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On May 4th the House passed
House bill 2470, which
defines “sport bikes” as a separate class of motorcycles and places special restrictions on the operators of “sport bikes”. The bill would also require motorcycles designed to carry more than
one person to be equipped with passenger foot pegs and handholds for use by the passenger.
While the requirement for passenger accommodations is redundant (these requirements are addressed in federal regulation) the AMA is most concerned by the
state’s arbitrary definition of “sport bike” and the potential of establishing a dangerous precedent of regulating motorcycles and motorcyclists differently based on this definition.
The bill’s definition of “sport bike” is so broad that it may even be counterproductive to motorcycle safety. In a position statement, the Motorcycle
Industry Council (MIC) observed that,
There are small displacement (250 cc) motorcycles that, because of the vague and subjective criteria proposed, would be included in the definition of
“sport bike” that are as appropriate, or more so, for novice riders than certain other larger displacement motorcycles that create much more horsepower yet would not fall under the “sport
bike” definition and therefore not have restrictions placed on them.
HB 2470 is currently in
the Senate Committee on Transportation and Homeland Security.
The AMA encourages all Texas motorcyclists to review the legislation which is posted on the StateWatch section of
AmericanMotorcyclist.com and contact their state senator
with their concerns. |
