there not skateparks...they are skate PLAZAS...therefore the cops..

**skategeezer** · 10-17-2009 06:34 PM

can't hassle you...

received this from my friend Heidi Lemmon of Skatepark Association of USA

OK IASC pushed thru the helmet and pad LAWS.. they are state LAWS that we cant change - have been trying
the law reads
anyone in a skatepark must wear helmet and pads and a city pass an ordinance and must enforce it
that's the part that makes me so mad.. well
Rob Drydek got a way around the law.. he calls his parks skate plazas
that one word takes them outside of the law - yes its true!

So now in CA. we are getting Plazas popping up and no monitors and no tickets. The cities have been trying to get around the skatepark law for as long as I have been doing this but its almost impossible to change a law.
The venice park is called a Plaza not a skate park and not required to use or require helmets and pads.. lol
love the law...

**rosewood thief** · 10-17-2009 06:46 PM

jesus christ. is it really worth it? just wear your helmet. who cares if a bunch of ten year olds call you 'gay'

**Buddywolfe** · 10-17-2009 07:11 PM

It has larger ramifications though. It gives them a lot more freedom. Besides, its not your place to make decisions for everyone else.

**rosewood thief** · 10-17-2009 07:17 PM

Meh, if you remotely care about the well being of your peers, then you would encourage the use of a helmet every time you skate. i know i do at least. I'm not trying to make decisions for everyone else, I just don't like horror stories of skaters dying from their heads getting smashed.

(if buddywolfs post was directed at me, sorry if it wasn't...)

**Gearfire** · 10-17-2009 07:26 PM

Originally Posted by rosewood thief

Meh, if you remotely care about the well being of your peers, then you would encourage the use of a helmet every time you skate. i know i do at least. I'm not trying to make decisions for everyone else, I just don't like horror stories of skaters dying from their heads getting smashed.

(if buddywolfs post was directed at me, sorry if it wasn't...)

I think he's just saying that as a 'free country' the government has no place to be enforcing laws like that. That's the job of the community, parents, and ultimately the rider.

**Justin K** · 10-17-2009 07:27 PM

Let Darwinism run its course. Those people who chose to not skate without their helmets are probably going to hit their head and die. thus the practice of not wearing your helmet isnt taught to offspring.

**RothToAnExtent** · 10-17-2009 07:49 PM

Originally Posted by Derv

Let Darwinism run its course. Those people who chose to not skate without their helmets are probably going to hit their head and die. thus the practice of not wearing your helmet isnt taught to offspring.

Ummm... No. Not many people people without helmets (in relation to the ENTIRE skateboarding community) crack their head open. If you go to a skatepark on any given day, it's not likely more than half the people there will crack their head open. But you SHOULD wear a helmet just to garuntee you won't you won't be in that minority

**Gearfire** · 10-17-2009 08:06 PM

I think this thread should be alot less about a helmet debate and more about how skaters can outsmart the law.

EDIT:

Rob Drydek got a way around the law.. he calls his parks skate plazas
that one word takes them outside of the law - yes its true!

So now in CA. we are getting Plazas popping up and no monitors and no tickets. The cities have been trying to get around the skatepark law for as long as I have been doing this but its almost impossible to change a law.

I think it's wonderful how they are tripping and falling face-first over their own bureaucracy.

**WillJ** · 10-17-2009 09:48 PM

From the cities point of view, it's not about helmets, it's about not having to fence in and monitor the "plaza" which saves them hundreds of thousands of dollars up front and tons annually.

**msk** · 10-17-2009 09:56 PM

It'll be interesting to see if that really holds up, as California law doesn't actually specifically state only "park", but consistently uses phrases like "in a public skateboard park or facility" or "any facility, owned or operated by a local public agency, that is designed and maintained for the purpose of recreational skateboard use". The word "facility" is used as often as, and interchanged with, "park" in both the original bill (AB1296) and the updated version (SB994). I'd guess that to completely get around the law they'd have to prove that these aren't "facilities" either...

**-Mu-** · 10-17-2009 10:00 PM

I honestly don't see that distinction holding up in court, it may satisfy bureaucrats for now, but the moment some kids hurts himself and a parent sues, a judge is going to say "you didn't follow the law."

**Wells** · 10-18-2009 02:55 AM

F**k mandatory helmets and pads. Football is like three times as dangerous per hour of activity. They don't need pad nannies at the football field, so why mandate them for skateboarding?

**B77** · 10-18-2009 03:47 AM

No one has a problem wearing a seat belt in a car
or on plane so why the massive problem with helmets ?
The first time some kid ends up severely ####ed
as a result of not wearing a lid and when the parents
sue everyone and anyone they can that will be when you'll
see that word play won't mean ####
just my opinion
if you die can i have your board?

