Until 16-year-old Matthew Chi gets four wheels, these two wheels are his freedom.  

“I don’t have a car yet, so I use it to get to school, buy stuff, the store,” he said.  

And when he does hop on his bike, he says he’s never without his helmet. 

“It’s dangerous out there and sometimes I am irritated, its uncomfortable, but it’s the best thing to do,” he said.  

The best way to stay safe, and the best way to avoid a ticket. A new 2019 law has police cracking down on helmets. Normally a rider under 18 would pay a fine if they’re not wearing one on a bike, but now with this new law, it can be a fix-it ticket.

“The juveniles’ parents to show proof they got a fitted helmet and that they have taken a safety course,” Officer Paul Fox with the California Highway Patrol said.  

He says he thinks this will keep people safer, because police will get tougher.  

“Officers are hesitant to write this citation to a minor causing them to pay a fine, where now it lessens that blow," said Fox.

“I almost got hit by a couple cars before, it’s scary,” Chi said.  

With cars moving fast and more and more people on their bikes, the goal of the new law  is to keep people who don’t make as good of choices as Chi safe.