Riding two abreast

In aus.bicycle on Wed, 8 Aug 2007 19:50:46 +0930

barry taylor said:

quote from the latest edition of 'Australian RoadRIDER:

"If I was to complain about something it would be pushbikes being ridden
side-by-side. It's very hard to slow a 68-tonne truck from 100km/h to
30km/h, but they have every right to be there as well.
I guess a new term for Volvo driver could be...lifetimewhingers...
Peter Pickrell etc
They don't have a right to be there, you know, Peter. Riding pushbikes
side-by-side is actually illegal.....The Bear"

is the motor cycling guru correct ?

in which state - if any - is this true ?

He's not correct when it comes to NSW. I think he might be in the NT.

Zebee

"Zebee Johnstone" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In aus.bicycle on Wed, 8 Aug 2007 19:50:46 +0930

barry taylor said:

quote from the latest edition of 'Australian RoadRIDER:

"If I was to complain about something it would be pushbikes being
ridden
side-by-side. It's very hard to slow a 68-tonne truck from 100km/h to
30km/h, but they have every right to be there as well.
I guess a new term for Volvo driver could be...lifetimewhingers...
Peter Pickrell etc
They don't have a right to be there, you know, Peter. Riding
pushbikes
side-by-side is actually illegal.....The Bear"

is the motor cycling guru correct ?

in which state - if any - is this true ?

He's not correct when it comes to NSW. I think he might be in the NT.

Zebee

ARR apply in all states with only minor mods so would think NT would be the
same as NSW, Vic etc. Road trains in my experience (rode from Adelaide to
Darwin once) generally pass a cyclists safely enough and will often cross
the centreline if nothing coming, so no problems if two abreast. But if
something is coming the other way even single file is dangerous, so best
option is to get off the road if you have the chance. Often difficult if
there is a rough edge or soft shoulder, as is typical on NT roads. The
drivers will give you a gentle toot when coming up behind and passing looks
ok but if the toot becomes loud and continuous its time to get out of the
way. Just hope the Army isn't coming the other way, as happened to us at
one stage. Had a very close shave with a road train catching us out coming
up behind just as we were over a crest and marvelling at a column of tanks
approaching. Trucks passing on inside bends can also be dangerous, as is the
second road train drafting the leader.

fb

barry taylor said:

quote from the latest edition of 'Australian RoadRIDER:

"If I was to complain about something it would be
pushbikes being ridden
side-by-side. It's very hard to slow a 68-tonne truck from
100km/h to 30km/h, but they have every right to be there as
well.
I guess a new term for Volvo driver could
be...lifetimewhingers...
Peter Pickrell etc
They don't have a right to be there, you know, Peter.
Riding pushbikes
side-by-side is actually illegal.....The Bear"

is the motor cycling guru correct ?

in which state - if any - is this true ?

You're allowed to ride beside one other rider anywhere in
Australia. This is enshrined in rule 151 of the Australian
Road Rules:

"151 Riding a motor bike or bicycle alongside more than
1 other rider

(1) The rider of a motor bike or bicycle must not ride on a road
that is not a multi-lane road alongside more than 1 other
rider, unless subrule (3) applies to the rider.

Offence provision.

Note Bicycle, motor bike and multi-lane road are defined in the
dictionary, and rider is defined in rule 17.

(2) The rider of a motor bike or bicycle must not ride in a
marked lane alongside more than 1 other rider in the marked
lane, unless subrule (3) applies to the rider.

Offence provision.

Note Marked lane is defined in the dictionary.

(3) The rider of a motor bike or bicycle may ride alongside more
than 1 other rider if the rider is:
(a) overtaking the other riders; or
(b) permitted to do so under another law of this jurisdiction.

Note Overtake is defined in the dictionary."

John

I said:

You're allowed to ride beside one other rider anywhere in
Australia. This is enshrined in rule 151 of the Australian
Road Rules:

For completelness, there's more to rule 151:

"(4) If the rider of a motor bike or bicycle is riding on a road
that is not a multi-lane road alongside another rider, or in a
marked lane alongside another rider in the marked lane, the
rider must ride not over 1.5 metres from the other rider.

Offence provision.

(5) In this rule:

road does not include a road-related area, but includes a
bicycle path, shared path and any shoulder of the road.

Note Bicycle path is defined in rule 239, road-related area is
defined in rule 13, shared path is defined in rule 242, and
shoulder is defined in rule 12."

John

John Henderson said:

You're allowed to ride beside one other rider anywhere in
Australia. This is enshrined in rule 151 of the Australian
Road Rules:

And I believe that a third rider can legally overtake you.

Terryc said:

John Henderson said:

You're allowed to ride beside one other rider anywhere in
Australia. This is enshrined in rule 151 of the Australian
Road Rules:

And I believe that a third rider can legally overtake you.

As I understand it, a bunch riding two abreast can overtake another
bunch riding two abreast (i.e., four riders across the lane). can anyone
elaborate or correct?

--
Bean
Remove "yourfinger" before replying

Bean Long said:

Terryc wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

And I believe that a third rider can legally overtake you.

Quoted message said:

As I understand it, a bunch riding two abreast can overtake another
bunch riding two abreast (i.e., four riders across the lane). can
anyone elaborate or correct?

I don't think so. I believe the rule specifically states that _a rider_ may
overtake two riders riding side by side. Not _a pair of riders_ or _a bunch
of riders_. The overtaking bunch would need to go single file. If there are
two lanes however....

Theo

quote='Bean Long'Terryc said:

John Henderson said:

You're allowed to ride beside one other rider anywhere in
Australia. This is enshrined in rule 151 of the Australian
Road Rules:

And I believe that a third rider can legally overtake you.

