DeBlasio is thinking of adding license plates to bicycles.

[Amol S.]

Mayor of NYC is thinking of adding license plates to bicycles. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think it is a law that one must have a New York State Drivers License to drive any vehicle that has a license plate.

Mayor De Blasio Says He's Open To Requiring License Plates For Bicycles

 

[K1052]

Maybe he should shut up until he cancels the placard program and tows all the cars out of the bike lanes.

 

[dawp]

in my home town in WI we had to have a bike license, it wasn't a plate but a sticker you put on the seat tube like a what you get to put on your car plates when you renew them every year.

 

[Brainonska511]

I see BdB continues to be a fucking clown. Requiring license plates for bicycles is stupid and a huge waste of taxpayer money and resources.

 

[Brainonska511]

Maybe he should shut up until he cancels the placard program and tows all the cars out of the bike lanes.

Don't forget towing the cars off the sidewalks.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

Note the dates. Bike plates have been around at least that long.

 

[IronWing]

in my home town in WI we had to have a bike license, it wasn't a plate but a sticker you put on the seat tube like a what you get to put on your car plates when you renew them every year.

Yep, when I first got a bike, they were actual plates and later they went to stickers as stickers were harder to steal.

 

[K1052]

Don't forget towing the cars off the sidewalks.

Those should be set on fire.

 

[Sunburn74]

Seems like a cash grab to me.
I understand having licenses for those motorized scooters and skateboards but bicycles? That's ludicrous. What's next? A license for tennis shoes?

 

[MrSquished]

What an idiot

 

[pmv]

Don't forget towing the cars off the sidewalks.

If they aren't legally parked, they should be treated just like any other personal possession that has been dumped on the public street (e.g. old mattresses or bits of furniture). Open season for anyone who wants to take them, or to destroy them.

 

[BoomerD]

I remember having to fork over a couple of $$$ for a bicycle when I was a kid in the 60's.

Looks like it's technically still a law:

WAC 308-330-500:

apps.leg.wa.gov

and this:

WAC 308-330-540:

apps.leg.wa.gov

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

It's just another tax. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[HomerJS]

It's just another tax. Nothing more, nothing less.

Liar

 

[ch33zw1z]

I remember having to fork over a couple of $$$ for a bicycle when I was a kid in the 60's.

Looks like it's technically still a law:

WAC 308-330-500:

apps.leg.wa.gov

and this:

WAC 308-330-540:

apps.leg.wa.gov

Interesting. I have never heard of actual bikes plates. Seems a like an area thing. If you're out in the boonies, why bother? But somewhere like NYC, ban cars and push for bikes, seems more reasonable.

The wear and tear from a bike though is nothing like a car or heavier. One could argue about loss tax revenue banning cars, but it seems to me like license plates for bikes would be a bad idea if the cost is crazy high.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

Interesting. I have never heard of actual bikes plates. Seems a like an area thing.

it seems to me like license plates for bikes would be a bad idea if the cost is crazy high.

I showed you pictures of them from the 1950s from different places.

Fees back then were under $5/yr.

 

[ch33zw1z]

I showed you pictures of them from the 1950s from different places.

Fees back then were under $5/yr.

great, some costs from 70 years ago. What's the cost now?

 

[pmv]

great, some costs from 70 years ago. What's the cost now?

How do the administration and enforcement costs compare to the revenue raised? Is it going to cover children's bikes?

Clearly, facing an obesity and pollution crisis, the ideal course is to disincentivise active travel and do what you can to push people back into their cars. Makes sense. Maybe tax walking as well while they are at it? And a special 'fresh vegetables tax'.

 

[IronWing]

The given reason for bicycle registration where I grew up was that it made recovery of stolen bikes easier as one provided the serial number of the bike when obtaining the plate/sticker. The plates were an annual thing but when they switched to the stickers, it was a one time deal.

 

[HomerJS]

On the surface it sounds silly but it gives police an enforcement mechanism because bike traffic is on the rise and people aren't sticking to the rules of the road.

No costs above what it takes to issue the plates and maintain records. If implemented it should only be for bikes that will ride in street bike lanes.

