Ride free in Georgia

Basically, here is our strategy.

Georgia’s helmet law is under the Uniform Rules of the Road, 
section 40-6-315.  It reads: 

(a) No person shall operate or ride upon a motorcycle unless he 
is wearing protective headgear which complies with standards 
established by the Board of Public Safety. 

(b) No person shall operate or ride upon a motorcycle if the 
motorcycle is not equipped with a windshield unless he is 
wearing an eye-protective device of a type approved by the Board 
of Public Safety. 

(c) This Code section shall not apply to persons riding within 
an enclosed cab or motorized cart.  This Code section shall not 
apply to a person operating a three-wheeled motorcycle used only 
for agricultural purposes. 

(d) The Board of Public Safety is authorized to approve or 
disapprove protective headgear and eye-protective devices 
required in this Code section and to issue and enforce 
regulations establishing standards and specifications thereof.  
The Board of Public Safety shall publish lists of all protective 
headgear and eye-protective devices by name and type which have 
been approved by it. 

We wrote a letter to the Department of Public Safety and asked 
for a copy of the "list" of approved helmets.  We received a 
reply that said there is no list, and never has been.  Their 
excuse is that since there is federal testing program, no list 
is maintained by the State of Georgia.  We published this in our 
newsletter, and our members have been carrying this letter with 
them, and riding with a bandana, baseball cap, etc..  When they 
are stopped (some are having a hard time even getting stopped), 
they show the officer the letter and explain to the officer that 
without a list of approved "protective headgear", whatever they 
are wearing is protecting them from the sun, wind, bugs, etc.  
It's all in your perception of "protective".  But they would be 
happy to have the officer write them a ticket, since they plan 
to fight the constitutionality of the law.  Most of the time, 
the officer agrees with them and doesn't write a ticket.  Of 
course, you have some that are not going to listen to you, are 
having a bad day, etc.  In that case, just be polite and take 
the ticket.  When they go to court, they plead not guilty.  
Since we started doing this, we have had several tickets 
dismissed.  At this time, we know of at least 17 tickets that 
are pending.  So far, we haven't had anyone get a guilty 
verdict, which is what we need to be able to appeal the decision 
and challenge the constitutionality of the law.  Our members 
have been informed that if they plan to ride without their 
helmet, they had better be sober, have proper license, insurance 
etc. since we want the only offense to be not wearing a helmet.  
It wouldn't look good to have a DUI and a no helmet ticket.  We 
are trying to keep track of who gets tickets, when their court 
dates are, etc., as well as the outcome of their case.  We have 
also informed our members that they must be responsible for 
their own expenses incurred, since we are a non-profit 
organization and as such can't pay their tickets, legal fees, 
etc. 

Some of our members are serious about the constitutional 
challenge, some are just going for a ride while exercising the 
freedom to use their choice of "protective headgear", while some 
are viewing it as an opportunity to educate police officers , as 
a few have some serious misconceptions about what this law 
actually says. 

It's actually been quite entertaining to see some officers look 
the other way, just so they don't have to be bothered, and to 
see the confused look on some of their faces when we explain the 
lack of a list.  Which makes our point perfectly, since the law 
isn't supposed to be vague enough to confuse you on how to 
comply with it, or how the officer should enforce it. 

Anyway, there you have it.  Some of us have just decided to 
"just say no" and take it from there.  Anyway, if you have any 
more questions or need more information, you can call me at our 
ABATE of Georgia State Office at 404-294-8900. 

Ride Free Forever,
Kim    E-mail: ABATEGA@aol.com