For over a decade the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) has been pushing the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on key priorities for motorcyclists. We’ve focused on the issues of autonomous vehicles, crash avoidance, and design and construction of our nation’s roads.
On the autonomous vehicle front, the MRF fought for inclusion of language in the 2018 Senate AV bill that required NHTSA to compel manufacturers to report on the self-driving cars ability to “sense motorcyclists in or crossing the path of travel through the automated driving system”
In 2020 and 2021 the MRF advocated for language in the House version of the Highway bill, which required that when USDOT conducts safety studies on autonomous vehicles, motorcycles must be considered as unique roadway users. Additionally, a planned working group on autonomous vehicles would have required inclusion of a motorcycle safety group as part of its membership.
Unfortunately, the dysfunction on Capitol Hill entangled these bills and they failed to meet approval by both chambers. But the MRF won’t take no for an answer so they took the fight on these issues to the executive branch. Just last month, MRF leadership met with half a dozen NHTSA officials on the importance including motorcycles in the autonomous vehicle regulations. On two different occasions MRF members have met with motorcycle specialists at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) about crash investigations and policies around fatalities involving motorcyclists. And just before Christmas last year, 27 members of Congress sent a letter at the request of the MRF to NHTSA that asked 5 key questions about its policies, regulations, and plans for incorporating motorcyclists in automated driving guidelines.
In both 2015 and 2021, the MRF fought for creation of, and then the renewal of, the Motorcyclist Advisory Council (MAC) at USDOT. This body is tasked with developing policies that make roadway design, construction, and maintenance practices that factor in motorcycle riders. The MRF anticipates having a seat when the new MAC is established.
We raise these issues because the journey is long, the fight is never over but the victories are critical. We thank you for your continued support of the MRF. We do what we do, and we fight for these issues, because you provide the resources, passion and resilience that fuels us.
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