Bike riders !!! Grrrr - things are getting worse up here

[muzza01]

Some of you Swaggers may remember me having a rant a couple of months ago after I had an accident with a push bike rider. Long story short, I was a pedestrian crossing the road on a green walk sign when a push bike rider flys in from my left, through a red light and collides with me.

About two weeks ago, driving to hardware store at lunch time I encounter a rider going the wrong way around the roundabout, cuts me off and gives me the look as if I was supposed to give way to him

This morning on the way to work, peak hour (well 0655) intersection of Cairns Bypass road and Aumuller ST which is probably the busiest intersection in Cairns. Anyway, I am stationary at intersection as I have a red light. Light changes to green, I start to drive through intersection when push bike rider comes flying in from my right (obviously went through red light). I slam on brakes, I just pull up in time then I am pi55ed off and let him have it with my horn. He gives me finger and continues through intersection. 

In case the other states weren't aware, we have new rules in QLD where if passing a pushbike you must give them 1 meter clearance if in a 60km/h zone or less or 1.5 meters if above 60km zone.  This afternoon driving along the main road out of the city I see a push bike rider riding on the road about 0.5 of a meter to the right of the actual bike lane???. Apparently riders don't have to ride in the bike lane but what really cheesed me off was the the bike rider was wearing his bike club shirt and on the back of the shirt in large letters was "SHARE THE ROAD". WTF!!  Now tell me that's not ironic.

I know there are idiot car drivers that break the laws too but the last 8 weeks or so have been very busy for idiot bike riders.

[oldmate]

Here we go again

but im with you muzza, the amount of them you see running reds around here on the GC is crazy.

[D4D]

Agree, they're a law unto themselves. Working in the CBD I see them running red lights and breaking the law all the time. I have started to yell at them typically starting with 'hey fwit, you just ran a red light, you're supposed to stop'. It is amusing to see the responses, especially last week when a uniformed member of the constabulary was standing beside me waiting to walk across the road

[Bird]

Agree, they're a law unto themselves. Working in the CBD I see them running red lights and breaking the law all the time. I have started to yell at them typically starting with 'hey fwit, you just ran a red light, you're supposed to stop'. It is amusing to see the responses, especially last week when a uniformed member of the constabulary was standing beside me waiting to walk across the road

and didn't do anything about it???

[StrvnMrvn]

Just because they have these new laws that are so in their favour, they can do what they want!

Video footage is the best way to keep them from getting away with it, especially when the cops have to rock up because of an accident!

My mate was stopped at the lights, indicator on to turn left and a cyclist pulled up beside him and stopped. But instead of unclipping his foot, he grabbed onto the bull bar on the front of his ute!! WTF!!! My mate wanted to turn left, so slowly moved when the light changed and got a mouth full because he  'inconvienienced' a lazy cyclist!!

[edz]

15 kg bike 1800kg 4x4, " bike " what bike ... They should have to be registered to use the roads and made to wear a slip over high vis vest with the rego number visible at all times ..
Going on the close calls Ive been in and seen  each week around here its a wonder the local morgue isnt full of them ..

[Elky]

i used to race mountain bikes so i have been on both sides of the debate, when we did "urban" runs thru brissy centre at night we used to do the most illegal things, police chased us (but never had a hope) the difference was we never took risks where we depended on motorists to stop or swerve or impeded them. I had a road bike but hated it becuase normal training on the road posed more risk as opposed to blazing trails without cars.

One thing i have noticed with road bike users is they take risks based on their right of way, righteousness does not guarantee safety! what good is telling peter at the pearly gates "i had right of way!"  One problem with a road bike is that the tyres pinch flat easily, and the verge is always littered with stones and garbage hence why some ride closer to traffic flow, some just do it to the extreme because they legally can as does riding 2 abreast.

most cyclists do the right thing but as is always the case there is always bad apples!

[Dingo0163]

15 kg bike 1800kg 4x4, " bike " what bike ... They should have to be registered to use the roads and made to wear a slip over high vis vest with the rego number visible at all times ..
Going on the close calls Ive been in and seen  each week around here its a wonder the local morgue isnt full of them ..

That's a great idea. If they have a rego number on a hi-vis it's one way they can be identified 

[Diesel Power]

Wait until tropic fever hits!
Regards

[weeds]

Get over it.......if a cyclist is in the wrong and gets cleaned up it no difference to a car being in the wrong and getting cleaned up.

See cars doing the wrong thing way more than bikes......there are more car accident than bike

[MrHorsepower]

Things are no better over here in Adelaide (worst time is when Tour Down Under is on), the "New Breed" of cyclists are a BLOODY ARROGANT bunch. I agree that a lot of drivers are oblivious and can be dangerous however most cyclists make a rod for their own back through the way they hog the road. I used to race when I lived in Sydney in my mid teens (early 80's)and part of my training ride was Parramatta to Sydney and back (along Parra Rd) 5 days a week without one incident in 4 years. These buggers would end up DEAD with doing same with the way they ride...

[dazzler]

What I hate is when you spy some lycra up ahead, the ass looks good, then you realise its a bloke.

Fair dinkum.  They must be half woman. 

 

[TheWall]

Here we go again...

Why the us against the time? I ride 200klm a week for fitness as there are few other activities that my rugby ruined knees can handle. I know the new rules have made cycling far safer for all road users. Yep, there are some silly bike riders but I sometimes cannot say I love the high horse attitude of the "car" side.

Couple of points
I get there are stupid bike riders but it is other car and truck drivers that will kill me if I am not careful.

I pay rego on both of my cars (and my camper of course!) so I figure I contribute enough to the roads.

