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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he is considering requiring bicyclists to be licensed and registered like automobile drivers currently are.
According to a report in the New York Daily News on Wednesday, the mayor also wants to expand the city's safety regulations, which already have won it a nanny-state reputation, to include requiring Citi Bike renters to wear helmets.
Mr. de Blasio called the idea of forcing cyclists to have licenses and registration a "valid discussion," the Daily News reported, and added that he also plans a crackdown on cyclists who break traffic laws.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/sep/4/bill-de-blasio-eyes-licenses-bike-riders/
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Bill De Blasio Eyes License Requirement for Bike Riders
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(Score: 3, Insightful) by hwertz on Friday September 06 2019, @05:25PM
Quite sensible. Bicycles here will routinely go like 30MPH down the sidewalk, even in areas with loads of businesses with driveways (so they think when someone is turning they're going to look like 1/4 mile up and down the road for them, instead of the few dozen feet for someone going human walking speed), they'll also blow off the sidewalk onto the street mid-block WITHOUT looking for traffic. Note this is in areas WITH bike lanes -- the bikes will not use most of them! They routinely run stop signs (not a rolling stop, full speed without looking for cross traffic and such). As much as they speed on the sidewalk, when IN traffic, a lot think they don't have to pedal and will go like 5 or 10MPH. Very few signal their turns either. All too often I've seen one almost wiped out because they've been going like 5 or 10MPH for blocks, finally get somewhere they want to turn, then start to turn without signalling *or* looking while the vehicle behind them is sensible passing them as the road obstruction they've been being.
Worst of all, groups of bicyclists locally think it's no problem to drunk drive; they'll go to a (beer-serving) restaurant or pub, get piss-ass drunk having a light lunch but like 6 beers, then drunk drive their bikes. Apparently even worse in the after-dinner time. It's utterly ridiculous to watch these people almost fall right off their bikes, then weave into traffic.
The bicyclists would of course argue licensing is not necessary since they are less likely to injure bystanders and blah-de-blah. I think here, it's the opposite; newer cars have nice soft bumpers, and the people who drive them don't drive them like utter morons, while the bikes are lighter but driving like an utter moron about 2/3rds of the time. I've seen very many almost ram into pedestrians (since they're illegally driving 30MPH down the sidewalk so often.)
On the other hand, I have seen a few (VERY few) bikes driven just great. Kudos to them, and they will have an easy time getting a license.