Portland business owner wants bike riders to have licenses
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PORTLAND, Ore. - A Portland man who said he is frustrated after seeing too many crashes involving bicycles and drivers near his business is vowing to make cyclists more accountable by requiring licensing for their bikes.
Bob Huckaby runs a furniture shipping business in North Portland near where the city just prevented vehicles from turning onto N Wheeler Avenue from Broadway. The move was an effort to cut down on crashes between bikes and cars at the dangerous intersection.
Huckaby said he will mount a campaign in 2013 to have a public vote on requiring riders to have licenses.
He said restricting turns is a sign that the city is bending over backwards to accommodate bicyclists and requiring licenses would make sure riders understand the rules of the road.
Huckaby believes bike riders should be required to carry an Oregon driver's license to prove they've passed a test on how to follow road signs. In Oregon, bicyclists on the road generally are required to follow the same laws at motorists.
Huckaby said he sees many bicyclists running stop signs in the area around Wheeler Avenue.
City officials said they made the changes on North Wheeler to cut down on “right hook” incidents involving car and truck drivers that cannot see cyclists. Huckaby said he often sees cyclists running the stop sign on a nearby corner.
“We counted 54 vehicles - bicycles - at North Flint,” Huckaby said. “Thirty-seven stopped, 14 rolled through it. And that kind of gives you an idea. The city doesn't want to hear that because for some reason, we're a bike-friendly city and we just keep getting friendlier and friendlier. They need to obey our laws.”
In an email, Huckaby says he'll start the bicycle licensing campaign next year and push for a ballot measure.
Reached by email, Portland cycling advocate and BikePortland blog author Jonathan Maus took issue with Huckaby's plan.
"A very, very, very small percentage of people who bike do not have driver's licenses already," he said.
"The devil is in the details," Maus added. "At what age must someone become licensed to bike? Would we allow kids to ride around the neighborhood without a license? If people already have driver's license, would they have to also have a biking license? And vice versa?"
Maus also questioned how the city might pay for the additional licensing costs and enforcement in times of a tight budget. Still, he said he is not against educating people about road rules.
"I am not against thinking up ways to make more people aware of bicycling laws; I just don't think a mandatory "bike license" is the answer," he said.
According to Bicycle Transportation Alliance in Portland, city-based bicycle licensing efforts haven't worked out in Oregon in the past. The Southern Oregon city of Medford dropped their program in 2010.
The city's police chief said there were too many non-city residents commuting by bicycle to make the licensing program work.
The BTA also sent a Tweet to KATU saying "the BTA supports positive, proactive education for all users of the road. Licenses not the solution."
Several bicyclists we spoke with on the street said they are all for more education, but that licensing is overkill.
"I think we have some other problems with our society that are more important," said cyclist Kaytie Satein.
"I think that's great if you can get people to do that, but that's not going to happen," said cyclist Ed Abramson.
KATU reporters Bob Heye and Shellie Bailey-Shah contributed to this report
It would be good for licenses on bikes, a lot of people who break into cars ride bikes. It would make it more difficult for the bad guys to use bikes to get around with out being detected. I suspect the reason bicyclist don't want license tags because then they can be tracked. Last night on KPTV they reported a ol man in his 70's honking at a pair bicyclist. The bicyclist took video, put it up on You Tube. The Colorado State Patrol ticketed the man. Someone reading the comments said they took the license plate number (I don't know how) and looked it up on line, and then they added the mans name, address, and phone number for people to harass the old man in his seventies.
 @Jan Qwib Citation please. Show us some statistics that "a lot of people who break into cars ride bikes." Until you can provide strong evidence, you're at least putting an unfair stereotype against bicyclists, possibly bordering on libel.
I wouldn't mind getting a license, but I sure as hell won' t ever get a license plate. That's where it gets absolutely stupid and impractical.
I would have to agree on the idea of Bicyclist needing licenses. They main concern I would have is would it do any good. People have drivers licenses and do illegal things all the time thou not as much as bicyclists do.
