News: Bills would require license plate for all [bicycles], annual registration

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Bills would require license plate for all bikes, annual registration



ALBANY -- It?s like your car?s license plate, but for your bike.
Two bills recently introduced in the state Assembly would require that all bikes in the state be registered each year and sport a license plate.
Assemblyman Michael DenDekker introduced the measures.
The first applies to personal bicycles. The license plate would cost $25 for the first year and $5 each year after.
The second bill would require a $50 license plate fee for commercial bikes. It would also require casualty insurance.
All bikes would have to pass a safety inspection -- including lamp and equipment requirements -- to get the license.
Anyone under 18 would have a special mark on their plate.
If passed, DenDekker estimated the state would bring in more than $1.8 million in the first year and $375,000 each following year.

http://www.cbs6albany.com/articles/license-1283235-plate-albany.html

An interesting development from New York. I'm all for it. If cyclists want full rights as road users, having them pay a modest registration fee seems quite reasonable as the rest of us have to do it.
 
And, even more importantly, it makes sure they can be held accountable for their actions - they do something stupid, they can be apprehended by their license plate numbers, just like the rest of us paying road users.
 
If that means that cyclists are taken seriously as road users than I'm willing to pay.
 
If that means that cyclists are taken seriously as road users than I'm willing to pay.

Want equal rights? Gotta take equal responsibility. Right now, cyclists get undeserved free rides AND don't follow the traffic laws while claiming the privileges of a full-status road user. This needs to end.


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And those are just the ones I happen to have seen personally and managed to record. I see a lot more than that on a daily basis.
 
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Does this mean they can be issues red light camera tickets? Bikers want to share to road but never seems to care for the rules.
 
Does this mean they can be issues red light camera tickets? Bikers want to share to road but never seems to care for the rules.

Technically, yes, but I don't think the bike would trip the mag sensors in the road.

On the other hand, I would dearly love to see the dozens of people in the local Lycra Kommando busted for riding in the crosswalk to beat the light as well as riding on the public sidewalk or on pedestrian bridges when it's just not 'convenient' for them to use the street. $250 minimum fine per offense if I do it on a motorcycle but bicyclists never seem to be held accountable...
 
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Making the lycra patrol responsible and all is good, but how would this affect the kid who just wants to take his bike out to the park?
 
Not addressed by the law. I'll take what I can get for now and come back for more later. :p

I would guess that the next bit would be mandatory licensure of the bicycle operator - which I also view as a good thing, since road users are supposed to know the rules of the road for their own safety as well as others. If a kid is too young to understand the rules of the road, he or she doesn't need to be riding their bike in the street.
 
I understand your pain guys, but as a similar thought, when I ride my bike I do it on the sidewalk. Car drivers over here don't know how to act around other cars, let alone a guy on a bike. I don't want to get hit by some fuckwad and break something. My dad had a car door suddenly open on him while on a bike and the car owner didn't understand that it was a proper traffic incident he did and wanted my dad to pay for the door. Even the policeman told the guy he was an idiot.
 
Sure, but charging a fee is bullshit.
 
I understand your pain guys, but as a similar thought, when I ride my bike I do it on the sidewalk. Car drivers over here don't know how to act around other cars, let alone a guy on a bike. I don't want to get hit by some fuckwad and break something. My dad had a car door suddenly open on him while on a bike and the car owner didn't understand that it was a proper traffic incident he did and wanted my dad to pay for the door. Even the policeman told the guy he was an idiot.
In most the UK (and I think most US states) riding on the sidewalk is illegal anyway, so somebody riding on it has no rights and is breaking the law.

I'm not sure where I stand on this one, on one hand it seems like a good idea to keep the lycra brigade in control and the fee for the license isn't un-reasonable. Although it seriously arsey to make something that was free now payable. I'm not sure what the hell "casulty insurance" is though, so have no idea what it'd cost or what it covers.

On the other hand what possible safety checks can you do on a bike? other than are your tyres fucked and do your lights work.... and what happens if it fails? is there a fine? If so it'll just be another thing for the police to abuse to get a bit of extra money.
 
They are charging more than an admin fee. There are lots of poor families with children who would be affected by this. Otherwise I don't have an issue as I bike off road anyway.
 
Should have been done a long time ago.
 
I'm not sure where I stand on this one, on one hand it seems like a good idea to keep the lycra brigade in control and the fee for the license isn't un-reasonable. Although it seriously arsey to make something that was free now payable. I'm not sure what the hell "casulty insurance" is though, so have no idea what it'd cost or what it covers.

Liability insurance - hit someone and injure or kill them, or hit and damage property, that sort of thing. The same kind of basic insurance that every other road user must carry.

On the other hand what possible safety checks can you do on a bike? other than are your tyres fucked and do your lights work.... and what happens if it fails? is there a fine? If so it'll just be another thing for the police to abuse to get a bit of extra money.

I know you guys have MOT over there, and it applies to motorcycles as well. Well, every other wheeled road using vehicle must be subjected to similar types of exams (at least in my state) and it's only fair that bicycles be forced to do so as well. See the picture above - dude cycling up the onramp had, uh, NONE of the required lights on his bicycle. Check brakes, tires, lights, reflectors, license mount, and you're outta there. Pretty much the same thing done with my motorcycle.

They are charging more than an admin fee. There are lots of poor families with children who would be affected by this. Otherwise I don't have an issue as I bike off road anyway.

That's less than I have to pay for my motorcycle's licensure fees. If you can't afford this, you can't afford the mandatory helmet, either. Too bad - remember, road usage is a privilege, not a right. (As the authorities are fond of telling you when you get caught speeding.)

The only thing a bicycle should be excused from (versus a motorcycle) is emissions - because obviously it doesn't have any. Other than that, as a road-going vehicle, it should be treated the same by the law and carry the same requirements. It should have to carry lighting, reflectors, a device to monitor speed, have functional brakes, be required to be insured, and the operator should be required to carry proof that they are trained to operate the vehicle to the state's satisfaction.

Remember also that that fee (theoretically) includes the bicycle's share of the upkeep on the traffic controls, lane markers, and other road features that the rider makes use of, so yes, it can and should be more than an admin fee. Equal rights means equal treatment and equal responsibility. Don't want the last two, don't ask for the first one.
 
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Trained to operate a bike? You're joking right? You can prove you can operate a bike by RIDING it.


And you can prove you know how to operate a car by driving it. Still doesn't excuse the motorist or motorcyclist from having to carry a card that says the state agrees that you know how to operate your vehicle and that you are permitted to do so. And the requirement should be the same for bicyclists as 'equal road users'.

Being able to mechanically operate a vehicle does not mean that you know the rules of the road. That's part of what getting your license requires.
 
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I think this is for the best. If you want to ride on the road, you gotta be subjected to more or less the same shit drivers and moto riders do, including licensing (which this bill doesn't seem to require). It's really not fair that someone gets to use the same facilities just because they bought a different vehicle.

Though I think the "what of the children" question is a big one. My bike(s) were a huge part of my childhood. Where and how would children be able to ride under this kind of law? I suppose under this particular law they just carry the license plate with the mark on it. But what if it went a step further and required licensing?
 
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