New Helmet Law Takes Effect--and Will Be Enforced : Motorcycles: Some police agencies will issue warnings, but others, including the CHP, will give tickets.

Orange County law enforcement officers will start pulling over motorcycle riders today if they are caught violating the state’s new helmet law, which went into effect at midnight.

But whether riders get a ticket or just a warning will depend on which agency stops them.

In Costa Mesa, officers will issue written or verbal warnings to helmetless riders over the next two weeks, Police Lt. Alan Kent said.

“This law will put the folks on notice to get helmets or answer to a judge in a court of law,” Kent said.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles Police Department also will hold off meting out citations for up to 90 days.

In Newport Beach, however, there will be no grace period.

“We want to save lives as quickly as possible, so we are going to enforce (beginning Jan. 1),” Sgt. Andy Gonis said. “Being a beach community, we still get a lot of riders without helmets, so we are going to be issuing citations when appropriate.”

The California Highway Patrol initially planned to observe a grace period, but officials now say that the agency will crack down right away.

“We believe that the law has the potential to prevent great human tragedy and we will begin enforcing it at one minute after midnight,” CHP spokeswoman Alice Huffaker said.

The mandatory helmet law requires motorcyclists to strap on proper headgear when riding or face fines of $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second and $250 for a third. Citations will not be considered moving violations that would result in points being accumulated toward suspension of the rider’s license.

A legal effort to delay enforcement of the law was denied by the 4th District Court of Appeal about 12 hours before the helmet requirement was to take effect. On Feb. 26, however, a judge will consider arguments in a suit to overturn the law.

Motorcyclists fighting for the right to choose to wear a helmet contend that the law abridges their freedoms of expression and religion, and discriminates against those with a medical handicap that precludes them from wearing a helmet.

Authorities agree that the trend among motorcyclists has been toward wearing helmets and that the law will encourage those many riders who ride with their heads exposed on short jaunts to protect themselves.

“If you don’t give leniency, then some lives could be saved,” Santa Ana Police Lt. Felix Osuna said. “Coming into work this morning, I saw four or five cyclists and most are wearing helmets. You don’t see helmets strapped to the sides of bikes anymore and I think it is because of the law.”

Proponents of the law cite CHP statistics showing that of the 19,148 motorcyclists injured or killed in accidents during 1990, those without helmets suffered head injuries at twice the rate of those who wore helmets, and six times as many not wearing helmets died of their injuries.

CHP officials also cite studies that they say invalidate the arguments of helmet law opponents who contend that a rider’s vision and hearing can be hampered by helmets.

A recent study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that approved helmets limit peripheral vision by 3%, thus allowing for a 210-degree field of vision. And a University of Utah study concluded that bareheaded riders are at no advantage for hearing horns and sirens over helmeted riders.

Kent said the only helmets that hamper hearing and vision are those that are not properly fitted.

“I have been riding motorcycles for 25 years; I’ve never put on a helmet that hindered me from hearing,” Kent said. “But the enthusiasts want to feel the wind in their hair, but when you weigh the feeling of freedom versus safety and long-term health, you will surely choose the latter.”

Times staff writer Catherine Gewertz contributed to this report.