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I travel the same way 3 times a week and can think of 2 intersections where if I where to just sit there with a camcorder during the peak times of the morning I would catch more then you would believe when it comes to bicyclists breaking the law.
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It is sad to say but it is no wonder so many are hurt and killed in accidents. From what I have seen alone I would guess the majority thou not all accidents regarding cars and bicycles is the fault of the bicyclist doing something wrong.
 @Insurrection You won't be able to totally do aware with people not getting hurt, but you can cut down on the harm.
Here is an idea...how about take away the automatic Right of Way for Bicycles . Keep the share the road but make bicyclist accountable for their actions just as drivers are. Start  by actively ticketing Bicyclist who go through lights, stop signs, cut through traffic etc...  having accountability may curb bad riding habits. Also, it is unfair that drivers are faulted 100% - Bicyclist should have to pay damages as well.  Also, that will encourage responsible riders to get insurance.Â
 @Mordred Pentangle As if they don't already actively ticket bicyclists. There's an annual sting in my neighborhood. Listen, I stop at major intersections and those with common traffic, but stopping at every neighborhood sign when I'm traveling less than fifteen miles per hour just doesn't make sense.
 @Tim E.  @Mordred Pentangle It sounds like riding a bicycle is not a good solution for you, you want to use the bike for more than a form of transportation from one point to another. You don't like slowing down, but since bicycles have joined the road, cars have had to slow down. Kinda of hypocritcal.
 @Mordred Pentangle That's not going to work. Then motorists will lord it over bicyclists that they have the right of way.
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I don't understand why people can't see that the *correct* solution is for *both* bicyclist *and* driver to *both* be responsible for watching out for each other.
"A Portland man who said he is frustrated after seeing too many crashes involving bicycles and drivers near his business is vowing to make cyclists more accountable by requiring licensing for their bikes."
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My 6 year old neighbor who just learned to ride her bike will be thrilled that she will have to get a license. She can barely read.
 @RalphCramden I assume you are using sarcasm. If your child does not go in the road which she shouldn't be at her age I don't see the merits of her needing a license.
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I mean really you don't need a license to walk down the sidewalk or up your driveway. I am assuming that is where she is riding or maybe inside a park. But she isn't on the roads I would guess.
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He says nothing about age or where they ride.
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She rides with me on the street. I am teaching her the skill sets she will need to do that. Plus we don't have sidewalks on much of our street so she has no choice. We ride on the streets to the park where she can ride on the trails.
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I have seen some devastating crashes involving cyclists also. The vast majority of them were the cyclists fault.
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I explain all about cars and what to do when one approaches. We don't have a lot of traffic on our street so it is pretty safe. It's only 9 blocks to the park and she is pretty good at it now.
 @RalphCramden I see where you coming from in not having sidewalks on your street and it is good that your are teaching her the skills.
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My main issue is that I have seen some devastating accidents involving bikes and have seen some close calls.
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In my opinion and this is only a opinion since I don't know what your street is like in traffic flow, design and what not that maybe walk the bike to the park or when a vehicle approaches pull over and explain it to her.
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Not trying to sound bossy, just I have children of my own and hate to read about tragic accidents in the news. Too many of them as is.
 @RalphCramden Why not just license the bicycle itself?  I can't see where licensing the rider will do any good.  As you said, some of them have just learned to ride, and can barely read.
 @380 LadyÂ
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Licensing the bike will be a costly burden for parents of kids who will have to pay for each bike. Then if the bike breaks down, gets stolen then the parents have to pay more money.
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Plus licensing the bike will do nothing to compel the operator to be safer or pass a test knowing the laws.
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If they do pass a license law will they cite folks for not having a bicycle license? Of if they get into and accident will they be charged for riding a bicycle without a license?
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This is a bad idea and hopefully it won't go anywhere.
