South Carolina Motorcycle Rights Association

MAC Membership and NHTSA Ban Targets on the MRF Radar

As previously reported by the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF), the U.S. Senate approved the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act within a few hours of the U.S. House voting in favor of the same legislation. Now that the bill is in front of the President for his signature, it’s important to note two very important issues on which the MRF will be working vigorously.

• The language within the FAST Act that reestablishes the Motorcycle Advisory Council (MAC) to advise the U.S. Department of Transportation on motorcycling infrastructure issues does not, unfortunately, spell out the motorcycling organizations that will make up the membership of the Council. Instead, organizations that wish to be included now need to lobby the Secretary of Transportation to be a member. The MRF had been a member of the original incarnation of the MAC, and we will be actively lobbying to be once again included in the MAC membership. The MRF already has the commitment of several members of Congress to support our efforts of inclusion, and we will work diligently to ensure that the voice of motorcyclists is included in the Council’s makeup.
• While the MRF was not successful in our effort to include language within the FAST Act to expand the ban on lobbying States (without invitation) using taxpayer dollars to all of the DOT, the ban that prohibits NHTSA from doing so remains intact. The MRF will continue to closely monitor NHTSA to ensure that they adhere to the limits of the ban and that your tax dollars are not used against you, and we will be working to expand the ban to include all of the DOT.

The Motorcycle Riders Foundation would like to thank our supporters within Congress for their upcoming efforts to have the MRF included as a member of the MAC, and our members who tirelessly support the cause to defend motorcyclists’ rights.