Why are you not posting on all of the cars and trucks that you have had close calls with?

Rego plates on vehicles does not stop them from speeding, running red lights, crossing double lines etc etc. Not to mention scaring the beejebees out of cyclists for the sake of 2-3 seconds gain. A case in point is three times in the past couple of weeks I have had cars trying to enter roundabouts at the same time as me when I am doing 35k/hr. Would they try that on another car or a motorbike?

The reason some cyclists ride near the lane or on the lane is that they do want to be in the door zone or there is debri that can cause a puncture or wheel failure. Both not fun at high speed...

I also am a member of bike forum and the videos of stupid motorists are truly frightening.

And if cars aren't bad enough, then there are the Magpies we have to worry about!!!! :-)

Riding a bike has certainly made a better driver.

[discoteddy]

and didn't do anything about it???

Just a warning for offensive language.

Cheers,

Disco teddy.

[Marcus73]

[quote author=TheWall link=topic=39579.msg646352#msg646352 date=1411558393

I pay rego on both of my cars (and my camper of course!) so I figure I contribute enough to the roads.


[/quote]

I pay for 3 cars and 2 trailers, so does this mean if I wanted a motorbike I won't need to register it?


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[TheWall]

Marcus73...the logic you follow is infallible...Why not charge pedestrians, skateboarders, rollerbladers etc etc etc?

[noel_w]

What I want to know is what gives bike riders the right to go through red lights. Saturday mornings along Old Cleveland road I see them slow down, ride between the cars and go straight through the red light. If I did that on a motorbike I would be booked within 10 minutes, not them though and it peeves me off. They don't even obey the 1 metre rule that was made for them. 

[Marcus73]

Marcus73...the logic you follow is infallible...Why not charge pedestrians, skateboarders, rollerbladers etc etc etc?

Because as a rule they're not using the road


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[TheWall]

Because as a rule they're not using the road


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Lol. Makes sense now! Must remember to charge walkers next time I am out on a bike track. Or perhaps charge families for having the hide to play on the Teewah or Fraser Island beaches. They are roads right???

Maybe it is all a conspiracy as us cyclists ( who remember drive cars too) just love to charge car users as we were around 1st and you came along later. :-)

Ever considered that there is actually less traffic, more car parking spots, and less wear on tear on roads, less pollution, less heart disease, better health etc etc because of cyclists?

Be patient out there, lives depend on it.

[TheWall]

PS: I agree, bikes should not run red lights and they should observe all road rules. Not ever going to argue against that and makes me ill when I see it. The point I am making is everybody who critiques cycling always picks up that stuff, when perhaps they are forgetting all of the times that they speed (114 in a 110zone?) or break other road rules. Everybody who comments must be amazingly disciplined with their own driving.

[Marcus73]

I know where you are coming from, but unfortunately I find that here in Tas there seems to be almost a majority with no value for their lives. Can't say many really bothered me when I lived in Adelaide.


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[NewieCamper]

I'll agree there are some pretty stupid cyclists out there and they give a bad name to all the cyclists doing the right thing that aren't noticed. The ones doing the wrong thing tend to stick in your mind, just like all those ratbag p platers spoiling the image of the safe P plate drivers.

I'm a cyclist and ride a fair bit. It scares me that people think it's funny to say that running a cyclist down is 'what they deserve'. I want to be able to get from a to b in one piece, sharing the road with everyone else, which incidentally doesn't mean that I must get out of the way for every car, nor does it mean that when there is space on the shoulder that I won't ride clear of the faster traffic.

[ATC]

Teaching my 16 yr old daughter to drive, we were a National Park in Sydney heavly frequented by bike riders for it's very smooth roads.

Threre is no shoulder that the bikes can go onto, and the road is very windy, with blind curves and double yellow lines.

We were behind a few bikes, I told the daughter that if she was on the bike would she think it safe to be passed?
Each time she though it might be Ok, a car came around a blind curve.

Eventually came to a long uphill section, his mate pulled ahead, and the crossed (to start another circuit), then as his slightly overweight mate struggled up the hil he saw the long line of traffic he was holding up.

We were delayed a little bit, but im sure his mate game him a ribbing for being so slow & I expect he was able to go home to his family.

I used to ride a bike, didn't like getting hit & knocked off by a car!
Recently saw a motor bike rider come off - !@#$%

ATC

[edz]

The real issue is the " I'll do what ever I want stuff you  " attitude, that gets up peoples noses ... And its not just bike riders either.
Can't for the life of me see how anyone thought mixing a minority  light realatively slow transport with a majority of heavy faster moving transport on crowded thin road ways would be a good thing ..
Bit like putting a pedo in a primary school, you can bet ya life at some point in time its not going to end well .

[TheWall]

On my 40klm bike ride this morning...

1. A hundred vehicles who were kind, considerate & respectful of other road users.
2. Only one bike rider observed breaking road rules...me as I hit 66 down a hill before I had to slow for a dawdling car. There was a really fast group out who were often riding two abreast but they avge 50klm so they do not hold up cars much at all!
3. 7 less than one metre passes, three of those were 4x4's, with the worst being passed whilst doing 40ks around a corner with the car and the trailers left wheels were over the White line and the shoulder was less than a metre wide itself. Almost let out a poo! Scary as and completely avoidable and uneccessary. Will be getting front and rear camera's shortly.
4. Had to ride in the lane despite there being a shoulder on much of the journey as there are trees that encroach, broken glass(dropped by cyclists ya think?), broken gutters and multiple pot holes.
5. A motorcyclist who over took a car through two road islands and across double lines and around a blind Cnr
,
Oh and No 6 was another Magpie strike