 @RalphCramden  @380 Lady Some states already license bicycles, and have for years.  It's simply the cost of owning one.  (Like owning a car, or even a dog, or whatever else needs a license.)  If a bike is stolen, if and when it's recovered, it's easier to find a licensed owner, and return it.  And, although it's true licensing a bicycle doesn't make a better rider, it might make a rider more aware that he/she can no longer remain anonymous if their bicycle carries a license plate/sticker.  And, yes, cite them for not having a licensed vehicle, whether in an accident or otherwise, just like anyone would be cited for not having a proper license.  If given a choice between the two options of either licensing the rider or licensing the bicycle, I'd choose the bicycle, and I'd gladly pay for a license for mine.
My mom 'hit' a cyclist pulling out of our driveway. He clearly saw her and he was in her blind spot but didn't stop. Firefighters and paramedics felt he should have stopped but since he was a cyclist he had all the rights, plus got a new bike through her insurance, $1200 even though he was riding an old model..... We are paying for bike only streets with our tax money yet most of us don't even own a bike nor do we want to for safety reasons and the bad stigma current cyclists have in the area... Everyone also needs to wear a helmet regardless of age. A friend got into an accident, no car involved, and his health insurance provider said if he doesn't wear a helmet now they won't cover any future head injuries caused from a bike accident. Good for them!
I think they should have an endorsement on their license if they ride on the weekdays between 6am and 6pm plus have to have insurance.
Let me further clarify, someone who is not old enough to have a drivers license should be held to the same, if you CAN drive but choose not to then you need to pay too. While we're at it, make them get a license plate on their bike and go through ODOT to make sure their bike is in good condition. There is a gentleman who rides in Beaverton that has an old yellow plate attached to his basket on the back of his bike, rides every day and conforms to all vehicle laws. Not only can you ID him right away with that but if something was to happen, god forbid, police would know who it was right away. As a bike friendly city we need some sort of governing on this. I know I will back this business owner to the fullest I can.
Woops I meant underage should NOT sorry
Hey argon, heres my replys.
No, pedestrians are on foot and on sidewalks. NOT in a vehicle.
No, its not OK for car drivers to break the law. I never said that. Try rereading the thrid for the last sentence.
No, I am not aginst big goverment. It has it's place.
$5, If it's EARNED and NOTÂ GIVEN. To be determined by parent or legal guardian.
Ive allways thoght that Bikes should be licenced,that would at least help with the cost of paint,
and the labour to do the work.
If you ride your bike on the street (bike lane) or as your main mode of transportation, than I Absolutely think they need a license/permit AND I think they need to be held responsible (tickets/fines) when they break the law.  I ALSO think that bike lanes NEED to be more accommodating to the cyclists because the fact is, they're are a lot of cyclists on the road -- especially during rush hour. And it would NOT be a bad idea the make a "Passing Lane" IN the bike lane. How many times have I been driving down the street next to a group of bikes and one of them pulls out of the bike lane to pass the slower bike in front of them and scare the living crap out of me because they come into my driving lane.
However, I feel there needs to be Some Sort of way to determine the difference between cyclists that require license/permit and people who are just riding their bike that don't require license/permit. How to determine that difference, I don't know, but I'm sure we can come up with something. If I want to ride my bike to the park with my kids, or just ride around because it's a nice day, I don't necessarily think that should require a license/permit.
I also think there should be maybe some kind of age limit for sidewalk vs bike lane. I really don't think kids should be in the bike lane. I know bikes don't belong on the sidewalk, but if my kids and I are heading to the park or something (which is mostly residential, only about 2 blocks on the busy street) I do NOT let my kids ride in the bike lane. It is TOO CLOSE to those fast moving cars!
There are lots of good points being made from both sides of this debate. Â I think because there are more and more cyclists on the road, we need to start implementing better laws. Â Back in the day, there weren't so many drivers on the road, and when the numbers of drivers starting growing and growing, they needed to implement better driving laws. Â The same applies here. Â Times are changing and we ALL -- motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, etc -- need to accommodate the change.
