BTW: Mark, with respect to your question about helmet manufacturers buying stickers--- well we know it's not a sticker but it a portion of the helmet and therefore is labelled by the manufacturer before the helmet is tested--- if it ever is tested. However, if you look at the NHTSA site with respect to helmets that have been tested--- more helmets fail than pass and the majority of the helmets seem to fail for "improper labelling." Funny isn't it. They get to approve their own helmets & apply their own labelling stating that the helmet meets DOT Standards. Then when they are tested--- more fail than pass. It's a wonderful world where cops and manufacturers get to screw the consumer. That's why I'm a B.O.L.T. Member---- because I will fight them back & will do so on their own turf if it's advantageous to do so.
ReplyFrom California:
Yesterday I had a couple of riders tell me they didn't like the fact I was shocked they decided to wear their helmets on the ride to the Capitol for the helmet protest rally. They have a Right to wear it if they want. Larry (Wolf) and I were the only ones out of 200 riders that rode the route to the Capitol unhelmeted. Then a CHP officer pulls us over on the way home from the Capitol - definitely gonna write a ticket for "no DOT approved" helmet. Then he hedged it back to a fix-it ticket, but said it is weird that I could sign it, put a helmet on and turn around and ask him to sign it off as a corrected citation. Then he said "Why don't you just put that one on and I wont write it at all?" (I was explaining the "approved" helmet he thought he saw in my tour pack was a recalled helmet I only use for examples in Seminars on how it's impossible to tell by visual criteria if a helmet is illegal or legal. So he (after 20 minutes) gets on his bike, and I say, "You sure you are wanting to order me to wear this illegal recalled helmet?" He says: ...or you can just wait until after I ride away and do what you want. Long story to get to the point: The cops know we are the ones who understand this stuff. But the bikers don't think we are worth listening to. Pretty sad when the 1%ers get their feelings hurt by hearing us encourage them to choose not to wear a helmet. Then the CHP lets us school him, shakes our hand and rides away after agreeing with us. I wont hurt any BOLT member's feelings by showing I am not afraid of the cops or the DOT. I am going to send Henke a portion of all the DOT sticker sales. What would be a good enough percentage? Mark Temple |