Road riding...why bother.

That incident has set off a bomb in Queensland.

The video presented to the Queensland iparliamentary inquiry into cycling issues in support of a 1.5 metre passing rule and apparently had quite an impact. The totally inadequate charges the driver was brought up on were then cited before the enquiry as an example of the inappropriate policing cyclists commonly endure when involved in collisions with other road users. They'd brushed him off telling him he should be happy the driver got a 1 point demerit... for nearly killing him.

Not only that, the police were caught out *making up* his witness statement as a first person account. That's right, they fabricated evidence.

Then, when brought to his attention by Safe Cycling Australia in a tweet the police commissioner brushed it off, in response to which a high profile criminal barrister ripped him a new one calling his response a "cop out"

The cyclist has taken legal advice and has written directly to the commissioner and it may end up before the Qld equivalent of the PIC.

However there is a substantial upside despite (or perhaps because of) the riders horrible injuries. The original video is so chilling and the police response so poor it sharply shows the issues in undeniable clarity. This has a ways to play out and the timing is in our favour. It might even be the catalyst for some long overdue change.

The Herald's take on the subject

http://m.smh.com.au/national/cyclist-hit-by-car-...

Absolute ludacrasy. Do these same people intentionally push people over when walking the street? I think not. I just can't believe that this behaviour happens in today's society. These motorists are likely parents, how would they feel if their children were hit by a car whilst riding their bike? Then the adovocates for justice obstruct the truth and give the driver a a single demerit point. I think they'd be outraged.

What's even more distressing about this case is the number of vehicles that continue to pass this cyclist whilst he is clearly in trouble... The human kind really is pitiful and sometimes an embarrassment to itself

Edit: GBH comes to mind

I didn't wanna get into this but it's been bugging me for a while.

I'm sure this will upset a few people, but I'm entitled to an opinion.

Whilst I wish a speedy and full recovery to the cyclist in the video; I cant help but think he/she brought it on themself.

No. The car driver should not have steam-rolled the rider.... But why ride on main/busy roads?

I have to put up with 'roadies' riding in my suburb EVERY MORNING! Riding along streets packed with cars which are CLEARLY MARKED with dual use [bike/walk] FOOTPATHS. Riding 2 wide at 17km/ph 4 deep is just the norm. All with no reason to be on the road other than ....

"it's my right to ride on the roads.... pi55 off w4nker"

It reminds me of the freak who used to ride up Roseville Bridge at ~4pm in the left lane towards 'Crown of the Hill' ..... 80km/ph down to 10km/ph all because:

"it's my right to ride on the roads.... pi55 off w4nker"

Personally, as someone who has been forced out of a roundabout by a car causing an OTB and busted collar bone I can sympathise with the rider in the vid. But those who choose to ride on busy public roads; be it on a MTB, roadie, CX whatever; need to take into account that cars are BIGGER, HARDER, FASTER than you. Like it or not, cars crash all the time. I'll wager most people reading this will have had a dingle a one point or another.... Now it's just a PITA when ya car gets banged up .... But when you're on ya pushy - it's YOU who gets banged up

If that person was riding on the footpath it may have taken them a few minutes longer to get to the destination.

I wonder how long the recovery is from a busted leg is?

Just my $0.02c

@andyfev, no offense taken.

The footpaths I was talking about are around the Manly/Fairlight area and are definitely useable for bikes. The area is along the water from the Wharf to up near Fairlight [Commonwealth Prd.]. I'll take some photos if ya like. So fair enough - the footpath might not be a viable alternative in all situations. (That said I'll back myself to not T-bone a pedestrian rather than take on cars)

I agree that cyclists have a right to ride on the road. And as you point out, pedestrians and other users have a right to use the road. But fact of the matter is that there isn't safe cycle lanes. Nor will there be any time soon. I agree - It would be fantastic to see more people riding to work. But if that means riding along Warringah Road at 8am and if ya get hit then ..... well .....

I don't think people go out of their way *normally* to run down cyclists. As you say, it's someone's brother, father, mother, sister etc. But it doesn't remove the inherent danger involved with riding on busy roads.

It's just my opinion, but if you want to ride main/busy roads and things go wrong then you only have yourself to blame. Why? Illegal or not. I'd rather be on the footpath rather than swapping lanes on a busy road when I'm clearly not keeping up with traffic.

It just annoys me when people get upset because some roadie gets flattened when they rode out into the 2/3 of the lane doing about ~20kmp/h ..... AND there is a footpath.

If it's illegal to ride on footpaths, then lets change the law. Gotta be better than flat cyclists.

@Mothy the only problem with footpaths is the inherent danger of cyclists to pedstrians.

My own mother was knocked down n the footpath by a cyclist who albeit moving slowly did not see her. she now has a broken leg as a result of the incident, with no cnsequence to the cyclist.

So you see the the issue just cascades.

The problem will only be resolved as Andyfev says once we have some dedicated infrastructure and access provided. But personally I think albeit more dangerous for cyclists,
I would be prefer us to be on the road, rather than being colocated on footpaths with children, the elderly, people walking with mobile phones etc etc

D

I ride on the road.. As is my right.