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Hilarious. So I'm heading to buy bikes for my family this weekend so that we can ride up to the store and get some ice cream and groceries. Under this 'law' you're telling me that none of us can ride our bikes until we get a license? Give me a break.
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Pretty much the same thing Jonathan mentioned.
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If this is the biggest thing we've got to worry about right now I'd say we're doing pretty good. Go spend your energy solving problems that affect the greater population. It might be worth noting that a majority of people who have motorcycles are unlicensed. We can't even police motor vehicles licensing and you think we're going to spend the money pulling a cycling over to see if they've got a license to pedal?Â
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Keep dreaming folks it's all you've got.
 @r Another problem that is showing up and that is on the bike and hike trails showing up all over Portland and elsewhere, some bicyclists are traveling at excess speed so much so that I walk my dog on the left side of the trail facing people keeping my dog away from bicyclists who don't even slow down, this is prevalent on the new trolley trail in Clackamas as well as on the Springwater trail crossing S.E. 82nd. this is not a speedway for racing as children and pets are also using these trails keep that in mind when using these trails. Â
 @r Ha, this is probably the same mind set when automobiles started to appear on the streets and roads what ...... a license ? .................. give me a break.
Motorcyclists have to have an endorsement on their license, they have to wear helmets, they have to follow the rules of the road and they also need to be registered and insured. Why do bicycles get off from all of these? No it doesn't give you a brain but having a way to identify people who ride poorly to authorities would be helpful. Right now saying 'dude on a black bike with a white helmet' narrows it down to a ton of people. As I've said before, cyclists do things that I'd get ticketed for in a car (and often end up injured) but it's the cars fault. A truck turning right from the correct lane won't be hit by another car because cars aren't supposed to pass on the right. So why can bikes do it?
 @finlyn Bikes can do it because they're in a lane of travel. Just like the truck gets to pass them on the left because it has its own lane. Kind of like the transit mall downtown where all the right lanes are dedicated to the buses and trains. People are generally pretty good about checking to see if there's a train coming before they turn across the train's lane onto another street.
 @finlyn You're wrong. I can go buy a motorcycle right now without an endorsement. It is not required to buy a motorcyle it is required to ride a motorcycle. It's also not enforced until there's an accident.
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My point is you don't have to have an endorsement to ride a motorcyle, and a good number of riders never get endorsed.
I've maintained for awhile now that cyclists are not the problem. Usually they are serious about riding and obey laws.
The problem is people who ride bikes, not cyclists. You know who I mean. They usually don't have a helmet and think they can ride out in front of traffic and go the wrong way on the road. I think they are easy to spot.
Not sure what the solution is though. I don't think licensing will do it.
i totally agree, if it is on the pavement, it should be licensed, tagged and taxed, just like cars and motorcycles.. if some one is underage than take a bus or walk (they are to young to be on the pavement)....screw the fact that most bike riders have driver licences, I have one, but if i want a drive a motorcycle my driver's license don't make it legal for me to hop on a motorcycle, nor drive a limo for that matter. And the bike should have plates also. I would be willing to collect signatures for this cause, big time
Here's an idea, instead of calling it a license, make it a permit. There could be different levels with different fees. One permit would allow you to ride only on bike paths and other non road areas (parks, trails etc.) If you want to ride on streets you would buy a different permit and pay a higher fee. When you bought your permit you would be handed a booklet that explains your rights and responsibilities. You would be expected to know it and held accountable if you don't. Sounds like the grown up thing to do.
IMHO, get some officers in traning give them ability to write traffic citations and have them ride around on bicycles writing tickets. AFAIK, tickets received while riding a bike count the same as  tickets driving an car for insurance so those bikers with cars would start obeying the laws pretty quick.
 @kramr That sounds like a great use of tax payer money.
