Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

: MEANWHILE ... EVERYWHERE ELSE ~ l1. By Barbara Adams Dabms ~ The compulsory helmet hassle roars 'oJ on across the land. Althougb most of the ~ 50 states bave passed belmet requlre'oJ ments, the matter is far from settled. c3 The people wIlo ougbt to know, the :.... motorcyclists, have made themselves U beard everywllere In protest of the 00realistic demands thattheywear/lelmets at all times while riding. In Michigan the law was declared unconstitutional and the legislature followed the decision with a new law requiring cyclists to carry belmets all of the time. If someone will develop a collapsible helmet which can be packed away when not in use, Michigan cyclists will probably buy them. In Wisconsin a test case failed. The state supreme court beard helmets cballenged on the grounds that the law was overly paternalistic. Extstlnglegislatlon was upbeld as a val1d exercise of the state's police power. in normal Engllsb they said the state can force you to proteet yourself even if you don't want to be protected. What possiblUties that has! Meanwblle the legislature argued merIts of mandatory helmets only for riders UDder 21. "If I want to go out and break my neck, I ought to be able to do it." Assemblyman Sta1baum, author of a bill to narrow the requirements to under 21, told tbe committee. A cyclist who brougbt In 3,000 signatures agalnstrequlredbelmets said, "Sure the law bas cutdown on acc1dents, no one Is riding any more." A Mllwaukee dealer claimed that there are 50% fewer dealers In Wisconsin this year. The Governor of Wisconsin Ineludes mandatory weartng of _!belts in autllll as part of his safety package. In Oklahoma the AttorDey General expressed an opinion that the existing la'll. requirlDg all cyclists to wear helmets Is unconstitutional. The legislature Is now in the process of putting through a new law requiring helmets only on riders under 21. Don't look yllUllg In Oklabomal Better still, don' tlook like a rider. There were plans afoot for a wbtle In that state to bar cyclists off the freeways. Tbls Idea bas been considered at times In several other states. It Is unlllce1y sucb a law could ever pass court tests. In KaDsas, efforts to repeal tbe helmet law came to a stalemate. The bU1 will be held In committee for furtber study, probably until 1970. There were Insufflclent votes to pass It out but also Insufficlent votes to kill the measure. KaDsas gcllsts testified, arguing that belmets reduced visability and hearing and could add to the hazard of riding a motorcycle instead of contributing to safety. So what else is new? In Maryland, mandatory belmet legilatlon failed to pass, along with prohibitlons on carrying a passenger, requlrements of additional safety items and the prohibition of motorcycle use in Baltlmore at certain bours. Laws were enacted in this state to prohibit riding abreast of other vehicles. New York added further restr1ctlons to its extstant laws requiring belmets •..no riding between lanes of tratfic and regulations of ligbts, brakes, born and mufners. A "lIgbts-on" requirement failed to pass, as did a requirement that passengers .could only be carried in sldecars. Georgia failed in an attempt to add goggles and crash bars to helmet requlrements. In Montana no law bas been passed statewide. An ordinance was passed In the city of Billings. But It was repealed In the 'face of protests by cyclists. The mayor cast the tie-breaking vote. In Pennsylvania a bill to repeal the belmet law bas passed the safety Commlttee and Is expected to pass the leglslature. The helmet law which baspassed last year has not been enforced after strong opposWon from cyclists. The safety Committee Chairman says be believes the helmet law is unconstltutlonal. In Louisiana an apellate court declared tbebelmetlawUDconstitutionalbut was reversed bY the state SllPreme court. Helmet requirements staDel In LouIsiana. In Massachusetts and Rbode Island, seldom known for theCr generous interpretatloo of buman libertY, the state supreme courts uPheld mandatory belmet laws on the ground that the public was benefitted In relieving bospltals and welfare agencies of injured riders••.and other motorists of out-of-control macb1nes. How a belmet on tbe rider Is to prevent a motorcycle from gotng out of control Is a matter that the supreme court bas not explained properly as yeti In Nevada a belmet law is In process of passqe by the current session of the legislature. Nevada cyclists are pess1mlstlc about their cbances of defeating It. In California