“For those 18 and over who cycle on public roadways, licensing and liability insurance should be mandatory.”
Well, I’ve yet to see a cyclist do enough damage to require the insurance. However, I do agree that bicyclists who disregard the law — including the hard-core guys who seem to think that a paceline negates any legal requirements — should get tickets, and they should count as points on their licenses.
I have. Seen them screw up side mirrors, then there’s the old over the hood into the windshield problem. Of course usually if they do claimable damage to a car the rider is in bad shape so in a sense they wind up paying for it anyway, even if the car owner doesn’t get a check.
If a cyclist were to hit a pedestrian and put them in the hospital, the cyclist had better have insurance or have the ability to pay for the damages. If it happened to me, no way would I use my personal insurance to pay the medical bills.
I pretty much support cyclists and try to be careful around them. From my observation, most are pretty good about obeying the laws, with the exception of running stop signs. I undertand that using toe clips makes it inconvenient to come to a complete stop, but there’s no excuse for blowing through stop signs at a high rate of speed. Once I’ve made my stop and have the right of way, I don’t have to yield to a toe-clipped scofflaw.
I stand by my statement: For those 18 and over who cycle on public roadways, licensing and liability insurance should be mandatory.
Cyclists who disregard the law? You make it sound like it's only happens occasionally.
I yet to see a cyclist who obeys the law. All the laws, such as not running red lights when turning right, riding on the sidewalk, in crosswalks, running stop signs, riding against traffic, etc.
Do you obey *all* the same traffic laws while riding your bike as you would if you were driving your car?
The insurance is not for damage they cause, it’s to pay for their own injuries when they do dumb stuff that leads to accidents with motor vehicles and for damages caused by motorists attempting to avoid hitting the cyclist.