Monday, LACBC’s Tamika Butler sent out an interesting tweet:

When people ask what I mean when I worry that helmet laws would impact some riders more than others, check out Tampa: http://t.co/MmVhezWPbn

— Tamika Butler (@TamikaButler) April 20, 2015

From a cycling standpoint, the downside of helmet laws seem obvious, but it’s important to read some of the other implications such legislation can have. This article by Alexandra Zayas and Kameel Stanley of the Tampa Bay Times gets their point across fast:

In the past three years, Tampa police have written 2,504 bike tickets — more than Jacksonville, Miami, St. Petersburg and Orlando combined.

Police say they are gung ho about bike safety and focused on stopping a plague of bike thefts.

But here’s something they don’t mention about the people they ticket:

Eight out of 10 are black.

To answer your first question: No, Tampa is not 80% black.

Those numbers are alarming. This has nothing to do with cycling, just a massive misuse of the law.

We’ve heard about cops pulling drivers over for minor possible infractions while driving, but targeting cyclists is equally inexcusable because it plays a larger transportation role for the poor.

Please tell State Senator Carol Liu you oppose the California helmet law to make sure California will avoid the same fate.