Pima County Fair, Tucson, Arizona

April 20 through 30, 2006

 

May 2006 is Motorcycle Awareness and Safety Month as proclaimed by the Governor of Arizona.  As a function of the office of Motorists Awareness Division (MAD) we attend the monthly meetings of the Motorcycle Safety Council at the Governors Office Of Highway Safety. 

The conflicts with motorcycles and other vehicles have sharply increased in our state and have reached almost epidemic proportions.  We hope to treat this sickness of ignorance like any other life threatening disease and find a cure. We introduced a proposal  to the Motorcycle Safety Council at the Governors Office of Highway Safety suggesting that a booth be set up at the Pima County Fair, to outreach our community and promote motorists awareness. 

 

Our State Motorcycle Safety Advisory Council approved our request and allocated the necessary equipment and literature as well as providing prime space for the booth.  Now the task at hand was to try to find volunteers willing to give up their personal time to talk to as many people as possible as they passed through the fair.  This writer is very proud to report to you that we contacted 52 folks and asked if they could help spread this message and everyone, YES everyone gladly agreed to spend some time at our booth and most invested more than they were asked.  GWRRA members from AZ "A" and AZ "K" and the Motorcycle Safety Foundation instructors from Pima County Community College volunteered to man the booth, talk with people and distribute information. 

Let us thank our GWRRA volunteers from Tucson and extend a special thanks to the nine instructors and partners from MSF for caring about Motorists Awareness and interacting with  the more than TWO THOUSAND people who passed through our booth. 

 

Richard Fimbres, Director of The Governors Office Of Highway Safety, held a press conference from our safety booth and introduced speakers from the Pima County Sheriffs Office, Tucson Police Department, Motorcycle Safety Foundation and GWRRA.  Try to picture a twenty foot wide display with safety posters and illustrations cleverly placed on a seven foot high backdrop, two large tables with safety handouts surrounded by sheriffs motorcycles and some new bikes from local dealers.  In the middle of this impressive stage stood the Director of GOHS and his speakers supporting "LOOK OUT FOR MOTORCYCLES", wish you could have been there to feel what we all shared. 

 We are grateful for the opportunity and the overwhelming support of our volunteers and Richard Fimbres who had faith this venture.would be successful.   We are tired of "DYING TO BE SEEN" and ask you to share this message with someone who does not ride a motorcycle and maybe together we can make a difference.

 

Dave and Sandie Novitt

Motorists Awareness Division

GWRRA Arizona District