Queensland has a law to protect cyclists sharing the road with motorists. Car drivers are required to ensure that there is a one metre gap between the vehicle and the cyclist when passing in a 40 or 50 kph speed zone. That gap widens to 1.5 metres in higher speed zones - and the motorist is permitted to cross double white lines to achieve that gap when it is safe to do so.
Failing to heed that law results in a $ 330 fine and the loss of three demerit points. The New South Wales government has been under pressure from cycling interests to adopt identical legislation in this state, but has wisely put the matter on hold.
The mix of bikes and cars seems to present a very uneven penalty mix. The Police are relentless in enforcing driving laws on motorists and the owner of a car suffers a constant barrage of tax intrusions from which cyclists are exempt. Charges apply for holding a driving license, registering the vehicle, using roads that have a toll - and most of the fee for filling the tank with fuel is by way of a fuel tax.
In contrast, the only legal requirement for a cyclist seems to be the need to wear a safety helmet - and in the vast majority of cases - this is ignored - and rarely policed.
Cyclists are urged to ride responsibly, but the very nature of a bicycle makes it a hazard on the road. Debris or a small pot hole can cause it to swerve suddenly and because transgressions are usually ignored by the police, many riders completely ignore road laws. Riding at high speed on footpaths is common and in many cases cyclists ignore nearby bike lanes specially constructed to separate cars and cycles for safety reasons.
Most motorists take due care to achieve a safe distance when passing a cyclist but including a measurable component in legislation raises the question of how that gap is to be judged. The issue of legally crossing double white lines also raises concern because it brings a matter of safety into conflict which can have lethal results.
In 2013, fourteen cyclists died on New South Wales roads in accidents that involved collision with motor vehicles. If we are to increase road safety it will be necessary for the police to enforce roads laws on all road users - and that means bringing cyclists and their cycle within identifiable legal jurisdiction - and that means bikes with a registration number and their riders subject to a riding license.
The common old " push bike " has enjoyed a remarkable escape from both the tax regime and draconian network of laws that apply to our road system. The " cycling lobby " has cleverly used it's influence to gain vast amounts of public funds to enhance cycling for ecological, health and recreational reasons - and avoided putting anything back into the money pot when it comes to costs.
Strangely, cycling has escaped the age laws that apply to driving a vehicle, buying cigarettes and alcohol, placing a bet, having a vote or watching movies with an age restriction in a cinema. A tot of any age is legally entitled to ride a bike on the F6 Freeway connecting Sydney and Wollongong, sharing that road with cars and trucks travelling at the 110 kph limit. Many would consider any parent that allowed that to be criminally insane, but doing so breaks no legal barrier.
The bicycle certainly is a valid means of transport, but it's limitations need to be taken into account when we formulate future road systems and it's users need to be brought within the enforcement jurisdiction that applies to all road users.
Anything short of that lacks both legal equity - and any hope of safety on our roads !
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