[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Town of Rock Hall 8-10-1979
by Ord. No. 79-7; amended in its entirety 9-14-2006
by Ord. No. 2006-04. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
For the purposes of this chapter, the terms used herein are defined
as follows:
Any conventional vehicle of one, two or more wheels propelled by
the rider and as said term is defined in § 11-104 of the Transportation
Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
Minibikes, motor bikes, motor scooters, dirt bikes, all-terrain vehicles,
go-carts and all mechanically propelled vehicles manufactured and sold primarily
for recreational or off-road purposes and not subject to registration under
§ 13-101 et seq., of the Transportation Article, Annotated Code
of Maryland, except bicycles as defined herein.
The rider or operator of a bicycle on any street of the Town of Rock
Hall shall have said vehicle under proper control at all times and shall not
operate or propel the bicycle on any of the streets of the town recklessly
or at a rate of speed greater than is reasonable and proper and shall not
use the streets or highways so as to endanger the property of any person.
All operators of bicycles shall at all times comply with all other traffic
regulations in force in the Town of Rock Hall and the traffic regulations
for the State of Maryland.
It shall be unlawful for any person to ride any bicycle or motorized
recreational vehicle, as defined in this chapter, on, upon or over the public
sidewalks of the town.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to ride or operate a bicycle,
as defined in this chapter, on, upon or over any park or playground owned,
operated or maintained by the Town of Rock Hall, except in those areas designated
as "riding areas" or except in such areas as are public ways or public highways
or roads and commonly used as such in said park or playground areas.
B.
It shall be unlawful for any person to ride or operate a motorized
recreational vehicle, as defined in this chapter, on, upon or over any property
owned, operated or maintained by the Town of Rock Hall.
No person who resides in the town shall ride a bicycle on any street
unless such bicycle shall have been licensed, a registration card shall have
been issued and a license plate shall have been attached thereto as provided
herein.
A.
Every resident of the town who is the owner of a bicycle
shall, on or before the first day of April of each year, apply to the Chief
of Police[1] for a bicycle license, registration card and license plate. After
April 1 of each year, it shall be the duty of any resident of the town or
any person who rides or propels a bicycle ordinarily kept within the limits
of the town, immediately upon purchasing or acquiring a bicycle, to apply
for a bicycle license, registration card and license plate within 10 days
after such purchase or acquisition. Such application shall be made on a form
provided by the town.
B.
The registration card and metal tag or license plate
issued pursuant to such application shall be valid until the first day of
April the following year, as long as ownership of the bicycle remains unchanged.
The license to ride or propel a bicycle shall be valid until the first day
of April of the first year following its issue.
A.
The Police Department shall provide, at the expense of
the town, permanent metallic license tags, together with registration cards,
which tags and cards shall have numbers stamped thereon in numerical order,
beginning with number "1" and indicating the name of the town and the year
of issue. Such tag shall be suitable for attachment to the rear mudguard or
the frame of the bicycle for which issued, in such position as to be plainly
visible. Such tag shall be attached to the bicycle by the Police Department
or persons designated by the Police Department at the time of issuance and
shall remain attached to the bicycle for which it is issued for so long as
such license shall remain in effect. The Chief of Police or persons designated
by him shall also keep two records of such registration: by serial number
assigned to the bicycle and by the owner's name in alphabetical order.
B.
Upon issuance of a license and its attachment to the
bicycle, the Police Department or persons designated by the Police Department
shall furnish to the owner of such bicycle the corresponding registration
card. The operator of a bicycle shall display his registration card or produce
satisfactory proof that the owner has such registration card upon demand of
any officer of the Town of Rock Hall Police Department.
The registration cards and metal tags shall be issued each year upon
application to the Chief of Police.
Upon the expiration of any bicycle license, the same may be renewed
upon application to and inspection by the Chief of Police or persons designated
by him.
It shall be the duty of every person who sells or transfers ownership
of any bicycle within the Town of Rock Hall to report such sale to the Chief
of Police. If such bicycle had been licensed and registered, such person shall
at the time of sale or transfer of ownership return to the Chief of Police
the registration card and license tag. Such person shall furnish the Chief
of Police with the name and address of the person to whom such bicycle was
sold or transferred. Such report and return of the registration card and license
tag shall be made by the person selling or transferring within three days
of the date of said sale or transfer.
It shall be the duty of every person who dismantles, reduces to junk
or takes out of operation any bicycle, whether the same is registered or not
registered, to report the same to the Chief of Police and to turn in the registration
card and license tag if such bicycle was registered.
It shall be unlawful for any person willfully or maliciously to remove, destroy, mutilate or alter the number of any bicycle frame or to remove, destroy or alter any license tag or registration card during the time when such license tag or registration card is valid, except as provided in §§ 69-10 and 69-11 hereof.
In case of loss or destruction of any license tag and/or card, a duplicate license tag and/or card shall be issued to the registered owner of such bicycle upon payment of a fee as provided in Chapter 102, Fees, for each tag or card required, provided that such owner gives to the Chief of Police satisfactory proof of such ownership and loss or destruction of such card and/or tag, by affidavit or otherwise.
If any bicycle shall be found on any road, street or alley of the town
without a license tag as above set forth or with a mutilated serial number
or no serial number stamped on the frame of the bicycle, it shall be prima
facie evidence that such bicycle is being operated without proper registration.
Any bicycle owned and operated by any resident of any other municipality
shall not be required to be registered hereunder but shall be subject to all
other provisions of this chapter.
Violations of this chapter shall be punishable as a Class E municipal infraction, subject to Chapter 153 (Municipal Infractions) of the Code. Violators shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $100. Repeat offenders may be assessed a fine not to exceed $200 for each repeat offense. In the event a person violates this chapter with respect to the unlawful use of a motorized recreational vehicle upon Town property, the motorized recreational vehicle may be impounded by an enforcement officer designated by the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall to deliver citations pursuant to Chapter 153 (Municipal Infractions) of the Code until such time as the fine and reasonable charges for the towing and storage of the motorized recreational vehicle are paid. Law enforcement officers and emergency personnel are exempt from the provisions of § 69-4 of this chapter, provided that such law enforcement officers and emergency personnel are acting in the performance of their official duties.
