Baldin Area Riding Got a Ticket

[mlbarnab]

I took my 12 year old brother riding up to the Baldwin area Saturday June 12, Tin Cup. We got there around 10:00 AM. It was very humid and patchy fog that morning. We rode about half a loop on the single track (clockwise) and turned around (counter clockwise) because we had to be home at a certain time. During the ride goggles had become soaked and fogging up so had popped them off and hung them around my neck. So we get back to the parking area and there is a police officer who immediately pulls me and my brother over, in the parking lot about 10 feet from our truck. The officer asks me where my goggles are, and I show him my goggles around my neck. I tell him that I was having trouble seeing thru them so I had flipped them down. He proceeds to take my information and has us stand there. After about 10 minutes I ask him if we can load the bikes up in the truck; and if there if anything he would like to check on the bikes? The first time I asked the officer this he just ignores me. I asked the same question again and tell him that we have ORV stickers and spark arrestors. He walks over to the bikes and asks where my brother’s goggles are, and by this time they are hanging from his handle bars. Then he asks if my brother has taken the safety course and I said that he has taken the safety course. The officer then says “you mean he has took in the safety course”, and I and say yes he has took in the safety course. The officer then asks where we are parked and I point to the truck and he says we can load the bikes but have to push them. We proceed to get loaded up and ready to leave and the officer brings me over a ticket for not wearing my goggles and says he understands that they get fogged up and you can’t see but you still have to wear them, it’s just like wearing a helmet.


I plan on going up to Baldwin and fighting the ticket. Has anyone had any luck fighting tickets of this type or any kind up in Baldwin? What are my chances that the judge will see my side?

 

[ellandoh]

is there a infraction code or something on the ticket you can look up? some old school guys wear sunglasses not goggles. i never heard of this rule myself. guys on streetbikes dont even REQUIRE eye protection do they?

correction, you probably are going to have a tough time::from MI orv handbook;
It's the Law—Required Equipment

Before an ORV may be operated on any property, the operator is responsible for ensuring that the vehicle and its riders have the required equipment.

For Operators and Passengers

All ORV operators and passengers must wear a U.S. Department of Transportation–approved crash helmet and protective eyewear or goggles, except when the ORV is equipped with an approved roof and the operator and passengers are wearing properly adjusted and fastened safety belts.

 

[salgeek]

If the bike is plated you might make the argument that with street legal motorcycles ...

Eye protection is "...required by law unless equipped with windscreen, required at speeds over 35 mph."

and that you popped the goggles off - just after entering the parking lot which is not under OHV law as it is not a part of the trail system [simply because cars/trucks can drive in the lot].

 

[ellandoh]

Before an ORV may be operated on any property, the operator is responsible for ensuring that the vehicle and its riders have the required equipment.

.

ha ha quoting myself quoting the handbook :think: :laugh:

 

[tall1]

Does the law say exacty where you need to wear the goggles? Even if they were around your neck, you were still wearing them.

 

[2TrakR]

Does the law say exacty where you need to wear the goggles?

http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?mcl-324-81133

Unless the person and any passenger in or on the vehicle is wearing on his or her head a crash helmet and protective eyewear approved by the United States department of transportation.

 

[ellandoh]

do the harley guys still wear their helmets on their knee??

 

[curt1656]

do the harley guys still wear their helmets on their knee??

I do. :fft: