New cyclist laws in QLD. Major PITA or justified?

[muzza01]

Our new stupid bike laws start here in QLD on Monday the 7th April. Whilst driving past cyclists in a
60 km/h zone or less a distance of 1meter must be kept by the vehicle driver, a distance of 1.5 meters must be kept if in a zone above 60 km/h. Failure to comply will result in a $330 fine.

These laws are being brought in to help protect bike riders and cut down on incidents involving cyclists. The rules will be trialled for the next two years but Police will be issuing fines as of Monday. I guess the Police will have the addition of a tape measure on that busy utility belt they wear.

So this morning I am driving in a 80 km/h zone along Highway One, the road is only standard with one lane south and one lane north and has bike lanes.  The is a gaggle of cyclists of about 14 strong and riding three wide taking up the bike lane and some of my lane.  There was traffic coming from the other direction but I manage to get around these tools with about a meter of space between us. As of Monday, I would have been fined for that action. My alternative was to slow down to about 30 km/h (the bikes speed) until there was no traffic coming from the other direction.

It is annoying that we have to change road rules to protect these idiots that constantly break the road rules themselves.

What do you guys think?

http://www.qld.gov.au/transport/news/features/bicycle-rules/index.html?gclid=CISIuY_GyL0CFceCvQodS3AAlQ

[fuji]

Don't even go there! As a  I am sick of these bikeriders and when I get back to the Highway Patrol Monday, look out!!

[Bird]

I would have been fined for that action.

yes

My alternative was to slow down to about 30 km/h (the bikes speed) until there was no traffic coming from the other direction.

wouldn't have been end of earth..

 but until you can replace your bulbar with a "pricks that think they own the road" bar, your screwed.

[oldmate]

So what about the law that allow bike riders to run red lights?? 

It must be true cause I was stopped a a red light and a bike rider just kept pedaling straight through, then give the finger to a driver who almost cleaned him up as he was doing a legal u turn.

So what if I am Stopped at the lights and they all come up right next to my car? How do you keep a meter distance?

My theory is if there is a bike lane, they should be fined for riding outside of that lane. 

[FNQBunyip]

mmm and thats on a good bit of road Muzz .. How the hell are we going to get on on the coast road .. For arguments sake if there were bikes going both north and south you could not get 1.5m form them ..

And you can bet they have all gone out to buy cameras if they didn't have one before so they can film you as you go past at .9m ...

Feck em , dam fools the lot of em ,, when I was a wee lad of 12yo my dad thought it would be a good thing to ride the east coast of Tas on our push bikes .. I have not ridden since , he went on too tour Europe and the USA and has done the lap of oz twice  , dam fool ...


Cheers   

[jk]

Ok, pet hate this one,...........................it's the only sport played on a public open road    . As an ex Brisbane truck driver their nothing but a accident waiting to happen !!

There's no easy answer, as a bike rider I agree that they have rights, but there are sooo many wankers out there on them these new laws will be near impossible to enforce.

Here..............I feel better now 

[Foo]

So what about the law that allow bike riders to run red lights?? 

It must be true cause I was stopped a a red light and a bike rider just kept pedaling straight through, then give the finger to a driver who almost cleaned him up as he was doing a legal u turn.

So what if I am Stopped at the lights and they all come up right next to my car? How do you keep a meter distance?

My theory is if there is a bike lane, they should be fined for riding outside of that lane.

What about F-wits in cars, on motor bikes, buses trucks that do the same thing??? 

If outside the bike lane yeah I have no problem with that.

Foo

[Garfish]

We can now cross double lines when overtaking bikes.   What I dislike is when the bike lane is there and they ride on the road. I bet if I drove in the bike lane I would be on a current affair,

If they come within you at lights it is ok,

[Foo]

Ok, pet hate this one,...........................it's the only sport played on a public open road    . As an ex Brisbane truck driver their nothing but a accident waiting to happen !!

There's no easy answer, as a bike rider I agree that they have rights, but there are sooo many wankers out there on them these new laws will be near impossible to enforce.

Here..............I feel better now 

I am a current one driving a B-double and also a cyclist yet I have the least amount of problems with cyclists compared to caravan towing public! 

If you can't give cyclists a metre on most of the roads within the built up areas with someone coming towards you, then there is something seriously wrong with your with your driving. 

I am sick of the BS directed at cyclists, there are f-wits in all aspects of driving and that includes the police force, so not one aspect of drivers are perfect.

