The " Two Wheel " Injury Risk !

Once upon a time the old " push bike " - as it was called - was something kids rode and which we claimed was harmless.  They have never needed a number plate or any form of individual identification.

In todays world cycling has become an endurance sport with the Tour de France stopping the country of France for a week at each event.  Not only do we encounter cycle racing teams training in this country but cycling couriers often break rules in city traffic as delivery speed is the essence of their trade. Numerous collisions between cyclists and both cars and people are inevitable.

Unlike cars, in which personal injury is covered by the compulsory third party insurance included in registration costs, the injured are reliant on the courts to claim redress for injuries suffered in a cycle accident.   Gaining a court order is useless if the perpetrator lacks the funds to pay the claim.

Cycling is being promoted in the interests of reducing global warming and as a means of  enhancing exercise to reduce obesity and we are presently inundated with hire bikes which can be accessed by a swipe of our mobile phones.  Several companies are competing for our trade.  The streets are literally swamped with bikes abandoned at the conclusion of rides and some councils are imposing seizures to try and restore even a semblance of order.

This hire bike enterprise is a world phenomenon and the companies concerned are based overseas. We have just has the experience that on a very windy day one hire bike commenced a riderless journey downhill to where it crashed into two cars at a busy intersection.  One of those cars was a chauffer driven Tesla and the damaged amounted to $6000.

The company that owns the bike that caused the damage is based in Singapore and all efforts to learn the name of its insurer have failed. Despite repeated promises of calling back with the information, this has not eventuated.  This is required for the car owner to claim on their own insurance company.

Technically, this is a road accident and the law requires the bike owner to provide insurance information, and consequently the Tesla owner reported the matter to the police.  The police took a statement from the Tesla driver, but have since suspended their investigation because there is no evidence to suggest a criminal act or traffic offence.  The entire incident looks like being consigned to that amorphous category of " act of God " !

This incident sounds a clear warning.   Any cycle being used on a road becomes a " vehicle "  and it is essential that ownership can be established if it is involved in injury to another person.  Each cycle needs an identification number and that can only be achieved by registration.  If the registered owner fails to cover the cycle with insurance cover, then any damage or injury it causes becomes his or her personal responsibility.

The only reason the " push bike " has escaped so long is because it came into being well before the advent of the motor car.   Now that its numbers have increased exponentially it must accept its role in the risk factor.