I saw this posted a couple days ago on another website.
Update on Rolling Thunder Checkpoints
Today I have more news concerning the motorcycle only checkpoint that was conducted on Route 1 in Arlington VA during Rolling Thunder. Upon hearing about the checkpoint I sent a Freedom of Information Act letter to the Arlington Police Department in order to get the operations plan as well as the personnel involved and citations issued. I received my response today.
The checkpoint was a "Motorcycle Safety/Drivers License Checkpoint." The report began by justifying the need for the checkpoint. According to the report, The Arlington County Police Department's Special Operations Section conducted research on motorcycle crashes over the past ten years. The report that was sent to me stated that "Crash data obtained from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles revealed not only a significant raise in motorcycle fatalities since 1999 but a 73% rise in motorcycle fatalities from 2006 to 2007." It went on to state that "Updated information was not available."
That last sentence bothered me. I am sure that the Arlington County Police Department's Special Operations Section has great resources so I found it hard to believe that 2007 was the last year about which they could find crash facts. I decided to go to the DMV website. There under traffic crash data is all of the crash data through 2010. The Arlington County Police Department's Special Operations Section was correct about 2006 to 2007. In 2006 there were 70 motorcycle fatalities in Virginia. In 2007 there were 126. However, in 2008 that number fell to 79. In 2009 it fell further to 71. In 2010 there were 78 motorcycle fatalities in Virginia.
As much as it bothered me that they claimed that there was no updated information available about motorcycle fatalities when clearly there was, and further that such data showed a drop and general leveling since the aberration of 2007, that was not what I found most troubling about the report. I had also asked the police department to provide documentation as to how the time and location of the checkpoint had been chosen. The report stated that the site along the Route 1 corridor was chosen due to the number of motorcycle accidents that had occurred there in the past. The report then went on to state as follows: "The site was also selected due to the high volume of motorcycles that utilize Route 1 during the Memorial Day weekend attending the Special Event called Rolling Thunder." They specifically targeted riders on their way to honor those who have fallen in defense of our freedom.
So how effective was the checkpoint? The checkpoint was conducted between the hours of 12:00 P.M and 7:00 P.M. Seventeen officers or detectives operated the checkpoint. There were also two additional personnel assigned to logistics and towing. 529 motorcycles were stopped during those seven hours. A total of eleven citations were issued. That's right, eleven. Nineteen people were paid for seven hours. (Probably more because you have to set it up, break it down, conduct training etc.) Nineteen people at seven hours is 133 man hours spent. At least 529 motorcyclists (I say at least because I am sure that many were two up) were detained in order to issue eleven citations. There were six tickets for no motorcycle endorsement. Two tickets issued for expired registration. One ticket issued for no operator's license in possession. One ticket issued for no helmet. One ticket issued for violating a highway sign.
The Virginia Coalition of Motorcyclists is drafting proposed legislation to be discussed at the upcoming legislative roundtable (the roundtable will be the topic of an email next week). The purpose will be to prohibit such checkpoints in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The checkpoint conducted by Arlington County demonstrates the lack of any basis to single out motorcyclists for this type of detention. Those who took part in Rolling Thunder honored those who put freedom above all. By doing so they honored freedom itself. The same cannot be said of those who targeted them without any justification.
Matt Danielson
McGrath & Danielson
Tom McGrath's Motorcycle Law Group
1-800-321-8968
Motorcyclelawgroup.com