Skateboarding is an inherently unsafe activity, and that’s exactly why we like doing it. But now that inherent danger might actually cause a problem for skateboarders in one of skateboarding’s meccas: Los Angeles.

The LA Times has confirmed that under a new law, practicing ‘unsafe’ skateboarding can carry fines of up to $500. So it sounds like skateboarding is now a crime in Los Angeles.

“We’ve not found the existing law to be effective,” Captain Nancy Lauer of the LAPD told the paper. The new ordinance was proposed by Councilman Joe Buscaino, who, needless to say, is likely not a very good skateboarder.

Buscaino cited two recent downhill-skateboarding deaths as the inspiration for the new law, which stipulates: obeying all traffic signs, upright riding only, skitching is now prohibited, a speed limit of 10 mph in intersections, and maintaining a speed which does not endanger the rider or others at all times. That seems a little open to interpretation, wouldn’t you say?

The fact is, this will do absolutely nothing to stop skateboarders from skating, so this doesn’t seem like a step in the right direction. If anything, it will just cause more problems between skaters and local law enforcement, and we all know how that usually ends.