What do we think about this?
I'm open-minded for now, perhaps for new bikes. Could be a good thing; could be the thin end of a dodgy wedge.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
Bike registration - a good thing?
(7 posts)-
Posted 5 years ago #
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I think it's probably positive, but yeah, risky if a less sympathetic government then wants to extend it with registration plates or whatever. Additionally there's a risk that you either end up with a situation where you can't sell old bikes on Gumtree, or you can just claim that any unregistered bike is 'old' or 'foreign' and it's no harder to sell stolen bikes.
Posted 5 years ago # -
A bad idea, no doubt prompted by people erroneously comparing cars and bikes. No doubt the usual suspects are writing their columns/preparing their phone-ins to demand the same in the UK
In the UK I would imagine that most bikes are worth £500 or less, similar to a laptop or iPad which are just as easy to steal. We don’t demand people register these to prevent theft; why should bikes be similar?
If insurers want bikes to be registered in some way then that is a different question, as people can choose whether or not to insure.
There are already bike registers which people can sign up to; publicise these before introducing legislation.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Must be a good idea, after all, motor vehicles have chassis and engine numbers as well as registration plates and you never hear of them being stolen do you?
Posted 5 years ago # -
Bikes aren't similar to cars but nor are they similar to laptops and iPads - I don't think I'd leave a laptop attached to a lamppost overnight? Difficulty with voluntary schemes is that it's not weird to sell a bike that isn't already registered with them, so there's no red flag when a stolen "unregistered" bike hits the market. A standardised frame numbering system might be a start but maybe that's infeasible.
AFAIK car theft is actually very low now, mainly cos it's very difficult to get into them these days but difficulty of fencing (due to VIN) must be a factor? Main reason thefts happen seems to be objects inside or joyriding - the latter is a factor in bike theft but a lot must be to sell on.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Immobilisers killed conventional car theft, these days the weakest point is breaking into a home or pickpocketing to obtain keys.
Posted 5 years ago # -
For valuable bikes, the parts including wheels may be a large part of the value. I'd guess these aren't protected by registration schemes.
Posted 5 years ago #
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