You've gotta be kidding - license plates for bikes?!

[Hayabusa Rider]

Usually, when some idiot politician suggests something like this they at least try to pretend it (license plate in this case) would help with some existing problem.

I don't even see an attempt here.

It's looks like a shameless money grab.

Fern

It's NY. The government has assumed complete control so no pretense is necessary. All options at election time are the same. That's Democracy for you.

 

[dennilfloss]

Not sure why it's a problem. We had license plates for our bicycles way back in the early 70s in Quebec City. We were told having the bike registered with the police helped with recovery when it was stolen. Plus the registration people made sure at the time of registration that it was in mechanical order and had things like a bell/horn, proper reflectors, mud guards, tires weren't worn off, etc...

 

[sactoking]

What happens when an out of state biker riders through?

Probably nothing. Things like registrations, etc can't be imposed on the citizens of other states. That's why a state like CA can't stop me at the border and force me to pay the (higher) registration for my 2008 Corolla; I'm a NV resident not seeking to change residency. So long as I maintain a NV address and NV registration I can use CA roads all I want and laugh at their stupidly high fees for residents.

 

[episodic]

What gets me is that for instance I have 3 bikes. A beater for crappy days, a touring bike for long rides, and a fixed gear (yea I run brakes) for when I want 45 minutes of awesome cardio. So I have to do all three? Madness.

 

[nonlnear]

Very good idea. It will help to balance the budget and bicycles need to abide by the same laws as motor vehicles do. Few bike riders follow all the rules and sometimes their actions can and do cause problems. It will be easier to track the offenders this way.

How does this make it easier to track offenders? Police can stop bicycles for any moving violation they want to today without license plates! If safety and rampant moving violations were the real motivation behind this, there would be no need for new laws but just enforcement of what is on the books.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Riding on public streets is a privilege, not a right.

 

[IGBT]

good idea. pay registration. display a plate. and get tickets for reckless behavior. I want to see every one of the critical mass morons with a plate on their arse.

 

[Brainonska511]

good idea. pay registration. display a plate. and get tickets for reckless behavior. I want to see every one of the critical mass morons with a plate on their arse.

They don't need plates to get traffic tickets on a bike.

 

[herm0016]

I remember getting licenses for our bikes in Kenosha, Wi. Was a hard to remove sticker that was placed on the seat tube tho as far as I can recall it wasn't required and was more for theft recovery purposes than any thing else.

we had stickers like this too, with a number so that if your bike is stolen they can see who owned it. but these were FREE to us in Michigan. it was part of a child and bike safety thing.

 

[nonlnear]

Riding on public streets is a privilege, not a right.

Driving on public streets without a TSA molestation is a privilege, not a right.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Driving on public streets without a TSA molestation is a privilege, not a right.

I agree. If more were sexually abused, their will to live may be broken and they'll live the rest of their lives as passive and timid drivers.

 

[biostud]

And the license plate administration costs will be around $30/plate.

In Denmark all bikes have a unique frame number, which is stamped into the frame and is registered when you buy the bike, so you can report it to your insurance company/police if your bike gets stolen.