Collegiate Times

The Virginia Tech Police Department is attempting to increase safety and security on campus by cracking down on their bike registration policies. Bikes now must be registered through the police department, rather than through parking services, as was the previous policy.

Registration can be done online at www.police.vt.edu. Once registered, the bike can be either stickered or engraved with the correct registration. Approximately 500 bikes have already been registered with the Tech system.

“It’s important to get your bike registered because if it gets stolen and recovered or impounded — to re-obtain it — you must have proof of ownership. Unless you have the bike registered or have the serial number written down, we will not be able to return the bike to you,” Virginia Tech police officer Geof Allen.

If a bike isn’t registered or if a student is seen violating bike rules, they could be fined.

“I brought my bike to Tech because it’s a fast and convenient way to get around,” said freshman biology major Catherine Yao. “I got my bike registered because I’ve heard of people getting their bike stolen and I want to make sure that if it gets found that they know its mine. Registering was easy and free and there’s no reason for anyone to not get registered.”

Some students are skeptical whether bike registration will actually help the return of their bikes.

“I think it’s not that helpful and I don’t think that it’s likely to be recovered. I think that people could just peel the sticker off,” said Gadsden Merrill, a sophomore university studies major. “My bike is not registered because it’s not worth a whole lot and it’s more work than its worth. I think that it would be more helpful for people with more expensive bikes, though.”

However, the police department stresses that not only does registration help with the recovery of bikes, but also with bike safety.

“The great thing about registration is that those who register also get safety information and the bike rules at Tech. There are a lot of rules and tips that people don’t know about and when they register, they get a wealth of information,” Allen said. “For example, not many students know about hand signals or that they can’t wear headphones while riding. They also may not know that the only sidewalk that cyclists can ride on is on Washington Street. These are rules that students will receive and be informed about.”

Bike safety will also hopefully improve the safety of pedestrians.

“There have been a few collisions between bikers and pedestrians because bikers don’t understand that they have to follow the same traffic patterns of cars. When pedestrians are crossing cyclists need to stop and let the people walking go by just like a car would,” said Allen.

The police department at Tech is not-for-profit and retains no funds from the tickets they issue.

“The primary concern of our department is increasing the safety of the campus,” said Allen. “That’s mostly what we’re trying to do with registration: increase safety for everyone.”