'It makes no sense.' Montgomery Co. politicians want to end mandatory bicycle registration

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (WJLA) — The majority of the Montgomery County Council would like to repeal a little-known law that requires residents to register their bicycles with the county.

On June 13, Montgomery County Police stopped Silver Spring resident Steve Silverman, 43, for failing to stop for a stop sign while riding his bicycle. Officers issued Silverman two tickets, one for the stop sign violation and a second because his bicycle was not registered with Montgomery County, a little-known law. Police also impounded Silverman's bicycle.

"Well, it was a little bit troubling," Council Vice President Tom Hucker (D-District 5) told ABC7 Tuesday. “We want people to have bikes, to ride bikes, to keep cars off the road and get their exercise and we don’t want to be ticketing them for not registering them.”

Hucker, Councilmember Evan Glass (D-At Large), Councilmember Will Jawanda (D-At Large), and Councilmember Hans Riemer (At Large) are the lead sponsors of the bill. Council President Sidney Katz (D-District 3) is a cosponsor. If passed into law, the bill would make it optional, but not mandatory, for residents to register their bicycles. It would also repeal the county's ability to impound unregistered bikes.

The bill will go before the Public Safety Committee, which Hucker chairs, and be the topic of at least one public hearing. Hucker and his colleagues, however, anticipate it will pass into law with little to no issue.

“It’s ridiculous that Montgomery County residents currently have to register their bicycles with the police department,” Glass stated. “The law requiring bicycle registration has been on the books since 1995; it’s time we update this arcane law and stop criminalizing residents who own bicycles. It’s our responsibility to keep pedaling towards more fair and modern transportation policies.”

According to Hucker, Silverman spent around $1,000 on an attorney. On November 13, a Montgomery County District Court judge tossed out both tickets.

“You could buy another very nice bike for that [money] rather than paying an attorney for the crime of not having your bike registered. So, yeah, this was an unfortunate law that shouldn’t have been on the books and I’m glad we’re going to be removing it," Hucker concluded.

It is worth noting that just like operators of motor vehicles, bicyclists are required to stop at red lights and stop signs across D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.