SANTA CRUZ CO. JUDGE RULES HELMET LAW UNCONSTITUTIONAL
08/18/06
WATSONVILLE

California's motorcycle helmet law has been declared unconstitutionally vague by a Santa Cruz County judge because the California Highway Patrol has not adopted adequate helmet regulations.

Superior Court Judge Michael Barton issued the ruling on Tuesday in the case of Aptos resident Richard Quigley, 61. Quigley received nine citations from Watsonville police and the CHP in 2003 and 2004 for violating the state's helmet law. On all but one of those occasions he was wearing headgear that was embroidered with the letters "DOT,'' a certification of compliance with federal Department of Transportation standards, according to Barton's ruling.

CHP officers cited him despite the headgear because it did not look like a traditional helmet.

"The only evidence offered against the defendant... were complaints by the prosecution that the headgear looked like a 'typical baseball cap,''' Barton wrote in his ruling.

Barton ruled that the law unconstitutional and dismissed all of the citations against Quigley because the CHP has failed to properly define what constitutes a compliant helmet under the law.

"The CHP is the only state agency authorized by the statutes to adopt reasonable regulations establishing specifications and standards for motorcycle safety helmets. The CHP's failure to adopt such regulations, and make them available to the public, has rendered the helmet law statutes void for vagueness as applied,'' according to Barton's ruling.

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