BTW, by my rough calculations, you are about 7 times more likely to get killed riding a bicycle over the same trip as you are driving a car.
But they never actually give you a useful statistic like that, instead the figures are manipulated to make cycling sound safer than it really is.
ema1,
Feb 1, 4:29am
Thing a lot of them don't understand given the 1.5 meters of room mentioned earlier is that when a large high sided truck goes by at anything above say 70-80km/h they will get affected by the suction effect of the truck going by. It's often felt when driving a car frequently ie. being lurched by wind/suction they generate as they go by in the opposite direction. Buggered if I'd run the risk on the open road anywhere of riding a bike.Nuff said. Straight roads you might say .aw yea they could well be safer but don't forget most traffic generally travels a lot faster on the straight roads.right!
ema1,
Feb 1, 4:29am
The thing is quite a lot of them don't seem to understand given the 1.5 meters of room mentioned earlier is that when a large high sided truck goes by at anything above say 70-80km/h they will get affected by the wind blast/suction effect of the truck going by. It's often felt frequently when driving a carie. being lurched by wind/suction trucks generate as they go by in the opposite direction. Buggered if I'd run the risk on the open road anywhere of riding a bike.Nuff Said. further more .I value my life and prefer to die of old age. Straight roads you might say .aw yea they could well be safer but don't forget most traffic generally travels a lot faster on the straight roads.right! But to cap it all off no matter what .the old rule applies .Drivers Beware.but how many actually are is more the point, that goes for both cyclists and vehicle drivers. I reckon the motto referring to driving speedsters is very true and rather poignant .You're A Long Time Dead So Whats The Hurry ! I have seen signs in various places reminding folks of that fact. Pity more drivers don't think seriously about those signs.
crosis_nz,
Feb 1, 4:30am
I accept what you say in principal, but playing devils advocate I would add a car would get a ticket for going too slow if they were interfering with traffic flows.
As I drive in a 100kph area where many road cyclists practice I am often held up by cyclists riding two or three abreast, or larger groups, doing way less than 100kph and I have never heard of one of them being charged.
Sadly you do also get hoons who brake late and gas around them and the drivers who are not paying attention and almost run into the back of you if you have slowed.
rpee,
Feb 1, 4:53am
Don't no why they ride two or even 3 abreast & yaking to each other. Just ride ya bloody bikes & in single file ! Then they all give ya the finger & shout 'F' word when you toot ya horn at them .
allan_mac,
Feb 1, 4:58am
Motorists should be allowed anywhere they please provided they obey EXACTLY the same road rules as other road users.
wrong2,
Feb 1, 5:28am
if you cannot manage to avoid hitting & killing people on the road, YOU shouldnt be allowed to drive or own a vehicle
i cannot believe attitudes of people today!
wrong2,
Feb 1, 5:30am
the road doesnt belong to you for your personal use just because you have paid a rego
prehaps being forced to do a spell on a bike is in order for your backwards attitude
woody89,
Feb 1, 5:53am
I think the point people are making is that some cyclists are ruining it and giving them a bad name by riding in an arrogant way (i.e not riding on the shoulder but well over the outside painted line, riding side by side with another cyclist where space is at a premium.
Being entitled to be on the road is not an excuse to be an idiot. Cycling on a public road is not a social sport.
Someone brought up paying fees like motorists do, yes they should - it costs a lot to make and maintain roads, and there are designated lanes for cyclists (I bet the motorists paid for them). But no that will never happen, i bet 90% of cyclists own a car so are already paying their fees.
I don't know why there are so many bitchy people standing up for them saying if we can't avoid them we shouldn't be driving, obviously we are talking about the minority of cyclists that show no common sense and like to take up half the road - that is not something everyone should have to expect around every corner, they shouldn't be riding like that in the first place. I can drive around happily at 100/110 and safely pass dozens of people riding on bikes, its the one where they ride side by side that annoy the heck out of me.
legaxy,
Feb 1, 5:59am
Your proposal would make riding up and down the country very difficult.How can you get from Auckland to Wellington without encountering a 100km/h road!
male_timaru,
Feb 1, 6:07am
Simple answer - YES
Longer answer - the lazier and lazier and more and more dependant upon vehicles human beings become the lower and lower the tolerance of cyclists!
