Australia needs road rules to protect cyclists

[Aushiker]

It’s time the Australian commuting public were offered alternatives to the one-passenger-per-vehicle madness of our current road network. More bike lanes means an increased numbers of cyclists and commuters which naturally leads to fewer cars on our roads and less congestion. Everyone’s a winner. If there was suitable infrastructure in place along this regular cycling route in Sydney, we can be confident six cyclists would have arrived home to spend the rest of the weekend with their families. To enact “a-metre-matters” legislation at least addresses one known cause of many accidents between bikes and cars. A simple act to enforce the rights cyclists have to safe passage. It’s not an instant fix, but it is the first stage on a re-education program for we motorists. It’s certainly better than having to watch video footage treating cyclists as nothing more than annoying obstacles to dangerous drivers and passengers.

Source: The Guardian Andrew

 

[sokorny]

Personally the only solution that will work, IMO, is physical barriers between cars and bikes or reducing the number of cars on the road. See most European countries.

 

[Dora M]

Yes, there is a lot of animosity between cyclists and car drivers in Australia. When I lived in the far north of Australia, I had several near brushes with death due to some egocentric individuals in huge 4WD's regarding me as some kind of "f.....g hippie" on "their" road, taking up valuable space that, in their minds, is designated for racing.
There are many heavy debates about this issue in Australia, and all I can say is that I hope good solutions will be found, so that less white painted bikes decorated with flowers will appear alongside the many dangerous roads...