Common sense from all is what's needed. I don't know any anti cyclist road users. I do know some cyclists who push it to the limit. Usually with a camera on the helmet,
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I realise that once a thread starts it often drifts off-topic or goes in directions the OP didn't intend, and I know that people are usually much more likely to post about something that upsets them rather than something that pleases them.
However, since the majority of posts in the "Cyclists" thread were critical of some people's behaviour, it would be good if most of this thread could remain relevant to the title.
I enjoyed reading of the experiences of other road users who have reported others doing the right thing or who have been rewarded for having done the right thing themselves.
I don't have a problem with Cyclist.
But I do have a question.
I drive back & forth in Western QLD, a fair bit of this is single lane bitumen with gouged rough edges & sharp drop offs.
Now, in winter, there a few lunatics that ride loaded up pushies along these roads. Personally I slow right down & give them as wide a berth as possible but don't like to drop my right hand wheels off the other side of the road because I don't want to flick up rocks & dust at the poor bloke.
So, generally I'm not giving them 1.5 meters, in some cases a lot less.
Correct or not?
BTW How do these folk get on when the triples go roaring past at 90kph? They throw the D3 around & pull up a lot of dust & crap, hate to be on a push bike.
Jonesfam
PS An air conditioned car devoid of flies, dust, sun & other environmental problems seems a better idea to me.
As I cyclist I was against the new rules as I was comfortable in city riding with cars only a few hundred mm away.......
While I admire the touring guys it's not something I would do in outback Australia, given rare to come across them you're not really looking out for them like in built up areas.
Giving space to the rider is much much more important, when you slow down you don't really throw rocks etc and the dust is just a part of the way it is. The rider will clear through the dust shortly. Admittedly when I'm training on the MTB I often stop off the dirt track if the car is heading in the same direction. If the bike gets squeezed in the lane that you talk about and hits the edge of the bitumin they will crash and more than likely fall towards the car. I had a motorbike do this just recently in front of me on Bells line of Road too, quite scary for everybody but at least I didn't hit him in the Disco and he was ok. The highest risk to a rider for crashing I think is when being passed by a car heading in the same direction (for a few reasons) and if they do crash it'd be better to have that clearance so their head doesn't get hit
Having been taken out on my bike by a car turning right and having a two week stay in hospital (and a destroyed Enduro season) with a smashed patella I always give cyclists plenty of room and often sit behind them for hundreds of meters until it is safe to go by, I've never had a wave or any sort of acknowledgement.
I get a lot of cyclists where I live and most do the right thing.
I'll be back out there on my Scott in the coming weeks with my flouro gear and multiple flashing lights hoping I can be seen and that I'm given the same respect.