what... a bicycle can take up a whole lane?
what other unregistered vehicles are even permitted on road? I drive a race car from driveway to transport mr policeman can and probably will rape me. Skateboarders, down hill roller guys, old fellas on scooters, unregistered forklifts all must be allowed and entitled to take up a whole lane now. Must remember this when i'm moving a boat or trailer or roller partially on road way that im entitled to take up the whole lane and those pesky impatient motorists beeping their horns can go to hell. Hypocrisy.
I was unaware that registration of a vehicle and general use of public roads was linked.
I have been a beach road rider for many years. In my experience the riders who ride earlier in the day are well organised and self police most of the bad behaviour coming down on any abuse of road rules etc.
As the day wears on the rabble seem to take to the roads, they seem to have a different perspective of their rights and road use etc. also seem to be all over the place not knowing how to ride as a group and best kept clear of as another cyclist.
However from my experience the cyclist that really give everyone a bad name are the commuters in and around the city. These guys seem to be a total law unto their own, a lot, not all run red lights, cut through slow moving traffic, cut across pedestrian walk ways etc.these are also the ones that seem to have the agro attitude on a hair trigger.
My next door neighbour has a 1 year old dog that gets kept outside most of the time. It gets excited by just about anything. I figure that it must be fruit bats that have landed in the trees that it barks at at 3 in the morning.
It is just as annoying as any pudgy lycra lad causing a small delay in suburban traffic. But I suppose it carries registration, so that makes it alright
Select to expand quoteCambodge said...
I was unaware that registration of a vehicle and general use of public roads was linked.
where do you draw the line? Why is a cyclist entitled to an entire lane yet nothing else apart from registered vehicles is? The issue of registration is suddenly all of the cyclists doing the wrong thing would be as accountable as the motorists getting slapped $330 fines for not giving a metre.
Select to expand quotemkseven said..
what... a bicycle can take up a whole lane?
what other unregistered vehicles are even permitted on road?
Shane Warne and this guy feel the same way ....
Select to expand quotemkseven said..Cambodge said...
I was unaware that registration of a vehicle and general use of public roads was linked.
where do you draw the line? Why is a cyclist entitled to an entire lane yet nothing else apart from registered vehicles is? The issue of registration is suddenly all of the cyclists doing the wrong thing would be as accountable as the motorists getting slapped $330 fines for not giving a metre.
You don't have to be registered to be "accountable". I mean, I'm fairly fast on my road bike, but my chances of outrunning a highway patrol car are about nil. If you think licence plates mean that any Joe Citizen will be able to issue tickets to those dangerous cyclists who look, then ride through red lights TO AVOID CAUSING A PROBLEM FOR DRIVERS BEHIND THEM, then try reporting every cigarette butt you see being flicked by smokers outside offices and pubs. That would make a lot more money for the state, and would even have health benefits attached
i couldnt care less about fines etc, it appeals to the feel/do-gooders out there who probably deep down wish they were cops. Once the angry cyclists & angry motorists all armed with cams to make a point wipe each other out the roads will be nicer to use. Mr treddly is targeting joe citizen with cam & people will be fined here for not allowing 1m, i hope every driver fined takes it to court & appeals on the grounds that the roads were not designed with that in mind and due to flow of traffic it was not possible to move across any further.
I said at the start i ride & there are unsafe morons on both sides. 15 years ago i never copped abuse from a motorist, never had to worry bout 1m crap. But there has become a problem caused by cyclists (not all) which has raised alot of anger in motorists & since they are the ones easily identifiable they are the ones persecuted. For the record i cant remember holding up traffic by either keeping where people should ride or depending on the lights not trying to ride past everyone to front of cue, isnt this illegal on motorbikes?
There was another issue here recently which apparently the residents of street fixed where they got the sh!ts at lycra warriors congregating before dawn & waking them up.
We are over lawed & fined already, these additions are pointless when people should consider others.
Select to expand quoteBenKirk said..
