Peter Miller straddles a 1934 Harley Davidson VL police model at the Motorcyclepedia Motorcycle Museum.
There was a time when bikers considered Peter Miller a traitor.
You probably recognize the name. Mr. Miller was a Cornwall-on-Hudson trustee and the chief of police in Highland Falls (following a stint as chief in Marlboro). Now that he’s retired, he volunteers as the director of the Motorcyclepedia Motorcycle Museum on Route 32 in Newburgh. And he’ll be lecturing there at 3 p.m. on Feb. 7.
Peter Miller loves motorcycles; he’s raced them and he’s taken extended motorcycle trips. But during his days as chief, he noticed an alarming trend. “The motor vehicle death rate was coming down dramatically,” he observed, “but motorcycle fatalities continued to rise.”
He looked at the cause of accidents, and then created a course for police – advising them on what required their attention. His description of the program is a little different. “I went all over the country,” he said during a recent interview, “teaching cops how to mess with people on motorcycles.” It was then that some bikers considered him an enemy.
But his motivation was sincere. There are several reasons to be concerned about safety. Around one out of four bikers are unlicensed, Mr. Miller reports, and many of them wear helmets that don’t offer real protection. “Alcohol is an absolute no-no,” he adds. “There’s no room for alcohol on a motorcycle.”
His talk on Feb. 7 will be the “flip side” of his address to police officers. It’s called “How to avoid getting a ticket on a motorcycle.”
“It should be funny and entertaining,” the retired chief says, “but it should also be educational. It’s the civilian version of what I used to teach to law enforcement officers.”
The talk includes a thorough review of the law as well as a lot of safety tips. It’s the second presentation in a series of six at the museum. The first lecture, on the five top motorcycle destinations, drew an audience of 90 people. Mr. Miller is hoping to attract a similar crowd. He’s a fan of the museum, which in its third year offers one of the largest exhibits of its kind in the country. “It’s a fun place to visit,” he said, “even if you don’t like motorcycles.”
As for his life these days, he sounds like many recent retirees. “I don’t know how I found time to work,” he muses.