Dumb ideas just won't go away, will they? Take for example this one in the Preston Leader this week: "Outrage over cyclists who break the law" (not available online):
Cyclists who break the law should be forced to register their bikes so they can be identified, some Darebin residents and traders say.
Westgarth shop proprietor Dale Schoch said he was one of several traders who witnessed cyclists every day riding on the footpath through the shopping strip or running the red light at the High St pedestrian crossing.
"Without a number plate or other identification they can do whatever they like," he said. "If one clips me while I'm crossing the road, I can't take a number down."
<SIGH> Here we go again and again.
But just for the hell of it, let's revisit why number plates for bikes is not a good idea:
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It's too costly
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It's practically unenforceable
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It would be detrimental to the broader social benefits of cycling
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Compliance would be low (especially among those it's supposed to catch), and
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Lack of compliance would just be something else for anti-cycling whiners to complain about
Again, I would draw attention to Chris Gerhard's excellent rebuttal of a similar suggestion in the UK last year.
"They're a law unto themselves."
Talk about generalising from the specific. A few ratbags behave recklessly in front of your shop, and now we're all lawless thugs. Nice.
But cycling groups say registration is unnecessary, difficult to enforce, prohibitive in cost and would deter people from owning and riding a bike, an increasingly popular mode of transport in Darebin.
(Hey, I just said that!)
Northcote's Kenneth McFadden said he was recently talking to a friend on the footpath in High St when he felt bicycle handlebars in his back.
"The guy had come free-wheeling down the hill on the footpath. I was lucky I had shifted my weight just in time and didn't get hurt," he said.
That's a pretty unpleasant experience, and I deplore that sort of behaviour. But if the cyclist had a number plate, I wonder if Mr McFadden would have had time to take down the details?
Reservoir's Leanne Thiel said the proliferation of cyclists in the area and the money the State Government was spending on bicycle lanes warranted cyclists paying a registration fee to help pay for the lane cost and upkeep.
My god this is boring. But once more, with feeling: car registration does not pay for the roads.
"If they are going to share the roads with us they should have to have a rego plate like cars and motorbikes and everyone else who shares the road," Ms Thiel said.
Oh, so the road "belongs" to car drivers now, does it? Umm, horses also share the road—should they get number plates too? (And just to be clear: no, I'm not advocating that!)
And did you notice another little nasty here? The article starts off talking about "cyclists who break the law" but now it has shifted to cyclists who lawfully use the road. Implication: cycling is not a legitimate use of the road. Hmm…
"A number plate is a good way to identify a cyclist who has been hit by a car and might not be carrying a bag with a licence or other identification."
Irrelevant. A number plate on a bike no more identifies the rider than a number plate on a car identifies the driver. But it's nice of her to pretend that she cares. Personally I'd rather not be hit by a car at all.
But Bicycle Victoria spokesman Harry Barber said there would be nothing to gain in registration and it would cause an "enormous bureaucratic impost every year".
"The Germans tried to do it to the Dutch during World War II and it didn't work," he said.
Ha! You bet it didn't work. And how much fun would cyclists have swapping registration plates backwards and forwards between themselves, and between all sorts of different bikes.
He said Bicycle Victoria supported fines for riders breaking the rules.
I agree absolutely: anyone who breaks the road rules should be punished accordingly. But registration and number plates have very little to do with enforcement of the road rules (beyond the road rules that require motor vehicles to have them).
Darebin Bicycle User Group spokesman Robin Gallagher said bicycle registration "would cost a bomb and achieve next to nothing".
"This is a perennial grumble but registration will never happen," he said.
State Government spokesman Bill Kyriakopoulos said the set-up and administrative costs of registering bicycles were not viable.
And there the argument ends, one would think. But I've no doubt is will bubble up again somewhere else in a few months time…
[Thanks to Peter Chen for the article.]
Comments
"Heil" isnt good to see that my letter in favor for bike registration has gathered all your support from all the cyclists in the 'widen' bike lanes. Leanne Thiel Car Driver Reservoir
Well, I can't argue with that—mainly because I haven't got a clue what Leanne is on about!
What I am on about is, I still stronly believe that bicycle rego's are the way to go, and to your reference to "Nazi"s you should be careful with which words you choose who never know the person tpying this letter may be german. Leanne Thiel A non racist person
OK, the Preston Leader published Leanne's reasons for wanting bicycles to be registered. I've argued against that position. We still disagree and that's fine. Acceptance of divergent views is one of the hallmarks of the free society in which we live.
However I will not accept the bizarre implication that I'm being racist simply by using the word "Nazi".
Firstly, I quoted Harry Barber from Bicycle Victoria who talked about how Germans tried to regulate ownership of bicycles in Holland during World War II. That's factually accurate but I indicated that I think the comparison was taking things a bit too far.
The word Nazi is not inherently racist but it can certainly be used in an insulting manner. This is clearly not the case in what I have written. Where did I even remotely suggest that anyone was a Nazi or behaving like a Nazi?
If Leanne Thiel is so insulted by the mere mention of a word like "Nazi" in a reasonable context, then I suggest she avoid the Internet or she'll spend a lot of time being affronted. However she is welcome back here at any time to make a retraction.
I want you to understand a simple exercise that we all learn at school you dont call a colored person a nigga ! You dont call a german a Nazi You dont call a new australian a wog !
For gods sake grow up and have some manners & next time you want to use my name in slander on some web site you better get my permission !
Pointing out that bicycle registration was tried by the Nazis and failed is not the same thing as calling people in favour of bike registration names... Apparently Ms Thiel has some serious reading comprehension issues, as well as a spectacular misunderstanding of how quoting people works.
Anyway, bicycle registration is a daft idea. I already pay car rego, car insurance, driving licence fees bike insurance, health insurance, and fairly substantial GST on all the bike stuff I buy... my contribution to the coffers from my transport and the risks of financial cost to the community from my having an accident seem to be covered adequately. And it's not my bike that's caused all the potholes on Sydney Road!
I've had my laugh keep safe on the road Happy Cycling to you all.
oh and for Charlie. Good on you for paying all your bills well done old chap !