Bike messengers soon will have new rules of road

LICENSE TO ROLL: Lt. Detective James Curran of theBoston Police Licensing Unit holds up the new bicycle messenger licenseat Boston police headquarters yesterday.

By Laura Brown

Boston Herald, December 11, 1998

Tough new regulations designed to make the city's bicycle messengerssafer and more accountable take effect in Boston on New Year's Day, policeofficials said yesterday.

Under the new rules, bicycle messenger services and their couriers haveto obtain licenses from the city, renew them annually and carry insurance.

Each messenger's identification number has to be boldly displayed onthe cyclist's person and bike, so the courier can be easily identifiedif there is an accident, officials said.

"We are very hopeful this is going to makes the streets safer andbring accountability to an industry that has blossomed over the past fewyears, said Micho Spring, who husband William Spring, spent six weeks ina coma after being struck by a bicycle messenger in October 1997.

The couple worker hard to pass the home rule petition that mandatedan overhaul in the city's bicycle courier regulations.

The new rules call for fines of up to $300 if the messengers fail tocarry a license and do not display the identification numbers.

The insurance rules require each service to prove it carries at least$50,000 in property coverage and $100,000 in coverage for personal injuriesor death.

Messenger services required to hire only licensed couriers.

As a result of the tighter regulations city officials expect to seea drop in the number bicycle couriers who current number about 300, saidBoston police Lt. Detective James T. Curran.

"We're not trying to put them out of business, we're just tryingto bring them into compliance", he said.

Along with the new regulations, police also plan to crack down on courierswho violate traffic rules by failing to stop at red lights, driving thewrong way on one-way streets or riding on the sidewalk in the businessdistrict. Curran said.

"Serious injuries have resulted by them not driving the right directionon a street", he said. "Even though they have to observe, wehave noticed a great increase in lack of compliance with the laws."

Couriers can apply for the new licenses - which replace any former licenses- between December 14 and December 31, Curran said.

For more on this story visit the Boston CrashControversey

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