Bicycle Austin forum

damicoaustin

Member

From: Austin, TX

Registered: 2008-05-27

Posts: 143

Website

Wow...El Cerrito's helmet law and other nonsense on the code

We got some inquiries from people ticketed in El Cerrito (Bay Area, California) for no helmet. They couldn't find the actual law on the books. I found it easily, but in reading the code, you'll see a bunch of other garbage as well. For all those who advocate for bike licenses, check this out and see if you still agree.

11.64.020 License--Required

It is unlawful for any person to operate or use a bicycle, as defined in the Vehicle Code, upon any street in the city without first obtaining from the city a license therefor. (Ord. 93-1 Divs. 1, 2 (part), 1993.)

11.64.030 License--Exception for nonresident.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in Section 11.64.020, any nonresident of the city may operate in the city any bicycle which is duly licensed and registered by another municipality and equipped with a city or state license plate or license indicia. A nonresident may operate a bicycle without a license plate or license indicia if that person resides in a jurisdiction that is exempt from licensing requirements. (Ord. 93-1 Divs. 1, 2 (part), 1993.)

11.64.040 License--Application and conditions required.

Every person applying for a bicycle license shall make application to the police chief upon a form furnished by the city. Such application shall contain such information as may be required in Section 39005 of the Vehicle Code as to the applicant and the description of the bicycle to be licensed. No license shall be issued unless the bicycle to be licensed complies with the requirements of this chapter and the Vehicle Code as to its safe mechanical condition. (Ord. 93-1 Divs. 1, 2 (part), 1993.)

11.64.070 License--Fees.

Every person applying for a bicycle license shall pay to the police chief a fee at the time the application is made. The fee required by this section shall be set by resolution of the council. (Ord. 93-1 Divs. 1, 2 (part), 1993.)

11.64.080 License--Issuance and period of validity.

Upon approval of the application and payment of the license fee, the police chief shall issue a license plate or indicia and registration certificate. Each bicycle plate or indicia shall bear a unique license number which shall be permanently assigned to a bicycle. (Ord. 93-1 Divs. 1, 2 (part), 1993.)

11.64.090 Equipment prerequisite to license issuance.

Every person desiring a bicycle license must comply with the requirements of the Vehicle Code as to equipment, and with the following requirements as to safe mechanical condition:
A. Sirens and Whistles. It is unlawful to equip a bicycle with a siren or whistle.
B. Handlebar Grips. Every bicycle that is equipped with handlebar grips must have the grips securely fastened, glued or cemented to the handlebars.
C. Reflectors. Every bicycle shall be equipped with a reflector, pedal reflector, reflex reflector or reflectorized tire.
(Ord. 93-1 Divs. 1, 2 (part), 1993.)

11.64.100 Operation without equipment or in unsafe mechanical condition prohibited.

A. It is unlawful for any person to ride or operate a bicycle in the city unless the bicycle is equipped and in safe mechanical condition as provided in Section 11.64.090 of this chapter and by the Vehicle Code.
B. No bicycle shall be operated after sunset unless it is equipped with lights that are lit.
C. It is unlawful to ride a bicycle as an operator or passenger without wearing a safety helmet.
(Ord. 93-1 Divs. 1, 2 (part), 1993.)

11.64.110 License indicia and registration certificate--Issuance--Attachment and form.

It shall be the duty of the police chief to cause to be attached to the bicycle frame one California State license indicia, and to issue a registration certificate to the licensee upon the payment of the license fee. The size, form and character of the
license indicia shall be designated in conformity with the Vehicle Code. The registration certificate shall be designated by the police chief. (Ord. 93-1 Divs. 1, 2 (part), 1993.)

11.64.120 License indicia and registration certificate--Notice of loss or theft required--Duplicate issuance--Fee.

In the event that any bicycle license or registration certificate issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter is lost or stolen, the licensee shall immediately notify the police chief of such loss, and shall within ten days apply to the police chief for a new bicycle license, whereupon the police chief shall cancel such license or certificate and shall issue the licensee a new one upon payment of the fee set forth in the city's master fee schedule. (Ord. 93-1 Divs. 1, 2 (part), 1993.)

