05-05-2012, 07:00 PM
Not replying to you matt, but there seems to be no "open reply".
I for a long time did not think that bikes needed to be registered, but recently they have been given "Equal" rights to many roads. Equal to cars.
If they are "Equal" then they need to pony up some money so they are truly equal.
I would think that if your old enough to have a drivers license than you should have to pay a yearly fee and have a sticker showing that you have paid on your bike. Many bikes are not $80 Rollfasts anymore. Modern high tech bikes cost in excess of $4,000. More than a decent used car. They pay no registration fee, no license fee, require no training in the rules of the road, pay no gas tax, there is no law setting aside 10% of waht is spent on the sport like there is for hunting and fishing equipment (see, tubers without motors do pay into the system) and they are not required to carry liability insurance.
So, if a bike runs a stop sign and does damage to your car, what recourse do you have? If a bike hits a pedestrian, what money pool is there to pay for the pedestrians injuries?
I have nothing against bikes, I love mine. I just think in this day in age where everyone has to contribute to the public facilities they use, bikes are getting a free ride they don't need.
To a guy with a $3k bike, wearing $500 worth of clothes and transporting their bike on a $300 rack, another $20 per year should be no big deal.
Not to mention that the recording of the serial numbers in the registration process would halp return many stolen bikes to their owners.
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I for a long time did not think that bikes needed to be registered, but recently they have been given "Equal" rights to many roads. Equal to cars.
If they are "Equal" then they need to pony up some money so they are truly equal.
I would think that if your old enough to have a drivers license than you should have to pay a yearly fee and have a sticker showing that you have paid on your bike. Many bikes are not $80 Rollfasts anymore. Modern high tech bikes cost in excess of $4,000. More than a decent used car. They pay no registration fee, no license fee, require no training in the rules of the road, pay no gas tax, there is no law setting aside 10% of waht is spent on the sport like there is for hunting and fishing equipment (see, tubers without motors do pay into the system) and they are not required to carry liability insurance.
So, if a bike runs a stop sign and does damage to your car, what recourse do you have? If a bike hits a pedestrian, what money pool is there to pay for the pedestrians injuries?
I have nothing against bikes, I love mine. I just think in this day in age where everyone has to contribute to the public facilities they use, bikes are getting a free ride they don't need.
To a guy with a $3k bike, wearing $500 worth of clothes and transporting their bike on a $300 rack, another $20 per year should be no big deal.
Not to mention that the recording of the serial numbers in the registration process would halp return many stolen bikes to their owners.
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