Timely article from ABC Brisbane regarding cyclist/ped interactions.
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Keeping cyclists and pedestrians honest
http://www.abc.net.au/brisbane/stories/s1684746.htm?brisbane
Wednesday, 12 July 2006. Reporter: Phil Smith
Presenter: Kelly Higgins-Devine photo of Bike stops at stop sign
A rider observes a stop sign on Coronation Drive
Statistically, the most dangerous circumstance is in a car on the highway, but as this week’s fatal inner-city accident involving a cyclist and a pedestrian shows, lives are at risk, even at walking pace.
During 2005, 37 pedestrians and five cyclists were killed on the roads. That equals significant reductions from 2004: 12% and 40% for walkers and riders respectively.
[/url]Whether those reductions can continue is a good question, because already in 2006, 6 cyclists and 25 pedestrians have died on our roads, and it seems that as our population grows, conditions for cyclists and pedestrians could become even more dangerous.
Now more people are getting out of their cars and taking to the streets on foot or by pedal power. Australia-wide, bicycles outsold motorcars again last financial year with well over a million new bikes on the roads. The battle against obesity also sees a community-wide push to encourage more people to walk or cycle to school, work and play.
So will laws, designed to keep pedestrians and cyclists in line, be enforced? The Pedestrian Council's Howard Scruby is sceptical.
"I can’t remember the last time a pedestrian was booked in the country for crossing against the lights," he says. "It’s a law the police tend to have forgotten to enforce. And in our view, the penalties should be a lot higher and perhaps the enforcement function could be transferred to councils if police don’t want to be involved in it."
Howard also worries that the situation for pedestrians will become more dangerous as our population ages. "We’e had several cases in Sydney where bicycle couriers have killed pedestrians, where the pedestrians are 70 and over – if they get hit by a large 100kg cyclist at 30km/hr, they rarely get up."
Queensland Police Acting Superintendent Rob McCall insists there are periodic crackdowns to enforce traffic laws applying to pedestrians and cyclists, and there’ll be more as foot and cycle traffic increases.
"Generally throughout the year, we have a bit of a crackdown on pedestrian crossings – it’s really a regional matter – they’ll target particular crossings, you’ll look at your [intelligence] in terms of where there’s already been fatalities and you’ll see police issuing tickets," he says.
Bicycle Queensland’s Ben Wilson expects tougher enforcement.
"I’d expect to see it, and we’d welcome it," he says, "because if there are people out there flouting the laws, then they’re doing themselves a disservice and they’re doing the cuase of people on bicycles a disservice and the people on foot a disservice. Sadly, from time to time we need a reality check on what we’re doing."
Related Links:
Some of these links may be to sites outside the ABC and as such the ABC has no editorial control over such sites.
The Queensland Government's Road Safety website
http://www.roadsafety.qld.gov.au
Bicycle Queensland
http://www.bq.org.au
Pedestrian Council of Australia
http://www.walk.com.au/pedestriancouncil/page.asp?pageid=1647