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Crime & Safety

Bicycle Crime &

Safety Tips

By James J. Becker

Bicycle Theft Is a bicycle considered a motor vehicle in Florida?
Did you know that almost 500 bicycles are reported stolen In Florida the bicycle is legally defined as a vehicle and
in the City of Fort Lauderdale annually and in the US the the bicyclist is a driver. Bicyclists have the same rights to
annual total exceeds a little over 1.3 million bikes? the roadways and must obey the same traffic laws as the
drivers of other vehicles.
Bicycle Registration

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department has instituted a Do you have to stop at a stop sign or at a traffic
program for citizens to register their bicycles online in control device?
order to help retrieve stolen bikes. Simply go to FLPD.ORG Treating a stop sign as though it were a yield sign now is
and click on the Community tab. Drill down and click on known as an “Idahostop.” They are illegal in D.C.,
Bicycle Registration. The process is extremely simple, fill in Maryland and Virginia, but cyclists are seen rolling through
the pertinent information on the form and press submit. The stop signs with the same frequency as drivers rolling
registration is free. Once registered the Police Department through right-turns-on-red, when they're supposed to come
will send you a numbered decal that adheres to the frame to a complete halt. (Section 316.2065, F.S.)
that identifies you as the owner of the bicycle.
Is it illegal to ride a bike at night without a light?
Q & A According to the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations (RVLR),
it's illegal to cycle on a public road after dark without
Are bicycle helmets required in Florida? lights and reflectors. Flashing lights are permitted but it is
recommended that cyclists who are riding in areas without
Under Florida law, a bicycle rider or passenger who is
under 16 years of age must wear a bicycle helmet streetlighting use a steady front lamp. However, in Florida
properly fitted, fastened securely upon the passenger's a bicycle operated between sunset and sunrise must be
head by a strap and that meets the federal safety standard equipped with a lamp on the front exhibiting a white light
for bicycle helmets, as defined by the Code of Federal visible 500 feet to the front and both a red reflector and a
Regulations (16 C.F.R. Part 1203). lamp on the rear exhibiting a red light visible from 600
feet to the rear. (Section 316.2065, F.S.)

26 The Landings & Bay Colony