Mining Political Gold from the Motorcycle Awareness Month Message

 

May is Motorcycle Awareness Month across the nation and the ready made acronym makes it easy to remember; Motorcycles And You. As riders take to the highway in celebration of a new riding season, a gentle reminder from the riding community is heard, “Look Twice, Save a Life.”  Bumper stickers, public service announcements and asking your city, county or state for a formal motorcycle awareness month proclamation might make all the difference in saving lives, but another rare treasure lies hidden within the awareness message which is political gold for those of us in the dusty arena of rider’s rights; building a lasting relationship with your lawmakers.

 

I’ve been riding for 20 years, but only recently have I come to appreciate the opportunity which resides within the motorcycle awareness month message; that of sustaining friendships and making new converts.  Whether you’re working with a city council member or a state senator, having the month of May proclaimed as “Motorcycle Awareness Month” in your city, county or state is a win-win situation for everyone involved.  For politicians, our awareness campaigns provide an incredible platform to convey their concern for public safety. Such endeavors are custom tailored to every politician’s most critical need; gaining recognition within the community for good deeds, which often translates into votes.

 

Sure, a proclamation is nothing more than a fancy piece of parchment signed by those in power. It’s what you do with the proclamation that matters most. Having the proclamation in hand gives you immediate legitimacy in calling on the media to help spread our message. Herein exists the true power of the awareness doctrine. You now have a free pass to take all our catchy slogans and sound-bites to the airwaves. Choose a well versed spokesperson to send around for interviews, and whether it's radio, television, internet or newspapers, as it’s so often said; the life you save just might be your own. In a moment, you’ll see why I have amended this axiom to serve a different purpose; the rights you save just might be your own.  

 

A well thought out program on your behalf makes participation for a politico far more enticing. For instance, my riding community has a habit of asking every city around to proclaim May as motorcycle awareness month.  Then, we throw a big shin-dig where we ask each city and state representative to attend or send a staffer to present those fancy proclamations at a specially designed motorcycle awareness “event” with maximum media exposure. We rent out a big movie theatre, secure a film such as “Easy Rider” or “The World’s Fastest Indian”, throw in a bike show and other traditional Biker faire, and amazingly, the politicians are stumbling over themselves to attend.  In 2005, our special event, “Vrroom With A View, Motorcycle Awareness Night at the Movies” boasted a mayor, city council members, a state assembly member and a state senator’s top staffer. The highway patrol’s motor officers competed with city police units in the bike show. Certified motorcycle safety instructors passed out training literature and mixed learning with fun by hosting a walk the line contest while donning the “drunk goggles.”  The fire department made money selling hot dogs while local bands played equally tasty tunes. The Community Bloodmobile accepted donations while local motorcycle shops mixed it up with the media. With so many varied facets of American culture rubbing shoulders and getting to know one another, the relationships nurtured at that event will be long lasting.

 

What I didn’t tell you was that the riding community had a history of problems with one those politicians before the event. Motorcycle awareness month became the olive branch that both sides could agree on, something we could work together on, and now a year later we’ve made great strides in seeing eye to eye on issues of relevance to motorcyclists, including lid laws. Never underestimate the time you spend with your city council on seemingly non-controversial issues. Your involvement at the beginning of a politician’s career could come to pay huge dividends should he/she one day garner a seat in congress. Even small issues have the ability to affect the larger issues of our day when you know a lawmaker’s office staff by name and your phone call becomes more than a pink “While you were out” memo-minder. As it is in nature, motorcyclists should be both diligent and patient when panning for political gold, and always remember that today’s city council member could quite possibly pan out to be tomorrow’s state senator.

 

Copyright © 2006 Splatt. Reproduction permitted with attribution

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