AMA Justice for All

AMA Justice for All

The AMA's Justice for All Campaign
Facing up to the consequences of crashes

A van driver in Iowa crosses the center line of the road, running head-on into a group of six motorcyclists. Three are killed, and two more are seriously injured. The driver gets off with a fine of $70—less than an average speeding ticket.

In Oklahoma, a driver runs over a motorcyclist who was slowing to make a right turn. The driver pleads guilty to negligent homicide. She is sentenced to 30 months probation and ordered to perform unspecified "acts of kindness."

A U.S. congressman from South Dakota with a long history of traffic offenses blows through a stop sign at over 70 mph, causing a crash that kills a motorcyclist. A jury takes just a couple of hours to convict the driver of second-degree manslaughter, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. The judge gives him just 100 days.

Outrageous? We think so. And there are literally dozens of cases just like them across the country, in which drivers seriously injure or kill motorcyclists, then get off with little more than a slap on the wrist.

Tragedies like these have prompted the AMA to establish the Justice for All Campaign, which focuses on inadequate sentencing of drivers who seriously injure or kill others on the road. This campaign seeks to get three measures passed in all 50 states. These measures will:

* Increase penalties, including jail time, for those who commit manslaughter with a motor vehicle.
* Impose fines and driver's license suspensions on drivers who commit traffic offenses that injure or kill others.
* Get motorcyclist-awareness instruction included in each state's driver-education program.

This is a massive campaign, potentially involving 150 different pieces of legislation. And we need your help to succeed. Motorcyclists in Virginia, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Washington already have been successful in getting elements of the Justice for All Campaign written into state law. And dozens of groups have signed on in support of the effort.

But we need much more. We need individual riders—people like you—to work with the AMA's Government Relation Department to get this campaign in gear in your state.

Do you have a state legislator who's an old friend or a neighbor? Have you supported a state lawmaker in his or her election bid? Did you go to school with someone who went on to a state political career? We need your help in making contacts with people who can get Justice for All legislation introduced.

Don't have those political contacts? We need you, too. You can help organize other riders and put together campaigns to get our legislation passed.

Do you know someone—a friend or family member—who was injured or killed by a driver who got off with little punishment? You have a special reason to get involved.


© 2004, American Motorcyclist Association