Is it unlawful to mount a GoPro to helmets?

[Kunk35]

Saw this video today about a guy in Commifornia getting  cited for having a GoPro mounted to his helmet. It wasn't screwed through the helmet only stuck to it with mounting tape or epoxy. I had never heard of this sort of thing before. Anyone come across this in any state but Commifornia?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EVH0Bo8yMM

 

[Bounce]

Check local jurisdictions. Each can be different.

I always wondered about it since giving the ground a hand-hold during a wreck seemed unwise.

 

[infrared]

Saw this video today about a guy in Commifornia getting  cited for having a GoPro mounted to his helmet. It wasn't screwed through the helmet only stuck to it with mounting tape or epoxy. I had never heard of this sort of thing before. Anyone come across this in any state but Commifornia?

Kunk,

If helmet handles ain't illegal, maybe they should be.  Giving the landscape a grab-handle in a wreck would be like getting a facemask foul in football.  Too easy to end up with a broken neck, as a talking vegetable.  I do not favor the gummint running our lives, but if it means one less permanent drain on the medical system, maybe the guy should thank somebody.  Maybe one day he will, but he has to be there in a working body to do that.

You can put a camera head inside the foam of a helmet liner, these days.  Hanging a GoPro on the outside is a risk I would never accept, just for the chance to impress some unknown keyboard commandos.  Those dudes do not need another video, anyway; they need to get a life.

Some years back, I got wiped out by traffic on the freeway once, wearing a Bell Star.  I had no warning, and no chance to evade.  At freeway speeds, the concrete ground a palm-sized flat spot on the Star.  Ever kiss a helmet?  I did.

Now I don't even like the vent holes in bicycle helmets; in a wreck, they can snag on the landscape, as well.  I ride a bicycle too, but I use a smooth helmet (with no vents) when I do.

My US$.02 worth.  YMMV.

 

[Bugnatr]

I watched the video, the rider is a dick with an attitude.

As to an answer to your question you should check with the LEO's in your county/state not the internet for advise on what may or may not be legal.

As for Commifornia ,  anything fun is illegal.

 

[SacramentoMike]

Hey, look at me everybody!  I'm an asshole and I want the world to know it! 

I'd love to see more of this story.  The part with this goombah presenting this legal mumbo-jumbo in court.  Or better yet, what I was really hoping for, when they got tired of his refusal to ID himself and got out the cuffs.  And him trying to resist.  Damn.

 

[Bugs]

I watched this video, but skipped through some sections where I thought there was no discernable audio. Did the audio ever reveal the actual California statute that was being invoked? I heard that question asked, but I didn't hear that it was answered. The original officer said, "You can't have anything protrude more than 2mm off your helmet." and "You can't have anything on your helmet that compromises integrity."

I was curious, so I thought I'd do a little internet research. (OK, I guess I may have too much time on my hands!)

I found the California helmet laws, but couldn't find anything in their statutes regarding helmet protrusions or attachments. It may be there, I just couldn't find it. The officer mentioned the "2mm protrusion". This sounds like a reference to Federal Law regarding helmets where the Fed statute mentions a 5mm specification. The officer may have simply remembered the dimension incorrectly. I found these Federal statutes:

https://www.govregs.com/regulations/title49_chapterV_part571_subpartB_section571.218

S5.5 Projections. A helmet shall not have any rigid projections inside its shell. Rigid projections outside any helmet's shell shall be limited to those required for operation of essential accessories, and shall not protrude more than 0.20 inch (5 mm).

The heading for this Part 571 has a statement on the Applicability for the statutes therein:

https://www.govregs.com/regulations/title49_chapterV_part571_subpartA_section571.7

§ 571.7 - Applicability.
(a) General. Except as provided in paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section, each standard set forth in subpart B of this part applies according to its terms to all motor vehicles or items of motor vehicle equipment the manufacture of which is completed on or after the effective date of the standard.

If this is the source of the California violation, I think it could be argued - as it has successfully in other jurisdictions - that this 5mm limit applies to the helmet manufacturer, but not the helmet user. I suppose one would have to go to California court to get the issue clarified.

I hope cameras remain legal as I think they provide a valuable resource like dash cams. Also, though I admit a helmet-camera may present some additional risk to the rider (and perhaps others when they fly off), we make these risk/reward decisions every time we climb on our bikes.

I also agree that this rider was a total ass.

 

[RossKean]

S5.5 Projections. A helmet shall not have any rigid projections inside its shell. Rigid projections outside any helmet's shell shall be limited to those required for operation of essential accessories, and shall not protrude more than 0.20 inch (5 mm).

If this applies to cameras, it would also make helmet communication systems illegal since most have units that mount on the outside of the helmet.  Not sure the reasoning - perhaps concern that the "projection" would grab and twist the rider's neck in an accident?  Most helmet mounts (cameras or Senna) aren't that robust.  Goes without saying that you shouldn't mount in any way that compromises the integrity of the shell (i.e. drilling holes).

