In Plainville, bicycles accidents are rare and bicyclists behave. So ticketing them as car drivers and mandating police officers to take a course on bicycle safety seem like a little too much for Police Chief Edward Merrick Jr.

"I think there is nothing wrong paying attention to bicycle safety, but a citation is a little overkill," he said.

A bill to make that state law, filed by Sen. Pamela Resor, D-Acton, in 2007 was approved by the Senate last week and is now on the House calendar.

It is the fourth time that such legislation has been under study. The closest version of Resor's bill was approved by the Legislature in December 2006, but it was vetoed by then acting Gov. Kerry Healey.

The proposal would allow police officers to ticket bicyclists as car drivers when they commit a traffic violation. Any bicyclists' violations would not result in an auto insurance surcharge. The greatest concern among police is how the legislation would be enforced.

"Are they going to require bicyclists to carry an I.D?" Merrick said. "There are not a lot of bicycle accidents here. In the past five years I can recall maybe three. I don't think it's a major issue, especially in my community, and we are already shorthanded."

The bill would only mandate bicyclists to state their true name and address.

Resor's legislation would also clarify the language for how vehicles should interact with bicycles and establish a fine up to $100 for motorists who open their doors without looking for pedestrians, bicyclists or other vehicles and cause an accident.

MassBike, a bicycle advocacy group, helped craft the bicycle safety bill eight years ago, when it was first introduced.

Executive Director David Watson said the enforcement part of the bill is the most difficult thing to implement and the most controversial, and that the other provisions would have a bigger impact on how bicyclists and motorists behave.

"The anti-dooring proposition is a prevention measure," he said. "By attaching a potential financial penalty to it, we hope that people would pay more attention."

Clarifying the current traffic law would also help reinforce safety by identifying the rights and obligations of both traffic users.

Finally, the bill would require a course on bicycle safety in the basic training curriculum for municipal police officers, focusing on informing officers of the rights and responsibilities of both bicyclists and motorists.

Merrick wonders how the added costs of a mandatory bicycle safety training class for municipal police officers would be funded. "Who is going to pay for it?" he said. "They do a lot of stuff for the local police to be trained in but they don't put any money in it. Any cop in his right mind is concerned about people operating bicycles safely but I think it's crazy to mandate it."

The Senate Ways and Means Committee said costs of the legislation could be absorbed through current appropriations. The training safety class would be incorporated to the existing highway safety program and won't result in an increase of training hours.

State Rep. Richard Ross, R-Wrentham, supported the 2006 legislation and said he is inclined to support it again, even if he acknowledges that enforcement could be "rather difficult and challenging."

"I haven't thought about any amendments yet," he said. "I am waiting to see the final product but this is a good bill in general."

Bob Sirois, owner of the Sirois Bicycle Shop in North Attleboro, also supports the bill.

He said that allowing officers to ticket bicyclists is common sense, as the mandate included in the bill for bike rental stores to provide helmets to their customers.

"People need to obey the roads' law," he said.

He also said training police officers about bicycle safety is a good thing.

But he questions the impact of imposing a fine on car drivers who hit a bicyclist when opening their doors.

"I don't know if a fine is going to help that," he said. "Nobody is doing it on purpose."