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Biker Court Info System Starts In The Carolinas

Posted on Aug 27, 2009

Posted 9/18/2007

Bikers of Lesser Tolerance (BOLT), founded in 1992 by Tony “Pan” Sanfelipo, has two new chapters in North and South Carolina known as BOLT of the Carolinas. Director of BOLT of North Carolina, Jan Mac Kay, has put up an information web site at http://bikercourt.com where people can go to get information on how to fight a helmet ticket. MacKay is troubled by the fact that law enforcement in North Carolina are ticketing bikers and sometimes detaining them until they produce a “DOT approved” helmet before letting them ride off.

Since there is no such thing in fact or law as DOT approved, Mac Kay is calling on bikers to challenge these tickets in court and she is helping them find lawyers to defend them. Law enforcement officers have been subjectively stopping bikers based on what they perceived as a legal helmet, which is totally absurd. One cannot determine if a helmet meets the FMVSS 218 standard by visual inspection alone. Mac Kay did some research and found 59 helmet models produced by 17 different manufacturers which did not meet the standard. Some of the recalled helmets were full-face helmets which certainly would not have been questioned by the officers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) does not regulate consumers nor does it have statutory power to compile a list or approve helmets. BOLT of the Carolinas will continue to question enforcement of the helmet law in their states based on some premise that helmets must be approved by the DOT. BOLT is calling for everyone who is ticketed for wearing a helmet which officers do not consider compliant to challenge the ticket by pleading not guilty and going to court.