I commute from Cromer to North Sydney and I choose a route that avoids mixing with cars as much as possible and when I have to mix with cars (no viable alternate) I show cars respect and don’t push in on the left (as actually I understand is my right) of cars stopped at lights, example a few cars stopped at a set of lights.. A mix of common sense, courtesy and self preservation tells me that I probably shouldn’t push through on the left as I may just annoy someone who's crazy enough to run me off the road when they overtake me just down the road.

I don’t run red lights unless the sensors won't trigger or its like 5am, dark, cold and there's no traffic and I have come to a complete stop.

I do filter through traffic occasionally if its gridlocked, but I'm mindful to not hold anyone up when it starts to move again.

I wouldn't consider riding along military road, warringah road, nor pittwater road in weekday traffic as there's a number of safer alternates, I do see a number of cyclists on these roads.

I shake my head almost every day at the number of cyclists that do stupid things and are seemingly oblivious the the danger and rage that they are invoking with their ignorant and rude way of cycling in traffic..

I aslo shake my head at the number of drivers that go out of their way, actually deviate from their line to give me a close shave when i'm riding on the shoulder of the road... and deliberately do other nasty and dangerous things with their cars to try and get me even when I'm not holding them up.. people eh?? some folks are just plain bad people..

The other flaw in the argument is that cars have more right to be on the road than other users. Registration is (or lack thereof) often used to justify this presumption. But quite often this primacy of the motor vehicle is just assumed. This needs challenging.

Rego pays for the registration process and partially funds the department of Transport. It does not pay for road construction, or maintenance, or confer a superior right to use the road. We *all* pay for roads via our contribution to consolidated revenue and local council rates and - subject to law - share an equal entitlement and responsibility.

As for the blame-the-victim post above, I'd draw your attention to the fact it's the inattentive drivers of motor vehicles who make it risky and it is their attitudes toward vulnerable users that need changing.

This was a suburban street with a 50 or 60km/hr limit, and he was traveling at a more than reasonable 35km/hr. There is nothing inherently unsafe about this situation if everybody acts responsibly and with consideration. As the cyclist was in fact doing.

I find the comments attempting to place a share of the blame on the rider more than a little ill considered.

Risk management frameworks typically look at the hazards associated with an activity, the risks associated with these hazards, and the consequences if things go wrong. Again, typically, some numerical values are attached to those dimensions and the higher the number, the risk management actions required to address the problem become more serious.

" if you want to ride main/busy roads and things go wrong then you only have yourself to blame" to my mind is a fairly accurate (and fair) reflection of a risk management approach to road cycling.

The hazards of riding on a busy main road are well documented and the associated risks are high and the potential consequences are significant. The highest form of risk management (eliminating the hazard from the process) is not available to the individual cyclist, and although one can contribute to lobbying / publicity etc to achieve some progress towards this end, I would argue we are never going to become any sort of Netherlandic nirvana for cycling. Substitution is not really available either, unless you want to get back in your car or on some other safer form of transport. Engineering the hazard out is the most common strategy adopted by governments (separating car and bike lanes) though there is considerable argument about the effectiveness of much of this, especially where the bike lane ends up in the corridor of death between parked and moving vehicles. The other form of engineering the hazard out is for individuals to stay off those roads where the risk is too great, or completely separate bikes and cars (very expensive for governments).

I don't commute on my bike, but I often ride to trail heads and will ride on footpaths (even though illegal) and back streets to avoid situations where I consider the risk of a main / busy road too great.

The "blame" comment to me is simply a reflection of the fact that YOU (as an individual) aren't going to change the driver behaviour that causes hazards in these situations just by being there and exercising your rights. In fact, and unfortunately, you may well increase the hazard by turning some Dr Jekyll commuter into a Mr Hyde driver.

Doesn't matter how self-righteous you get about your right to a bit of the road (and I definitely don't mean to offend anybody here) you ain't gonna change that and you need to manage your risks accordingly.

It's a bit like surfing and then complaining when you get bitten by a shark.... Well, a little bit.....

Been riding a 150cc scooter to work the last month and feel a 150 times safer than on a roadie.

Being seen as a legitimate vehicle with rego, indicators and being faster off the line than an '80s V8 Commodore and being good for 100km/h on Mona Vale Road even though I take up about the same space as a roadie has been a much better experience.

It's also nice having decent disc brakes and sticky tyres. And a proper helmet and armored jacket. Always seems insane that when mixing it up with 1 to 2 ton hunks of moving metal roadies are less protected than most mountain bikers dodging trees.

Get to see a lot of abuse thrown at roadies around me for holding up traffic, people cutting in close when passing roadies in a shared lane situation rather than changing lanes around them.

Roadies seem to be in a catch 22 situation of copping abuse for holding up traffic or risking a side swipe when riding to the side of the lane by being overtaken in the same lane.

I also think the P's training about buffering and hazard identification would benefit a lot of roadies. Lots of roadies seem oblivious, don't protect their space or themselves.