[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Freeport 5-9-1966
as Ch. 5 of the 1966 Code; amended in its entirety 6-21-1982
by L.L. No. 8-1982. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable]
These regulations applicable to bicycles shall apply whenever a bicycle
is operated upon any street or upon any public path set aside for the exclusive
use of bicycles, subject to those exceptions stated herein. The sole purpose
of this article is to assist and aid in the recovery of lost or stolen bicycles,
and the registration of bicycles does not in any way imply that the Village
is certifying to the safety of the bicycles or the qualifications of the operator.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Includes any vehicle consisting of an arrangement or combination
of two wheels, one following the other, supported by a frame and propelled
by the feet acting upon pedals.
It shall be unlawful for any resident of the Village to operate, use
or permit to be used or operated or rent for use any bicycle upon any of the
public highways, streets, avenues, parks or public places in the Village without
first registering the bicycle with the Police Department and obtaining a certificate
of registration and identification plate therefor.
[Amended 10-18-1982 by L.L. No. 14-1982]
A.
Prerequisites. The Chief of Police is hereby authorized
and directed to issue bicycle registration cards and metallic identification
plates to the owner of any bicycle upon:
(1)
An application containing the name of the owner or, if
the owner is under 16 years, the name of the parent or guardian and the make
and serial number and color of the bicycle, together with the name and address
of the person from whom the same was purchased.
(2)
The payment of the fee herein provided.
B.
Registration cards; contents. The registration cards
shall be numbered consecutively and shall contain the name and address of
the owner or, if the owner is under 16 years of age, the name of the parent
or guardian.
C.
Identification plate; contents. The metallic identification
plate shall have the corresponding number to the registration certificate
with the word "Freeport" thereon, which shall be attached to the bicycle by
the Police Department and shall not be removed during the valid term of registration,
except by the Police Department.
A.
Fees designated. The fee to be paid for registration
of each bicycle shall be $0.25. The fee shall be paid in advance at the time
of the issuance of the registration and identification plate. In the event
that the original bicycle identification plate is mutilated, damaged, lost
or stolen, a new plate shall be issued by the Chief of Police upon payment
of a fee of $0.25.
B.
Transfer of registration. A registration certificate
may be transferred, when ownership of a bicycle is transferred to a new owner,
upon payment of a fee of $0.25 by the new owner.
C.
Records. The Chief of Police shall keep a permanent record
of all registration cards for each bicycle registered in the Police Department
and shall transmit a duplicate set thereof together with the fees collected
therefor to the Treasurer.
It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully or maliciously remove,
destroy, mutilate or alter the serial number of any bicycle frame licensed
pursuant to this article. Within seven days after any bicycle registered hereunder
shall change ownership or be dismantled and taken out of operation, the person
in whose name the bicycle has been registered shall report such information
to the Police Department of the Village. It shall also be unlawful for any
person to remove, destroy, mutilate or alter any identification plate or registration
card during the time in which such identification plate or registration card
shall operate.
Every person engaged in the business of buying, selling, exchanging
or trading in used or secondhand bicycles and every person engaged in the
business of buying or selling new bicycles shall make a weekly report to the
Police Department of all used and secondhand bicycles purchased, exchanged
or traded in during the week. Each such report shall specify a full and complete
description of such used or secondhand bicycles and, in addition thereto,
whenever available, the manufacturer's or maker's factory serial
number, frame number, color, type, wheel size, name of brake and mark of identification,
the date of purchase or trade and the name of the person selling or trading
in such bicycles.
No person engaging in the business of renting bicycles in the Village
shall rent or hire a bicycle to anyone without the hired bicycle having an
identification plate issued by the Chief of Police attached thereto.
Every person who sells or transfers ownership of any bicycle shall report
such sale or transfer by returning the registration card issued to such person,
together with the name and address of the person to whom said bicycle was
sold or transferred, to the Chief of Police, and such report shall be made
within seven days of the date of such sale or transfer. The purchaser or transferee
of such bicycle shall apply for a transfer of the registration thereof within
seven days of the sale or transfer.
Every person riding a bicycle upon a roadway shall be granted all the
rights and shall be subject to all the duties applicable to the driver of
a vehicle by the laws of this state declaring rules of the road applicable
to vehicles or by the traffic ordinances of this Village applicable to the
driver of a vehicle,[1] except as to special regulations in this article and except as
to those provisions of laws and ordinances which by their nature can have
no application.
[1]
Editor's Note: The vehicle and traffic regulations of the Village
are printed in pamphlet form and are on file in the office of the Village
Clerk.
A.
Required. Any person operating a bicycle shall obey the
instructions of official traffic control signals, signs and other control
devices applicable to vehicles, unless otherwise directed by a police officer.
B.
Turns. Whenever authorized signs are erected indicating
that no right or left or U-turn is permitted, no person operating a bicycle
shall disobey the direction of any such signs.
A.
Generally. Every person operating a bicycle upon a roadway
shall ride as near to the right-hand side of the roadway as practicable and
shall exercise due care when passing a standing vehicle or one proceeding
in the same direction.
B.
Riding abreast. Persons riding bicycles upon a roadway
shall not ride more than one abreast in single file, except on paths or parts
of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles.
C.
Use of paths. Whenever a usable path for bicycles has
been provided adjacent to a roadway, bicycle riders shall use such paths and
shall not use the roadway.
D.
Hand signals required. Before turning or changing the
direction of any bicycle upon any street, highway, parkway or public place,
it shall be the duty of the bicycle rider to give a signal by the extension
of the hand to indicate the direction he is intending to proceed.
No person shall operate a bicycle at a speed greater than is reasonable
and prudent under the conditions then existing.
The operator of a bicycle emerging from an alley, driveway or building
shall, upon approaching a sidewalk or the sidewalk area extending across any
alleyway, yield the right-of-way to all pedestrians approaching on said sidewalk
or sidewalk area and, upon entering the roadway, shall yield the right-of-way
to all vehicles approaching on said roadway.
No person operating a bicycle shall carry any package or bundle or article
which prevents the rider from keeping at least one hand on the handlebars.
No person shall park a bicycle upon a street, other than upon the roadway
against the curb or upon the sidewalk in a rack to support the bicycle, or
against a building or at the curb in such a manner as to afford the least
obstruction to pedestrian traffic.
A.
Restricted. No person over the age of 10 years shall
ride a bicycle upon any sidewalk in the Village. No person shall ride a bicycle
on a sidewalk within a business district.
B.
Right-of-way. Whenever any person is riding a bicycle
upon the sidewalk, such person shall yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian
and shall give an audible signal before overtaking and passing such pedestrian.
A.
Lamps and reflectors. Every bicycle when in use between
one hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise shall be equipped with a
lamp on the front, which shall emit a white light visible from a distance
of at least 500 feet to the front, and with a red reflector on the rear, of
a type which shall be visible from all distances from 300 feet to the rear
when directly in front of lawful upper beams of headlamps on a motor vehicle.
A lamp emitting a red light visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear
may be used in addition to the red reflector.
B.
Sound device. No person shall operate a bicycle unless
it is equipped with a bell or other device capable of giving a signal audible
for a distance of at least 100 feet, except that a bicycle shall not be equipped
with nor shall any person use upon a bicycle any siren or whistle.
C.
Brake. Every bicycle shall be equipped with a brake adequate
to control the movement of and stop such vehicle whenever necessary. Such
brake shall be maintained in good working order at all times.
