Here is something else to throw into the mix

§ 661.004. AUTHORITY OF PEACE OFFICER TO INSPECT
PROTECTIVE HEADGEAR. Any peace officer may stop and detain a
person who is a motorcycle operator or passenger to inspect the
person's protective headgear for compliance with the safety
standards prescribed by the department.

 

That is correct. As I mentioned in my earlier post, If you choose to wear a helmet, it has to be DOT compliant. You can be ticketed if it is not. As we can all see here, there is alot of misinformation floating around which tells us that the TX helmet law is somewhat confusing to alot of people.

 

Yes...Im a PO and I think it is poorly written.

 

I agree. When I ask students in the MSF class if there is a helmet law in Texas, about half of them say no and the other halftry to explain one of the exemptions (usually incorrectly) and we spend the nextfive minutes or so clearing up all the misconceptions.I am usually an advocate of freedom of choice, but quite frankly, I wishTexaswould just make it mandatory to wear a DOT approved helmet and eliminate all this confusion. It would probably make it easier for you guys to enforce the law as well.

 

Actually, if you support BS "protect me from me" laws, you are so far against freedom of choice. And for whatever reason you have, you ARE supporting these laws.

There should be NO law - none, zero, zip, zilch - that protects me from my own stupidity. That means no helmet laws, and no seatbelt laws.

There is NO confusion for those lucid to comprehend a basic law. Take a rider course, have insurance, be of age and you can skip wearing a helmet. If you do not want to pay for the BS sticker that prevents being pulled over for no helmet, don't pay for it. Just carry proof. Gotta carry proof of vehicle insurance and your license anyway.

Would be just as easy for all LEOs to just ignore those not wearing helmets (unless they are violating some other law). More than likely they meet the requirements.

 

I respect your opinion Grunt and your points are all valid. My opinion on this one is just different. I do agree that Texas should go one way or the other (make it mandatory or just eliminate it altogether). It's just that I've lost a few friends/relatives over the years who were not wearing a helmet when they crashed soI'll admit it's a little harder for me to be objective on this one. I did'nt mean to turn this into a helmet law vs. no helmet law debate. I just think thatpeople are generally confused and misinformed about the exemptions here in Texas.As long as we're talking about freedom of choice, do you not think it should be mandatory to have toddlers/childrenin seat belts? Are they old enough to make that decision for themselves? I dont know about you, but it bothers me when I see apickup truck barreling down the highway with a little kid standing up in the seat.Should children on the back of a motorcycle not be required to wear a helmet? Some would say, let mom/dad make that decision. I respectfully disagree.