View Poll Results: SHOULD BICYCLE LICENSES BE REQUIRED IN THE USA?
YES
4
5.97%
NO
63
94.03%
Voters: 67. You may not vote on this poll
Poll: Should bike licenses be required in the usa?
10-13-11, 04:26 PM
#1
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Poll: Should bike licenses be required in the usa?
The subject of whether people should have a license to ride a bicycle has come up every now and then. While some states do require bicyclists to have a license to operate their bicycles, this is not so in others. In Maine, for example, the state considered having bicyclists have a license for identification, extra revenue, etc., but dropped it. Other states may or may not have used those or other reasons.
Should bicycle licenses be required in the USA? The basic answer is either YES or NO.
If you have further thoughts about the matter, leave them for after the poll.
Should bicycle licenses be required in the USA? The basic answer is either YES or NO.
If you have further thoughts about the matter, leave them for after the poll.
10-13-11, 04:30 PM
#2
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No.
10-13-11, 07:52 PM
#3
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Nearly all the cities and states that experimented with either mandatory bicycle registration or bicyclist licensing found that the overhead administration costs far outweighed any potential benefit, especially since cyclists pose little danger to others. In most cases, cyclists received no tangible benefits (the programs were not designed in a way that would increase safety) and compliance with the law was very low. Enforcement efforts aimed at increasing compliance caused hardship for on low-income transportation cyclists, and in some cases programs to impound unregistered bikes resulted in police taking more bikes than the local bike thieves. Furthermore, since compliance was extremely low, police would sometimes use the local registration laws as a pretext to stop cyclists in high-crime neighborhoods for interrogation or searches. The regressive effects of such laws and the racially biased appearance of enforcement created public relations problems for police, leading to most communities repealing such laws.
Most communities now realize that the public benefits of cycling so outweigh the public costs that they seek to encourage cycling, and don't want create programs that would act as a disincentive, especially for beginners. Education programs would help protect bicyclists from themselves, but American sentiment about nanny laws is such that these programs are left voluntary for adults. Mandatory cycling education for children, however, might be a very good thing, if enough Americans cared about cycling.
Most communities now realize that the public benefits of cycling so outweigh the public costs that they seek to encourage cycling, and don't want create programs that would act as a disincentive, especially for beginners. Education programs would help protect bicyclists from themselves, but American sentiment about nanny laws is such that these programs are left voluntary for adults. Mandatory cycling education for children, however, might be a very good thing, if enough Americans cared about cycling.
10-13-11, 07:57 PM
#4
-
Nearly all the cities and states that experimented with either mandatory bicycle registration or bicyclist licensing found that the overhead administration costs far outweighed any potential benefit, especially since cyclists pose little danger to others. In most cases, cyclists received no tangible benefits (the programs were not designed in a way that would increase safety) and compliance with the law was very low. Enforcement efforts aimed at increasing compliance caused hardship for on low-income transportation cyclists, and in some cases programs to impound unregistered bikes resulted in police taking more bikes than the local bike thieves. Furthermore, since compliance was extremely low, police would sometimes use the local registration laws as a pretext to stop cyclists in high-crime neighborhoods for interrogation or searches. The regressive effects of such laws and the racially biased appearance of enforcement created public relations problems for police, leading to most communities repealing such laws.
Most communities now realize that the public benefits of cycling so outweigh the public costs that they seek to encourage cycling, and don't want create programs that would act as a disincentive, especially for beginners. Education programs would help protect bicyclists from themselves, but American sentiment about nanny laws is such that these programs are left voluntary for adults. Mandatory cycling education for children, however, might be a very good thing, if enough Americans cared about cycling.
Most communities now realize that the public benefits of cycling so outweigh the public costs that they seek to encourage cycling, and don't want create programs that would act as a disincentive, especially for beginners. Education programs would help protect bicyclists from themselves, but American sentiment about nanny laws is such that these programs are left voluntary for adults. Mandatory cycling education for children, however, might be a very good thing, if enough Americans cared about cycling.
