Legislative Report - March 2026

Steve Panten

Success for Motorcyclists’

Rights and Safety

February was an incredibly successful month for motorcyclists’ rights and safety in Wisconsin. Bikers from across Wisconsin wore a path of travel from all corners of the state to Madison in an effort to protect our rights, and more importantly, our safety.

Last month was another very successful Lobby Day, but we will get to that in a minute. You may recall that in January and February I wrote about the State Legislature introducing a Bill that would create a board to start drafting regulations for Level 4 and Level 5 autonomous vehicle testing (AB 848/SB 831.) ABATE expressed our concern about allowing this technology on public roads until the manufacturers could produce a report showing what testing was done on how this technology works with motorcycles, and more importantly, what those results were. Well, the committees that these bills were sent to decided to hold Public Hearings, and the motorcyclists showed up, in numbers large enough to draw the attention of the supporters, legislators, manufacturers, and even the media.

The Assembly hearing was first and we got the opportunity to reinforce our position that no testing has been done with motorcycles, or at least no reports about the testing have been published. We argued that the manufacturer says the technology was not safe by putting in the owner’s manual that the operator should have control of the vehicle. And then we testified that there have been 709 Tesla crashes in the state from 2017 to 2023, and nobody knows if they were in autonomous mode because it is difficult to get that information. And finally, we talked about the motorcyclists that have been run over from behind on the freeway because the Tesla causing the crash did not recognize them. Basically, if the manufacturer says it’s not safe, and the statistics prove it’s not safe, why would we allow it?

Then came the Senate hearing. About 50 bikers filled one side of the meeting room and on the other side, supporters, and even a Tesla representative. Yep, hard to believe but obviously we got their attention. Tesla testified that they are collecting information on crashes and testing and they will continue to do so. Great…. answer the question about how the tests for motorcycles were conducted and what the results are. Nope, nothing, and then left before we got to testify with our position. Do you think we got their attention?

Then came the media. Spectrum News reached out because they were doing a story about the bills and the fact that motorcyclists are speaking up against it. I did an interview with the reporter, and our message came out pretty clear, we are not opposed to the technology, but we want more testing before allowing it on Wisconsin roads.

And then came Lobby Day.

Lobby Day was a huge success. Thank you to everyone that showed up in Madison, some for the third time in three weeks. We needed a good showing and our members and friends did not disappoint. It was clear that ABATE of Wisconsin’s Lobby Day was the most important day of the year for motorcyclists in the state just by the number of people there and the message that they brought. Our message was clear and concise. Right to Repair is important for small businesses in the state, and Level 4 and Level 5 autonomy should not be allowed on our streets at this time.

The legislators and their staff heard our concerns. Right to Repair may not get a Public Hearing this session but make no mistake, we will bring it back next session, and we will be smarter at how we address it. Level 4 and Level 5 autonomy is not ready for testing on roads where the state can have a hundred thousand motorcyclists come to a city from around the world for a weekend long event. Who is going to make sure they are safe with driverless cars on the road? Oh, and of course we reminded them that a consumer should be able to buy a vehicle, or device, that operates with a fuel that we feel is appropriate for our needs.

We met with every legislative office from every corner of the state and our message was heard. Word was out in a lot of offices about our testimony at the Public Hearings and the legislators were listening. As I write this, the legislative session in the Assembly is nearing its end and there is no Committee Executive Session scheduled to vote on AB 848. The Senate has a few more weeks in session so we will see what happens there. NOTE…if there is one scheduled, we will need to fill the hearing room one more time and they will have to say their vote in front of us.

OK, I am going to spend most of the rest of my space in this newsletter talking about Lobby Day. It is incredible to see members from across the state show up on this day, just to be there and show support. Most of them do not even want to speak, they just know how important it is to fill every meeting room with constituents. They showed up, the speakers were confident with our message, and from what I am hearing from attendees, they did a great job presenting our message. Every office has the same message, that’s why we are the best motorcycle rights organization in the country. Success! Thank you!

The legislative session is coming to an end for this year and, although we did not get done everything that we set out to do last October when we set our Legislative agenda, we were thrown roadblocks and distractions that we maneuvered professionally, and yet like bikers.

Our work is not done as we will have a lot to do the rest of this year, but I will get into that next month. We did an amazing job last month, it happened fast and we were ready for it.

One last thing. This is your last chance to be considered for a scholarship to attend the Motorcycle Riders Foundation’s Lobby Day in Washington DC, known as Bikers Inside the Beltway. Please let me know before the March Board meeting so we can decide who gets a scholarship.

That’s it.

Steve