11.64.130 Sale or transfer of ownership-- Procedures required.

It shall be the duty of every person who sells or transfers ownership of any bicycle to report such sale or transfer by returning to the police chief the registration certificate issued to such person as licensee thereof together with the name and address of the person to whom the bicycle is sold or transferred.
Such report shall be made within ten days of such sale or transfer. It shall be the duty of the purchaser or transferee of such bicycle to apply for a transfer and registration therefor within ten days of said sale or transfer. (Ord. 93-1 Divs. 1, 2 (part), 1993.)

11.64.140 Serial number required on all bicycles or equipment.

No person shall buy, sell, receive, possess, dispose of or conceal any bicycle or bicycle equipment from which the manufacturer's name plate, serial number or any other distinguishing mark has been removed, defaced, covered, altered or destroyed. (Ord. 93-1 Divs. 1, 2 (part), 1993.)

11.64.160 Rental agency bicycle licensing requirements.

All persons engaged in renting or lending bicycles to patrons shall first obtain a license plate and registration certificate for each bicycle so used by paying the regular license fee. License plates thus obtained by bicycle renting agencies shall not be transferred from one bicycle to another. (Ord. 93-1 Divs. 1, 2 (part), 1993.)

11.64.170 Destroying bicycle numbers or licenses prohibited--Identification number placement authorized.

It is unlawful for any person to willingly or maliciously remove, destroy, mutilate or alter the number of any bicycle frame licensed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. It is also unlawful for any person to remove, destroy, mutilate or alter any license plate or indicia seal or registration certificate during the time in which the license plate, indicia seal or registration certificate is valid; provided, however, that nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the police chief from stamping numbers on the frames of bicycles upon which no serial number can be found or on which the numbers are illegible or insufficient for identification purposes. (Ord. 93-1 Divs. 1, 2 (part), 1993.)

11.64.180 Rules of the road--Accident reports.

It is unlawful for any person to ride or operate a bicycle in the city in violation of any of the rules of the road as set forth in this section as follows:
A. Riding on Sidewalks. No person shall ride or operate a bicycle on any sidewalk in the city except as herein specifically permitted.
B. Juveniles Riding on Sidewalks. Juveniles under the age of eighteen years exercising due care may ride and operate their bicycles upon the sidewalk, except such sidewalks as are in front of stores or other buildings used for business purposes.
C. Riding in a Group. Persons riding or operating bicycles in the city shall not ride more than two abreast except on paths or parts of a roadway set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles.
Persons riding bicycles on the sidewalk or upon a portion of the roadway not set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles shall do so in single file.
D. Passengers. No person riding or operating a bicycle in the city shall carry another person on the bicycle unless such person or passenger is seated upon an individual seat or carrier separate from that used by the operator. No person shall ride upon a bicycle as a passenger unless he is seated upon an individual seat or carrier separate from that used by the operator.
E. Towing. No person riding or operating a bicycle in the city shall tow any other vehicle or person, except that bicycle trailers used for the delivery of newspapers, magazines or merchandise may be towed when being used in such delivery service.
F. Racing. No person riding or operating a bicycle upon a public highway or street shall participate in any race, speed or endurance contest unless such race or endurance contest has the written permission of the city manager and is conducted under the supervision of the police chief.
G. Trick Riding. No person riding or operating a bicycle shall perform or attempt to perform any acrobatic, fancy or stunt riding upon any public highway or street in the city.
H. Parking. No person shall park any bicycle against windows or on the main-traveled portion of the sidewalk, nor in such manner as to constitute a hazard to pedestrians, traffic or property. Any merchant or person desiring to construct and erect bicycle racks may do so, provided the rack is not a hazard to public safety. If there is no bicycle rack or facility intended to be used for the parking of bicycles in the vicinity, bicycles may be parked on the sidewalk in an upright position parallel to and within twenty-four inches of the curb.
I. Parks, Playgrounds and Schools. No person shall ride or operate a bicycle upon any playground, park or schoolground where children are playing without permission of the person having supervision thereof.
J. Turns and Stops. No person shall turn a bicycle or stop a bicycle which he is riding or operating unless such movement can be made with safety, and then only after an appropriate signal during the last fifty feet traveled by the bicycle before turning or stopping.
K. Accident Reports. The operator of any bicycle involved in an accident shall take reasonable steps to ascertain whether or not anyone was injured, and he shall give his name, address and the license number of his bicycle to the person with whom he was in collision, and he shall obtain the same information from the other person. It shall be the duty of the bicycle operator to make a written report of any accident resulting in death or injury to the police chief within twenty-four hours of such accident.
(Ord. 93-1 Divs. 1, 2 (part), 1993.)

