POLL: Should Cyclists be forced to have a bicycle license and take out insurance?
Monday, June 8, 2015 @ 3:04 PM
Spain’s DGT traffic authority is considering plans that would see cyclists obliged to register their bicycles, get a rider's license and take out insurance.
The DGT has been sounding out cycling associations in recent weeks to get a sense of what pro-bicycle groups think of this hypothetical measure.
But the notion has run up against serious opposition from these organisations, which are describing it as “unheard of in Europe.”
Recently the traffic authority held a meeting with cycling groups to discuss the issue, and a top official admitted that registration, licensing and insurance measures were under consideration.
“Not only was the survey biased and lacking any scientific rigor, but the meeting sought to defend obligations and taxes for cyclists that are unheard of elsewhere in Europe,” said Manuel Martín of Conbici, a cycling advocacy group.
A joint press release by Conbici and the Association of Professional Cyclists said that “we find it very strange that the DGT, toward the end of its term, continues to propose measures that have already been rejected by Congress. They could have included them in the Traffic Law reform that was recently approved.”
At the meeting, DGT official Mónica Colás expressed concern over Spain’s bicycle-related accident rate. In 2013, bike users were involved in 5,835 accidents (seven percent of the total). The death toll among bikers was 69, of whom 45 were hit on intercity roads where safety helmets are mandatory.
What do you think?
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