road users I mean cars, pick up trucks, mini vans, SUV's and motorcycles - transport trucks fall under different laws with regards to maintenance etc.

I like Calgary's approach to noise - set one decibel for certain speeds and it will apply to all vehicles - then use the Noise Snare and be able to catch ALL NOISE OFFENDERS.

Discrimination towards motorcycles happens for many reasons but I suspect primarily and simply because the noise that some riders generate on their bikes is abrasive and NEW - what I mean by that is that over time, people can and do obliterate from their consciousness the other noises around them - the constant ones. It can take many months for that to happen but over time it can and does.

For example, I have a friend who lives with a railway track behind her house - like 100 yards away - and she never hears the train as it goes by - she has become accustomed to the noise - but when I visit, it drives me nuts.  She said it took her about a year to "get over it".

Because motorcycles are seldom heard in the winter, when they do come out in the spring, some inconsiderate or thoughtless riders drive people crazy. The noise they generate becomes a new noise amidst a noisy world and that makes it stand out - and all of the discussion about them then causes people to start listening for them.  The problem is, that people who drive noisy cars, pick ups, SUV's, mini vans etc - and those who have loud stereos in said vehicles are often tuned out by people because they are far more common place and therefore are not targeted as gross offenders because there are not as many complaints.

When targeting drink drivers - ALL vehicles are subjected to a pull over not just police cars - and YES - I AM Picking on the police simply because there are some officers who have been charged for drinking and driving and some while on duty to highlight the fact that there are many people who ride totally stock machines and some who have a modified exhaust who ride with respect and are not excessive in their noise production and yet will fail a noise test for a variety of reasons. Some of those reasons are included in trial transcripts that have been provided to Lianne & Stuart - improper testing procedures being the largest contributing factor so far.

During a check stop for drinking and driving they don't just pull over red cars - they pull over ALL VEHICLES. WHY are only motorcycles being targeted for noise testing? Because the MIC & the MMIC (American & Canadian Manufacturers) felt that getting a standard set would eliminate discrimination against riders but in fact their setting of a standard and a testing methodology has in fact contributed to a greater and more harmful discrimination towards the riding community.

Do we have inconsiderate people in our community? ABSOLUTELY - are their inconsiderate people in the SUV community of road users? ABSOLUTELY and how about the import car community or the mini van driving community - we all know the answer and it is YES.

So why are only motorcycles being discussed and targeted as gross or excessive noise offenders? Why is our community being held to a different standard than others are?  WHY are we not getting more up in arms about the blatant targeting and holding to a different standard of our community - I mean folks - under the Charter of Freedoms & Rights we have the right to expect the same treatment under the law:

Equality Rights

Equality before and under law and equal protection and benefit of law

15. (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.

Affirmative action programs

(2) Subsection (1) does not preclude any law, program or activity that has as its object the amelioration of conditions of disadvantaged individuals or groups including those that are disadvantaged because of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.⁽⁸⁴⁾

It is time people - to get behind Lianne & Stuart as they fight for our rights as a community. PLEASE....

This was posted in our Forums on www.beltdrivebetty.com by Liane - PLEASE donate to the defense fund - she is working for every rider not just Stuart Young. 

For anyone interested, the police are doing free noise testing at the NAIT south campus again this year. Their first session was this past Saturday and their next on June 11. Just wanted to note that the reports are in and basically no one showed this past Saturday. Fairly certain even less will show next weekend.

I on the other hand spend my Saturday running around picking up donations for the appeal on June 30. I would like to remind everyone that these legal fees that we are about to incur are for ALL OF YOU. If you ride and enjoy the freedom of riding, you need to donate. I certainly can't afford to fight this fight for all of you on my own and without the money, we will be forced to submit documents that won't be as tight as if the lawyer we found dealt with them. That could result in the City winning and then we are just a tad screwed in court as our entire defense we have been winning with will be quashed. I for one have put to much time into this to see it happen.

I am not asking for much...just for everyone to thrown in what they can.

For RBC you will need the following information:

Liane Langlois

Transit – 01599

Account – 5307046

Or stop by one of the following:

Hi-Per Cycle - 14340 - 115 Avenue

Time Machine - 9912 72 Avenue

Welch's Motorcycle Repair - 6739 76 Avenue

Bad Ass Customs - #412, 8170-50th Street

Echo Cycle - 15311 118 Avenue Northwest

Now for some pleasant news -  Revzilla's monthly contest for June is on! This is your chance to win a AGV AX-8 DS Helmet ($400 value); two 2nd prize winners will again receive $50 gift cards. The following is a link to this month's contest page: https://www.revzilla.com/june11-contest

Here is a video that explains the features and benefits of the AVG AX-8 DS Helmet:

You can't win unless you enter and you enter simply by creating a rider profile!

So check it out at Revzilla's June Contest Page: https://www.revzilla.com/june11-contest

There have been a number of motorcycle crashes, there are some motorcycle recalls and a whole host of other news that may affect your life as a rider - I hope you will check it out at www.beltdrivebetty.com

As always - I appreciate and welcome your feedback - here in my blog, on my personal Face Book Page, Our Business Fan P

I will be making some important announcements over the next few days regarding my Share the Road, Share the Ride Conga, our new product line from Karma Inc along with other important news so stay tuned here in my blog, www.beltdrivebetty.com and in the Busted Knuckle Chronicles - our weekly community newspaper.

Until tomorrow - please - RIDE SAFE and with respect!

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider
www.beltdrivebetty.com
www.bustedknucklechronicles.com