State Motorcyclist's Rights Organization (SMRO)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (March 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

State Motorcyclist's Rights Organizations (abbreviated SMRO) exist in the United States, where they are often called ABATE. They are best known for their opposition to mandatory motorcycle helmet laws. They advocate other means for improving motorcycle safety such as insisting that motorcyclists have just as many rights to the road as cars.

[edit] ABATE

ABATE is an acronym which originally stood for "A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments" and alternatively stands for "American Bikers Against Totalitarian Enactments", "A Brotherhood Aimed Towards Education", "American Bikers for Awareness, Training and Education", "American Bikers Aimed Towards Education", "American Bikers Aim Toward Education" or other combinations of these words.

[edit] Concept

The concept of ABATE began with Lou Kimzey, editor of Easyriders magazine in 1972. He and others saw the need for bikers to organize to fight against Federal and state restrictions on motorcycling. Some 35 years later, most states have a State Motorcyclist's Rights Organization (SMRO), either called ABATE or some other name. October 1977 Lou Kimzey and EASYRIDERS were relinquishing the organization to the people attending the meeting in Sacramento.

In 1986, many ABATE organizations met at what became the "Meeting of the Minds" conference. This conference began the process of SMRO's working together and eventually led to the founding of the Motorcycle Rider's Foundation (MRF) in Washington DC. This group of SMROs acted to eliminate federal helmet law requirements, make sure motorcycles are part of transportation planning and ensure that motorcycles are allowed on all public roads.

The MRF, Motorcycle Riders Foundation, is an organization set up in Washington to watch over motorcycle legislation and to take action when the federal government has an agenda that would not be motorcycle friendly. SMRO's including ABATE work with the MRF. ABATE organization for more information. Many ABATE organizations have websites.

ABATE may have been formed in response to keep motorcycle choppers, with high handle bars, but most SMRO's now deal with a large variety of motorcycling related issues. Motorcycle safety training, health insurance issues and road engineering with respect to motorcycles are all areas dealt with by ABATE organizations. Many state's rider training programs are either run by or administered by ABATE organizations. ABATE groups also are involved in charity events like Toy Runs, food drives and First responder/EMT training. But ABATE is still primarily a political organization and much of the individual group's political clout comes form the high level of political activity exerted by motorcyclists.

ABATE Chapters exist in most states.

This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. Please help recruit one or improve this article yourself. See the talk page for details. Please consider using {{Expert-subject}} to associate this request with a WikiProject