Thanks for pinging me, Mulley. Dixie ABATE is vigorously opposed to this asinine bill for many reasons. Freddy Wheeler, with Dixie ABATE, showed up at the meeting of the Governmental Affairs committee on April 20th. Senator Chambliss said he brought the bill on behalf of a mother of a state trooper who was killed on his personal motorcycle when a driver turned left into his path of travel. Freddy offered condolences to the mother and told the committee that a reflective sticker mandated by the state on helmets won't solve the issue. I haven't pulled together a grass roots campaign yet because frankly, I never thought this bill would go anywhere. I'm stunned that it passed favorably out of committee.
And the real problem with tacking this bit of lunacy onto the helmet law is the helmet law itself. We have left it alone, primarily because we don't have a ghost of a chance of changing it yet, and secondarily because if we rock the boat, someone might possibly actually read it. If you read it closely, you will understand that NO helmet is legal to be sold in Alabama. Back in the early days of Dixie ABATE, I queried the state about who has the list of approved helmets, and was told that the list does not exist. Of course it doesn't. Who would want it to be their job to keep up with every make and model of helmet sold in Alabama? And the safety standard cited in the statute is obsolete. So while there HAVE been some tickets given for novelty helmet or no helmet or helmet worn on knee, there haven't been many.
Dixie ABATE has a Facebook page where we debate things like this. I guess I'm going to have to jump in and issue a call to action. Mostly a call to CALL. A bunch of phone calls will get a legislator's attention. I've even bounced around the idea of going to Montgomery when it comes back up. We also have access to grass-roots lobbying software called CQ Engage, which automates the process and makes it super easy for people to contact their legislators via email. I hate to raise a huge stink, again, because the Eye of Sauron could turn toward that actual existing law. But this stupid thing needs to go away. If we don't stand up and take action, this is how we will continue to be treated.
Dixie ABATE needs members. We need to be able to put a group together that will be noticed and respected when we visit the state house. A group who will be listened to, because we are the obvious experts in the subject matter. We should be consulted when someone proposes to make a law for us.
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