The only reason the police get away with things is because they are police. Why do I say this, because I have had them sitting up my arse in the truck at night = 3mtrs in 100kmh zones with poorly focused lights and they wonder why I flick the rear trailer onto the dirt. Just use common sense people, we all have families and want to get home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry if this is a bit in your face but I see so much chit and stupidity and am sick of the stupid attitude of people and that applies to all of you.

I drive trucks, I ride treadlies, I ride motor bikes, I drive a car, I tow a camper trailer, I drive a 4by so I tick all the boxes, so get a life people and don't be so selfish and in such a big hurry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Foo

Foo

[D4D]

I am a current one driving a B-double

I bet you drive it in the right lane too...

[scoot]

So what if I am Stopped at the lights and they all come up right next to my car? How do you keep a meter distance?

I've wondered about that too, especially where the "bike lane" itself is not one metre wide. It also doesn't account for different speeds. Crawling past at 10kms is different to passing at 100 with the slipstream of large vehicles knocking you off balance.

However, as for having to slow down to bike speed until it's safe to pass, what's the alternative? To pass unsafely? The law is there to force people to think because at the moment many do not. There is no way that you would pass within a metre of a pedestrian doing 80, but drivers do it all the time to cyclists. When it happens it is scary, and like it or not, cyclists are part of road traffic.

I used to ride between 4-9000 kms a year in japan when I lived there, and by and large it was much safer than Brisbane. An accident there between a bike and car is deemed always to be the cars fault and between a pedestrian and a bike always the bikes fault. But I think the main reason why it is relatively safe is that almost everyone at some time jumps on a bike to get somewhere, and if they don't their wife, brother, daughter, father does. Bike riders are seen as flesh and blood not nuisances to get around because they're going to delay me three minutes.

The Lycra brigade bring a lot of agro on themselves, though. Riding two abreast, while legal, is not necessary and is inconsiderate. Also, if a car has waited patiently behind me to safely pass and then has to stop at the next lights, I'm not going to pass it on the inside and make it wait to pass me again, and again, and again. That's asking for trouble, but so many do it.

This law and fine is going to cause more trouble than it's worth, but something needs to be done, because considering the lack of traffic, riding in Australia is much more dangerous than it should be.

Scoot Ex Cyclist

[Brett B]

On the Heidelberg Kinglake Rd there are hundreds of pushie riders motor bikes cars and wild life
Roos wombats rabits and sometimes Deer
Its a Disaster waiting to happen and has been several accidents
If you want to ride that road go for it
I won't drive on it on the week end any more ive had them 2 abreast 10 deep on the wrong side on a blind corner
When you pass a car coming the other way you would be lucky to have 500 mm between you so how is that law going to work
most of the pushie riders are ok but there are some that arnt going to live for long

[Foo]

I bet you drive it in the right lane too...

Meaning? 

You wanna go for a run with me, I have nothing to hide as far as my top end speed goes?

Foo

[weeds]

I commute on a pushie and do a bit of tour de suburbs on weekends oh and drive a car.........

I rarely see bikes doing the wrong thing...sure there is the odd one but there is also the odd car, motor bike and truck doing the wrong thing......nearly every day I have to run a red turn arrow as me and my bike don't trigger the sensor to change the lights, other than that I follow every rule to a t......the only other thing I do is go to the front of the line at lights

As a bike rider I'm not sure we needed this law, 1m is a long way away from the rider, nice to have but I'm comfortable with cars within the meter.....hopefully the police don't go stupid with it as it's the poor bike rider that will cop it from the drivers booked. Not sure how the police can tell what a meter is when the bike is doing 30 the car doing 60 and maybe the police driving in the opposite direction at 60

I reckon it all just comes down to a bit of courtesy between all road users..sure I have been held up by a pack of riders but it generally only takes say 500m and your around them



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[@fnq4now]

I drove the coast road from Port Douglas to Cairns this morning and came across at least a dozen groups of cyclists. I firmly believe they should be banned from this stretch for their own safety. On two occasions as I came upon groups they moved out from the shoulder to the middle of the road. Makes it very difficult for me to keep the required distance when overtaking. If I'm suddenly faced with oncoming traffic and need to decide between my family colliding with a truck or a cyclist, it won't be a difficult decision.

[Foo]

I see stupidity every day from all aspects and am not interested in getting into a slanging match, I'm just get sick of BS attitudes towards any one specific part of the community. Chill out people, life is to short!

Foo

[JCOJ]

I am a bike rider and a driver so I can see both sides of the story.

