Does your city still require you to register your bike?
This blog was written by SVBC intern, Emily Olson. Thanks to John Baker for his op-ed at The Daily Journal for inspiring this blog.
It’s safe to say that most of us would like to be law-abiding citizens. And further, most of us probably think we are. But, and I hate to break it to you, if you use your bike you might be breaking the law every time you ride.
Although most of us are unaware because they are rarely enforced anymore, bike licensing laws still exist in several cities throughout the Bay Area, and even more exist nationwide. If a bike licensing law is in effect, a bicyclist must obtain and fill out paperwork when they purchase a bike, submit it to the fire or police department, pay a small fee, and then affix a license plate to their bike. These licensing laws were likely put into effect to create a unified system to track stolen bicycles and prevent theft. However, bike theft is still a huge problem everywhere, so clearly it doesn’t serve its intended purpose very well.
Additionally, these bike licensing laws have been abused in some places to target riders of color. This problem with bike licensing laws came to light in April 2021 when a group of Black and Latino teens in New Jersey were detained for riding bikes without “proper licensing”. We also know that people of color are more likely to be stopped for no reason which can lead to violent situations, fines, arrest, and jail. For example, according to San Jose Police Department Traffic and Pedestrian Stop Study, “Black citizens were 9.0 times more likely and Hispanic citizens were 3.4 times more likely to experience a field interview following a vehicle stop compared to White citizens”.
If these laws don’t prevent bike theft and also allow for discrimination toward riders of color, why are they still in effect?
In truth, most cities across the Bay Area repealed these laws long ago. Many now encourage voluntary bike licensing, which entails registering your bicycle on a private database such as BikeIndex.org or BikeRegister.com. However, the bike license laws still officially exist in Los Altos, Atherton, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Half Moon Bay, Redwood City, and San Bruno. In addition to the fact that most people don’t know these exist in the first place, the laws’ existence is even more obscure because many cities no longer detail this requirement on their website. For example, in Menlo Park, the city website outlines a voluntary bicycle registration program but their official municipal code outlines a required bicycle registration. These disparities reflect how bike licensing laws in the Bay Area are slowly being forgotten, but the fact that they do exist is concerning because of the ways they could serve as a pretext for law enforcement to detain riders of color.
It’s important that we start taking steps to officially repeal these laws in order to reduce the risk of racial profiling in law enforcement. We believe bicycling should be accessible to all, and outdated laws like these no longer serve this purpose. If you live in one of these cities, you can start this process by writing to your local elected officials. We recommend that you highlight the fact that they serve no current purpose, suggest possible alternatives (such as voluntary bike licensing), and point out their potential to propagate racial profiling.
Mr. Baker, the author of the op-ed in the Daily Journal, wrote to the City Council of South San Francisco asking to repeal their bike licensing laws, which has already been brought to the council for the first step. We hope you join him and SVBC in the fight toward more equitable and accessible bicycling across the Bay Area by educating those around you about bike licensing and taking the steps to repeal them today.