Subdude Posted August 24, 2008 Share Posted August 24, 2008 Most bike riders in Houston are lawbreakers10:30 AM CDT on Tuesday, August 12, 2008By Lee McGuire HOUSTON -- The year was 1968 when riots broke out at the Democratic National Convention, the first heart transplant in the U.S. was performed and the Houston City Council ordered bike owners to register with the police.Few people realize that registering their bike is the law. In the 40 years since the city made it mandatory, almost everyone has forgotten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted August 24, 2008 Share Posted August 24, 2008 Betcha I did know that. Just a month ago, a friend was ticketed for riding an unregistered bicycle; also, for not having a headlight (which I can kinda understand) and...no bell! (Bell? When's the last time you saw a bike with a bell?!) I feel ashamed to admit that I associate with such a person; thank goodness that Houston's Finest is protecting the rest of you from his ilk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talbot Posted August 24, 2008 Share Posted August 24, 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barracuda Posted August 24, 2008 Share Posted August 24, 2008 I guess that makes me a renegade. I feel tough and dirty now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo58 Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 What, no more biker chicks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniepwils Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 I agree with enforcement of laws. But please, lets start with arresting every single illegal alien in our city before we go after someone for not having a bell on their bike or some want-to-be registration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJVilla Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 I agree with enforcement of laws. But please, lets start with arresting every single illegal alien in our city before we go after someone for not having a bell on their bike or some want-to-be registration.We should also arrest every single "homeless" person before all those too. They have every capability to work and don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefmonkey Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 Very interesting. I had no idea a bike even had to be registered. I just ride my bike in my neighborhood, and along the Terry Hershey Trail.I'm certainly glad this ordinance is not enforced. Douglas MacArthur, who had the authority to throw soldiers in the stockade for insubordination, said "never issue an order you can't enforce", which is why he did not issue anti-fraternization orders in occupied Japan. If MacArthur knew that it was bad news to issue petty orders, than Houston city hall obviously knows not to enforce such a pointless ordinance. We have enough problem getting HPD to be a competent police force that can provide for the public safety. We don't need to take away from cops' time to have them enforce an ordinance that has no impact on public health or safety, and was only passed as another revenue generator.As an avid kayaker, I really take umbrage at state and local governments' greedy attempts to steal more money from citizens by trying to require us to pay registration fees for nonmotorized means of transportation. We aren't dangerous to anyone but ourselves, we aren't putting a burden on infrastructure, most of us don't use public ramps, yet every couple of years I and like-minded citizens have to band together and write letters to the Texas legislature every time the state "studies" the possibility of making us register our kayaks. Most people with motorboats have 1, most people with kayaks have multiple ones. I have 3 myself. Many of us get into kayaking because the boats are cheaper to buy and cheaper to run and maintain than powerboats, we don't need triple the registration fees that powerboaters have. They should be encouraging, not discouraging, people from using a form of transportation that encourages people to get exercise, does not pollute, and does not use gasoline by not taxing us. It's the exact same thing with bikes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristinDaugherty Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 Cyclists don't irk me nearly as much as all the !#$%^&*() jaywalkers we have in Westchase now.Seems like there's some sort of pride in walking down the STRIPE IN THE MIDDLE OF WILCREST.(Sorry for yelling. They really p!ss me off.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefmonkey Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 Cyclists don't irk me nearly as much as all the !#$%^&*() jaywalkers we have in Westchase now.Seems like there's some sort of pride in walking down the STRIPE IN THE MIDDLE OF WILCREST.(Sorry for yelling. They really p!ss me off.)Where in Wilcrest? There is one really agressive panhandler that works Wilcrest, alternating between the corners of Westheimer and Briar Forest. Blonde guy, short curly hair. track marks on his arms. Kind of a scruffy, whispy beard. Overall you'd think he's in his forties, but I bet underneath the roughness he could be in his early 30s. He started harassing me and screaming at me because I didn't make eye contact while I was waiting at the light. I called the cops, and he disappeared for a while, but is back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 According to chron.com, Houston is getting rid of this law. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 According to chron.com, Houston is getting rid of this law.So, I can come out of hiding now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 I didn't know I was a miscreant. I feel kinda ... cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 I registered my bike with the Rice police. The reason I did it - they gave me a cool bell and entered me to win an expensive bike, but I didn't win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxmulder Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 I registered my bike with the Rice police. The reason I did it - they gave me a cool bell and entered me to win an expensive bike, but I didn't win. That's dumb! Something i would do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groovehouse Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Registered bikes? Ha!Cyclists break the law when they run red lights and stop signs too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieDidIt Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Cyclists don't irk me nearly as much as all the !#$%^&*() jaywalkers we have in Westchase now.Seems like there's some sort of pride in walking down the STRIPE IN THE MIDDLE OF WILCREST.(Sorry for yelling. They really p!ss me off.)Yep, they literally step off the curb right at your car. And then give you a dirty look because you freaked out a little that you might hit them.Maybe they want to be hit?That whole BF/Wilcrest area needs to be bought out by Mattress Mac. They give Welfare Thugs a bad name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
west20th Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Yep, they literally step off the curb right at your car. And then give you a dirty look because you freaked out a little that you might hit them.Maybe they want to be hit?That whole BF/Wilcrest area needs to be bought out by Mattress Mac. They give Welfare Thugs a bad name.Strange. That is a really nice area except for the strectch of Briar Forest between Wilcrest and Kirkwood. Seems to have been that way since at least the mid-eighties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Registered bikes? Ha!Cyclists break the law when they run red lights and stop signs too!Then there were thousands of us Sunday for Tour de Houston. Criminals all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted March 25, 2009 Author Share Posted March 25, 2009 Ever notice - just mention bicycling in a topic and people start complaining about bicyclists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groovehouse Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Then there were thousands of us Sunday for Tour de Houston. Criminals all. Don't be like that. I'm talking about everyday traffic and the fact that bicycles are considered moving vehicles and are supposed to adhere to the rules of the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samagon Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Ever notice - just mention bicycling in a topic and people start complaining about bicyclists. bicycle??? rabble rabble rabble rabble rabble. I am a bike registration lawbreaker x2, soon to be x3, I wonder if unicycles are included in the registration? Have any kids birthday parties been raided because the clown hired for the party is riding an unregistered unicycle? As far as running red lights, everyone follows the rules of the road they choose to, be it behind the wheel of a car going 40-45 in a 35, or a bicycle running a red light, or a pedestrian jaywalking. I think that until a person follows all of the laws in whatever vehicle they are traversing the roads, they should not tell others what laws they should obey, but that is just me, and you can act as you want Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barracuda Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Don't be like that. I'm talking about everyday traffic and the fact that bicycles are considered moving vehicles and are supposed to adhere to the rules of the road. Haha. I haven't known too many bicyclists to stop at every red light or stop sign. My rule of thumb is to stop if there's a bunch of traffic or a cop, but otherwise I slow down to make sure nobody's coming and then go through the intersection. It would take an eternity to bike through traffic-light heavy areas like downtown if stopping at every light, as the light timing is designed for cars, not bikes. There's a certain thing called momentum that is harder to build up on a bike, and stopping when there's no traffic seems silly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Recently two firetrucks ran the same intersection (Westheimer @ Dunlavy) at the same time and crashed into each other killing a cyclist who was stopped at the light. She was one of our Critical Mass riders. It was very sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.