New Motoring Rules for Passing Cyclists start today in Qld

Wow. Where to start with what is wrong with that !!!!!!
Too much to list. ( and I'll probably get sin binned )

Steve

Oh, and for the Sandgropers here, there has been a Bill introduced to Parliament last week to amend the Road Traffic Act (WA) in the same terms.

Not before time too.
There are some pretty arrogant motorists out there, who think they own the road.

I don't know enough to make a fully informed comment on that Michelle but it seems reasonable to not get to close to a cyclist as the wind front passing or even the uneveness of a road would mean there would sometimes be deviation from a straight line path.

I suppose the question would become one of is there sufficent room for motorisst to get past without unduly holding up traffic.

Cars going over lines to pass would seem to help, but does the law effectively keep cyclists to the left and not blocking a road, as 1.5m clearance on a 3m wide lane would mean virtualy every car would have to cross lines and some will inevitally miss judge it.
And this distance would only be for bikes in single file.

Like it or not the bigger vehicle usually wins and I wouldn't like to be a cyclist in that trial.

I do agree with the new law. Some will say bikes do this and bikes do that and shouldn't be on the road. The truth is both bike riders and vehicle drivers both do the wrong thing, but the difference is bikes don't normally kill or badly injure vehicle drivers.

The number of times I think we have all seen vehicles come close to bikes when there was plenty of room to keep well away from them. I don't know the reason some do this, whether it is inattention or they just want to frighten the hell out of them.

I do know they are playing russian roulette with the riders well being and these new rules will be enforced if there is contact between the vehicle and bike.

Don't know about others but I seem to be able to find enough room to give them safe passage even when driving a big thing. Just a little patience goes a long way sometimes.

Under the present rules I believe you will find most reasonable drivers would never come closer than 1.5m top a bike rider on the highway. In fact many give them much more clearance than that.

Now back to the office. Besides watching out for bikes I will have to watch my speed a little closer, seeing Qld has just lowered the speed tolerance leeway again.

When I am stopped at the front at a red light and a cyclist filters through the traffic to the front only centimetres from my car then the light goes green and I move off, I am immediately breaking the law?????

I have ridden push bikes for 70 years, m/bikes, cars and trucks for over 60. I see many impatient drivers who chop in when I leave a gap with my 4x4 or trucks leaving a gap at a traffic light. I have also seen a bike rider 3 wide on a 6 lane road. I have been deliberately pushed into the gutter several times by cars and trucks. The trouble is many people cannot ease off for 2 or 3 seconds. Many people are always running late because they will not get out of bed 5 minutes earlier. Many people have no patience or courtesy anymore. They work on the U-JacK system.

How do you have a fair law when there has to be a guess as to whether there was an infringement or not?

I suppose if someone is hit then it is straightforward, unless the bike rider swerved into the car?

Paul

Crossing a double white line is suicide if it was safe then it would be a broken white line therefore this law has already made a mockery of itself Just wait until somebody can't see crosses the double white line head on into another vehicle and the cyclist gets cleaned up as well who says cyclists don't kill and maim people how long can you sit behind a cyclist at 15k's per hour on a winding hill waiting to give him 1.5 meters clearence when they are riding two abreast sometimes in hilly terrain this could be for hours
Steve

I'm a cyclist but I'm also a driver so I see both sides of the equation. There are many different types of cyclists using the roads today; broadly speaking these are: recreational riders, coffee club riders, commuters, roadies, & triathletes. Each group is out there for a different purpose and would most likely display different behaviours on the roads.

Without laying any blame on any one group, it stands to reason that the recreational users probably have less experience and time on the road than some others. However most recreational riders are usually happy to be on the shared bike paths until they have developed speed and skill to ride on the road, as it becomes too dangerous over about 25km/hr on the path and is impractial to everyone.

The road cyclists are typically cycling at an average of 30km+/hr over an hour+ride. This means sometimes doing speeds of 50km/hr but sometimes 12km/hr depending on conditions. The coffee club riders can be of mixed ability and experience and are your usual Sunday mob riders. However, they (and the serious roadies and triathletes) are less likely to be the ones causing havoc on roads during peak hour or in the CBD.

Commuting is good in theory but the reality is it is difficult to mix bikes and traffic in CBD areas safely during peak periods when everyone is rushing to be somewhere.

The roadies and triathletes who are focused on speed and distance deliberately try to stay away from traffic and problem areas however they cycle a lot as they are very serious about their training hours and might ride 3-6 days per week and often in the very early hours of the morning. Whilst they might avoid high traffic areas they also spend a lot of time on the road and cover a lot of distance, might ride with other serious riders in groups, and are often in a "racing" mindset. These groups have to contend with trying to find suitable roads that won't damage their tyres and suit their training needs (eg long distance at speed with minimal interruptions, or steep hills). The serious cyclists who are training for racing are prepared to go out in the dark, cold, wind, and rain. It's a fact that they're going to have to deal with cars, trucks, road debris and hazards, and abuse. This is the category that I fall into and I can assure you it's scary being a cyclist and each one of us knows we take our lives in our hands on the roads every day out there. The cyclists I train with are usually very resilient but due to their experience and time on the road (many years of cycling experience) they do have an expectation that drivers will do the right thing when they see them so they will not be hesitant to put out their hand to claim the lane as they approach the roundabout as the bike lane merges at 30km/hr. They can't stop quickly at roundabouts, and they can't risk hitting debris and road drains with their skinny tyres as they'll crash or get a flat so they might appear to take "evasive maneouvours" but they are not out of control and can hear you behind and will do their best to get through the situation.

