Novelty Helmets in California Become Fix-It Tickets
by Steve
Saturday, January 05, 2008
The Santa Cruz Sentinel reports that California's 6th District Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that CHP citations for novelty helmets can be reduced to "fix-it" tickets, if the wearer did not know their novelty helmet met DOT standards...
"This means that motorcyclists who are wearing hard helmets can't be cited unless they have actual knowledge that the helmets aren't approved," Lascher said. The decision "takes some of the arbitrariness away from law enforcement."
It's basically a win for bikers, but only a technicality.
If a CHP officers cites you for violating California's helmet law, you can get the citation reduced to a fix-it ticket by arguing that you had no idea the novelty helmet you were wearing did not meet DOT specifications. But you'll have to be careful when answering questions from the CHP officer.
With a fix-it ticket, you can get the ticket voided by bringing in a "DOT Helmet" to the local CHP office.
The decision of the 6th District Court of Appeals was published, meaning that it can be used as case law, in other words, as an example on how your case should be handled.
Read the full article here...
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/story.php?storySection=Local&sid=64641Labels: California Helmet Laws
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DOT Approved Helmets - What's the Problem?
by Steve
Thursday, October 11, 2007
What's the problem with DOT approved helmets?
There's no such helmet!
The U.S. Department of Transportation doesn't approve helmets.
I mention this in reponse to an article published by the Los Angeles Times today about updating federal standards for motorcycle helmets....
http://www.latimes.com/....story?coll=la-news-highway_1
In this case, the author Susan Carpenter, who writes much of the LA Times motorcycle news, erred when writing the following quote...
2) Better labeling to make illegal, i.e. non-DOT-approved, helmets more easily identifiable to law enforcement.
Susan is trying to express her opinion that there ought to be a way to make non-DOT helmets easily recognized by law enforcement officers.
The problem is that there is no such thing as a "non-DOT" helmet. There is not even such a thing as a "DOT helmet" for that matter. The DOT simply sets the standards, and allows manufacturers to do their own certification. If a manufacturer determines that their helmet meets the DOT standards, they can put a "DOT" label on the helmet.
So, what if I were to manufacture baseball caps, just those plain old cloth hats that people like to wear, and sewn in the letters "DOT" on the back. Would that not also meet the State's helmet requirements?
Think about it. If manufacturers can make helmets that are "legal" in the eyes of the State, without having being tested or approved by the DOT, then what's to stop a baseball cap maker from sewing the letters "DOT" on the back?
Certainly, a wearing a baseball cap is better than not wearing anything at all, right?
That's what Richard Quigley was able to point out. Richard Quigley, who passed away last month, was able to ride his motorcycle wearing a baseball cap, with the letters "DOT" sewn on the back, and despite getting ticketed many times for it, was able to get those tickets dismissed, based on that argument.
What it boils down to is that there is no definition of what a helmet is. The fact is that many riders are wearing helmets right now, but yet are still getting ticketed for not wearing a "helmet". Make sense? If there is no helmet on Earth that can protect you 100%, in any situation, then how do you tell the difference between a helmet and a baseball cap?
Quigley may be gone, but he left behind a motorcycle rights organization that has done more to stop the unnecessary ticketing than any other MRO. Read more about them on their website...
http://usff.com/calbolt/Labels: California Helmet Laws
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Quigley Freedom Rally - SoCal
by Steve
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Those of you in Southern California wanting to go out for a ride, or hangout at a rally, I recommend the Quigley Freedom Rally.
Proceeds of the event benefit the ABATE Judicial Fund to fight for bikers' rights.
Quigley is of course, Richard Quigley, who recently passed away. He made a name for himself riding his motorcycle in defiance of the helmet law by wearing a baseball cap. Despite receiving numerous citations, he managed to beat most of them just by persistent and educating himself on the law.
Read the obituary I wrote of him...
http://www.bikernewsonline.com/..../richard-quigley-passes-away.htm
Anyways, the money raised will also help his friends carry on the "lawsuit" to overturn the helmet law. This is a case that Richard Quigley brought about through his years of fighting his helmet citations. This effort is on the verge of declaring the helmet law unconstitutional, and may very well end the helmet law in California.
Labels: California Helmet Laws, California Motorcycle Rallies, Richard Quigley
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California Helmet Law Protest
by Steve
Monday, April 16, 2007
Bikers from all over California are asked to converge in San Diego on July 4, 2007 to protest the state's helmet law.
The event is the effort of California BOLT (Bikers of Lesser Tolerance), a motorcycle rights organization working to rescind California's helmet requirement.
Read all about California BOLT here...
http://usff.com/calbolt/
I had heard about this helmet law protest in various places on the Internet, but couldn't get much specifics on who is trying to organize it. Then last Saturday, while I was at the San Diego Motorcycle & Hot Rod Show, I ran into Steve "Red" Barron, who was passing out flyers for the protest, and so I just asked him a few questions, and he gave me the website for California BOLT.
The helmet law protest scheduled for July 4th, 2007 will begin at 10:00am on Fiesta Island. Afterwards, they'll ride to San Diego Harley-Davidson for the Independence Day Party.
For more information about the protest rally, contact Red Barron at (858) 270-7771, or e-mail him at steve_red_barron@yahoo.com.
Labels: California BOLT, California Helmet Laws, Motorcycle Rights Organizations
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California Attempts Helmet Repeal
by Steve
Friday, January 06, 2006
California Senate Bill 969 (SB 969) seeks to modify the existing helmet requirement by making helmets optional for riders 18 years of age and older, and who possess health insurance, and who possess a motorcycle endorsement on their driver's license (a motorcycle license).
Actually, every year a similar bill is submitted into the California Legislature, and every year it doesn't make it out of committee. I'm told, however that SB 969 has a chance of making it out of committee, though I really don't understand why this is any different.
This bill is currently under evaluation by the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee, which consists of 9 Democrats and 5 Republicans. Assuming that all the Democrats (liberals) are against the helmet repeal, this bill has no chance.
I don't mean to be pessimistic. There's always a chance in the future. I hope one day the helmet law actually does get repealed. Right now, California is controlled by liberals, and liberals hate it when people have lots of money to spend. And that's the heart of the issue.
In the United States, motorcycles are a luxury item. When people spend $15K to $30K buying up Harley Davidsons, liberals see it as a lot of people who have too much money on their hands. They feel that people who can afford to make payments on a Harley Davidson, have too much going for them, and should be taxed more to make things fair. It's a matter of liberal politicians wanting to punish motorcycle riders for buying up loud obnoxious big-twin bikes, supporting Freedom, supporting the military, and resisting the hand of Big Brother.
It's not a safety issue, it's not a public health issue. It's a hate issue.
Labels: California Helmet Laws
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