Motorcycle Helmet Law Challenged : Courts: A Ventura attorney has filed the first lawsuit seeking to prevent enforcement of the state legislation.

Supported by a coalition of motorcyclists groups, a Ventura attorney Wednesday filed the first legal challenge to the state’s mandatory helmet law, scheduled to take effect Jan. 1.

Attorney Wendy C. Lascher filed the suit in Orange County Superior Court, seeking an injunction preventing enforcement of the law. The suit says the law is vague and infringes on motorcyclists’ rights to privacy, free expression and free exercise of religion.

The suit also disputes claims by supporters of the law that it will reduce deaths and injuries.

“In 1987, 1988 and 1989, states which had mandatory helmet laws had more fatalities per hundred motorcycle accidents than states which do not require motorcycle helmets,” the suit said, citing studies by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

But an aide to Assemblyman Richard E. Floyd (D-Carson), who sponsored the legislation, said those studies were debunked by witnesses who testified for the bill at committee hearings.

“Researchers who studied states with and without helmet laws found a 43% reduction in societal costs from motorcycle accidents in states that had such laws,” said Bob Terry, a legislative assistant for Floyd.

Terry said about 35 states have mandatory helmet laws. Gov. Pete Wilson signed the California law after former Gov. George Deukmejian twice vetoed similar proposals.

Both Terry and Lascher said the suit is the first to be filed against the helmet law.

The plaintiffs include Bir Singh Khalsa, a Monterey man who is described in the suit as an adherent of the Sikh faith. Sikhs must wear turbans in public, the suit says, and the helmet law will force Khalsa to choose between riding a motorcycle and obeying the tenets of his religion.

Another plaintiff, Jerald Bowman of Los Angeles County, uses hearing aids in both ears and wearing a helmet causes intolerable audio feedback, the suit says. It contends that the law violates federal protections for people with disabilities.

Terry said both Khalsa and Bowman may be able to get waivers from the state Department of Motor Vehicles allowing them to ride without helmets, although he acknowledged that the law does not provide for such exceptions.

Lascher, a former president of the Ventura County Bar Assn. who specializes in appellate law, said the suit was filed in Orange County because one of the plaintiffs, Timothy Buhl, lives there. In addition, she said, “we thought that would be a really thoughtful court.”

Terry said he believes that the suit was filed in Orange County because it has a reputation as a conservative area where judges are more likely to champion individual rights.

The other plaintiff is Peter Daniels of Los Angeles County. The suit names the four individuals as plaintiffs, but it is being supported by ABATE, the American Brotherhood Aimed Toward Education, of California and several other motorcyclists groups, said Mike Osborn of Ventura, an ABATE director.

Named as defendants are Maurice Hannigan, commander of the California Highway Patrol; Frank Zolin, director of the state Department of Motor Vehicles; Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates, and Paul Walters, police chief in Santa Ana where the suit was filed.

“Our biggest complaint is that we feel the state is intruding into the rights of the individual,” Osborn said.

What’s more, he said, “there’s no real proof that these things are going to do what they say, and more proof that they won’t. . . . The decision should be made by the individual.”

By giving riders a false sense of security, he said, the helmet law could reduce the number of people who take rider safety courses.

Lascher said that after the defendants are served with copies of the suit, a hearing will be held on whether a preliminary injunction should be issued.