11.64.190 Operation prohibited as penalty for violation.

Where this chapter has been violated, in lieu of a fine and in lieu of filing charges, the police chief may prohibit the operation upon the streets, alleys and public places of the city, for a period not to exceed thirty days, of a bicycle so used in such violation. In such event the bicycle so used in such violation shall be impounded by the police chief and retained during the period of operation which is prohibited. The owner's registration certificate shall be held for the same period. (Ord. 93-1 Divs. 1, 2 (part), 1993.)

11.64.200 Abandoned or unclaimed bicycles--Auction authorized.

All abandoned or unidentified bicycles remaining in the hands of the police chief shall at the end of six months be sold at public auction. (Ord. 93-1 Divs. 1, 2 (part), 1993.)

dougmc

Administrator

Registered: 2008-06-01

Posts: 631

Re: Wow...El Cerrito's helmet law and other nonsense on the code

I like how they both say you can not ride more than two-abreast on the road, and then immediately say you must ride single file on the road.
It also looks like they prohibit bicycle trailers with children inside.  (Newspapers are ok, however.  Good to know!)

As for the registration requirements, Houston and Galveston have similar requirements.   Even UT has similar requirements.

http://www.bikehouston.org/content/view … #division2
http://galvestondailynews.com/story.las … d0cc9de7e4
http://www.utexas.edu/parking/transport … ation.html

dougmc

Administrator

Registered: 2008-06-01

Posts: 631

Re: Wow...El Cerrito's helmet law and other nonsense on the code

Here in Texas, Riders, including children, are not required by law to wear a helmet, but safety officials highly recommend it.

The State of Texas does not have a helmet law, but local governments might.

For example, in Austin, children are required to wear a helmet on a bicycle by a city ordinance.  I'm not sure how often it's enforced (as there was a problem in the past where something like 90% of the tickets were given to minority children) but it is there on the books.  (It's Austin City Code §12-2-31 if you want to go looking for it, or you can just read it here.)

As for what "safety officials" recommend, make your own decisions.  But do be aware of what the law says and use that as input into your own decision making process.

MichaelBluejay

Webmaster

From: Austin, TX

Registered: 2008-05-26

Posts: 1,466

Website

Re: Wow...El Cerrito's helmet law and other nonsense on the code

dougmc, the reason that zuerst bumped that old thread was to spam.  He cleverly made a reasonable-sounding post, then later came back and edited it to insert a link to a spy phone site.  It's hard for us to catch that kind of spam since we don't get an email message when someone edits a post.  I just happened to run across it.

But back to the topic of bicycle registration... It works well in Japan, where every bike has to be registered and bike theft is extremely low.  Of course part of the reason for the low theft rate is the culture, there's just not that much crime of any kind there.  What I worry about here re: registration is that it would depress the number of riders.  They don't have to worry about that in Japan because their bike culture is already so strong.  And getting a *car* there is pretty onerous, and expensive.  For example, there is *no* on-street parking in Japan.  When you buy a car, you have to prove that you have a private place to park it.  Kind of puts the whole parking-in-bike-lanes-on-Shoal-Creek-Blvd. thing in perspective.