by Patty
Davis, State Vice President of ABATE of Louisiana reporting:
September 19, 1996 - Joe Davis was stopped and
ticketed by the Lafayette City Police for his "beanie" helmet last
year. We took it to court and won. Not guilty. The judge could not find reason
why the helmet did not comply with our (rather vague) law. About 6 weeks
later, Joe was stopped and cited again for the same helmet. The cop from the
first citation was present but did nothing to stop the citation. We got that
one dismissed.
About 4 weeks later, the same cop from the second stop
stopped and cited Joe again! The cop got in Joe's face and told him he didn't
give a shit about the judge's decision, we were going to have to take it to
court again. Fine with us!
We took it to court, this time with an attorney. However,
this time we had a different judge. After all the evidence was presented, it
was clear that we had proven our case. Louisiana has never adopted FMVSS-218.
The "list" of approved helmets is 13 years old! Even the City
Prosecutor agreed that we should be found not guilty. The judge reserved
judgment for 2 weeks. When we returned in 2 weeks, we had a bunch of ABATE
members there for support. It was great.
However, the judge said "guilty"! Can you believe!
The reason he gave was that "The helmet in question, in his opinion, did
not meet what the legislators had in mind when they wrote the law."
What a cop-out! It was clear he did not want to take the
hear from the city cops who are very adamant about enforcing the law. The
judge told the attorney that he did not feel making the decision on a city
level would solve the problem, and asked if we would appeal if found guilty. Of
course we said "Yes".
We have filed an appeal with the district court and are
waiting to hear something, as we speak.
October 15, 1996 - We got a sponsor for our bill,
which seeks to amend the helmet law for freedom of choice for 18 and
over. It'll be introduced in Nov.
Also our Gov. Foster just bought a Harley and took the rider
education course last weekend.
October 23, 1996 - We just received word that the
Lafayette's City Court ruling was upheld by the district court. This was not a
big surprise. It was a necessary step to get to the 3rd Circuit Court of
Appeals. Wish us luck!
Oh, yeah, our governor, Mike Foster, just bought a 1997 Road
King and he and his staff completed the Rider Ed program. It was all over the
news! Great publicity!
November 8, 1996 by Patty Davis -
ABATE of Louisiana,
Inc. is proud to welcome its newest lifetime member, Governor Mike Foster! He
was invited to become a member of ABATE, and promptly responded with a
completed application and dues for a lifetime membership. Welcome, Governor
Foster! You're the best thing to happen to Louisiana motorcycling since paved
roads!
February 1, 1997 - Helmet Case Update: case has gone
to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Lake Charles. No news yet.
Freedom Bill Update: We mailed out letters to all
members of the House and are receiving replies daily. We have 7 co-sponsors so
far, and about 14 legislators have requested further information, which we
will provide. Only about 5 Representatives have replied negatively, stating
that they will not support the bill. One said he would not support the bill
unless "anyone who suffers a head injury while riding without a helmet
agrees to waive all rights to lawsuits or insurance claims". (Yep, he's
an insurance man!). But overall, the responses are positive, and we feel very
optimistic that we will be a free state soon.
Louisiana riders need to
contact their legislators and ask them to support the Freedom Bill.
March 26, 1997 - Great news! Senator Ron Landry,
Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, has agreed to sponsor our
bill in the Senate! It is being pre-filed at this moment and will be listed
within a few days.
Everyone must call or write their Representative and Senator
and tell them to vote for the Helmet Modification Bill HB 673 and SB ?? (As
soon as we have a bill # on the Senate side, I will let you know.)
July 15, 1997 - Our helmet law modification
legislation passed unanimously out of the Senate Transportation Committee,
complete with Governor Foster there at our side, testifying for personal
freedom. The bill, SB 1150, hit the Senate floor about two weeks later
(mid-May), and a very hot-n-heavy debate ensued. The final result was that the
bill got put back on the calendar. We needed 20 votes to pull it back to the
floor, and subsequently pass it. We had 15. Given the time constraints and not
enough calls to Senators, the bill never made it back on the floor.
The good news is, this is the farthest we've gotten with
helmet legislation in this state in over a decade! And we did not get our
butts kicked. We had almost half the Senate! But we need more involvement from
the bikers across the state.
No news from the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals yet. We are
looking into going with the "No List No Law" avenue. I am currently
in the process of contacting the Commissioner of Public Safety. He has sent me
a "list" of "approved" helmets, not revised since 1983!
December
13, 1997 Update...