Simple maths - get off LAZY butts and cycle more then more people will have more of an idea of how bad drivers are at being aware of cyclists!
lalbagh,
Feb 1, 8:06am
.imagines meeting cyclist on Tapu-Coroglen road or 309 road.and trying to give them 1.5m to pass without falling off other side of road.
mugenb20b,
Feb 1, 8:09am
*Facepalm*
How are contractors suppose to get their tools and equipment to work! How are courier drivers, milkmen, emergency services going to their jobs! On a bike.yeah right. Would you want to wake up at 3am to ride a bike to get to work on time 4 hours away!
oliver6,
Feb 1, 8:14am
How will that improve their safety !
mugenb20b,
Feb 1, 8:19am
Most will not want to pay rego, so in theory there should be less of them on the road. Less cyclists = less accidents.
male_timaru,
Feb 1, 8:22am
FACEPALM (even bigger)
I never said people should use their bikes for work vehicles
I was talking about people getting out on their bikes more - nothing to do with getting to and from work lol
Jump on my posts much for no reason other than don't like me!NOPE!
Read them a bit more - what i said was "cycle more then more people will have more of an idea of how bad drivers are at being aware of cyclists!"
maybe if you do you will understand the English they are written in you wouldn't write such moronic posts!lol!
rocky0169,
Feb 1, 8:23am
Nope. They more dnager to them selves than they are to motorist,s. saturday morning's we often find them 2- sometimes 3 or more wide hoging the lane heading towards whitford and other country area's. bloody dangerous when you driving a loaded truck and these people have little or no regard for road safety.
terckon,
Feb 1, 11:19am
Accidents happen usually because someone has made a bad judgement. Doesn't matter whether it is car vs car or car vs ditch, accidents happen. There are some precautions we can take to minimise the risks of an accident and from what I saw, some cyclists have no care for their lives and are not interested in minimising their risks and they are very quick to blame others for an accident. Just remember when you are cycling on an open road and you have a car vs cyclist, you are going to get hurt.
modie61,
Feb 1, 6:37pm
No the road doesnt belong to just me for my use,i have done years of cycling and it is too scary for me,i feel safer in my car,the speed difference is too great and i felt like a hazard. Note the kids bikes that they use to get to school still get checked by the Police to make sure they are fit for the road,do adults bikes get the same look over,for what its worth !
trogedon,
Feb 1, 6:41pm
It's nice to read some balanced replies from the Motoring forum (we must be missing some people!).
3tomany,
Feb 1, 6:58pm
its worse when they go racing on public roads, massive groups of bikes on the limits of traction sharing roads with motorists without closing the road. if you did that in a car all involved would be charged with careless driving
modie61,
Feb 1, 7:15pm
It will make them think before running a red light,if they can be detected by the cameras. Courier riders are bad for it,try being a bus driver in the city. Friggin scary stuff i tell you.
steve312,
Feb 1, 9:05pm
Something that has concerned me for years.
There is absolutely no obligation for cyclists to ensure their bikes are well maintained or checks to ensure the bikes are safe.Many of the competition bikes are capable of speeds well in excess of 50-60kmh but nothing to make sure they are fit to do so.
The other problems is the racing cyclists practicing on the open road, ducking and diving around each other without any consideration for the vehicles coming up behind them.That is a recipe for disaster for all involved.
steve312,
Feb 1, 9:26pm
I also wonder if as many of these lycra clad idiots would be so keen on flashing the bird at other motorists or blatantly breaking the law, if they were able to be identified through a licence plate.
thewomble1,
Feb 1, 11:57pm
Yes, just pull over and let the cyclist pass you.
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