 

[rbentnail]

Using the words "sir" and "ma'am" along with remembering your manners goes a long way. Generally you'll get what you give. Being a jackass isn't normally helpful to your cause.

I've been through numerous stops and checkpoints with illegal stuff like earbuds. Never once even a comment. I think generally LEO don't care about such trivialities until you give them a reason to.

 

[Kunk35]

As far as this guy goes, he considers himself an "Auditor". Not the kind that pours over someone's books in a business. The kind that sees the need to provoke police into a confrontation, then throw out all the legal mumbo jumbo to try to show them in an oppressive light. I have mixed feelings about this sort of behavior. Suffice it to say he is well known in his local area and I suspect this is the real reason the police pulled him over for such a silly "infraction".

I have a camera mounted to the front of my helmet. It's stuck on with double stick mounting tape. I would imagine if I were to be involved in a crash, those couple pieces of mounting tape, and the arm the camera is mounted to, would be the least of my worries.

I have a camera for a couple reasons. I thought I would get into some sort of motovlogging, but the desire quickly dissipated. I leave it on there because I found it interesting to go back and look at some of my rides. I look at my lane position on corners. I get a good look at how many times I speed but don't really notice. Of course, I like that when people do stupid things I have a record of it. That could come in handy. And sometimes I just like to share a motorcycle ride with whoever wants to watch it. I know when I am stuck in the house and can't ride, I pop on youtube and live vicariously through other bikers, as it gives me ideas on cool rides I might like to check out someday.

When I saw this video I was surprised that police would actually stop someone for that, and also surprised there would even be any sort of statute that made it possible to be pulled over for that. I saw another video, also from Commiefornia, where a guy was pulled over for having his helmet visor up after exiting a stop light intersection. He had just forgot to put it back down and he actually got ticketed for that. I looked that one up and yes, in some states that's also a thing.

 

[Bounce]

I also run dash cams (front and back) in my car because dicks be dickin'.

 

[Bugnatr]

As a cop once told me- you be surprised how many bad guys we catch due to a minor vehicle infraction that we pull them over for.  I get it, they run your name in the data base and if you have warrants then it was a good day of fishing. If your clean just be polite (nobody like a rude person) to the officer and you may just get a warning. Or some cops are just dicks like this guy and at that point take your ticket like a man and be on your way.

 

[RedRockFJRider14]

Hey, look at me everybody!  I'm an asshole and I want the world to know it! 

I'd love to see more of this story.  The part with this goombah presenting this legal mumbo-jumbo in court.  Or better yet, what I was really hoping for, when they got tired of his refusal to ID himself and got out the cuffs.  And him trying to resist.  Damn.

Meh.

Kind of a stupid reason to pull a motorist over for.

There is a reason many people dislike LEO's.

 

[SacramentoMike]

So much I'd like to say.  Hope you never need help from one of those assholes.

 

[Bugs]

Kind of a stupid reason to pull a motorist over for.

Yeah, I agree. Let's just let the officers choose which laws they want to enforce. That'd be great. 

 

[RedRockFJRider14]

Yeah, I agree. Let's just let the officers choose which laws they want to enforce. That'd be great. 

If a law is BS, an intelligent adult should be able to make the decision NOT to hassle another citizen.  Too many cops call other citizens "civilians".  News flash - LEO's are civilians also.  

How much TAXPAYER funded civil servant time and resources were wasted there because a guy had a go pro stuck to his helmet.

THE ULTIMATE CRIME.

But yeah, IT'S THE LAW, AND YOU WILL RESPECT MY AUTHORITY.

 

[RedRockFJRider14]

So much I'd like to say.  Hope you never need help from one of those assholes.

Your choice of words, not mine.  And I didn't edit anything either.

Sorry I don't buy the Hollywood and TV portrayal of LEO's as "heroes".  

They are people, just like the rest of us.  And the less power the state gives them to poke into private citizens lives the better, IMO.

Didn't used to feel that way.  I was raised to respect authority.  But over the decades I have observed a certain personality type often (not always) gravitates towards LEO work:  those who crave a gun and a badge and the authority that goes with it.

I've made it through five and a half decades on this planet with my only interaction with LEO's being a traffic citation maybe once every decade on average.  Haven't "needed any help" from one of those folks during this time.  I think I'll be fine.

Conversely, I hope you are never wrongly hassled, detained, ticketed, fined, or arrested by a big man with a badge and a gun.

Have I been a victim of crime?  

Yep.  Plenty of times.  Violent and nonviolent property crimes.

Cops don't show up to save the day in real life.  They are there to take a report after.  

A wise man knows the care and protection of himself and his family is in his own hands.

 

[Ignacio]

It's been a fair amount of months, but this thread veered FAR away from FJR & motorcycle specific into just plain ol' divisive politics.  Thread closed.