Press Releases, News & Notes
October, 1998

MOTORCYCLE SALES CONTINUE TO INCREASE

According to the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) Retail Sales Report for the first quarter of 1998, motorcycle sales are up 20 percent over the same quarter in 1997. For all of 1997, sales of new on-highway motorcycles were up 8 percent over 1996 and up more than 43 percent from 1991. 1997 marks the sixth year in a row that new unit motorcycle sales have increased.

HIGHWAY DEATH RATE HOLDS STEADY

The number of Americans killed while traveling last year was roughly the equivalent of eliminating everyone in Ocala, Fla., or Loveland, Cob., or Lafayette, md. The highway death toll - 42,000 - was little different from the year before (despite higher speed limits and more people traveling), the National Transportation Safety Board recently reported to the Associated Press (AP). Here's a rundown of 1997 fatalities as reported by the safety board: Highway, 42,000, up from 41,907. Includes passenger cars, 22,227, down from 22,416; light trucks and vans, 10,323, up from 9,901; pedestrians, 5,300, down from 5,412; motorcycles. 2.099, down from ZTh6O; bicycles, 800, up from 761; medium and heavy trucks, 711, up from 621: buses, 15, down from 21; other 525, down from 615.

EUROPEAN BIKERS PROTEST ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT

A new 60-page environmental report issued recently by the German Ministry of the Environment has European riders fuming mad, and for good reason. The report, "Motorrad und umwelr' (Motorcycles and the Environment) advocates numerous steps to deter the use of motorcycles and suggests that local authorities throughout Germany ban motorcycle parking and construct cobbled roads in housing areas to discourage motorcycle riders. The report also recommends that the government introduce a law against riders for revving their engines too high, and that bikes with more than 100 bhp should not be sold.

NCOM & ICOM WELCOME NEW MEMBER GROUPS

The National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM) would like $0 welcome the following new NCOM Member Groups: ABATE of Souix Falls (South Dakota); the Northeast Ohio M.C. Brotherhood, consisting of more than 60 cIubs~in Ohio; the Black Diamonds Motorcycle Club (Ohio); and the Native American Riders (Texas). NCOM now has over 700 member motorcycle clubs and organizations throughout the United States and Canada, including 38 state motorcycle rights organizations (SMRO's). Likewise, the International Coalition of Motorcyclists (ICOM) is alive and well and continues to grow with the addition of the NSW Motorcycle Council (New South Wales, Australia). Welcome aboard!