**VampMN** · 10-18-2009 04:59 AM

What I think people fail to understand is that without mandatory laws, there wouldn't be skate parks. They have to cover their asses. Some kid gets killed, and the city/state gets sued. If they lose, they will close all the other parks to keep it from happening again. You like having skate parks? Then quit bitching and wear a helmet.

Outside of parks, I think each person has the right to decide if they want to wear them or not. Inside, follow the rules, or find somewhere else to skate. Simple.

**BoardDuDE630** · 10-18-2009 08:13 AM

ah seatbelts on a airplane, makes no sense to me.

Anyway if you don't like have to wear helmets or pads then don't go there. Build your own stupid "plaza" or something and quit complaining. In the end is really gonna matter? Oh no "i can't do this trick cause im wearing a helmet and pads" boo hoo, If you really wanna get good at skating you can either nut up or shut up and just skate. So what if little kids make fun of you; does it really matter? THEIR LITTLE KIDS. Let me ask you what would rather pay, about 50 bucks for a helmet and a simple set of pads or hundreds of dollars for surgeries and mris/ct scans that fallowed after you busted your head or smashed your knee.

**Barf** · 10-18-2009 12:16 PM

Dear helmet nazis,

You're missing the point. This thread isn't about whether or not kids should wear helmets.

I'mma let that sink in for a minute...

....

....

....

....

The point is, that towns are often unwilling to build a skatepark, because the law forces them to go to considerable expense to enforce the pad/helmet laws. And they know there will always be kids that skate without pads/helmets, and that the city will be held liable if anything happens. This little legal loophole (if it stands up) removes a very large burden from the city, which makes it much more likely that the city will actually build something in the first place.

Tell you what. Let the city build the thing, and then, AFTER it's built, you can go on your helmet crusade. Please?

**WillJ** · 10-18-2009 12:28 PM

Originally Posted by VampMN

What I think people fail to understand is that without mandatory laws, there wouldn't be skate parks.

there are HUNDREDS of skateparks that don't require the use of helmets...

Laws aren't needed for people to wear helmets, if they want to, they will... It's not a law to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle (in all the states i know of, including CA) for an adult.

one day, you ignorant little kids will grow up and find out that it's not best to have the government mandate every little aspect of your life, especially when it doesn't harm society.

**msk** · 10-18-2009 12:32 PM

Originally Posted by WillJ

From the cities point of view, it's not about helmets, it's about not having to fence in and monitor the "plaza" which saves them hundreds of thousands of dollars up front and tons annually.

They never had to fence and staff the parks (at least in California). Out of the all skateparks I've frequented over the last decade, many don't have fences, and very few have ever had any on-site staff. The city with the most restrictive helmet/pad policy I know of has no staff, no fence at all, and their rules go beyond what is required (they also require wrist guards, which are not required in the state law)...

Originally Posted by Barf

The point is, that towns are often unwilling to build a skatepark, because the law forces them to go to considerable expense to enforce the pad/helmet laws. And they know there will always be kids that skate without pads/helmets, and that the city will be held liable if anything happens. This little legal loophole (if it stands up) removes a very large burden from the city, which makes it much more likely that the city will actually build something in the first place.

The law doesn't "force" them to go to *any* expense. Some choose to take on the extra expense by staffing the park, but many don't. If the park is unstaffed, the job of enforcing the rules then falls on the police, who are then doing what they are already paid to do.

Back in '03, when there was the possibility of AB1296 sunsetting, a few cities in my area, who had been considering building parks, held off until they knew whether the law would be extended. If it hadn't, they weren't going to build the parks because of liability. The law that's being complained about here is also what protects the city from liability. How many California cities that have skateparks would've built them if this legislation had never been passed? But, if they're right that by simply changing the name they no longer have to comply with the law because it no longer applies, wouldn't that mean they are also no longer protected by that same law?

**a_speck_of_dust** · 10-18-2009 12:44 PM

Originally Posted by WillJ

one day, you ignorant little kids will grow up and find out that it's not best to have the government mandate every little aspect of your life, especially when it doesn't harm society.

hehehehe

**VampMN** · 10-18-2009 03:08 PM

Originally Posted by WillJ

there are HUNDREDS of skateparks that don't require the use of helmets...

Laws aren't needed for people to wear helmets, if they want to, they will... It's not a law to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle (in all the states i know of, including CA) for an adult.

one day, you ignorant little kids will grow up and find out that it's not best to have the government mandate every little aspect of your life, especially when it doesn't harm society.

If there is a state/city run skate park without those laws, I've sure as hell never heard of them.

And I don't believe in laws mandating safety measures for adults. I ride motorcycles. I don't think there should be helmet laws for adults. I'd still wear one. You don't want to? I don't give a ####. It's your brain, not mine.

However, you can't expect the government to risk losing millions of dollars (and closing all the parks) because people are too stupid to wear a helmet. Pads, I'm kinda of eh about. But if it allows there to be skate parks for YOU to skate in, then stop bitching and wear the gear.