FReeper
Motorcycle
Hooligan
Ping
Posted on 11/15/2005 12:44:21 PM PST by martin_fierro
CHP, Aptos man square off over state's motorcycle helmet law
by daniel lopez
sentinel staff writer
WATSONVILLE — The case that has an Aptos man and the California Highway Patrol squaring off in a legal battle over the state's motorcycle helmet law will be heard by the state's Sixth District Court of Appeals.
The appellate court in San Jose issued a stay Thursday on a ruling made by a Santa Cruz County Superior Court judge stating that traffic tickets issued to Richard Quigley, 61, for riding his motorcycle without a helmet are correctable violations. And the court agreed to hear the case.
The CHP disagrees with the lower court's ruling that the violations are correctable. On Oct. 6 they filed an appeal of Judge Michael Barton's decision handed down in May.
Deputy Attorney General Karen Huster, who is representing the CHP, said Monday the two questions at the heart of the matter are whether a helmet law violation is ever correctable and whether a correction could apply in this case.
Quigley, who has been issued at least nine tickets by the Watsonville Police Department and the CHP for not wearing a helmet, has until Nov. 28 to file a reply with the court.
Instead of strapping on a hard-shell helmet, Quigley has for years elected to ride with what he considers suitable headgear — a baseball cap and sometimes nothing at all.
The tickets issued by Watsonville police have been signed off leaving just those issued by the CHP in question. Because the CHP does not consider the helmet violation correctable, it has declined to sign off on his fix-it tickets.
Quigley, who has been diagnosed with terminal lymphoma, said Monday that he will consult with attorneys in Los Angeles and locally before making his next legal move.
"This is a vital interest not just to me but to other motorcyclists," said Quigley.
Motorcycle
Hooligan
Ping
I tend to hit a june bug or horse fly on the average of once every other ride with my full face helmet and they still sting. If God meant for us to ride without full face helmets then bugs would taste better! (just a joke you Abate type)
mmmmm.. june bugs... taste a lot like peanut butter.
Personally, I wear a half helmet. It's my rationalization between not wearing a full helmet (which I swear DOES impede vision and hearing), and none at all.
I'm all for no helmet laws. If you don't want to wear one, who am I to force it on you? I choose to wear one.
This is a new one on me. What is a 'correctable' infraction?
Quigley Down Under ~ ya need your Sharps rifle.
This individual should maybe get the first ticket dropped and considered as a written warning, for failure of wearing a helmet, or improper helmet type. But repeat offenses, especially if they happen within months of each other, should not be tolerated. He was warned that he needs to wear a "proper" helmet. Since he probably has a separate class on his driver license for motorcycle use, and probably took a separate driver's test for that class, he should have no excuse. If the state changed the law since he last renewed his license, they could have sent him and other motorcyclist in his state, notification. And when he renews his license the next time, he should be made aware of the change, and acknowledge it on his renewal application.
If he wins this case, seatbelts would logically be next.
And what is it with all these Honda guys wearing shorts, sandles & full face helmets?? Do their keepers tell them to: "make sure you wear your helmet!!" "but otherwise you can ride naked"...
hmmmmmm???
Or how about the silver spooned custom riders? Is their a law somewhere that says penny loafers are required footwear while riding, for anyone with a portfolio over 6 figures??
And does the back of my bike have a new sign that says "Attach bumper here for sled effect"??
And as I was chuggin' through downtown Palm Beach, I must have missed the sign that said, "Scare bikers by turning off, on, behind, infront, and muscle yourself into lane during extreme downpours only"??
(I just fought Broward, Palm Beach, Martin & St. Lucie County traffic for the last 4 hours. I need to go kill something and grill it!)
For you, dear.
Thanks, Honey.
The courts in California are strange, but if the news article is accurate, CHP should win the appeal. I don't think the motorcycle helmet law was ever intended to be treated as a correctible infraction.
Even citations issued for "correctible" violations can be issued as "non-correctible" for repeated violations. For example, if a person is issued a correctible citation for driving a car with tinted windows, he can remove the tint, get the ticked signed off, and avoid a fine. But if he immediately re-tints the windows, and gets cited again, he risks having the new citations treated as moving violations.
Hi! Nice day for a ride, ay.
The Law enforcement side is that it is like getting a speeding ticket and then saying I will drive by the police station at the speed limit so you can sign off my ticket....see I am not speeding anymore!!!
Look at the bright side. You still don't need heated grips.
The electric underwear the dealer down the street is selling is looking mighty tempting.
I'm getting the travel bug, and it's the wrong time of the year. I may invest in a pair of these,, and the heated vest, and the electrified underoos, and the highly charged socks and if all else fails......... I'll put the bike in my 4X4 truck and fake it! :-)
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