AB1412 is an interesting bill in that it hinges on the assumption that unhelmeted riders are a "public burden". I am not going to define the words "public" and "private" because I believe that the vast majority of motorcyclists would not understand. The current change is below:

A driver 18 years of age or older and any passenger 18 years of age or older shall wear a safety helmet when riding a motorcycle, motor-driven cycle, or motorized bicycle, unless that driver and passenger can show proof of current medical insurance that covers the potential costs of personal injuries that may be incurred when riding a motorcycle, motor-driven cycle, or motorized bicycle.

          If you notice they talk about medical insurance that covers the "potential" cost of riding a motorcycle. I thought that this was about helmeted vs. non-helmeted use. What needs to be done is to specify that the insurance should cover the provable difference in medical care between a helmeted or nonhelmeted rider. Why do we need to cover all "potential" costs of riding a motorcycle? This would be discriminatory and not the stated reason for the bill as written. I think that what they should do to make this bill honest and fair is to require that a rider carry insurance to cover the provable additional cost of head injuries while riding a motorcycle in California. Why should the insurance carrier cover anything else?. We could even make it narrower by only covering the additional costs after any private insurance is exhausted and only pay to the State of California. The state could make the claim against the company after they determined that the lack of a helmet caused! additional injury. That is assuming that the fault was not caused by a car driver. You see most states have a law that no one at fault should benefit from the prior planning of the injured. What is interesting is that the bigots are trying to wipe out motorcycling and the average motorcyclist is too stupid to see it.

          You see, if the bill goes through in its present format I will personally file the first lawsuit under the Americans With Disabilities Act. You see I will not be able to afford medical insurance as I have AIDS. The State has no immunity from the ADA. Now all I have to do is go to the committee hearings and give all my legislators notice so that I can defeat their qualified immunity in federal court.

          The problem with compromise is that once you bend over for them they expect it all the time. To quote my friend Quigley, "This particular nigger is not going to the back of the bus". This time I might even want to drive the bus! I hope that the California motorcyclists can quit looking to the organizations that want to compromise their rights away for direction and look to BOLT and HLDL as the information sources on how to fight! I am beginning to wonder if all of the motorcyclists in California have already bent over.

Kevin Dimmick

BOLT