Having all that above, I don't know how any of it helps. But I do know that not all cyclists display the same behaviours. All I know is that all cyclists should all be following the same rules of the road. Unfortunately, its seems not all cyclists do. Just as not all drivers do. I am not about to put the blame on any one of these groups because it's not an "us" and "them" issue, its human nature and unfortunately there's idiots behind the wheel of both bikes and cars. I just think we all need to pledge to do the best we can, to tolerate one another and try not to contribute to the problem.

Thanks for participating in my post. The more we talk about these issues the better.

Firstly let me contextualise my post - I'm a driver and a cyclist.

Where I live in Samford Valley, in Brisbane, is a popular weekend cycling route for cyclists and I've noted that the locals do give plenty of space to cyclists when passing. Its rare to see someone intentionally intimidate cyclists. I've also noted that the larger groups of cyclists generally stay in a single file when traversing the tighter sections of the Samford Range crossing. Consequently I can't see what the problem is. The new rules are just formalising current practice.

As someone who has been seriously injured in a cycling accident I would suggest that some motorists check their anti-bike prejudices. The consequences to a bike rider of frustrated car driver getting it wrong can be fatal.

Its not illegal to ride a bike on roadways and any motorist that considers them a nuisance needs to consider their own behaviours and psychological state. I own 3 vehicles and pay registration and fuel for those vehicles. I also pay more than my fair share of tax so anybody that thinks I'm not paying for my share of the road when riding my bike is out of touch with reality. I'm hopeful that the new rules will encourage others onto bikes and make it safer for those that already cycle. Its just a shame that we need the rules in the first place!

These laws have been introduced to deal with the inconsiderate drivers who have no regard for the safety of fellow road users. Any cyclist will come off second best in a clash with a car. I have fitted a dash cam facing the rear to my bike, and have a helmet cam as well. My grandkids bikes are getting cameras, as well. Maybe the new laws will be sufficient to adjust some of the idiot attitudes out there.

Iza

Motor vehicles, cyclists, and roads will always be a controversial topic.

And if I apply a self-imposed ExplorOz “caution filter”, any topic that has a ratio of 3 or more follow-ups per response generally means a topic that is highly charged, potentially full of polarised opinion and possibly best avoided.

But is this part of the problem?

Are we living in a time when it is more important to win or be right, than it is to be considerate and understanding; or to be heard, rather than to listen?

Are we that time poor in our daily lives that any imposition or delay to “our” routine is to be avoided at all cost regardless of consequence to others?

“Walk a mile in my shoes is a quote that comes to mind”.

Would be much easier if the law said that cyclists have to travel in single file at least 5 m from the centreline of the road.

Hi Michelle,

It seems unfortunately so! I wrote to the transport minister expressing my concern regarding the impracticality of this law. There have been no serious details about how it will work in practice and I fear it will be the courts that will have to sort out another ill considered law by our Newman Government. I also partake in both activities but am mostly a driver not a rider.

My main points of contention is that it is impossible to know a meter when driving but that really doesn't matter as long as no one gets hit. I believe there is a dob in a driver where riders can send their close calls and these will be followed up. So with a lot of riders wearing action cams I have no doubt some people will get fines as a result of these. The main issue for me is that the law is to equally apply to riders but this is impossible to police. I have decided to fit a crash cam to my car for liability protection (how ridiculous really) as there seems little choice.

On my daily drive I pass a section of road near the Mater Hospital where during peak hour bikes actually travel faster than cars and quite a few will pass between the rows of cars, which incidentally are probably less than a meter from each other, to in some cases drive through a red light as it is not a crossing intersection. As there is no way of identifying the rider these illegal activities cannot be passed on in a similar way as that for car drivers.

The minister has not yet responded and I doubt that he will!

Kind regards

BTW thanks for letting people know as it may affect visitors to our state.

Seems as though it's the cyclists who are coping the brunt of the new laws.

88 cyclists fined compared to ZERO motorists.


Cyclists getting fined in Qld under new laws

Why not pass a sensible law that all cyclists MUST ride in single file inside any continuous centre line, single or double?

I would imagine such laws will be in-place in all States before long, in the typical monkey-see, monkey-do manner these road laws spread.

nor am in favour of the laws simply due to the vagueness many have flagged already. eg 1 metre from where, to where? and how to measure it?

i am not, however, expecting it to affect anyone too much. i wouldnt really think many cars are passing cyclists appreciably closer than 1 metre by any sensible measure, and if they are, they shouldnt. my main concern is rather that is going to further the clamouring for something hugely more intrusive and stupid: ID plates for bicycles. that is just going to be one huge PITA for zero benefit. but look on the bright side - there will be ever increasingly pointless, intrusive, oppressive laws coming your way as the years roll on, so however bad it seems now, it isnt as bad as it will be.

Bicycles should be banned from roads where the speed limit is over 80 km/hr, particularly country roads. I can assure you it is not fun when a road train suddenly appears in your lane while avoiding a cyclist. Luckily the edge of the road was good enough for me to avoid the road train, this time.
To cap it off the rider was in dark clothing on a dull wet day. Do they really have a death wish?