Thread: Cyclists.

Yes, was a pleasure to get it out of Sydney and off the bitumen!

l have already posted in this thread, so my general views are known.
However, Wifey & I left early on a trip a few days ago, about 6.00am, in the dark.
Beach Rd,...Amazing.
I have NEVER seen so many cyclists on the road. Must've seen at least 20/25 groups of 25 of more, some with no lights. Many many other smaller groups...all travelling outwards from the City.
We were travelling towards the City, Beach Rd is dual lane, but there were so many cyclists, it was impossible to use the inner lane with the consequence that ingoing city traffic is single lane, creating congestion & big disruption to traffic flow.
Now, to be fair, I would have to say that the behaviour of the great majority of cyclists was OK, that is, if you think that a single cyclist riding in the middle of a lane is OK,.....and they ARE allowed to do this, so it's gotta be Ok,.....I accept that. Ya do get the smart alecs that like to also get in the "remaining" traffic lane, but they are in the minority.
All in all, a massive disruption to traffic, traffic flow, & constituting definitely as being major road users.
No problem with me with any of this, EXCEPT, in view of the amount of use these riders are making of our roads, they should contribute to their upkeep by way of a nominally charged registration plate, which would also enable the not so rare perpetrators of aggressive, illegal, riding to be identified, just as other road users are.
Pickles.

Four hundred plus cyclists were pinged by the police during the TDU festival, they musta had rego plates to enable the police to do their job with such alacrity.

Oh wait, they didn't have rego plates, I wonder how those poor police coped with such a terrifyingly difficult job. I mean, surely all those all-looka-like lycra clad tourists could outrun a cop on a motorbike? Maybe, just maybe, the net benefit of registered cyclists makes no sense to the authorities that enforce the road rules? Not here, not over there, not anywhere in a civilised country.

Oh and Pickles, it has been said over and over that the admin costs of cyclist rego costs will always outweigh the revenue generated, making the "small contribution" argument moot. Ten fines from a half awake police officer or two will outweigh the benefit of a thousand rego plates.

Oh the motorists frustration at being slowed down for a few minutes by a bunch of cyclists. Oh the frustration with a slight difference in road use. Yawn. Talk about first world problems!

we do live in the first world

I would like to see something done with the mobility scoots. Some are rego'd some arent but they all easily travel roads and footpaths. Either they are trundling along far enough from the curb to make a metre clearance impossible if there is oncoming traffic . Or they are all over the footpath , often enough never keeping to the left so any other user needs to get out of the way. Not to mention those leaving drinking establishments. Are the breathe tested , do they have proper safety measures , helmet and seat belt. I bet not. To myself they are more of a menace than most cyclists.

Originally Posted by trog

I would like to see something done with the mobility scoots. Some are rego'd some arent but they all easily travel roads and footpaths. Either they are trundling along far enough from the curb to make a metre clearance impossible if there is oncoming traffic . Or they are all over the footpath , often enough never keeping to the left so any other user needs to get out of the way. Not to mention those leaving drinking establishments. Are the breathe tested , do they have proper safety measures , helmet and seat belt. I bet not. To myself they are more of a menace than most cyclists.

And they seem to only have one speed, flat out.

Originally Posted by trog

I would like to see something done with the mobility scoots. Some are rego'd some arent but they all easily travel roads and footpaths. Either they are trundling along far enough from the curb to make a metre clearance impossible if there is oncoming traffic . Or they are all over the footpath , often enough never keeping to the left so any other user needs to get out of the way. Not to mention those leaving drinking establishments. Are the breathe tested , do they have proper safety measures , helmet and seat belt. I bet not. To myself they are more of a menace than most cyclists.

Actually they need the mouth swabs as a lot seem to be on serious drugs and heavily medicated! I would bet money that a lot of their stash had warnings like "may cause dizziness" and "do not operate vehicles" as well as "may cause intestinal leakage"! That last one could be why you see them driving away so quickly.