1. They are legally allowed to do it
2. If they are in single file, tucked to the left people will not move out enough to overtake them (have you heard of the 1M law people are pushing)
3. A cyclist has the rights to the whole lane, not just one foot of glassy, dirty, rough tarmac
I was overtaken on a roundabout last week by a LWB white van, I had to hit the back of the van with my arm so he moved over (we were doing about 20kmph). If I was right in the middle of the lane he couldn't have overtaken and I would have been safer.
As a cyclist myself i always will make sure that people don't overtake me as i go through a roundabout. Its dangerous and scary to have someone swinging wide into you on a roundabout so i will indicate to move right into a gap, take up the whole lane and go through the roundabout safely without anyone overtaking me. This is the ONLY time i will take up the whole lane and despite the fact that i am legally entitled to i still cop abuse from drivers and have been run into on purpose waiting at roundabout before.
I see peletons of riders swinging out over half the lane and sure, they are entitled to but holding up an entire lane of traffic just so you can chat to your mates is just being plain inconsiderate.
Select to expand quoteTheSailingMoose said..BenKirk said..
1. They are legally allowed to do it
2. If they are in single file, tucked to the left people will not move out enough to overtake them (have you heard of the 1M law people are pushing)
3. A cyclist has the rights to the whole lane, not just one foot of glassy, dirty, rough tarmac
I was overtaken on a roundabout last week by a LWB white van, I had to hit the back of the van with my arm so he moved over (we were doing about 20kmph). If I was right in the middle of the lane he couldn't have overtaken and I would have been safer.
As a cyclist myself i always will make sure that people don't overtake me as i go through a roundabout. Its dangerous and scary to have someone swinging wide into you on a roundabout so i will indicate to move right into a gap, take up the whole lane and go through the roundabout safely without anyone overtaking me. This is the ONLY time i will take up the whole lane and despite the fact that i am legally entitled to i still cop abuse from drivers and have been run into on purpose waiting at roundabout before.
I see peletons of riders swinging out over half the lane and sure, they are entitled to but holding up an entire lane of traffic just so you can chat to your mates is just being plain inconsiderate.
Ditto for me.
I try to ride a bit aggressively to avoid holding up cars and to keep out of trouble, but at times there is a need to defer and allow cars to make the holes in the traffic, particularly in the rush hour. All common sense really.
I think any group of cyclists who take up the whole lane of a major arterial are being selfish. The whole issue of cyclists on these roads needs to be rethought.
I am not so concerned with pelotons in the backstreets when I am doing 50 kmh in my car, particularly if they assist you to get past (by shrinking to two abreast). In that case its just like giving way to mothers with prams and kids with balls etc. All care.
Select to expand quoteMarvin said..TheSailingMoose said..BenKirk said..
1. They are legally allowed to do it
2. If they are in single file, tucked to the left people will not move out enough to overtake them (have you heard of the 1M law people are pushing)
3. A cyclist has the rights to the whole lane, not just one foot of glassy, dirty, rough tarmac
I was overtaken on a roundabout last week by a LWB white van, I had to hit the back of the van with my arm so he moved over (we were doing about 20kmph). If I was right in the middle of the lane he couldn't have overtaken and I would have been safer.
As a cyclist myself i always will make sure that people don't overtake me as i go through a roundabout. Its dangerous and scary to have someone swinging wide into you on a roundabout so i will indicate to move right into a gap, take up the whole lane and go through the roundabout safely without anyone overtaking me. This is the ONLY time i will take up the whole lane and despite the fact that i am legally entitled to i still cop abuse from drivers and have been run into on purpose waiting at roundabout before.
I see peletons of riders swinging out over half the lane and sure, they are entitled to but holding up an entire lane of traffic just so you can chat to your mates is just being plain inconsiderate.
Ditto for me.
I try to ride a bit aggressively to avoid holding up cars and to keep out of trouble, but at times there is a need to defer and allow cars to make the holes in the traffic, particularly in the rush hour. All common sense really.
I think any group of cyclists who take up the whole lane of a major arterial are being selfish. The whole issue of cyclists on these roads needs to be rethought.
