Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Aug 17/05) - A Yellowknife area motorscooter driver says she's getting the gears after being ticketed for not wearing her helmet properly.

Renata Bullock said she believes she was pulled over by municipal bylaw officers Aug. 5 because her long, curly hair made it appear she wasn't wearing a helmet.

Renata Bullock is hopping mad after receiving a ticket for improperly wearing her motorcycle helmet. She said bylaw officers were tripped up by her long, curly hair.

"They came straight up to me and said, 'when did you put your helmet on,'" said Bullock, who was driving to her restaurant, Bullock's Bistro, from her home at Prelude Lake.

"I said, 'what? I had my helmet on the whole time.' They said, 'No you didn't.'"

Bullock had just passed Giant Mine on the Ingraham Trail when the bylaw cruiser signalled her to pull over.

After refuting the officers' allegations that she had put her helmet after being pulled over, she claims they began looking for an excuse to issue her a ticket.

She said they looked over her helmet, which she had painted black, and told her she was wearing it too high on her head, and was rendered illegal because of her paint job.

"I got curly hair so it goes outside my helmet," said Bullock. "So you can't see the helmet."

She added that there was a strong wind blowing that morning, which pushed the helmet slightly back above her brow.

Bullock said she had the helmet buckled on as tightly as safe and comfortable to wear. Although it's painted, it has a sticker that says it's certified to Canadian standards.

The $58 ticket given to Bullock said it was issued for failing "to wear a helmet in the prescribed manner."

"Those guys raped me of my rights," said Bullock. "All I'm interested in saying is, you guys can't do things like that. You got better things to do."

Bullock went to see the mayor the same day, who later wrote back with a note that included a package containing instructions on how to file an appeal and complaints against city officials.

She said she hasn't decided yet whether to fight the ticket. Right now, she is just angry.

"He picked the wrong person that morning," said Bullock. "I think there's a lot of people out there who are stuck with these stupid, stupid tickets."

According to the territorial Motor Vehicles Act, a motorcycle helmet "shall be securely fastened by a chin strap under the chin."

The regulations also state that a helmet must either be approved by the Canadian Standards Association or the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Adrien Saulis, general manager of Polar Tech, where Bullock purchased the helmet two years ago, said all helmets sold in the store are certified.

"It's DoT approved," said Saulis.

He said painting the helmet, however, is kind of a "grey area."

"But generally helmets come under every colour of the rainbow," he said.

Doug Gillard, manager of municipal enforcement, who was one of the officers who stopped Bullock, insisted they stopped her because she wasn't wearing her helmet correctly.

He said they noted the helmet had been repainted, but they didn't consider it a problem.

"She wasn't charged for not wearing it, she was charged for not wearing it properly," he said.