10-13-11, 08:02 PM
#5
----
Nearly all the cities and states that experimented with either mandatory bicycle registration or bicyclist licensing found that the overhead administration costs far outweighed any potential benefit, especially since cyclists pose little danger to others. In most cases, cyclists received no tangible benefits (the programs were not designed in a way that would increase safety) and compliance with the law was very low. Enforcement efforts aimed at increasing compliance caused hardship for on low-income transportation cyclists, and in some cases programs to impound unregistered bikes resulted in police taking more bikes than the local bike thieves. Furthermore, since compliance was extremely low, police would sometimes use the local registration laws as a pretext to stop cyclists in high-crime neighborhoods for interrogation or searches. The regressive effects of such laws and the racially biased appearance of enforcement created public relations problems for police, leading to most communities repealing such laws.
Most communities now realize that the public benefits of cycling so outweigh the public costs that they seek to encourage cycling, and don't want create programs that would act as a disincentive, especially for beginners. Education programs would help protect bicyclists from themselves, but American sentiment about nanny laws is such that these programs are left voluntary for adults. Mandatory cycling education for children, however, might be a very good thing, if enough Americans cared about cycling.
Most communities now realize that the public benefits of cycling so outweigh the public costs that they seek to encourage cycling, and don't want create programs that would act as a disincentive, especially for beginners. Education programs would help protect bicyclists from themselves, but American sentiment about nanny laws is such that these programs are left voluntary for adults. Mandatory cycling education for children, however, might be a very good thing, if enough Americans cared about cycling.
What he said ^^^^^^.
or more simply, absolutely NOT.
10-13-11, 08:21 PM
#6
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I can't imagine what would be accomplished by licensing cyclists.
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10-13-11, 08:43 PM
#7
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Bicycle licensing, would almost certainly dissuade people from riding a bike, it would dissuade parents from encouraging it over driving. Imagine a little 6yr.-old kid with a bike license, he is riding around his street and a delivery truck hits him. The boy will have proper identification....for the morgue. After the delivery driver has been exonerated and the boy blamed.
While licensing would be good for identification purposes, it is also another avenue for authorities to unjustly affix blame, regardless of responsibility. When is a motorists' BAC taken. When is someone charged with a DUI or DWI in the injury or death of a cyclist, rarely. The cyclist is always the one to be blamed, regardless of legitimate or not. Bicycle licensing is just another avenue to do that with.
While licensing would be good for identification purposes, it is also another avenue for authorities to unjustly affix blame, regardless of responsibility. When is a motorists' BAC taken. When is someone charged with a DUI or DWI in the injury or death of a cyclist, rarely. The cyclist is always the one to be blamed, regardless of legitimate or not. Bicycle licensing is just another avenue to do that with.
10-13-11, 08:55 PM
#8
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No.
10-13-11, 10:18 PM
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Why stop at cyclists?
Let's license skateboarders, then rollerbladers, then pedestrians...
Let's license skateboarders, then rollerbladers, then pedestrians...
10-14-11, 12:41 AM
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No state or country I'm aware of requires a bicycle operator's license, equivalent to a driver's license. We may have some problems in the U.S., but our cyclists are not so uniquely bad among the cyclists of the world that they require licensing.
Bicycle tabs, equivalent to car tabs, have been abandoned by most U.S. jurisdictions that used to have them. They simply aren't economical to enforce, and produce little or no net benefit. Our city code has vestigal bicycle registration language, from sleepy days before cars became the issue they are today. It's been a long time since the Chief of Police personally inspected every bicycle for safety at the time of sale...
Bicycle tabs, equivalent to car tabs, have been abandoned by most U.S. jurisdictions that used to have them. They simply aren't economical to enforce, and produce little or no net benefit. Our city code has vestigal bicycle registration language, from sleepy days before cars became the issue they are today. It's been a long time since the Chief of Police personally inspected every bicycle for safety at the time of sale...
10-14-11, 03:58 AM
#16
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Who would benefit?
