Mahatma: If bicycles have the same rights on city streets as autos, they should be licensed. -- Merlin
Dear Merlin: You refer to a statement made here recently. Make that an incomplete statement.
Bicyclists do have the same rights as drivers of motor vehicles -- or horses, for that matter. They also have the same responsibilities to follow the rules of the road. That's why the other day when some guy on a bike went the wrong way on Scott Street, a one-way downtown street, The Mahatma yelled out to him and advised that he read the legal code. Title 27, specifically, which covers driving and motor vehicles and stuff like that there.
As for licensing bicyclists, that's certainly interesting. Also complicated. Given there are about 2 million licensed motor vehicles in Arkansas, if bikes were licensed wouldn't that increase the workload exponentially on the Department of Finance & Administration, and its Office of Motor Vehicles? Right now, as they're reading this, folks at those agencies are having a cow.
But if bikes must be licensed, how far down the age grid do we go? Should 12-year-olds with a bike be required to have the thing licensed? Should the bicyclists themselves be licensed?
Our advice, Merlin, is to run for the state Legislature. Get elected. Have the legislative staff draw up a bill to license bikes and bicyclists. Introduce the bill. See what happens.
The Mahatma occasionally bumps into a fellow who drives a dump truck. He moans and groans about bicyclists all the time. Gives The Mahatma a speech about how they won't get out of the way of his load of dirt.
Zen out, dude.
Responsible bicyclists, like responsible drivers, follow the rules of the road.
Irresponsible bicyclists, like irresponsible drivers, pick and choose the rules they want to follow.
Such is humanity.
Also recently in this column was advice to a woman afflicted with cold feet regarding her boyfriend. The guy parks on the wrong side of the street when convenient, violating the city's parking code.
There's more, we learn from Traffic Judge Vic Fleming.
City code mirrors state law, Arkansas Code Annotated 27-51-1301, which also requires that a vehicle on a two-way street "shall be stopped or parked with the right-hand wheels" parallel to the right-hand curb. And within 18 inches of the curb. A violation could mean a fine and court costs of up to $215.
That's a tidy sum to pay for convenience.
But there's more. If we have learned anything here at the Traffic Desk, it's there is always more.
To park on the wrong side, a driver has to drive on the wrong side. Oops. Arkansas Code Annotated 27-51-301 violation, also fines and costs up to $215.
And when he leaves, the driver has to go the wrong way again. Another $215.
Can this young woman afford this man? We think not.
Vanity plate seen on a Mustang: PONYEXP.
Mahatma@arkansasonline.com
Metro on 03/12/2016