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Old 10-05-2013, 12:43 PM
 
651 posts, read 1,562,595 times
Reputation: 342

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Lawmaker wants Georgia bicyclists to buy license plates, and ban bikes from some roads.




Rep. Carl Rogers, R- Hall County said he has heard it over and over from constituents, fed up with slow bike riders taking up lanes on country roads.

Rogers and two colleagues have introduced house bill 689. It would require bikes to buy and display license plates, forbid riding side-by-side, allow only four riders in a single-file group and even let counties ban bikes from some roads.


more at:
Lawmaker wants Georgia bicyclists to buy license plates | www.wsbtv.com
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Old 10-05-2013, 10:47 PM
 
Location: Atlanta, Ga
2,490 posts, read 2,545,406 times
Reputation: 2057
Can we now introduce house bill 690 and make all Georgia house members wear a dunce cap?
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Old 10-05-2013, 11:11 PM
 
Location: Sweet Home...CHICAGO
3,421 posts, read 5,218,867 times
Reputation: 4355
Dumb! Just dumb!

This is why this region will always be car-centric offering few transportation options. It isn't enough that folks here want to go after public transit. Now they want to go after cyclists too?! Man, come on!
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Old 10-05-2013, 11:20 PM
 
Location: Decatur, GA
7,357 posts, read 6,526,600 times
Reputation: 5176
The only increase in enforcement I'd like to see is coming down harder on bicyclists who are in the road when there's a perfectly good trail right there. I see this mostly between Stone Mountain and Clarkston, bicyclists riding in the road when there's a well-maintained PATH trail less than 10 feet away.
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Old 10-05-2013, 11:45 PM
 
Location: Atlanta
2,862 posts, read 3,821,216 times
Reputation: 1471
Quote:
Originally Posted by ehoez View Post
Lawmaker wants Georgia bicyclists to buy license plates, and ban bikes from some roads.




Rep. Carl Rogers, R- Hall County said he has heard it over and over from constituents, fed up with slow bike riders taking up lanes on country roads.

Rogers and two colleagues have introduced house bill 689. It would require bikes to buy and display license plates, forbid riding side-by-side, allow only four riders in a single-file group and even let counties ban bikes from some roads.


more at:
Lawmaker wants Georgia bicyclists to buy license plates | www.wsbtv.com
I do not think taxing a form of physical exercise in a country with an obesity problem is a good idea. When 6 year old girls with training wheels on their pink bicycles need tags, we're taking the thing a little too far.

I get that sometimes the hoards of bicyclists on some streets can make one feel a bit antsy, but really? Is it so much of an inconvenience that we need to charge them for it and eliminate some from the activity for economic reasons. For all we know, some may be pedaling to work because they cannot afford a car much less a tag for that matter.

Much like the sin taxes here, it just sounds like a money making scheme to me.
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Old 10-06-2013, 01:54 AM
 
Location: Virginia Highland
12 posts, read 16,745 times
Reputation: 22
Coming from the Bike capital of the world (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), I find the idea to license bikes very disturbing and completely out of synch with modern times. Have a read:

BBC News - Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?
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Old 10-06-2013, 06:09 AM
 
Location: Sweet Home...CHICAGO
3,421 posts, read 5,218,867 times
Reputation: 4355
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flying Dutchman View Post
Coming from the Bike capital of the world (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), I find the idea to license bikes very disturbing and completely out of synch with modern times. Have a read:

BBC News - Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?
Ironically, I just read this article last night prior to ehoez posting this story, as I'm in the process of looking at bikes so I can start cycling. I've always been fascinated by the Dutch bike culture and I thought about this and how much I wish it could be more like that here--then I came across this article you posted.

Sure lots of people ride bikes in the Atlanta area; and as much as I want to start riding a bike as well, I'm afraid because of the way people drive here. As pedestrian, I am almost hit by cars literally on a daily basis because drivers do not yield even though I always cross with the walk light. Georgia drivers it seems are just as irritated by pedestrians as they are cyclists, given that this state has the highest pedestrian death rate in the country. People here don't seem to be too concerned that people don't care about running down others with their cars. Their disregard for cyclists (and pedestrians) makes me afraid to ride a bike in the street. There are bike lanes but they often end after only a mile or two in many areas.

I've also always admired how Europeans fight for the change they need to improve their quality of life. After thousands of people including children were being killed on bikes, the Dutch fought for better biking conditions and now they have a bike-centric country with safe conditions for cyclists. It seems modern Americans don't stand up in this way and just let things be. This is why this state can have the highest pedestrian death rate in the country. Because people are so enamored with their cars here there's no public outcry for safer conditions pedestrians. People would rather run pedestrians down literally than wait 10 seconds for them to cross the street. There's no public outcry that the pedestrian right-of-way be enforced, there's no demand for more sidewalks.

It seems the thinking here is "To hell with pedestrians and cyclists! They are in the way of our cars!"

We already know that the region is anti-public transit and now legislators want to fine cyclists or eliminate bikes from the road? How about put in more bike lanes and paths? Nope! This the best solution. They'd rather eliminated bikes from the road altogether than create better conditions for cyclists. Such backwards thinking!
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Old 10-06-2013, 06:30 AM
 
Location: Atlanta, GA
1,501 posts, read 5,103,113 times
Reputation: 1099
The article says that the problem is" slow bike riders taking up lanes on country roads," not issues related to city bike riding. In north Hall county where Rogers is from, there are indeed groups of cyclists every weekend that ride on the winding, hilly roads where there is no opportunity to pass. I have been behind these people many times and have witnessed many near-miss accidents. That is where the complaints are coming from in this instance.
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Old 10-06-2013, 11:17 AM
 
Location: Kirkwood
23,726 posts, read 24,863,148 times
Reputation: 5703
There is a huge difference in recreation riding in Hall County and commuter riding in Atlanta. Dumbest idea ever. I for one will not put a license plate on my bike. The cops don't even know the cycling laws.
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Old 10-06-2013, 12:10 PM
 
Location: Georgia
5,845 posts, read 6,156,709 times
Reputation: 3573
I have never understood some people's hatred of bicyclists. Especially when you consider that those very same people tend to have no problem with gas-guzzling SUVs. It's as if a 30-pound bike is somehow more dangerous than a 3000-pound vehicle.

You want to reduce the number of bicycle-motorist conflicts? Build bike lanes. This is not a difficult concept.
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