Motorcycle Awareness Month - Drivers "Must Share the Road"

Riding a motorcycle does not have to be dangerous. In addition to educating riders about motorcycle safety, which Pete's Cycles and this blog has helped accomplish, we also need educate automobile drivers about the plight of motorcyclists. Thankfully, just this past wednesday the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration and the motorcycle riding community announced that the 2014 BikeSafe Maryland educational campaign is now underway. The campaign rides the pronouncement of Governor Martin O'Malley that May is Motorcycle Safety Month. This campaign is not to be confused with the American Motorcyclist Association’s national Go Ride! Month, which was in April.

Some good news from officials has it that "motorcycle-involved traffic fatalities in Maryland dropped to the lowest levels in a decade, declining from 77 fatalities statewide in 2012 to just 61 in 2013." However, despite a steady drops in fatalities beginning in 2008, Anne Arundel Country was a rare exception that saw an increase to five motorcycle fatalities in 2013. For obvious reasons, Anne Arundel county is stepping up is safety measures this month, and offering classes as well.

Bikers will be thankful to the safety month for a stepped-up public awareness campaign that will post on boards, yard signs, banners and internet advertisements messages to look for cyclists before changing lanes.

The obvious question is--does any of this stuff work? According to an article posted by WBAL, the BikeSafe campaign led to a 25% reduction in U.K. motorcycle fatalities since its inception in 2003. The program began in the United Kingdom. And across the pond in North Carolina, which began the program in 2007, there as been a reported 20% reduction in fatalities. 

Don't forget that Pete's Cycles stocks all the gear you need to keep you safe on the road, such as clothing, helmets and accessories!

For more information regarding BikeSafe Maryland contact Lt. David Ennis, Commander of the Anne Arundel County Police Department's Traffic Safety Section, at 410-222-8573.

Follow BikeSafe Maryland on Twitter: @BikeSafeMD

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Ethanol and Combustion Engines--Not a Good Mix

This week's post affects all ATV and motorcycle riders, since it is about the increasing amounts of ethanol being mixed into our gasoline. It is about fuel and how our engines react to that fuel--this is a topic dear to Pete's Cycle and all our riders. 

According to a recent American Motorcyclist Association press release, "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has publicly acknowledged that ethanol in gasoline can damage internal combustion engines by increasing exhaust temperatures and indirectly causing component failures." To make a long story short, this is not good news for ATV and motorcycle owners who use fuel from the pump.

The Federal Trade Commission has recently proposed a rule that would require more labeling at the gas station for fuel blends and mixtures over 10% ethanol. However, the proposed rule would exempt the new EPA’s E15-approved label (15% ethanol, 85% gasoline).

The AMA is clear that this is not really a solution. The AMA claims that:

• the proposal will cause more confusion given the introduction of E15
• E15 can cause engine and fuel system failure; and can void manufacturer's warranties
• gasolines with higher than 10% ethanol are bound to enter the marketplace with greater frequencies

The AMA press release cites language from the EPA. According to the EPA: “[e]thanol impacts motor vehicles in two primary ways. First … ethanol enleans the [air/fuel] ratio (increases the proportion of oxygen relative to hydrocarbons) which can lead to increased exhaust gas temperatures and potentially increase incremental deterioration of emission control hardware and performance over time, possibly causing catalyst failure. Second, ethanol can cause materials compatibility issues, which may lead to other component failures.”

Another issue is where the label will be at the pump. To play a part in this issue, the AMA says that June 2^nd is the deadline for comments.

Here is what the AMA recommends:

1) To submit comments, please copy the prewritten comments below (on their website here).

2) Then go to https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/autofuelratingscertnprm/. 3) Once you are on the site, paste the pre-written comments in the ‘Comments’ field box. Before submitting, please complete the rest of the fields.

Read the AMA press release here.

http://www.cycleworld.com/2014/04/19/ama-epa-acknowledges-ethanol-damages-engines/

If you have any other information, please visit Pete's Cycle website or post a comment on this blog. Thanks.

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