People have said 'If they go out of the bike lanes then fine them' etc etc.  It is obvious that these people have never ridden a bike in the bike lane - which is filled with rubbish, potholes, glass, metal inspection points, left overs from car crashes, and the road surface is usually CRAP!!  Sometimes it is just plain dangerous to use the bike lane.  Cars park in bike lanes, buses are in bike lanes which stop frequently, people pull over into bike lanes to drop people off, and quite often we have to keep a meter or so out from parked cars as the driver won't look before they open their door and we will cop a face full of metal!

Furthermore, just as there are bad bike riders, there are plenty bad drivers.  Here's a question - if a b-double was turning left at a roundabout, and by the time the last third is at the corner, would a car just go straight through him with the attitude that the truckie had to give way because the driver is on their right hand side??  The answer is obviously no.  So why is a group of cyclists that can be 15 - 20 long (single file) be any different??  Most drivers just go straight through and don't have the patience to wait 5-10 secs until we can all get through.

I have had things thrown at me from cars, horns blaring as dicks go by, losers yelling at me calling me a poof because I wear lycra (because it has a thick chamois in it to give my arse some comfort), and I abide by the law (most of the time).  I say most of the time because traffic light sensors don't pick up bikes, so if it is safe yes I will go through.  If the sensors picked up bikes then I wouldn't do it.

So for those of you abusing cyclists, try going for a bike ride for 30 mins, see what it is like on the other side, then you will be happy that this law is coming in. 

Probably not the best time for me to be writing this after going for a ride with a group this morning as nearly every one of these things happened!

[austastar]

Hi,
   I live near the road that follows the original bullock track up and over Bonnet Hill (South of Hobart). It is a Mecca for cyclists, and it is narrow, windy. and double lines all the way.


It really is no trouble to sit behind a bike (or group) for a few minutes and over-take in the other lane when clear to do so.


cheers

[Foo]

I drove the coast road from Port Douglas to Cairns this morning and came across at least a dozen groups of cyclists. I firmly believe they should be banned from this stretch for their own safety. On two occasions as I came upon groups they moved out from the shoulder to the middle of the road. Makes it very difficult for me to keep the required distance when overtaking. If I'm suddenly faced with oncoming traffic and need to decide between my family colliding with a truck or a cyclist, it won't be a difficult decision.

Well guess what, if I have to choose between some fool passing on a blind bend, brow of a hill and me getting home to see my family unlike your situation of saving a minute, I'm sure as hell am going to take out the vehicle in my lane. The number of times I see this happen is just plain stupid and I won't back off or compromise my life for you. When I have enough $$s I will be putting a Gopro or similar in the truck.

If you want to target cyclists with dumb attitudes, then include all road users. I ride with two bunches off a weekend and there is a call of car back, when there is a car car coming from behind, just to make sure there is enough room for both of us.

If you're worried about things give a couple of toots and do you give a wave to say thank you when they give you plenty of room? Well, I do in the truck when someone gives me the go ahead to go around them and I give a wave to cars when they call/pull across to a wide section of the road or just give me the flick on the indicator. The same when they wait for me to get through intersections and round abouts, when I'm on the bike and so do others that I ride with, it's called courtesy or have people forgotten this?

Well I guess I answered my own question here!

Foo

[UIZ733]

So for those of you abusing cyclists, try getting your fat arse on a bike and going for a ride for 30 mins, see what it is like on the other side, then you will be happy that this law is coming in. 

Probably not the best time for me to be writing this after going for a ride with a group this morning as nearly every one of these things happened!

Years ago I did ride a bike and enjoyed it. Never again though apart from the odd occasion. I have no desire to be a temporary citizen. My arse is not fat...in fact by most measures nowadays I am thin fortunately.
I have serious problems with many Brisbane bike riders. My main objection is that many (a lot it would seem) of them use our streets as training tracks and genuinely believe they have a divine right to arrogantly do so, particularly during peak commuting times. Our roads were NEVER designed or intended for this purpose. Commuting to work by bike is and honorable thing, behaving like a looney on a training run is another. Racing in motor vehicles on public roads is against the law, why should racing on a bike be any different?

[Jeepers Creepers]

I am a bike rider and a driver so I can see both sides of the story.

People have said 'If they go out of the bike lanes then fine them' etc etc.  It is obvious that these people have never ridden a bike in the bike lane - which is filled with rubbish, potholes, glass, metal inspection points, left overs from car crashes, and the road surface is usually CRAP!!  Sometimes it is just plain dangerous to use the bike lane.  Cars park in bike lanes, buses are in bike lanes which stop frequently, people pull over into bike lanes to drop people off, and quite often we have to keep a meter or so out from parked cars as the driver won't look before they open their door and we will cop a face full of metal!

