Even when it comes to the smallest of fees, being forced to pay even a cent that we didn’t agree to is undoubtedly a rather infuriating predicament. One father in Hawaii bought several bikes for his children as Christmas presents last year, but received three “certificates of registration” for them just recently in the mail. “The local government apparently just passed a law requiring all bikes to have paid ‘licenses’ to be ridden in public. When I called to confirm, they said cops have been issuing citations, even to kids,” the dad said in disbelief.
Posting photos of the certificate and one of its corresponding stickers to r/mildlyinfuriating, the Hawaii dad questioned why kids should need such legal paperwork for their bikes. He added that he had asked what would happen if the bikes were gifts or purchased out of state. If that were the case, “the purchaser would have to ‘transfer’ each license to the actual owner…for an additional fee of course.” Looking at the post’s photo, the total fee for his children’s bikes was $15, which is not a big deal. Yet, the fact that this is required by law at all is what he finds to be mildly infuriating.
However, this sort of law is apparently not exclusive to this dad’s local government in Hawaii. Someone from Ohio left a comment saying that, when they were young, they lived in a small town that required bike licenses as well. “And we learned later that, yes, it’s more for theft tracking than it is for ‘permission to ride a bicycle’,” they explained.
Several others chimed in, saying they experienced the same law when they were children. “And if I remember correctly, it was more for theft prevention than actually ticketing people that rode around without them being registered,” recalls a commenter. Still, some people found the whole concept of having kids forced to have a ‘license’ to ride their bikes is irksome. “Why don’t kids play outside anymore,” sighs a Redditor. “Someone somewhere needs to be removed from city administration – mega oof,” remarked another.
If there’s anything to take from this Hawaii dad’s post, it’s that no one likes to pay the government more than they have to when it comes to legal fees. After all, most would agree that it’s not as if the police would be of much help, anyhow, if someone with a “paid license” had their bike stolen.
