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JANUARY 30, 2005 | |
 on appropriate headgear by CATHY REDFERN Sentinel staff writer SANTA CRUZ — In a recent second ruling, a judge said an Aptos motorcyclist's nine tickets for not wearing a helmet are correctable violations, which means law enforcement could sign off on them as "fix-it" tickets. But California Highway Patrol officers are keeping pens in pocket, saying the tickets for not wearing a helmet are not and never have been something they sign off on. Whether Richard Quigley, 60, will be able to get signatures on his tickets by the March 11 deadline is unclear. If not, he says he will ask Judge Michael Barton to order the CHP to give him a criteria for what constitutes an acceptable helmet. The tickets, given by CHP and Watsonville police officers, carry fines of $137. The judge also suspended the fines. Prosecutor Gretchen Brock says the CHP is not under Barton's jurisdiction and she will appeal his decision to a higher court. The fix Barton's latest ruling was a reaffirmation of a ruling he made in November after a trial in which Quigley argued his own case. Barton ruled that eight of the tickets, stemming from when Quigley wore a baseball cap while riding his motorcycle, were correctable. Monday, he ruled the ninth ticket, given to a bare-headed Quigley, was also correctable. "I don't know how he will get them signed off," Brock said. "How do you correct something that was not on your head six months ago? "... I'm disappointed with the ruling. I think it sends the wrong message. The whole goal of the helmet law is to protect motorcycle riders, and if the court says they are correctable, it minimizes the impact. We'll have kids out there without helmets getting killed or paralyzed." Quigley disputes government statistics, which point to fewer injuries with helmet use. He says Barton has made a courageous ruling designed to fix the problem of having a statute that requires only that a helmet bears a certification of compliance, which a manufacturer can paste on without outside review. "If this thing is allowed to play out as it would appear Judge Barton has anticipated, it will solve the problem," Quigley said. "For the first time, it will be on the CHP to state exactly what the helmet law requires. The problem will remain a problem until the criteria is clear." What to do A Sacramento-based CHP spokesman said only that the CHP is evaluating a transcript of Judge Barton's decision and have never considered the tickets correctable. Prosecutor Brock says state law refers to federal guidelines that don't specify helmet attributes, but outline tests for manufacturers who can self-certify their helmets passed the tests. They include whether the head gear depresses when struck with a metal anvil, which a cap obviously would not. Federal officials set specifications for manufacturers and do "spot checks" to ensure compliance, said Rae Tyson of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. He admits police complain of trouble proving noncompliance due to fake stickers and says they are working on new labels. 
Quigley also maintains that the district attorney is "more interested in a win" than fixing the problem. He says they should admit the law is unclear and ask the attorney general for clarification. Yet Quigley does not believe the government should tell him what to wear, and he has been fighting the state's helmet law for years. Santa Cruz Judge Art Danner ruled in a previous case the tickets were not correctable. Tyson said all 50 states once had motorcycle helmet laws, which stem from the late 1960s. Today that number is 20. They have always sparked debate about personal freedom versus the societal costs of crashes, the administration's Web site states. |