"Transportation experts don't really think that DenDekker's bills will come anywhere close to becoming law. "I think it's fairly foolish and probably a non-starter," says Caroline Samponaro, Transportation Alternatives' Director of Bicycle Advocacy. "Really, it's a waste of resources. Out of the 76,000 crashes in New York, less than 4 percent involve bikes." Frederick Brodzinski, associate director of the City University of New York's Institute for Transportation Systems and professor of public policy, says that it's not common to license bicycles. He doubts the bills will go anywhere, either. "I don't think it has much chance," he said. "There are too many cyclists in the state."
It doesn't sound much like a safety concern, as it does an excuse to generate revenue through additional fees. Now if those fees were going to go toward developing more bike and pedestrian friendly pathways so as to increase non-motorized transportation use it might make sense, but based on this article, it doesn't sound like the person proposing the legislation has any plan for the revenue at all. What would it be used for?
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
Sorry about the briskness, I had a happy cat pining one arm.
Of course it is about the $. Politicians will always be able to spend every cent they collect. At the national level they even spend trillions they do not collect.
In addition to the $ it is about power. I think many, maybe most pols are closet megalomaniacs. The would probably fight for chair of the committee to control the department of bicycle inspections and licensing.
My title reflects the fact that it is never about money or power, it is always about promoting the general welfare and saving the children.