Furthermore, just as there are bad bike riders, there are plenty bad drivers.  Here's a question - if a b-double was turning left at a roundabout, and by the time the last third is at the corner, would a car just go straight through him with the attitude that the truckie had to give way because the driver is on their right hand side??  The answer is obviously no.  So why is a group of cyclists that can be 15 - 20 long (single file) be any different??  Most drivers just go straight through and don't have the patience to wait 5-10 secs until we can all get through.

I have had things thrown at me from cars, horns blaring as dicks go by, losers yelling at me calling me a poof because I wear lycra (because it has a thick chamois in it to give my arse some comfort), and I abide by the law (most of the time).  I say most of the time because traffic light sensors don't pick up bikes, so if it is safe yes I will go through.  If the sensors picked up bikes then I wouldn't do it.

So for those of you abusing cyclists, try going for a bike ride for 30 mins, see what it is like on the other side, then you will be happy that this law is coming in. 

Probably not the best time for me to be writing this after going for a ride with a group this morning as nearly every one of these things happened!

1. if the bike lanes are so bad, get the council or yourselves to clean 'em or just use 'em as they are, because its you guys and girls that wanted 'em in the first place.

2. A b-double is one unit, 15 to 20 bike users is 15 to 20 separate units, figure it out if ya can.

3. You admit you break the law and ride against red lights, and yet you can't work out why people throw stuff at ya.

4. I'm not dumb enough to ride a push bike.

[Symon]

<snip>

Firstly let me tell you that you northerners haven't seen anything, come down to the Brisbane CBD and your anger will intensify ten fold.

Let me just say firstly that I don't drive in the CBD or any of the routes that cyclists usually use, so my interaction with them while I am driving is limited.

However, I walk just about everywhere in the CBD and I can safely say that cyclists are the most stupid arrogant retards on wheels.  Motorists stop at red lights, they stop at pedestrian crossings, they give pedestrians some space.  I've never had a close encounter with a vehicle since I've been working down here.

I have however lost count of the amount of near misses I've had with cyclists.  They simply don't care about pedestrians, they run red lights (at high speed) and NEVER stop to allow people to cross the road on zebra crossings.  I have NO sympathy for them, zip, zero, zilch.

Whilst I understand that the motorist can be at fault, the attitude of cyclists who take their riding seriously really don't help themselves in the public eye, and the reality is that the vast majority of people think they are retards.  If cyclists want to be taken seriously, they seriously need to grow up.

[Bird]

However, I walk just about everywhere in the CBD and I can safely say that cyclists are the most stupid arrogant retards on wheels.  .

related to the ones along Beach Rd  down here.. 5 wide, and think they own the road...

fwiw when I was racin m/bikes and was fitter, I used to ride from kurnell to mascot daily to work... around 35klms.. along grand pde for those that know it, I was takin my life in my hands daily..  I'd never attempt it these days

[Dogsbreakfast]

Years ago I did ride a bike and enjoyed it. Never again though apart from the odd occasion. I have no desire to be a temporary citizen. My arse is not fat...in fact by most measures nowadays I am thin fortunately.
I have serious problems with many Brisbane bike riders. My main objection is that many (a lot it would seem) of them use our streets as training tracks and genuinely believe they have a divine right to arrogantly do so, particularly during peak commuting times. Our roads were NEVER designed or intended for this purpose. Commuting to work by bike is and honorable thing, behaving like a looney on a training run is another. Racing in motor vehicles on public roads is against the law, why should racing on a bike be any different?

This exactly. I ride my bike to work and have to ride an extra 3 or 4 k's to do so on bike paths etc. Takes a bit longer, but then again i piss off probably 300 less people doing it that way. The road is not my training track, and i know i am legally allowed to do it. I'm not that arrogant.

 I'd love to ride my penny farthing at 5kmh through town on the main road in, as i am legally entitled to, but i wont.

Anti lycra spray by cummins diesel

 

http://youtu.be/ZdDxjge5hmY
	Small | Large

[oldmate]

I'm not blaming just bike riders. There is morons in all vehicles as said, I was even passed yesterday in a line of traffic by a b double sitting 2 metres of the car in front, all while doing 80kph through the tight lanes of the road works (60kph zone) on the m1. And the other day I watched someone get t boned cause they turned right from the left lane on a roundabout.  So yeah I morons driving/riding everything.

Cheers