Motorcycle Fees will fund Spinal Cord Research

Motorcycle riders: hang on! Indiana wants to take your wallet for a ride. The Hoosier state is upping registration fees on bikes staring July 1. The money will go to fund head and spinal cord injury research, but you might be surprised who is not happy to see the fee. Vanderburgh County Judge Wayne Trockman is well known as a motorcycle buff. "If youve ever driven down the highway and watched a dog hang his head out the window, if you dont know why a dog does that, you dont understand motorcycle enthusiasts," said Trockman. Ask him about Indianas new $10 hike in motorcycle registration and Trockman will tell you what most bikers will: "The cost should be born by society in general... Or all of those who engage in high risk activity." That cost that motorcyclists will pay is expected to raise about $1.5 million for the state to use for head and spinal cord injury research. What might surprise you about Trockmans stance: his son Ben suffered a serious spinal cord injury last year in a motorcycle accident. But Wayne Trockman thinks state lawmakers who passed the bill calling for higher fees dont fully understand all the causes of these kind of injuries. Trockman says if the fee was expanded to all high risk activities, the state would not only raise more money for research, it would raise awareness, too. Ben Trockman is making progress as he works to stand and walk again. His father says that progress is slow, but hes confident Ben will be able to ride a motorcycle again some day.