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Dec 25, 2023

‘Absolutely Crazy’: Italy To Require Cyclists Fit Indicators, Registration Plates And Wear Helmets

A woman biking passes by the wall with a mural made by Italian street artist

A woman biking passes by the wall with a mural made by Italian street artist Harry Greb named "Enjoy ... [+] - Tutti al mare" via dei Montecatini in Rome featuring Giorgia Meloni, Matteo Salvini, Luciana Lamorgese and Mario Draghi. (Photo by Matteo Nardone/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

In a speech to the Italian parliament on June 7, transport minister Matteo Salvini said the coalition government led by prime minister Giorgia Meloni will enact legislation to force cyclists to wear helmets and their cycles will have to be fitted with license plates and turn indicators.

The package of measures is part of a road safety bill that will also introduce stricter penalties for dangerous driving.

Cycling groups have criticised Salvini's plan, claiming it would reduce cycling numbers during a climate crisis.

Matteo Salvini leader of Lega political party in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Stefano Guidi/Getty ... [+] Images)

The leader of the right-wing Lega party wasn't always in favour of such measures. In 2015, he dismissed a left-wing politician's plan to introduce cycle number plates as "crazy."

British barrister James M. Turner said Salvini's proposals would also dent Italy's tourism industry.

"Thousands of foreign cyclists visit Italy every year," he said.

"Will we all now have to have license plates?"

Turner also said the measures would prove to be ineffective: "It's not as if compulsory registration and number plates stop people in cars or on motorbikes behaving recklessly," he pointed out.

Italian cycle trade association ANCMA said the proposals were "extremely worrying" adding the reform "seems to be more about stopping the spread of bicycles than increasing safety on the roads."

Forcing cyclists to be licensed in the same way as motorists may be attractive to legislators seeking easy and cheap "road safety solutions" but is suche licensing worth the expense, and would it work? And do calls for bicycle licensing reflect a genuine desire to improve road safety or is it a means for the motorized majority to reduce cycling levels with regulations?

Historically, some countries have had cycle registration and license schemes. In Switzerland, it was once compulsory to have a ‘Velo Vignette’ (bike sticker) ‘license’ but as well as being a registration scheme it was a way of getting cyclists to purchase third-party liability insurance.

However, in March 2010, the Swiss parliament abolished the licenses because the costs of the scheme far outstripped the revenue.

Several countries used to have bike badge registration schemes: from Argentina to the Seychelles. In fact, the little tin badges are collectible, and can be found on specialist websites and on eBay. The schemes were discontinued for the same reason dog licenses were discontinued in most countries: administration of the schemes.

The bicycle licensing by-law in Toronto, Canada, (created in 1935, ditched in 1957 and suggested but rejected in 1984, 1992 and 1996) was predicted to cost way more than the income.

People riding bicycles in the Italian city of Ferrara, Italy. (Photo by Stefano Montesi/Corbis via ... [+] Getty Images)

In July 2011, a councillor in Ottawa tasked the City Operations team to evaluate whether it would be worth creating a bicycle licensing scheme. In January 2012, the answer came back "no" and "non."

The City Operations team said: "Given limited benefits and significant challenges, and primarily based on the fact that bicycle licensing would act as a significant barrier to cycling, it is recommended that bicycle licensing not be implemented in the City of Ottawa."

Why stop at cars and bicycles? Critics suggest why not prams? Or horses? Or pedestrians?

Motor vehicles are licensed because of the threat they pose to other road users.

Motorists who drive recklessly can cause severe damage to property and people, yet, because of airbags and crumple zones, can climb out of their vehicle unscathed.

Cyclists who ride recklessly risk, for the most part, only their own life and limb. Hit a car; risk death. Hit a pedestrian; risk serious injury. Cyclists pay attention, say cycle advocacy groups, a form of self-policed self-preservation.

Advocacy groups also point out that cyclists do not operate heavy, powerful, fast, frequently-lethal machines.

Similarly, cyclists, like pedestrians and equestrians, use the road by right of way. Drivers use it under license. Under license because, unfettered, drivers are dangerous.

Critics of the Italian proposals say that those who want cyclists to be registered, apply for licenses to cycle and other motoring-style measures don't want to share the road with lots of licensed, fee-paying cyclists, they want fewer cyclists, period.