The SMH reports that "Bike riders in NSW may soon be legally required to carry photo identification", with a proposal being discussed at a roundtable convened by the state Roads Minister to discuss cycling safety issues. The Minister last year stated that he was "increasingly persuaded" that a cyclist licensing system was needed.
The SMH notes
The policy being canvassed at the roundtable could be a softening of that idea, requiring cyclists to only carry existing forms of identification, such as a driver's licence. But it would still be a novel concept.
As Mr Gay himself wrote to the Member for Vaucluse, Gabrielle Upton, "there are no precedents for mandatory bicycle registration or cyclist licensing in Australia". ...
Advocacy group Bicycle Network told its members on Tuesday that it would not support laws requiring cyclists to carry ID in NSW.
One source at Monday's meeting said the government acknowledged it would not be feasible to introduce registration for cyclists, nor new licences, but was keen to require cyclists to carry regular identification.
"That's the agenda," the source said. "There would be exemptions for people under 18 and things like that."
Harold Scruby, the chairman of the Pedestrian Council, said there was a "consensus" that, at $69, fines for cyclists were too low. "We all agreed that registration is going to be difficult but perhaps anyone over the age of 18 should be required to carry some form of ID".
