Thread: Cyclist attacks bus driver

Originally Posted by weeds

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Oh my vote is your licence to say cost $1000/year and you can drive/ride any any more of transport so long as it's insured and your deemed competent

There is a school of thought that says fixed costs (rego, licence etc) should be low and running costs should be high so that here is some incentive to ride or walk rather than use the car.

Originally Posted by weeds

I was against the 1m rule as it had caused more against between rider and car

Registering bikes will again increase the divide.

The number of bikes on the rode is small compared to cars, trucks etc

Government are already broke, adding more administration won't help as it would take years too implement and cost 100's millions.

Oh my vote is your licence to say cost $1000/year and you can drive/ride any any more of transport so long as it's insured and your deemed competent

On the contrary, given the number of cars on the road is large compared to bikes, I would have thought the idea would appeal to the (significant) majority and therefore decrease the divide.

What us the opinion of things re bikes for our non Australian based members. How are things done differently in your locales ? What makes things so special here ?

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Originally Posted by 4range

With all due respect (noting that I believe the cyclists should have formed single file - based on the information you have given), why is it different to passing a slow car or another slow truck ?

I don't believe it would be any safer passing another vehicle with less than a meter to spare.

perhaps the only difference is that a person in a vehicle is more likely to survive being hit, than a cyclist, if it all goes wrong during the overtake.

my 2 cents

The slow car or slow truck would be going faster than the cyclists, and are a lot more visible..

Passing a vehicle with less than a meter to spare is never good, but at least the occupants are in a safe solid vehicle. They'd also be traveling quite a bit faster.

That 'only difference' is a big difference. Having to make the decision to avoid a group of cyclists or oncoming traffic is a decision I hope I never have to face.

Originally Posted by weeds

I'm a bike rider and in the event you explained above wife and she would have been in single file and would have move to the left as much as possible......

Although it's hard to believe you put your crew in danger by crossing to the wrong side of the road without knowing what was coming......imagine if a truck was coming the other way glad it's you explaining it...if you survived that is.

Re: rego plates...if it ever come in which I highly doubt it I would comply because it the law but would prefer one plate that can be transferred between bikes as wife and I both have three bikes each.

Which is all anyone can ask. Being in single file on a narrow single carriageway road and having a meter between you and a passing vehicle usually puts that vehicle only just on the white line, leaving the oncoming carriageway clear for oncoming traffic to pass by.

Re the danger, I never like being over the white line when responding unless I can clearly see for a decent distance. When coming upon 4 cycles riding up a hill side by side taking up roughly a car sized space traveling at approx 8 to 10 kmh, the only option is to cross the line or stop.

Re Rego/ID plates, a transferable plate would work. It's just a case of having something to be identified by.

Originally Posted by weeds

I was against the 1m rule as it had caused more against between rider and car

Registering bikes will again increase the divide.

The number of bikes on the rode is small compared to cars, trucks etc

Government are already broke, adding more administration won't help as it would take years too implement and cost 100's millions.

Oh my vote is your licence to say cost $1000/year and you can drive/ride any any more of transport so long as it's insured and your deemed competent

Agreed the 1m rule has caused more angst, but only for the motorists who have to deal with the few cyclists who seem to wave a 1m stick around. Most couldn't care and it does make motorists make a point to look, slow and pass safely. As for registering bikes increasing the divide, if there's little or no cost involved then those who obey the law probably wouldn't care either. As someone said before, I think it would level the playing field and help cause less angst.

Originally Posted by Sitec

Agreed the 1m rule has caused more angst, but only for the motorists who have to deal with the few cyclists who seem to wave a 1m stick around. Most couldn't care and it does make motorists make a point to look, slow and pass safely. As for registering bikes increasing the divide, if there's little or no cost involved then those who obey the law probably wouldn't care either. As someone said before, I think it would level the playing field and help cause less angst.

How big would a number plate be to be able to be read from any significant distance? Would it need a white light at night? How would you mount a readable plate to a light weight road bike? Would the police care less that yet another aggrieved motorist reported a cyclist for bad riding? Why does no other civilised country have a bike registration scheme? Would Australia like to risk once again being known as the nanny state from hell re cycling? Would the young tourists go elsewhere? All serious questions regarding the complexity of introducing yet another level of bureaucracy to our roads.

I can see the possible value in fitting every bike with a GPS tracker, then only the owners and the relevant authorities can access location data. Then the data can be analysed by the police if there is indeed a road incident worth investigating. "Angry Joe Public" reporting every bike plate he can record would drive a desk copper round the twist.

Oh and the 1 metre rule, as a both cyclist and motorist I don't have any problem with it. It sure helps keep things polite.