Excerpt from March 2022 AMA newsletter. Pickerington, Ohio — In a collaborative effort to raise awareness of key issues and opportunities facing the motorcycle industry, riders, and motorcycle safety, the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), and the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) joined forces to share industry priorities with United States Department of Transportation Secretary Buttigieg and department staff.
Following the recent passage of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the MIC, AMA, and MSF voiced strong support for the investment in education, awareness, highway infrastructure, and the reauthorization of the Motorcyclist Advisory Council (MAC) to further inform the DOT, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) about ways to improve infrastructure to make roads safer for motorcyclists. They emphasized that actions required under the IIJA must include motorcyclists.
The meeting also included a discussion around the need to ensure that both recognition and reaction to motorcycles are fully integrated into the developing crash avoidance and autonomous vehicle technologies in order to ensure safety for motorcyclists and drivers.
Industry leaders on the call noted that Secretary Buttigieg was very engaged in the discussion. He expressed a keen awareness and interest in ensuring that motorcyclists and the motorcycle safety community are part of safe roadway development. Additionally, he conveyed a clear understanding of the limitations and challenges autonomous vehicles present. The industry leaders expressed great appreciation for the Secretary’s desire to include the motorcycle community in the implementation of infrastructure improvements and rollout of provisions in the highway reauthorization bill.
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