But his enthusiasm for fighting California's helmet law, a battle in which he has been engaged for seven years "on the streets and in the courts," helps explain a public policy puzzle: While almost every state requires adults to wear seat belts, most do not require them to wear motorcycle helmets, even though riding a motorcycle is much more dangerous than driving a car. Richard Quigley's idea of fun, whether riding a motorcycle without a helmet or arguing with the police about it, may not be the same as yours or mine. There ensued a half-hour debate with the officer and his supervisor about whether Quigley's headgear-a trucker's cap emblazoned with "United States Freedom Fighter" into which he had inserted a rigid plastic disc-qualified as a "safety helmet." Quigley, a 61-year-old with a ponytail and a ZZ Top–style beard who directs Bikers of Lesser Tolerance of California and once ran for Congress on the Libertarian ticket, later called the encounter "interesting, informative and fun!" On a Monday afternoon in June 1999, Richard Quigley was riding his Harley near Capitola, California, when a local police officer pulled him over for violating the state's helmet law.
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