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

[Brutus]

Brutus...not sure about other states but in Qld it is perfectly legal to ride on footpaths. As a guide, it is the approaching car vehicle that needs to make a safe pass. Didn't spot too many caravans and campers pulling over to let faster vehicles past on a trip up the Bruce Highway recently.....why is it so different for cyclists?

Why are we so impatient? Maybe we need to kick start the Life Be in it campaigns again???Perhaps it is a jealousy/guilt thing about people actually getting off there arses and trying to stop being obese and getting fit. Was thinking on my ride this morning about that I think I am going to start cracking a nut over obese people and the extra taxes I will need to pay to keep them alive. Perhaps the taxes should pay for bikes?

Was watching my 3 and 6 yo having an awesome time riding their bikes around our cul-de-sac last weekend only to have knob head try and speed down the (remember dead end) road. Upon questioning his antics his reply was...they should be riding on the footpath. How sad, but at least he did not say they needed a licence ha ha.

While I am here. New rules for Qld in 2015....

http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Safety/Queensland-road-rules/Changes-to-road-rules.aspx

In Tassie it's illegal to ride on a footpath if you are over 12 yrs old unless another law allows it which I think is fair enough. I do a fair bit of walking and the cyclist is so silent and it still frightens the life out of me as one whizzes by. Still they are shared tracks and thus allowed. I don't mind it and would rather this than driving on the roads and highways especially those over 80 kmh. I accept the sharing of space on the roads but don't like seeing our roads turn into someone's fitness routine. Get a gym membership, use designated cycle ways, take up bush walking (some amazing walks out there), swim, kayak..............

Tassie is about to trial the 1m clearance of cyclists but our roads aren't wide enough for it to work. I work for a rural council where my role is in civil and less than 1% of our 750km network would cater for cyclists and cars. The expense to our rate payers to add a metre to each side is just enormous when you need to shift drains, extend culverts, widen the seal and line mark you could estimate around $130 Lm, x2 for both sides and x1000 and you are looking at over a quarter of a million per km to improve the roads to cater for cyclists not including any land acquisition costs associated with the road widening. Now you can't just do one road so let's say we did all our major roads outside of urban streets which would be around 150km. Thats around 375 million and when our total capital works budget is near 5 million per year that's 75 years of our capital budget completely ignoring other infrastructure. Don't forget this is to just build it, we haven't talked about maintenance yet............ Don't forget, this is a small rural council with a small and diverse population.

Still even then all that is gained is a metre of road on each side for the cyclist to use (only if he wants to in Qld according to the new rules which will flow on down here eventually). Then we still have 1m buffer on roads 60kmh and less and 1.5m for above 60 so you could effectively double my earlier estimate. Now I think all cyclists would agree but that's an enormous amount of money that could be better used on our current road network.

Now to your comment about obese people. I would classify myself obese along with about 30% of our population and thus far I haven't needed the tax payer to fork out 1c "to keep me alive" but once a week I hear on the news about a cyclist getting injured on the roads (tipping only a small amount of accidents are reported) and guess who pays for that? Maybe the govt should tax us fatties but the same should then apply for cyclists too to be fair!

[dales133]

Well Queensland always a bit behind the times...they haven't even invented daylight savings yet

[oldmate]

since it's illegal to ride on the footpath there's no other option.

Wrong for Qld. If you read the post that The wall put above, you will see as kb said its legal to ride on the footpath in Qld..
Actually, everybody (Qlder's) should go in and read that link, and refresh themselves on a few of the road rules, like dual lane carraigeways and how to use bloody roundabouts. Whoops sorry bit of a rant.

[dales133]

I don't live in Queensland so not up on every conceivable road rule but I thought I raised some good useful points, shame they got overlooked so someone could play the "your wrong game"

[oldmate]

sorry buddy didn't relise I was playing a wrong game, just pointing out that in Qld it is legal to ride on footpath, as it says in the link above. As you don't have what area you are from, I didn't know you are not from Qld. 

[Bird]

In Tassie it's illegal to ride on a footpath if you are over 12 yrs old unless another law allows it which I think is fair enough.

Round home I'm scared to go anywhere near the shared carriageway with cars/bikes with nothing but a painted white line between us... specially going anywhere within 700mtrs of a set of lights..

