RECENT ACCIDENTS HAVE REVIVED CALLS FOR LICENSES FOR MESSENGERS AND ALSO THAT MESSENGERS HAVE INSURANCE...
I could not find the latest update on this ( just heard it on radio a few hours ago)
But idea has been around for some time
This from the Daily News from 2011
City Councilman wants to slap speedy bike messengers, food delivery cyclists with license plates
By Erin Einhorn / DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF
Thursday, May 26, 2011, 4:00 AM
Frances Roberts for News
Messengers and restaurant owners say there are already enough laws on the books - and this measure would just mean more pricey regulations.
A City Councilman wants to slap speedy bike messengers and food delivery cyclists - with license plates that make them easily identifiable.
"Messengers and folks who work for restaurants tend to be the worst [traffic law] offenders," said Councilman David Greenfield (D-Brooklyn). "They have a financial incentive to be reckless drivers. ...It's the Wild West of transportation."
Greenfield is introducing legislation today that would force businesses that hire cyclists to apply for license plates for each employee's bike.
The companies would also have to show proof of insurance - to cover injuries to their rider and any pedestrians they may plow over.
Any business that fails to acquire the city-issued tags would face a $1,000 fine - and cops would get the green light to seize the scofflaw bikes.
"License plates are the great equalizer," Greenfield insisted. "If you have a license plate, you're responsible. Everyone knows who you are. They know who's in charge and we can track you down."
License plates, he said, could someday allow cops to bust bad bikers with red light cameras.
Greenfield's proposal faces an unclear fate in the City Council - but Nancy Gruskin is pulling for it.
Gruskin's husband, Stuart, was killed in midtown two years ago by a bicycle deliveryman going the wrong way down a one-way street.
"A law like this is going to deter cyclists from doing the wrong thing," said Gruskin, who founded the Stuart C. Gruskin Family Foundation to push for bike safety and awareness. "There's going to be a way to track what they're doing more easily."
A law like this might have saved her husband's life, she said.
Messengers and restaurant owners say there are already enough laws on the books - and this measure would just mean more pricey regulations.
"It's not like we need more expenses," said Ghavi Jaber, who uses bike delivery at his upper West Side deli, Americana Food. "The situation is bad as it is. ... It has been so hard for owners and hardworking persons to make a living in this city."
Bike messenger Chris (Flash) Palmer of Flash Courier Service speculated that the law was just a ploy to stuff the city's coffers.
"License and insurance doesn't make someone drive a car safer," he said. "It won't help bicycles, either."
Andrew Rigie of the New York State Restaurant Association noted restaurants already have insurance to cover bike accidents.
"To possibly impound a bicycle will jeopardize the livelihood of hardworking delivery people when we want them out there, delivering food to people, making money," Rigie said.
Current rules require commercial riders to post information about their employer on their bikes - and to wear clothing identifying their employer.
Rigie urged the Council to instead focus on protecting delivery riders who are often struck by vehicles and targeted by muggers.
With Simone Weichselbaum and Whitney Evans
eeinhorn@nydailynews.com
"Messengers and folks who work for restaurants tend to be the worst [traffic law] offenders," said Councilman David Greenfield (D-Brooklyn). "They have a financial incentive to be reckless drivers. ...It's the Wild West of transportation."
Greenfield is introducing legislation today that would force businesses that hire cyclists to apply for license plates for each employee's bike.
The companies would also have to show proof of insurance - to cover injuries to their rider and any pedestrians they may plow over.
Any business that fails to acquire the city-issued tags would face a $1,000 fine - and cops would get the green light to seize the scofflaw bikes.
"License plates are the great equalizer," Greenfield insisted. "If you have a license plate, you're responsible. Everyone knows who you are. They know who's in charge and we can track you down."
License plates, he said, could someday allow cops to bust bad bikers with red light cameras.
Greenfield's proposal faces an unclear fate in the City Council - but Nancy Gruskin is pulling for it.
Gruskin's husband, Stuart, was killed in midtown two years ago by a bicycle deliveryman going the wrong way down a one-way street.
"A law like this is going to deter cyclists from doing the wrong thing," said Gruskin, who founded the Stuart C. Gruskin Family Foundation to push for bike safety and awareness. "There's going to be a way to track what they're doing more easily."
A law like this might have saved her husband's life, she said.
Messengers and restaurant owners say there are already enough laws on the books - and this measure would just mean more pricey regulations.
"It's not like we need more expenses," said Ghavi Jaber, who uses bike delivery at his upper West Side deli, Americana Food. "The situation is bad as it is. ... It has been so hard for owners and hardworking persons to make a living in this city."
Bike messenger Chris (Flash) Palmer of Flash Courier Service speculated that the law was just a ploy to stuff the city's coffers.
"License and insurance doesn't make someone drive a car safer," he said. "It won't help bicycles, either."
Andrew Rigie of the New York State Restaurant Association noted restaurants already have insurance to cover bike accidents.
"To possibly impound a bicycle will jeopardize the livelihood of hardworking delivery people when we want them out there, delivering food to people, making money," Rigie said.
Current rules require commercial riders to post information about their employer on their bikes - and to wear clothing identifying their employer.
Rigie urged the Council to instead focus on protecting delivery riders who are often struck by vehicles and targeted by muggers.
With Simone Weichselbaum and Whitney Evans
eeinhorn@nydailynews.com
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