wphamilton

I'm not going to argue over a penny vs a dollar a year, so have it either way you want.

dougmc

I said "pennies" not "a penny". "Pennies per year" could even be extended to a whole dollar per year.

That said, there will not be any registration system that charges on the order of a dollar per year or less for bicycles, especially if they thought the system would help "pay for the roads". It's not enough money to even pay for administering the system.

There have been mandatory bicycle registrations that charged a few dollars per year in the past, but they didn't involve almost full sized plates and certainly weren't intended to pay for the roads -- the intent was more to make bicycles easier to track somehow. And in general they cost more to administer than they brought in and were eventually thrown out.

If (and this is a big if) the lawmakers decide that cyclists need to stop being freeloaders and actually pay for the roads (with all the logical problems that assertion has -- I am *not* agreeing with this view), they will not base the fee proportionally on vehicle weight, vehicle+operator weight or damage done to the roads (and we can talk about if it's fair or not all we want -- they just won't do it.)

Instead, they'll probably just look at what they already charge motorcycles or mopeds and either charge the same amount or a little less.

wphamilton

Your mistake - using the fourth power, (180/3500) to the fourth power is what?

Nope, and of course that's the point in the first place.

Jseis 

A gaggle of roadies...damn...been wondering what the best collective noun is..thanks!

dougmc

You seem confused. I was commenting on what you said --

... proportional to vehicle weight would be 20/3500 for a road bike, and proportional means to the first power, not the fourth. So if that was the system, if the 3500 lb car costs $50, the 20 lb bike costs 29 cents. That's the "pennies" I was referring to.

And if they include a typical operator weight, it becomes 200 lbs vs 3680 lbs instead, so instead of 29 cents that works out to around $2.80.

Of course, both of these include some guesses at weights and prices -- they're just examples. Certainly, that 29 cents could turn into a dollar with a heavier bike or a more expensive fee, and that $2.80 could turn into a dollar with a lighter rider and a less expensive fee.

(And nobody is suggesting that they do it by the fourth power that I'm aware of. Unless you were when you said "since wear on the road is proportional to weight" ?)

But again, if somebody decides that bicycles do need to be registered and need full sized plates and the like, especially if the purpose is to make sure they pay "their fair share", the cost won't be $0.29 or $2.80. It'll probably be about what motorcycles are charged, possibly a bit less.

delcrossv

It'd be nice if GA residents would know about this bit of foolishness though. No restriction on pelotons or riding on STATE highways in Illinois. Interstates are another matter, but state routes are most rural roads here.

Wits_Of_Fury

Via reason.com comes today's example of "are you f***ing kidding me?"
Some lowlights of the bill [pdf] include a $15 yearly registration fee; elimination of "two-abreast" riding; limiting riding groups to no more than four bikes separated by at least four feet each; groups of four separated by at least 50 feet.

Are they trying to get people to give up bicycling? It doesn't appear to give any exemptions for children's bicycles, either. Not to mention the effective destruction of the group ride with the four-cyclist limit.

Article from accessnorthga.com

znomit

Man, I would so own the lane everywhere.

daihard 

They must be sponsored by the auto industry.

Crash_N_Carry

Besides lining the pockets of the state gov't, just what good would enacting this particular law do? It's not going to make the roads any safer since there's still a contingent out there either on their bikes or behind the wheel that act like total a-holes no matter what the laws say. The only thing I see it as is a way to extract money from cyclists who have given up driving.

Plain and simple; we don't need new laws that quite obviously aren't going to do crap. Instead they should be enforcing the laws that are already there.

Beyond that the only thing I see this doing is opening the doors to more bureaucratic crap and fees. Next thing you know you'll be required to get bicycle insurance, a yearly inspection fee, etc.

The only way I'd personally get behind any kind of legislation like this is if they planned on using the revenue generated to improving infrastructure for cyclists. Thing is, we all know that'll never happen. :/

totalnewbie

can't wait to see jon stewart take a crack at the groups of four thing.

znomit

Dude, its in the US, the Chinese own that lane.

MingusDew

I <3 our government

waters60

You are talking about Georgia after all. Trying to find any intelligence in most elected officials there is pointless. It is scary that the same standard of intelligence is now inflicting itself on a national basis. Would that Mencken was still alive to pillory the ignorance that seems to be the new badge of honor.

coasting 

I hear Georgia has some great golf courses.

ibikestickers

When laws like this come up, I always figure that there is some kind of personal vendetta involved between the lawmaker and someone/some thing. Rogers probably hates when his limo driver has to pass cyclists. J/K, I don't know that he rides in a limo, but it sure seems like the privileged and powerful love to go after the dumbest things.

Nachoman

I think he's probably just taking his orders from some corporation that gave him a large bribe . . . I mean contribution.

caloso

Yes.

Seattle Forrest

Typical big government republicans.

SirHustlerEsq

Texas Governor Rick Perry voted down a bill requiring 3' passing distance on cyclists. Apparently cyclists are only welcome to some degree in very few places.

CbadRider

The thread from Road was merged with the existing thread in A&S.

Bikepacker67

And what about touring through the State?

caloso

I would be happy to pay a registration fee based on curb weight if it were applied equally to all vehicles. How about a dollar a pound?

So, that's $17 for an Excalibur and $5718 for an Escalade. Sounds fair.

dougmc

Well, he vetoed it.

He did give a reason for it -- that passing vulnerable road users too closely was already illegal -- and that statement is basically true. That said, the existing law doesn't give a specific distance, and the new one did. Also, the bill had passed with unanimous or near unanimous support from the legislature, so you'd think he'd have not vetoed something so strongly supported ... but he did.

delcrossv

"Full faith and credit" takes care of that- just bring an out of state ID.