[fishfinder]

hope all the coffee shops follow this

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/fitness/the-raffles-hotel-in-perth-bans-lycra-after-patrons-complain-they-are-disgusted-by-the-tight-fitting-cyclewear/story-fnlsv23r-1227182491962

[wilson79]

hope all the coffee shops follow this

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/fitness/the-raffles-hotel-in-perth-bans-lycra-after-patrons-complain-they-are-disgusted-by-the-tight-fitting-cyclewear/story-fnlsv23r-1227182491962

X 2

[wilson79]

Well Queensland always a bit behind the times...they haven't even invented daylight savings yet

That is because we are smart and know that daylight savings is a stupid idea...LOL

[dales133]

All good bud wasn't directed at you

[gronk]

Rules or no rules, I can't work out why anyone who doesn't like pain would think of riding a pushbike on a road with motor vehicles  ??

Only a matter of time before you get hurt......whether it's only a scratch or something serious....but the odds are it WILL happen ..

When I used to ride a pushie 30 yrs ago, traffic was non existent compared to today, but I still managed to get hit once.

Dedicated bike paths are definitely the way to go, but in cities they are too hard to include now.

Doesn't really matter who has the right of way .....big cars will always win over a small pushbike....and even though the little old lady will say she didn't see you, it doesn't help when you are laying in the gutter..

I'm amazed at the pushie riders on main hwys hugging the edge of the road with B doubles wizzing past at 100 k/ph ....do they get fit so they can better survive the hospital stay with massive internal injuries ??

Why not just get the big TV screen with the animated scenery shots and set the pushie up in front of that.....only thing that can hit you then is the missus !!!   

[Bird]

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/pedestrian-emily-greenwood-run-down-by-cyclist-20150111-12iii9.html

another interesting sideline

[edz]

I'll say it again  make them pay rego and have third party insurance and pass a riding abillity test as per motorbikes + have to have turn signals and head and brake lights.. Riders have to carry a liscence with the endorsement . Like all other road users .
Bikes should have an adequate sized number plate fitted or the rider has a " Hi viz vest bearing a rego number  " ..
No number plate or vest or liscence,  booked for unregistered / uninsured unliscenced and walk it home ....

[NewieCamper]

Tassie is about to trial the 1m clearance of cyclists but our roads aren't wide enough for it to work. I work for a rural council where my role is in civil and less than 1% of our 750km network would cater for cyclists and cars. The expense to our rate payers to add a metre to each side is just enormous when you need to shift drains, extend culverts, widen the seal and line mark you could estimate around $130 Lm, x2 for both sides and x1000 and you are looking at over a quarter of a million per km to improve the roads to cater for cyclists not including any land acquisition costs associated with the road widening. Now you can't just do one road so let's say we did all our major roads outside of urban streets which would be around 150km. Thats around 375 million and when our total capital works budget is near 5 million per year that's 75 years of our capital budget completely ignoring other infrastructure. Don't forget this is to just build it, we haven't talked about maintenance yet............ Don't forget, this is a small rural council with a small and diverse population.

Still even then all that is gained is a metre of road on each side for the cyclist to use (only if he wants to in Qld according to the new rules which will flow on down here eventually). Then we still have 1m buffer on roads 60kmh and less and 1.5m for above 60 so you could effectively double my earlier estimate. Now I think all cyclists would agree but that's an enormous amount of money that could be better used on our current road network.

That is so much not the idea of 1m clearance. Not to build 1m on the side of all the existing roads, if we did that there would be no need for the 1m clearance. It is a rule that adds a measurable amount to the existing must overtake safely rule, in fact in many areas it is illegal to overtake another vehicle (a bicycle is legally a vehicle) unless you completely change lanes. 1m clearance is a concession to the existing rules that says the minimum space required to pass a bike safely. If you can't pass with the required clearance waiting for a safe opportunity should, on most roads, only take seconds or maybe a minute.

Having ridden on roads a fair bit having cars pass within 1m is too close for comfort. Where there is space on the shoulder I use it. Where there is not enough, I use the lane, but move over where possible if it looks like I'm going to hold motorised vehicles up for too long.

[NewieCamper]

I'll say it again  make them pay rego and have third party insurance and pass a riding abillity test as per motorbikes + have to have turn signals and head and brake lights.. Riders have to carry a liscence with the endorsement . Like all other road users .
Bikes should have an adequate sized number plate fitted or the rider has a " Hi viz vest bearing a rego number  " ..
No number plate or vest or liscence,  booked for unregistered / uninsured unliscenced and walk it home ....

I'll quite happily have you subsidise my rego, licence etc because it is not cost effective. I have a motor vehicle licence that proves I know the law. I already have turn signals, called arms, and a headlight and tail light that are fitted and used as required.

When I do get the rego plates you so desperately desire I'll ride down the middle of the lane without a care in the world because I know that you know I'm legally entitled to be there, as opposed to being legally entitled to be there and you don't know it. And if you don't like that I'll jump back in the car and slow you down by making the traffic heavier. 