 

[Pohemi]

The given reason for bicycle registration where I grew up was that it made recovery of stolen bikes easier as one provided the serial number of the bike when obtaining the plate/sticker. The plates were an annual thing but when they switched to the stickers, it was a one time deal.

Same here (in WI). Some towns tell you that registering your bicycle is REQUIRED to ride it on public roads, and you MUST have the registration sticker placed somewhere on the bicycle frame.

I had police officers try to hold me to the bullshit requirements more than once, and it led to me going to court once to fight a ticket for non-registration (in Madison).

After I had bicycles stolen and the police hand-waived away the (grand) theft of a $3k bicycle...I vowed to not pay them registration fees any longer. They make no effort to find your bike, and if/when it IS recovered, they'll sell it at the annual police auction instead of notifying the owner.

Fuck pointless and worthless registrations and licensing for invalid reasons.

 

[K1052]

After I had bicycles stolen and the police hand-waived away the (grand) theft of a $3k bicycle...I vowed to not pay them registration fees any longer. They make no effort to find your bike, and if/when it IS recovered, they'll sell it at the annual police auction instead of notifying the owner.

Basically any PD when something is stolen:

Cops aren't going to find it unless it's literally dropped in their laps by somebody else and could absolutely not care less. Also they are consistently super friendly when you have to go fill out the report for insurance reasons.

 

[Pohemi]

Cops aren't going to find it unless it's literally dropped in their laps by somebody else and could absolutely not care less. Also they are consistently super friendly when you have to go fill out the report for insurance reasons.

Yeah, I understand that, and don't expect the "crack team of investigators" on the case, heh. Most are never recovered, and many are broken down and stripped immediately after theft (to hide evidence/identification of the bike, etc.).

The breaking point for me was going to the annual police bicycle auction, and seeing my custom-built bicycle up on the auction block in all it's glory. Although MOST of the serial number could still be made out and matched to records...TWO digits (of 14? 16?) being scratched and gouged beyond readability was enough for them to justify refusal to surrender the bicycle back to me.

That was it. Fuck them, and fuck their bicycle licensing. I swore never again, and I never did (that happened with the Green Bay, WI PD). Fucking thieves with permits (that YOU paid for!)

 

[ch33zw1z]

How do the administration and enforcement costs compare to the revenue raised? Is it going to cover children's bikes?

Clearly, facing an obesity and pollution crisis, the ideal course is to disincentivise active travel and do what you can to push people back into their cars. Makes sense. Maybe tax walking as well while they are at it? And a special 'fresh vegetables tax'.

Yea, there's all those subtleties to go along with it.

Personally, I don't see the point in it.

And especially with the cops just ignoring bicycle theft for the most part (same in my area). I mean, who even keeps track of their bike's serial number? and it's super easy to get rid of. There's no real way to monitor it (TMK)...and even if you could tag the frame...the rest of the bike is interchangeable in minutes for the moderately skilled bike builder.

 

[pmv]

On the surface it sounds silly but it gives police an enforcement mechanism because bike traffic is on the rise and people aren't sticking to the rules of the road.

No costs above what it takes to issue the plates and maintain records. If implemented it should only be for bikes that will ride in street bike lanes.

One issue that comes up regularly here, is that licence plates on cars don't actually mean very much. Even if you have the licence plate (clearly visible in a photo) of a vehicle that was involved in a serious offence, it's still not sufficient to prosecute a driver, because you have to also prove they were actually driving the vehicle at the time. If they aren't identifiable in photographic evidence, and deny it, and refuse to say who _was_ driving it, the police usually just give up. At best they can issue a small penalty to the registered owner for refusing to identify the driver.

Presumably if cyclists had licence plates the same thing would apply - they'd still have to have evidence to prove who was riding the bike at the time of the offence. So I doubt it's worth the cost of administering such a scheme.

Really you need visible labelling on the cyclist, not the bike. And indeed, why not extend that to pedestrians? I was mugged once by a pedestrian - they didn't have a number plate so I couldn't identify them. Compulsory number plates attached to everybody's foreheads!

As a bonus it could be colour-coded depending on whether you've been vaccinated or not. Maybe it could double as voter ID also?