Sacramento Cover-up

It has been a spring tribal rite for more than a quarter-century: the vernal arrival in the Capitol at Sacramento of motorcycle clubs to lobby against legislation to require cyclists and their riders to wear safety helmets. But the motorcycle advocates may be nearing their last hurrah.

The California Assembly passed by the minimum vote of 41 to 29 last week a bill that would require all cycle riders to use federally approved headgear. It was the first time in 26 years that such a bill had gotten out of committee, let alone passed one of the two houses. The vote may be reconsidered in the Assembly, however, and the bill then faces another stiff test in the Senate. Safety helmets currently are required only for motorcycle riders 15 1/2 years old and younger.

The Capitol assumed a circus atmosphere two decades ago when Sonny Barger and his Hell’s Angels and other leather-clad tribes stomped the marble hallways in their heavy boots searching for votes to defeat the perennial helmet bill. Those were days when the likes of the Hell’s Angels had reputations that were, let’s say, less than savory. One had the feeling that a mild-mannered lawmaker might discover, if he voted the wrong way, that those boots were made for more than walking. But the “gangs,” as they were called, behaved with decorum and, their goal achieved, roared away with the Capitol still standing.

Times change, of course. Today it is not uncommon to see men in bankers’ or brokers’ suits, and occasionally an obviously upwardly mobile young female executive type, flitting through freeway jams on their bikes. Club outings often are family affairs. Increasing numbers of cyclists are wearing helmets even though the law does not require it.

“Government by nanny,” declared one Assembly opponent during last week’s debate. There is a question of how far the state should go in forcing the individual to protect himself when his actions do not necessarily endanger others. But the record in other states clearly shows that helmets significantly reduce the potential for traumatic head injury and death. In California, wearing a helmet is no sign of softness. It’s smart.