Bicyclists want all the benefits of using the roads AND sidewalks with none of the responsibility. If they are going to use the roads, then they should be considered vehicles and need to be licensed, insured and taxed and held accountable for their actions. If they they are going to avoid all that and use sidewalks, they need to stay off the roads and obey walk signals just like pedestrians.
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If Sam thinks that bike riders are being ticketed for infractions, he needs to quit smoking that happy weed and start paying attention.
 @Mikey It's about the free ride ends, now the biking community wants to have a bike lane along I-84 to head east fine but let the listening and registrations for bicycles pay for it along with all the other things they want.
A license isn't really the answer. Â What they need to do is set up some sort of bike patrol officers that issue tickets to those cyclists who think they are above traffic laws. Â I'm pretty sure it would catch on fairly quickly.
As with a drivers license, a bike license would not provide the operator with a brain.
Gotta crack down on the scofflaw bikers and end their entitlement mind set.
Having experience commuting in a car and on a bike (both pedal and motor) I would estimate that cyclists break the laws of the road at least 50-1 compared to cars. If drivers operated like the bike nazis do then the roads would be nothing but grid lock and wrecks.
 @Jack_Bauer "Grid locks and wrecks" Let me catch my breath after I quit laughing! That's all Portland traffic is these days. Must be all the bike lanes on 84 and 26 that's slowing down the traffic huh?
I ride bikes and am not sure what good licensing would do. Â As Mr. Maus points out, most of the bicyclists already have driver's licenses. Â It's not like bicyclists don't know that they are breaking traffic laws when they blow through a stop sign or red light.
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The police just need to be more aggressive ticketing bicyclists that blow stop signs and illegally pass between cars.
Wow, it must be ratings week. Nothing stirs the pot more in P-town more than bikes vs. cars. Car drivers and bike riders doing their hate thing. Â Courtesy and common sense will do both parties a world of good.
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I have been a witness and participant in both leagues and have seen and practiced stupid behavior driving and riding. The simple truth is that a car can kill a lot easier than a bike and cars far outnumber bikes. Licensing bikes and their riders will not prevent bikes from ignoring/breaking traffic laws and it won't prevent cars from ignoring/breaking traffic laws.
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What's the point.
Well it's about time someone other than myself thinks this should be the law, bicycle riders should be accountable
for their actions just as people driving cars and trucks and motorcycles that means licenses and reregistration like
a motor vehicle has. my wife almost hit people on bicycles while driving home from work at night because the bicycle riders had no lights and was wearing dark clothing what's whit that ? one bicyclist even had a trailer with 2 children in it and flipped my wife off after she used her cars high beams to see them. with the increasing amount of bicycles on the road and all the things these people want Portland to do for them like an extra lane in the streets and slower speed on streets a licensing for bicycles is one good way to help pay for these extras, and it might cut down on some of these people to obey the traffic laws a little better, running stop signs and red lights is a common practice with bicycle riders, it wouldn't bother me one bit to help pay for these improvements as I also ride a bicycle myself every day and I've seen plenty of bicycle riders abuse the right to ride in traffic. Â
 @parrot456 Getting license plates will make it harder for theives who use bikes to get around to go unnoticed. They will feel very uncomfortable that they can be tracked.
Bicyclists are such noble people. They have deemed them selves as doing something good for the environment and therefore they are entitled to special treatment. Because they are special: No rules, no taxes, no licensing and no concern for anyone but them.
@Rob C THey should need "special" education.
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And, motorists are so entitled. They have deemed themselves exclusive rights to the roads and deny the rights of any other tax paying, licensed, insured user. They prejudge anyone on a bike or bus as a low life, anarchist, tax dodging, liberal, welfare recipient.
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Here's an offer: if I show you my license, and my insurance, and my tax forms can I shove my bike down your whiny Cakehole.
@Icarus ........thanks for proving my point !!
 @Icarus I really miss being able to 'thumbs down' comments...
@Str8_Shooter .......me too!