It was easy to spot 13-year-old Steven “Kiven” Rocha at the bustling San Jose skate park Plata Arroya recently. Wearing an unbuckled helmet, he was the teenager closest to following state law.
It is illegal for minors in California to bike, skateboard, ride scooters or roller-blade without a properly fitted helmet. However, this 2-1/2-year-old law still hasn’t changed the ways of many Silicon Valley teens who say they won’t take a tumble, are concerned about appearance or cannot afford protection.
“I’m against wearing a helmet,” said Ben Walker, 16, of San Jose, while sitting on his skateboard, wearing a baseball cap. “I’ll wear a hat or a beanie, but not a helmet.”
Teens caught violating the law often throw excuses at police officers, such as helmets ruin their image or mess up their hair. But San Jose police Sgt. Bruce Stine has a reply ready: “A head injury messes up your hair – a lot.”
Even though some officers reward law-abiding skaters with Blockbuster movie rental coupons, they say they are struggling to convince teenagers that what’s trendy or looks good is unimportant. “That’s something we need to get past,” San Jose police Capt. Ken Ferguson said.
Meanwhile, teenagers are busy trying to get past the law. When Jon Carez rides his skateboard without a helmet, he avoids the places where he might get cited. “I don’t go downtown,” said the 17-year-old San Jose resident. He prefers to stick to Plata Arroya, where the police come often but with different priorities.
“They’re always over here, but they don’t say anything about a helmet,” Walker said. He saw police officers at Plata Arroya recently, but their hands were full dealing with a fight.
Since the helmet law took effect Jan. 1, 2003, advocates have been talking to San Jose elementary and middle school students to raise awareness about it. Police officers said they see more teenagers than younger children violating the law but have limited funding for outreach. So “we try to get them young,” said Rosana Carrasco, school safety coordinator for the San Jose Police Department.
Soon Silicon Valley middle schools’ traffic safety lessons will teach about seat belts as well as helmets under a new program by the Santa Clara County Public Health Department. Alice Kawaguchi, a health department education specialist, said skateboarding safety has taken a back seat to automobile safety at many high schools, where students are eager to get their driver’s licenses.
But high school students still need to hear the message. Jesse Gonzales, a 17-year-old student at San Jose High Academy, thought he was old enough to bicycle without a helmet and wasn’t aware of the law.
Ignorance is only part of the problem. Some families can’t afford helmets, said mother Ruth Rocha, who talked about the issue with other parents at the skate park.
When minors receive a citation, they can clear it off their record by attending a traffic safety class. If they choose not to attend or if they violate the law a second time, they must appear in court and pay a fine.
A year ago, a police officer gave Steven Rocha a warning for not wearing a helmet. But he kept roller-blading bareheaded. Not too long ago, blood dripped from Rocha’s head onto the skate ramp at Plata Arroya. Unfazed, he got up and kept skating.
Neither law enforcement nor injuries pushed Rocha to finally change his ways. He now wears a black helmet with a sticker from his sponsor, Aggressive Mall, because his mom made him. “She said if I don’t wear a helmet,” he explained, “I can’t skate anymore.”