NC SENATE JUDICIARY II says NO to Proposed Motorcycle Helmet Statute!
July 10, 2007 Raleigh NC, Bikers USA But first, let’s take a look back to June 30, 2007 - 10 days prior to the legislative meeting....
POLICE BEGIN TARGETING BIKERS WEARING HELMETS THEY DON’T LIKE. IS THIS JUST A COINCIDENTAL PRECURSOR TO ACTIONS PENDING IN THE LEGISLATURE AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER PROPOSED STATUTES ARE DEFEATED? BIKERS TELL STORIES OF HARASSMENT - ARE TOLD THEY MUST OBTAIN AN APPROVED HELMET BEFORE RESUMING TRAVEL! Last week, we started hearing about a rash of helmet law citations issued in different counties by the Highway Patrol and local police. The law enforcement officers (LEO) are ticketing bikers who are wearing helmets which the LEO (confusing DMV with DOT) does not approve of. Their disapproval is unfounded. The helmet statute says you need to wear a safety helmet approved by the Commisioner of Motor Vehicles. Try as you may, you can’t get a list because the Commissioner has no list. Since there is no list, you should be able to wear a safety helmet of your choosing. But LEO thinks you need to wear DOT Approved, and LEO is incorrect. LEO cites you then tells you to get an approved helmet before proceeding. I am no lawyer, but this appears to be a flagrant violation of your constitutional rights. I consider it to be harassment if you did nothing wrong and are being detained. I contacted Sgt Williams of Troop H, District VI, advised him this was an interview for publication, and asked about such stops by Trooper JC Burroughs in Aberdeen.
NCHP Sgt Williams incorrectly told me that the “law says helmets must be DOT”. WRONG!
I told him what the law really says, and he replied, “but if that’s the case they can wear any helmet they want”. EXACTLY!
He suggested we all wear DOT helmets until this is decided. Hmmm.
I suggested that until and after this is decided we will do what the law specifically requires.
You might also want to print out and carry a copy of the helmet statute 20-140.4 with you. ==== 10 days later in downtown Raleigh, Tuesday, July 10, 2007 ====== Thanks to some excellent legislators in the Senate JII committee, good arguments by bikers able to set aside differences to work together, at least temporarily, and lack of a convincing argument and good data from the Governors Highway Safety Program, we were able, by a thin margin, to stop the embedding of FMVSS 218 into the helmet statute, but could not get a full repeal of the NC motorcycle helmet law. Leading up to Tuesday, the state came way too close to adopting the proposed statute, which was introduced by Rep. Sutton as a section in House Bill 563.
On Tuesday, in committee, we were able to get the section pertaining to helmet laws removed from the bill, but that leaves the current helmet statute in effect. According to Rep. Sutton, the helmet statute was the primary purpose of the bill. Before this, it had already passed in the House. Just before Tuesday, he added an anti-protest section, in violation of the 1st Amendment, perhaps to counter our East Coast Freedom Ride. The NHTSA and their monkeys in NC seem willing to do just about anything to stop us from making our own decisions, and are willing to criminalize law-abiding citizens. I value freedom and constitutional law. They seem to callously disregard both! Janice, editor of Bikers USA, and Mark, editor of Carolinas’ Full Throttle Magazine, worked very hard to stop FMVSS 218 and try to get the helmet laws repealed. This year, CBA/ABATE made no effort to get a helmet repeal bill introduced, so when HB 563 was introduced, we saw the opportunity, and took it. At one point, we issued a call to action, and you folks responded well. Thanks! It is with a sense of duty to the biker community that I and I alone (Janice) MUST report to you, the next two paragraphs. I’d just as soon not, but you have a right to know! CBA/ABATE claims to the legislators that they speak for ALL bikers in NC. Perhaps you can get some answers from them about why they do not want a repeal, and do not seek a repeal. They do not answer me since I am not a member, yet they claim to speak for all NC bikers. NC CBA/ABATE leadership, for reasons such as wanting the state to force motorcyclists and only motorcyclists to pay for a safety center, which they still have not given up on, worked very hard to stop FMVSS 218, also, but they want to keep the current helmet law. Needless to say, there has been a lot of arguing back and forth, and lack of adequate explanations, but we are adults with a BIKERS bond, so we worked things out as good as we could, for now, and did very well. Janice and DocSki, CBA/ABATE legislative coordinator, got together and mounted an awesome attack in the legislature on Tuesday. See Janices’ No Approved List, No Helmet Law Argument which made quite an impact. DocSki, legislative coordinator of CBA/ABATE, also presented excellent arguments. Sgt. Mark Brown of the NC Highway Patrol, who is lead instructor of the NC BikeSafe course (which I have taken and highly recommend), had a professional and excellent presentation including a closeup look at the new helmets worn by the NCHP motorcycle patrol units, and helmets the highway safety commission would force for you to wear if this proposed statute had not been stopped. The NHTSA is pushing hard for all states to adopt universal helmet laws, so expect this type of legislation to rear its’ ugly little unconstitutional head again thoughout the country. Please review the arguments I made in the prepared statement, and understand that you don’t have to know FMVSS 218. You need to understand the arguments against vague laws. Don’t argue the personality. Don’t argue the device. Argue the law!
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