Last night a friend of mine was pulled over for driving bicycling without a license. Yep you heard it right. He had gotten pulled over for not having a license for his bicycle, an ordinance in Costa Mesa that carries a hefty $5 fine. The problem? No one has ever heard of this law and searching online I can’t find it anywhere. I have been a resident of Costa Mesa for 5 years now and the best thing I can find is a random post on a non-official blog that states you can get a bike license at the local fire department for free.
Why the need for a bicycle license? To keep it’s citizens safe? Sadly, no it’s simply broken tail light pullover. The policeman stops you to figure out what else he can get you for. Past crimes, illegals aliens, maybe he can get you for biking under the influence which nets the pd $250. In the below instance, they pulled over a latino man for biking on the wrong side of the street, then took him to jail for not having his license. He ended up getting deported.
Of those accused of being in the country illegally, 55 were suspected of misdemeanors, 39 of felonies, 9 of outstanding warrants, and one of jaywalking, an infraction. Another man who was stopped on suspicion of the infraction of riding his bike on the wrong side of the street was later detained because he did not have a bicycle license, a misdemeanor charge. In both infractions, police have said the men did not have proper identification and were brought to the station so police could determine their identities.
Now the counter argument here is “If you aren’t breaking the law, then why are you worried?”. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work. Lets play out a “hypothetical” situation:
I plan on spending the evening at a friends house nearby and know I might drink a few beers. Nothing in excess (even 1 beer will cause you to fail a breathalyser). I decide to be responsible and ride my bike for the safety of myself and others. Even though I know I will not drink enough to affect my driving, I am being overly cautious. So I ride my bike (on the sidewalk, which has no pedestrians), but I get pulled over and booked for no license. The police officer then makes me take a breathalyser that I fail. Now I get booked for a DUI and it goes on my permanent record. Maybe I disagree with this totally bogus law and get booked for “assaulting” a police officer (it’s only me and him at night).
While this situation might seem like an exaggeration or me simply hating “the man”, a police officer pulling someone over for this law doesn’t fall under the given credo “to serve and protect”.
More importantly, this law is a barrier to citizens doing something good. Riding a bike reduces emissions, is good exercise and promotes a community-focused environment.
Pulling over an unlicensed bicyclist over is almost as stupid as arresting a breakfast cereal mascot.
Police On My Back [CavemanMoses]
