ThatBritBloke

Can I draw attention of cyclists living in NJ to this thread here on Bike Forums; the introduction of a State Bicycle Registration Scheme.

XR2

They are trying to bolster lagging theft..............oh excuse me,tax revenues. The $10 fee isn't what they're after it's the $100 fine and attending court costs.

Allegheny Jet

This measure totally conflicts with the N+1 theorem and needs to be fought with reckless abandon and vigor as it's also an attack against a recovering economy. What are those people in NJ thinking?

leob1

In a year and a half, my youngest will be out of high school, then I can move out of the idiotic state. Being a Jersey Guy through and through it pains me to see what a joke this state has become. It would cost me north of $100 a year to register all the family bikes. It's a good thing this would never be enforced if it does pass.

leob1

The words "think" and "NJ politician" NEVER will or have been in the same sentence, paragraph or, book.

NOS88

Interesting, I'd have no problem with some form of registration if it resulted in cyclist being treated better on the roads. Her specific ideas, however, seem pretty impractical and not at all well thought out. I'm trying to figure out how I would provide information of some of the Frankenstein bikes I've built. Let's see, purchase price - unknown; Date of manufacture - depends on which part you're talking about; Weight - depends on which wheels and pedals I'm currently using. On the other hand, if I were King (how's that for a sense of inflated ego), I'd impose the tax at the time of the sale and have the registration be a simple card that riders could carry, or something similar to the Road ID. All of this, however, would have to be attached to a real effort to treat cycling as a legitimate form of transportation that has a right to the roads. (I guess it's good to have a fantasy life.)

RunningPirate

...and as if it were needed, yet another reason to not live in New Jersey.

BluesDawg

Not sure how I would react to this in my state. It might be a good thing if it diffused the absurd argument that bicycles don't belong on the roads or deserve transportation funding because their owners don't pay taxes. Might depend on how ugly the tags were.

tpelle

Well then, get ready to pay the exit tax. Jersey's got you coming and going!

BlazingPedals

Bike registration schemes have never worked in the States. The odds are definitely against this one, too. If it passed, out-of-state cyclists should all drive to NJ just to ride there and try to get pulled over.

But then again, it IS New Jersey we're talking about.

tcs

Did you know? There used to be excise taxes on bicycle tires. It cost the feds more to collect the tax than it brought in. Amazingly, they did away with it.

Allegheny Jet

Maybe it would work like ships and sailboats where you can register bikes in Delaware or Liberia, to avoid taxes, but ride them in NJ?

Elkhound

This law could be challenged on constitutional grounds. The right to travel is fundimental, both in common law, constitutional law, and international human rights law. Public safety justifys registration and licensing schemes for motor vehicles, but ONLY if non-licensed/registered/regulated means of travel are protected. There is no public safety or health justification for licensing or regulating bicycle travel beyond insisting that bicycles follow the same rules ofthe road as do other vehicles.

tpelle

True, but they don't tax walking (yet)!

But, then again, the new health car law will require you to buy health insurance just because you exist. If that isn't ultimately declared unconstitutional, then Katie bar the door on new taxes and requirements to fund whatever the government says.

The Weak Link

This makes sense, actually.

We pay taxes on cars and have to register them.

My college-aged children had to register their bikes on campus (I don't remember if there was a charge for it).

Part of public safety and awareness would involve cyclists behaving more responsibly on the road. Having tags would make this easier to enforce.

I don't like taxes, paperwork, governmental control, etc etc but I don't have a particular problem with this one, any more than the others.

miss kenton

I hope that those of us who live in New Jersey and oppose the bill have taken the step to contact their district legislators rather than just uselessly grousing about it here.

bradtx

+1 miss kenton.

Brad

Retro Grouch 

I think that it's a stupid tax. A better way would be to charge bicycle riders so much per mile that they rode. Now that would raise some money.

Bicyclists love to lie about how much they ride. Every group ride would be a whine fest of riders complaining about how much bike riding tax they have to pay.

cranky old dude

Ride recumbents, I read someplace around here that recumbents aren't real bicycles.

ThatBritBloke

I have ... although I am in the position of paying taxes without representation ;-)

qcpmsame 

What is the purpose behind this tax? Other than a revenue generator for the state what is this supposed to accomplish? I see Ms K has responded and I agree with her totally, I would be interested in the other Jersey girl's opinion, too. Typical government thinking it seems.

Bill

JanMM

Glad I didn't post that NJ folks are such dopes! Carry on the good fight!
What would they do with bike weight data?

skilsaw

Maybe this could be like the Gun Registry in Canada.
10 year implimentation period, $2 billion cost,
Unknown level of non-compliance.
Increased use of guns by organized crime in cities like Toronto and Vancouver.

I can see it now. Six year old criminals having their first bike confiscated by vigilant police. Non-compliant parents thought to be unsuited for parenting and children put up for adoption.

To paraphrase the National Rifle Association, "You will have to pry my guns (bicycles) from my cold dead hands"

ThatBritBloke

Good choice ...

Besides, I have five bikes. They are all, to a greater or lesser extent, mash-ups; certainly not as originally supplied by the manufacturers. I don't know if I could correctly describe them or determine a date of purchase ... I mean ... which bit? My "new" single-speed has a brand new frame and a 40 year old drive train ...

MinnMan

This may be an unpopular position, but I'd support a bicycle tax if it were dedicated to improvement of bike lanes and MUPs, purchase of rights-of way for additional trails, etc,. Vehicles and gasoline are taxed in large part because maintenance of roads costs the state money. It's fair to ask cyclists to contribute if the state dedicates resources to bike-related infrastructure.