I am not so concerned with pelotons in the backstreets when I am doing 50 kmh in my car, particularly if they assist you to get past (by shrinking to two abreast). In that case its just like giving way to mothers with prams and kids with balls etc. All care.
I can understand why someone riding a $7k carbon fibre bike doesn't want to ride on a footpath or a desidnated bicycle lane next to a footpath, like the one on beach road, but why not ride in the service lane when it's avaialble?
I'm sure that's safer than takling the tin lids.
I think everyone needs to chill out a bit.
I cycle hundreds of Km every week. Often i get overtaken by cars going hell for leather only to catch them at the next light where they power off again and i catch them again. Quite funny really. Especially if the car is one of those HSV thingos.
Perth is the worst city i have cycled in people are clearly stupid here.
Select to expand quotepoor relative said..
I think everyone needs to chill out a bit.
I cycle hundreds of Km every week. Often i get overtaken by cars going hell for leather only to catch them at the next light where they power off again and i catch them again. Quite funny really. Especially if the car is one of those HSV thingos.
Perth is the worst city i have cycled in people are clearly stupid here.
Why is it so bad to ride on a cycle way? I just dont understand why anyone would want to ride on a main road in peak hour traffic, but I see it all the time. So many close calls. I used to ride every day to work and would never ride on a main road ever. Always used the cycle way or the edge of the road that is reserved for bikes.
MAMILS should be banned from coffee shops on Satuday and Sunday mornings tho, so rude 
and stinky 
Select to expand quoteDARTH said..
...
Why is it so bad to ride on a cycle way? I just dont understand why anyone would want to ride on a main road in peak hour traffic, ...
As I said in the post above. I did 10,000km on cycle paths in the past 18 months. It's fine. You just have to slow down a bit, ring your bell, keep an eye out, actually try to ride safely.
There is a downside. The bumps on the path are "much" worse. My road bike is designed for training and uneven roads and hitting some of the bumps on a cycle path are really bone shaking. Even hitting them at speed on a dual suspension mountain bike with rock hard slick tyres is jarring.
You also have to navigate a fair bit to get around corners and over driveways and all that. It's quite an effort.
If I am riding home late (well after peak hour) I switch to the road for the last few km of the home trip. It's much faster and much smoother than riding on the cycle path.
I think people who think it's unsafe to ride on cycle paths ride the way they drive. They want everybody to get out of their way and ride at whatever speed they want to. You can't ride like that and you shouldn't drive like that. You have no "rights" on the road, only responsibilities to share the road or the cycle path and make sure everybody gets where they want to go safely.
Select to expand quoteDARTH said..
Why is it so bad to ride on a cycle way?
People with headphones walking oblivious to the world around them, kids running out from bushes, unleashed dogs, family's on Sunday strolls people with no idea not looking where they are going, blokes trying to be Cadel Evans overtaking at extremely dangerous spots and high speed etc etc Cycle ways in Perth can be hell especially the freeway path on the Kwinana from canning bridge.
I ride on cycleways cause i have to sometimes however if i don't i'm on the road. I ride on the road cause i can push along at a decent speed without worrying I'm going to hit a dog or worse.
Rush hour is generally the safest time to be riding on the road Traffic is generally slow moving or stopped.
Select to expand quotepoor relative said..DARTH said..
Why is it so bad to ride on a cycle way?
People with headphones walking oblivious to the world around them, kids running out from bushes, unleashed dogs, family's on Sunday strolls people with no idea not looking where they are going, blokes trying to be Cadel Evans overtaking at extremely dangerous spots and high speed etc etc Cycle ways in Perth can be hell especially the freeway path on the Kwinana from canning bridge.
I ride on cycleways cause i have to sometimes however if i don't i'm on the road. I ride on the road cause i can push along at a decent speed without worrying I'm going to hit a dog or worse.
Rush hour is generally the safest time to be riding on the road Traffic is generally slow moving or stopped.
All that is better than getting hit up the bum by a truck imo...
If the truck is looking where he is going and driving as required by law then that wouldn't happen.