No.
No.
10-14-11, 05:19 AM
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No, we are licensed and feed enough in this country, government interefers too much already, who wants more? And a stickered license plate like the auto has?
10-14-11, 05:47 AM
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No. I don't see how a old kid riding up and down his street and an adult riding for transportation should be subject to the same standards. Trying to make differentiations would make it too complicated.
10-14-11, 06:00 AM
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Reminds me when years ago I noticed that surfboards out in California had to have a license stuck on them. So now what...make bicycles have them? Sadly enough, this is the way our society is heading. You can be free as long as you have a license.
10-14-11, 06:25 AM
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Are you polling about a federal bike license? Do you guys even have a federal police that would care? USA is a rather large country so I'd think municipalities or at most states could do it.
10-14-11, 06:43 AM
#21
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Bicycle licensing, would almost certainly dissuade people from riding a bike, it would dissuade parents from encouraging it over driving. Imagine a little 6yr.-old kid with a bike license, he is riding around his street and a delivery truck hits him. The boy will have proper identification....for the morgue. After the delivery driver has been exonerated and the boy blamed.
While licensing would be good for identification purposes, it is also another avenue for authorities to unjustly affix blame, regardless of responsibility. When is a motorists' BAC taken. When is someone charged with a DUI or DWI in the injury or death of a cyclist, rarely. The cyclist is always the one to be blamed, regardless of legitimate or not. Bicycle licensing is just another avenue to do that with.
While licensing would be good for identification purposes, it is also another avenue for authorities to unjustly affix blame, regardless of responsibility. When is a motorists' BAC taken. When is someone charged with a DUI or DWI in the injury or death of a cyclist, rarely. The cyclist is always the one to be blamed, regardless of legitimate or not. Bicycle licensing is just another avenue to do that with.
10-14-11, 06:45 AM
#22
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10-14-11, 06:52 AM
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I voted "Yes", with a caveat:
The licensing should be a "license by rule". That's a legal term for granting a license automatically unless certain conditions are met. An example of this is CB Radio, where every citizen, while in areas controlled by the US (And, indirectly, the FCC) are licensed to operate a Citizen's Band Transmitter/Receiver combination; and this license is only revoked when the government has found the operator to be in gross negligence in operating within the rules.
This could be transferred to bicycling, where anyone over the age of say, 10 (Or whatever age deemed at the state/county/city level), is automatically licensed to operate a bicycle on public roadways; until such a time as they have been deemed unsafe (ie, a whole lot of cited violations).
This type of licensing allows for an official "validity" for cyclist to operate on roads, since the assumption by drivers is that they have not been found to be unsafe, lest, they would have had their privilege revoked (Yes, before people jump on me, riding on a public road is indeed a privilege, just like driving is).
Anything but a license by rule set-up I would be opposed to.
The licensing should be a "license by rule". That's a legal term for granting a license automatically unless certain conditions are met. An example of this is CB Radio, where every citizen, while in areas controlled by the US (And, indirectly, the FCC) are licensed to operate a Citizen's Band Transmitter/Receiver combination; and this license is only revoked when the government has found the operator to be in gross negligence in operating within the rules.
This could be transferred to bicycling, where anyone over the age of say, 10 (Or whatever age deemed at the state/county/city level), is automatically licensed to operate a bicycle on public roadways; until such a time as they have been deemed unsafe (ie, a whole lot of cited violations).
This type of licensing allows for an official "validity" for cyclist to operate on roads, since the assumption by drivers is that they have not been found to be unsafe, lest, they would have had their privilege revoked (Yes, before people jump on me, riding on a public road is indeed a privilege, just like driving is).
Anything but a license by rule set-up I would be opposed to.
10-14-11, 07:51 AM
#25
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And if the motorist is charged, it takes a monumental effort by the cycling community to get a conviction and sentencing that even remotely comes close to fitting the offense, as was the case in the death of a local cyclist resulting in a 1 year sentence in the county jail for the motorist.
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