As I understand it, a bunch riding two abreast can overtake another
bunch riding two abreast (i.e., four riders across the lane). can anyone
elaborate or correct?
[/QUOTE]
No. You can't have four abreast in a lane at any time. You can have a file of riders overtaking riders riding two abreast, creating three abreast for the duration of the overtake, in the same lane.

If however it's a multi-lane road one group of riders is legally entitled to use the offside lane to overtake another group of riders riding two abreast. And riders are allowed to overtake those riders, potentially creating for the duration six abreast across two lanes. It could well be inconsiderate, it may well even be stupid, but it is legal as traffic rule 151 applies to each lane of a road and traffic rule 141 allows cyclists to overtake on the left and the right (from memory).

On Aug 10, 3:39 pm, EuanB <EuanB.2v3...@no-

mx.forums.cyclingforums.com said:

Bean Long said:

Terryc said:

John Henderson wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> You're allowed to ride beside one other rider anywhere in
> Australia. This is enshrined in rule 151 of the Australian
> Road Rules:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

And I believe that a third rider can legally overtake you.

Quoted message said:

As I understand it, a bunch riding two abreast can overtake another
bunch riding two abreast (i.e., four riders across the lane). can
anyone
elaborate or correct?

No. You can't have four abreast in a lane at any time. You can have a
file of riders overtaking riders riding two abreast, creating three
abreast for the duration of the overtake, in the same lane.

If however it's a multi-lane road one group of riders is legally
entitled to use the offside lane to overtake another group of riders
riding two abreast. And riders are allowed to overtake those riders,
potentially creating for the duration six abreast across two lanes. It
could well be inconsiderate, it may well even be stupid, but it is legal
as traffic rule 151 applies to each lane of a road and traffic rule 141
allows cyclists to overtake on the left and the right (from memory).

--
EuanB- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hmmm, interesting (steepling fingers). Can anyone clarify the rules
for an approved club race run on open roads? Is it the same, ie two
abreast except when overtaking?

Simon said:

Hmmm, interesting (steepling fingers). Can anyone clarify the rules
for an approved club race run on open roads? Is it the same, ie two
abreast except when overtaking?

It's a good question Simon... I'm sure if you delve deep into the
Australian Road Rules pages you'll find something that simply states
that racing of vehicles on open roads is an offence (without mention of
sanctioned use of roads by regulatory bodies). It probably doesn't
define which sort of vehicle but I'm sure that a prosecuting lawyer
could define a bike as such in the right (or wrong) circumstances!? :-)
My guess is it's a grey area that hasn't been legislated for.

--
Bean

Remove "yourfinger" before replying

Bean Long said:

define which sort of vehicle but I'm sure that a prosecuting lawyer
could define a bike as such in the right (or wrong) circumstances!? :-)
My guess is it's a grey area that hasn't been legislated for.

--
Bean

We'd better make sure we're doing all the right things lest we end up
on the wrong side of any future legislation.

Bean Long said:

Simon said:

Hmmm, interesting (steepling fingers). Can anyone clarify the rules
for an approved club race run on open roads? Is it the same, ie two
abreast except when overtaking?

It's a good question Simon... I'm sure if you delve deep into the
Australian Road Rules pages you'll find something that simply states
that racing of vehicles on open roads is an offence (without mention of
sanctioned use of roads by regulatory bodies). It probably doesn't
define which sort of vehicle but I'm sure that a prosecuting lawyer
could define a bike as such in the right (or wrong) circumstances!? :-)
My guess is it's a grey area that hasn't been legislated for.

In Western Australia you need a "suspension of road rules" permit. The
police will suspend SOME road rules. They will allow you to race, but
you can't ride on the right hand side of the road and you must wear a
helmet and so on.

Dorfus

quote='Bean Long'Simon said:

Hmmm, interesting (steepling fingers). Can anyone clarify the rules
for an approved club race run on open roads? Is it the same, ie two
abreast except when overtaking?

It's a good question Simon... I'm sure if you delve deep into the
Australian Road Rules pages you'll find something that simply states
that racing of vehicles on open roads is an offence[/QUOTE]
You don't have to dig too deeply, it's covered in part 11 from memory which concerns overtaking. Basically if another road user speeds up whilst being overtaken, that road user has commited an offence.

EuanB said:

Bean Long said:

Simon said:

Hmmm, interesting (steepling fingers). Can anyone clarify the rules
for an approved club race run on open roads? Is it the same, ie two
abreast except when overtaking?

It's a good question Simon... I'm sure if you delve deep into the
Australian Road Rules pages you'll find something that simply states
that racing of vehicles on open roads is an offence

You don't have to dig too deeply, it's covered in part 11 from memory
which concerns overtaking. Basically if another road user speeds up
whilst being overtaken, that road user has commited an offence.

Simply fixed... right lane pace line!

--
Bean

Remove "yourfinger" before replying

quote='Bean Long'EuanB said:

Bean Long said:

Simon said:

Hmmm, interesting (steepling fingers). Can anyone clarify the rules
for an approved club race run on open roads? Is it the same, ie two
abreast except when overtaking?

It's a good question Simon... I'm sure if you delve deep into the
Australian Road Rules pages you'll find something that simply states
that racing of vehicles on open roads is an offence

You don't have to dig too deeply, it's covered in part 11 from memory
which concerns overtaking. Basically if another road user speeds up
whilst being overtaken, that road user has commited an offence.

Simply fixed... right lane pace line![/QUOTE]
Bingo. Ah you've gotta love cycling :-)