Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE-1968 REGULAR SESSION ASSEMBLY BILL .... No. 366 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE-1968 REGULAR SESSION ASSEMBLY BILL No. 56 Introduced by Assemblyman Townsend Introduced by Assemblyman Priolo February 1, 1968 J a nuary 10, 1968 REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND COMMERCE REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND COMMERCE An act to add S ection 27802 to the Vehicle Code, relat ing to motorcycles. An act to amend S ection 12509 of th e V ehicle Code , relating to th e operation of motorcyc les. Th e people of th e State of Calijo rnia do enact as follows : 1 2 3 4 5 6 SECTION 1. Section 27802 is added to t h e V ehicle Co de, to r ead: 27802. Every p erson operat ing a n y m ot orcy cl e or motordriven cy cle on a highwa y shall wear a prot ectiv e f oot covering having a hard sole . No sa n dals or other shoes with a n open toe shall be wo rn. Th e people of th e State of California do enact as follows : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Foran's Reasons (1968 Version) For Helmet Compulsion STATEMENT BY J OHN FRANCIS FORAN, CHAIRMAN Assembly Tran sportation and Commerce Committee at The Gove rnor' s Annual Tra ffic Safety Confer enc e. Dec. 14, 1967 . "Thank you, Mr. Chai rma n. I welcome the opportunity to participate In this Conference. • As many of you may already know, I Introduced a compreh en sive motorcycle safety bill durin g the 1967 Regular Session of the Legislature. That bill was approved b~' the Assembly. It then passed the Senate T rans porta ti on Committee with the active support of its Chairman, Senator Randolph Collier. "Unfortunately, the motorcycle safety legislation failed to clear its last com" mittel' hurdle and died In the senate FInance Committee In the waning moments of the 1967 ses s ion. "When the Legislature convenes the ' 1968 Session next month, I will again Introduce a comprehensi VI' motorcycle safety bill. Among Its many feature s will be the following three: 1. Require motorcyclists to tak e a separate H censing examination In order to receive it special motorcycle li c ense. 2. Require both dri ver and passenger to wear a protecti ve helmet. 3. Require the motor cycle driv er to wear protective eye covering. such as a face shield or goggles. "What is the rationale and j us ti fication for these s a fety requirements? ·One reason often cited is that th e National Safe ty Act of 1967 calls upon the states to enact certain motor veh icles safety laws. The motorcycle bill I have just briefly described conform s substantially to the Federal Government requirements. "The Federal Governmen t Is also considering making crash bars mandatory. ThIs provision was in the original bill introduced by me last year but, has ed on the A ssembl~' Transportation and Commerce Comml Uee, it was eliminated a s umecessary. • But federal requirements are neither the reason nor the justification for my 1i.1I. Rather, It Is gruesome acci dent statistics that demand es ta bli sh ment of minimum safety standards for motorcycl e rid.«: ~s and equipment. 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 SE CTION 1. 12509. O n or afte r July 1, 1967, any p e r son who is over . the a ge of 17 y ears a n d 6 m onths m ay a p p ly to the d epartment f or a n instruetion p erm it. The d epartment fo r good ca u se may issue to the applicant a n instruction p ermit which shall entitle t he applicant whil e h aving the permit in his immediate' possession t o drive a m otor vehicle, other than a motorcycle, upon the highways for a p eriod not exceed in g six m on t hs when a ccompanied by , a nd u n d er t h e imm edia t e s u pervis ion of, a Ca l ifo rn ia lic ensed driver 25 years of age or over ; wlffi l+elffil It liv e y eliP not holding a probationary license; lH;t, ~ llffltl'tHt+ ~ ~ !'8 aeelil

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