[wilson79]

the main frustration for me is like this morning when they are riding 2 abreast, just get into single file for god's sake..
or when the shoulder is wide enough and they are still riding on the white line, I have heard they do this as the side of the road has a lot of rocks and they get punchers easily, it that is the case change the rim and tyres so they are fit for purpose...

[Footy Shorts Shane]

it that is the case change the rim and tyres so they are fit for purpose...

 

[gordo350]

I'll quite happily have you subsidise my rego, licence etc because it is not cost effective. I have a motor vehicle licence that proves I know the law. I already have turn signals, called arms, and a headlight and tail light that are fitted and used as required.

When I do get the rego plates you so desperately desire I'll ride down the middle of the lane without a care in the world because I know that you know I'm legally entitled to be there, as opposed to being legally entitled to be there and you don't know it. And if you don't like that I'll jump back in the car and slow you down by making the traffic heavier. 

This is the attitude that Shits me. I drive a tractor on  many roads at my top speed of 24 kph. I pay $585 Rego . When I see cars behind me banking up, I pull over to let them pass. Why do you think you have the right to hold people up?

[GeoffA]

Dedicated bike paths are definitely the way to go, but in cities they are too hard to include now.

It's not too hard to include them in Melbourne gronk.
They just shut down car lanes and give them to the bikes....

[NewieCamper]

This is the attitude that ****s me. I drive a tractor on  many roads at my top speed of 24 kph. I pay $585 Rego . When I see cars behind me banking up, I pull over to let them pass. Why do you think you have the right to hold people up?

I don't hold people up when I can avoid it (see previous post), but was taking an absurd proposition (rego, licence) to the extreme to make a point.

Rego for bikes doesn't make financial sense, and it won't make a lick of difference to the roads either.

[gronk]

It's not too hard to include them in Melbourne gronk.
They just shut down car lanes and give them to the bikes....

Yeh, they did it in Sydney too.....and they're empty....all the pushie riders still stick to the roads go figure ??

[gronk]

Rego for bikes doesn't make financial sense,

Does to me !!

4,000 riders times $200 = $800,000

[Homer_Jay]

 I'll ride down the middle of the lane without a care in the world because I know that you know I'm legally entitled to be there 

Ok, so no different to what is happening now???

[edz]

I'll quite happily have you subsidise my rego, licence etc because it is not cost effective. I have a motor vehicle licence that proves I know the law. I already have turn signals, called arms, and a headlight and tail light that are fitted and used as required.

When I do get the rego plates you so desperately desire I'll ride down the middle of the lane without a care in the world because I know that you know I'm legally entitled to be there, as opposed to being legally entitled to be there and you don't know it. And if you don't like that I'll jump back in the car and slow you down by making the traffic heavier. 

Why would anyone have to subsidise a pushbike road users liscence / rego etc..   If you want to ride the roads you pay an amount, the same as everyone else does... Or dont .. .
Last I knew if you want to ride a motor bike you had to be liscence endorsed  and show you are proficient, show a front head light / tailight wear a helmut etc and so a pushbike should be the same and add into that if you like with a conditions of use on the roads and where they can and cant be used as per other conditional rego's .
As to arm signals most dont use them [ around here anyway ]. .
To riding / wobbling down the middle of the lane without a care ... A hell of a lot do anyway so whats different ..
Making the traffic heavier by being in a car, possibly true, but better to be in heavy traffic than stopped with people trying to pull a slush puppy in lycra out from under a ton of steel ..
EDIT not a fast typer ...

[NewieCamper]

I don't get why you reckon a licence and rego plate will make any difference.
There is no other country in the world that requires bicycle rego or licensing, some have tried but none have continued with it.

Licensing won't change anything, the vast majority of cyclists have car licences already and we all know that car licences don't stop you from doing the wrong thing, just look at the revenue raised from speeding and other traffic infringements.

Rego won't change anything either. Rego plates on cars don't stop you from doing the wrong thing, Rego on bicycles might catch a few red light runners where there are cameras, but cameras aren't at every set of lights. You won't catch many speeders with a camera because it's pretty hard to break the speed limit on a bike. When you break the law and are caught by a police officer they require you to prove your identity, you can't escape that even as a pedestrian. As for joe public being able to report offending cyclists, it doesn't work either. Plenty of 'concerned citizens' have tried to report infringements of the law using video evidence and the police do nothing anyway. When was the last time you rocked up at the police station with rego details of a car that did the wrong thing?

Please explain why it will work.