Good q posed by the Amy Gillett Foundation re: registering bikes

[crazycanuck]

If you're on facebook, they've posed this question:Would you participate in voluntary registration of your bike if it sent a message to drivers that you are willing to be identifiable and accountable?Btw..if you're not on facebook, there's always the AG website (www.amygillett.org.au)

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/a...ndation?ref=nf

What are your thoughts?

[MartianDestiny]

I think that's a HUGE IF there.

No, I'm not very willing to pay some ridiculous fee (I already pay for the roads, thank you very much) and display a tacky tag or worse sticker on 4 bikes (especially not my beautiful piece of carbon fiber) because someone THINKS it will appease them.

I am ALL FOR bikers being held accountable for their actions on the road, but it's not lack of license plates that's preventing this. We know that the chance of a cop actually pulling us over, even if we do something blatantly wrong in front of them, is slim to none in most areas. That needs to change. But even with that the fact remains that the vast majority of cyclists (ie: those that would actually bother to get their bikes registered) don't "drive" any worse or any more dangerously than "cagers". Obviously the license plates aren't making them think twice about their actions...they still aren't being held accountable.

Not to mention I see this as something that is potentially horribly abused. "Yes officer, a bike with plate -----, is riding "recklessly"" (ie: is 6 inches from the shoulder, in MY lane, and has made me 3 seconds later for work because they are going a whooping 2 MPH under the speed limit, but I wanted to go 10 over...). Whose the cop going to believe? NOT the cyclist. NO thank you!

[Biciclista]

yes, i'd register my bike(s) if the fee was reasonable. If a car is stolen, they can track it by the VIN number. But a bike? change the paint, and your bike can disappear forever.

[MartianDestiny]

yes, i'd register my bike(s) if the fee was reasonable. If a car is stolen, they can track it by the VIN number. But a bike? change the paint, and your bike can disappear forever.

Bikes have serial numbers.

Works about as good as a VIN number for actually getting your property back (ie: neither work). A decent car thief is going to have it parted well before someone finds the VIN, at that point it doesn't really matter that they found your door in a junk yard somewhere with the VIN half scratched off...

Insurance, and trying to be reasonably careful and proactive, are your best bet.

Register your bike and the thief is just going to pull the "license plate" or sticker right off. My commuter bikes are registered with my college (because they, stupidly, have to be for "anti-theft" reasons), when I switched from undergrad to grad school it took me a whooping 30 seconds per bike to completely remove and replace the stickers...

[Owlie]

Register your bike and the thief is just going to pull the "license plate" or sticker right off. My commuter bikes are registered with my college (because they, stupidly, have to be for "anti-theft" reasons), when I switched from undergrad to grad school it took me a whooping 30 seconds per bike to completely remove and replace the stickers...

My university has that option. I haven't, simply because the campus is easily walkable. I don't park my bike outside--it lives in my room where there's relatively little chance of it getting stolen. The "registration" is basically a "hello, my name is" sticker with a number on it. Not worth the paper it's printed on to deter theft.

[MartianDestiny]

My university has that option.

It's "required" here. They actually do give tickets and impound bikes with no stickers on occasion (normally at the beginning and end of the semesters). So, the ones I'm likely to lock to a rack occasionally have to have the stupid sticker.

I don't mind as the $$$ supposedly goes into bike infrastructure on campus (something I'm apparently NOT paying for otherwise, unlike the roads). I do wish they'd say "hey, we are collecting a fee for infrastructure for your use, here's a sticker that says you've paid, as an added bonus, we'll keep up with the number so we know the bike is yours", instead of "buy into this great theft prevention tool" (LOL, riiiight...)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

If you're on facebook, they've posed this question:Would you participate in voluntary registration of your bike if it sent a message to drivers that you are willing to be identifiable and accountable?Btw..if you're not on facebook, there's always the AG website (www.amygillett.org.au)
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/a...ndation?ref=nf

What are your thoughts?

My thoughts? That I'm glad I'm not on Face Book.

(hey, you asked!)