Truckies are pretty good they know what they are doing and generally aren't in too much of a hurry round town. IMO its women in 4WD rushing to pick up kids that are the biggest danger.
Select to expand quotepoor relative said..
If the truck is looking where he is going and driving as required by law then that wouldn't happen.
Truckies are pretty good they know what they are doing and generally aren't in too much of a hurry round town. IMO its women in 4WD rushing to pick up kids that are the biggest danger.
Truck, car whatever, I dont blindly trust anyone behind the wheel of any car, truck or motorbike, but hey if riding on the road gets you off dont let me stop you, its you're arse not mine 
This topic is quite amusing really, if you took some some of the comments and just changed a few words you could get something like this....
"Why do all these kite boarders have to all kite together in the butter smooth flat water when there is all that rough water further out?"
The general public perception of our collective sports may not be too dissimilar to some of the views of cyclists posted here...
I drive a car but have never had a problem with cyclists, same storey every time, the roads are clogged up with cars. If you are experiencing difficulties described above then it's because you are driving badly/illegally. Splitting the lane is illegal because a car takes up a whole lane. The exception in law is that cyclists are allowed to double up because you can fit 2 bikes in lane. If it's a single lane then the cyclists ride to the left "as far as practical". This allows free movement for the car to pass on the right but it works both ways so if the cars clogg up the roads to a crawl, the cyclists are allowed to continue along the left. It's ludicrous to suggest motorists are slowed by bicycles, the peroblem is the number of motorist driving too slow in the right hand lane.. Get out of the way and stop blocking the road!
Select to expand quoteechunda said..Marvin said..TheSailingMoose said..BenKirk said..
1. They are legally allowed to do it
2. If they are in single file, tucked to the left people will not move out enough to overtake them (have you heard of the 1M law people are pushing)
3. A cyclist has the rights to the whole lane, not just one foot of glassy, dirty, rough tarmac
I was overtaken on a roundabout last week by a LWB white van, I had to hit the back of the van with my arm so he moved over (we were doing about 20kmph). If I was right in the middle of the lane he couldn't have overtaken and I would have been safer.
As a cyclist myself i always will make sure that people don't overtake me as i go through a roundabout. Its dangerous and scary to have someone swinging wide into you on a roundabout so i will indicate to move right into a gap, take up the whole lane and go through the roundabout safely without anyone overtaking me. This is the ONLY time i will take up the whole lane and despite the fact that i am legally entitled to i still cop abuse from drivers and have been run into on purpose waiting at roundabout before.
I see peletons of riders swinging out over half the lane and sure, they are entitled to but holding up an entire lane of traffic just so you can chat to your mates is just being plain inconsiderate.
Ditto for me.
I try to ride a bit aggressively to avoid holding up cars and to keep out of trouble, but at times there is a need to defer and allow cars to make the holes in the traffic, particularly in the rush hour. All common sense really.
I think any group of cyclists who take up the whole lane of a major arterial are being selfish. The whole issue of cyclists on these roads needs to be rethought.
I am not so concerned with pelotons in the backstreets when I am doing 50 kmh in my car, particularly if they assist you to get past (by shrinking to two abreast). In that case its just like giving way to mothers with prams and kids with balls etc. All care.
I can understand why someone riding a $7k carbon fibre bike doesn't want to ride on a footpath or a desidnated bicycle lane next to a footpath, like the one on beach road, but why not ride in the service lane when it's avaialble?
I'm sure that's safer than takling the tin lids.
Just to make myself clear, I don't actually do the 3 things I mentioned when I cycle to work almost every day. I don't run red lights, I let pedestrians rightfully cross at crossings, I don't undertake at red lights, I don't ride two abreast (expect on the very quiet backstreets) and I especially DO NOT ride along Military Road. Ever. For my safety but mainly to not get in the way of commuters and buses.
Not sure who here rides the Sydney bike paths but half of them are terrible, way too many lights, cars parked across them, people walking down them and I can't get to half the places I want to as there are no right turns (especially on York Street).
