There are few things that shock me as a bike activist anymore. This discovery by Gary Kavanagh floored me – if you ride a bike without a bike license in Santa Monica it’s:
punishable by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars per violation, or by imprisonment in the County Jail for a period not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
. . . wow.
Let’s hear it again:
punishable by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars per violation, or by imprisonment in the County Jail for a period not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
That is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard. More importantly, Gary points out that the California Vehicle Code, which takes precedence over municipal law, authorizes municipalities to create a bike licensing program. In authorizing them, it only provides for a $10 fine, and no jail time:
Wait a minute, in the California Vehicle code it specifically states in C.V.C. Division 16.7 – Registration and Licensing of Bicycles, Section 39011; “No fine imposed for any violation of an ordinance or resolution, which is adopted pursuant to this division, shall exceed ten dollars ($10)”.
So, Santa Monica is in violation of state law. Moreover, followers of the police blotter have noted that SMPD tends to use this code to hassle the homeless. This is a violation of human rights – an insult to dignity. The bike licensing provision in state law was intended facilitate recovering stolen bikes, and instead Santa Monica is using it to hassle homeless people, and a few years ago, Critical Mass.
I’ll add more to Gary’s fire. C.V.C Division 16.7, Section 39002, also specifies that municipalities may create a bike licensing program for residents only:
A city or county, which adopts a bicycle licensing ordinance or resolution, may provide in the ordinance or resolution that no resident shall operate any bicycle, as specified in the ordinance, on any street, road, highway, or other public property within the jurisdiction of the city or county, as the case may be, unless the bicycle is licensed in accordance with this division.
The Santa Monica law oversteps by requiring all cyclists to have a license:
Any person desiring to operate or use a bicycle upon any of the streets of the City shall apply therefor to the City Clerk or bicycle retailer (authorized agent) who shall record the name and address of the owner thereof and a description of said bicycle. The City Clerk or authorized agent shall issue the license requested upon payment by the applicant of the fee herein required.
Needless to say, this law is ridiculous, and I’ll be emailing the City Attorney, City Manager, and the City Council requesting it’s immediate removal from the books. You can email them too:
- Marsha Jones Moutrie, City Attorney, attorney@smgov.net
- Lamont Ewell, City Manager, manager@smgov.net
- Santa Monica City Council, city@genser.org, pam.oconnor@smgov.net, richard.bloom@smgov.net, gleam.davis@smgov.net, robert.holbrook@smgov.net, kevin@mckeown.net, bobby.shriver@smgov.net
Big ups to Gary for discovering this – go read that article of his, it’s chock full of goodness.
Bike friendly city indeed. Good job League of American Bicyclists, you picked a winner!
October 2nd, 2009 → 10:37 am
[...] If you want more info on this, the two posts you should read immediately are “Illegal To Ride, Santa Monica Outlaws Riding Unlicensed Bicycles” and “6 months in jail and $1000 fine for riding without a bike license in Santa Monica”. [...]
October 2nd, 2009 → 12:34 pm
[...] hell, this goes beyond ridiculous. Alex Thompson over at Westside Bikeside has shed some light on a nice post by Gary Kavanagh where he explains that riding an unlicensed [...]
October 4th, 2009 → 11:05 am
[...] there say it is mainly for use in recovering stolen bicycles. According to bicycle blogger Alex Thompson, recent use of the law has targeted the homeless and a Critical Mass a few years [...]
October 9th, 2009 → 6:03 pm
[...] while front line cycling advocates like my friend Dr. Alex Thompson were stepping up and calling bullshit, what was I doing? Oh my goodness: I was getting a license for my currently unlicensed 8-Ball. From [...]