the legislature has two helmet bills before it at the present time. Both have yet to make their first committee test. This 1s the third year in a row, after two defeats, that belmetm1nded John Foran has authored a bill requiring mandatory belmets in this state. We wish we could say "Don't worry!" but we can't. WORRY! And don't just worry, write letters. It is customary in our country to study every problem but it is even more customary that wilen studying the problem every sort of el(J)ert should be consulted except those involved. (They might be prejudiced.) In the case of helmets we have not (In California), and we must not (anywhere), let them study the problem without us. Every motorcyclist in the United States may eventually have to presentblsv1ews to bis legislature. But I can guarantee that if that ever happens we will rid ourselves of laws whichareunfalr,inappropriate, and just plain stupid. We migbt even convince someone that the real experts are the people wbo have been there, not those wIlo have read a report or seen some statistics. 'lIGHT5-0N II .... 'OFF"? A bill Is currently before the Connectlcut Legislature whichwouldrequ1re that motorcycle llgbts be kept "on" at all times wbI1e In use, day as well as nigbt. The Connecticut Motorcycle Assoctation is opposing the measure. Many safety el(J)erts bave recommended the use of ligbts at all times to reduce the "lnvisiblUty" of motorcycles In traffic situations. There are scattered ordinances requiring llgbts already in extstance. But llgbts In the daytime are a mixed blesslDg. The CMA quotes Lew Buchanan of the Motorcycle safety Department In WasbIngton, D.C. "RidlDg with the motorcycle headllgbt on during the day seems to have some value In making the cyclist more visible and therebY preventing accidents. It bas drawbacks ton. When the beadlight Is on the taiU1ght is also. Because of tbe relatively small d1fterence In brig!ll:ness, durlDg dayllgbt, between a motorcycle's tallllgbt and Its stopllgbt (brake llgbt), motorists followIDg the motorcycle may baved1tf1cultyIn teUIDg wilen a motorcyc1lst bas applied the brake. We hope to thoroughly evaluate the effectiveness of motorcycling with headlights on during the day as part of our motorcycle safety researcb program." The National Comm1ttee on Uniform Traffic Laws and Ordinances has CODsidered this item and feels that it should not be a law. Also in Connecticut a repealer of the current helmet law bas been introduced in the legislature. The CMA will be worldng very bard in support of this measure. One of their arguments is the InabUity of a helmeted r1der to bear the sirens of emergency veb1cles. The CODDeCticut legislature is consldering a bill requiring fenders on motorcycles. Again the government is messing with 1tems of purely personal concern, as they did in the case of higbbars. When one cons1ders the designs that the automobile lodustry is allowed to produce, one wonders bow anytbIng an individual cyclist could do to bls bike could possibly be a danger to tbe common welfare. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR A law which would bave required motorcycle clubs to be licensed was declared unconstitutional by DetroltMayor Jerome P. Cavenaugb. The law, obviously deslgnedtoellm1nate one-percenters, would haverequ!red clubs to purcbase a license at $50, denied a license to any club If any of 1ts officers bad been convicted of a crime within tbe previous twoyears,probib1ted a new club from operating within 500 feet of a residential bu1ldIng and revoked the license of a club if Its members acted In a "disorderly fashton". After pas sin g the ordinance the councilmen emphasized that they did not want their positions on motorcycle regulatioos Interpreted as an attack on all motorcycle enthusiasts. The mayor said In his veto, "If motorcycle clubs can exist In Detroit only bY suUrance of city ott1clals, tbere IsnothIng to prevent similar regulat100 of lodges. fraternal soc1eties or other social organIZations." ~////////////////////////////////////////////////// ///////////////.1.. ~ ~ motorcycle - - - \ ~ \ ~ ~ S 1)..de ~4.e« ~'eU"" \ ~EVERY SA TURDA Y NIGHT~ ~ \ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 8:30 P.M. ~ -, ~ ~ W WHITEMAN STADIUM OPENING APRIL 12tb Off SAl fElIAIDO ID. at WHlnMAI AIIPOIT '3020 PlEICE STIEET, PACOIMA ~ ADUl TS $2.50 \ rIDs UIDEI 12 flEE en ~ W Z W -' U >U ~ flEE PAlrllG S FEATURING GEMINI 0- ~ LOVELY KATHY i= ~ AMERICAN'S \ ANDREWS PLUS \ THE USUAL TURNOUT \ OF STARS. ~ \. ~R£E .... en Z 0Do ~ U en ID ~ en W W a: .., I&. HIT

• Cover