The code is not law. Law says you cannot pass another vehicle until there is clear road available to it safely.
purplegoat,
Dec 12, 4:10am
Cyclist was not riding in the middle of the road as you claim There are 3 lanes heading in the direction the cyclist was travelling and cyclist was travelling in the left lane This is perfectly legal and often the safest way to ride It should be noted this happened well after midnight so traffic would have been light and the chump in his big SUV could have simply moved into the other lanes to pass safely . instead he had to be a knob and got caught out for it personally i hope he loses his license and then his job as a bus driver
esprit,
Dec 12, 4:11am
In my experience someone who rides with three cameras on their bikes has them because they ride like a sanctimonious, passive aggressive assrake. Guy was riding like a twat and deserved everything he got.
purplegoat,
Dec 12, 4:12am
if you had bothered to click further in the 2nd link you posted you would have found this
QUOTE
If the road is too narrow to safely allow vehicles to pass, you are in danger of being run off the road or hit by a passing car. In this situation it is acceptable to ???take the lane??
purplegoat,
Dec 12, 4:14am
So you were there or have seen the video footage have you ? judge saw the video footage and made it quite clear the motorist was at fault . But hey dont let the facts get in the way of you venting your hatred towards cyclists
richardmayes,
Dec 12, 4:17am
All I ever do is ride my bike in the middle of the lane at 28km/h, and for some reason people keep getting mad at me! I can't understand it!
brapbrap8,
Dec 12, 4:20am
Hard to judge the distance from where he was riding, to the parked cars. It is certainly a good idea to keep a safe distance from parked cars though, so I think the cyclist was correct, especially as the motorist could easily move into the next lane to pass.
2get1,
Dec 12, 4:39am
really, speaks more to your mindset than anything else. do you have the same views of the dash cams in trucks and the CCTV in taxi's ?
I would say as a very experienced cyclist myself, that perhaps he has the cameras as he is sick to death of all the close calls and now records them for evidence to make available to the appropriate authority. Also hard to jot down a offending car reg number on a bike, camera would capture all that and the behaviour.
Hardly a week goes by when I don't have a close call of one sort or another only my solo bike. But in the years and thousands of km's Ive done on a tandem as the pilot, not a single close call. probably the novelty aspect for a lot of drivers. Nothing to do with visability (other than size) as I wear the same gear and use the same lights on both the tandem and my solo bike.
claudek9,
Dec 12, 5:09am
Whenever i see a tandem bike i think of "bears on wheels."
ryanm2,
Dec 12, 5:36am
The cyclist was riding in the middle of the road. I dont agree with what the driver of the "big SUV" did, but why wasn't the cyclist on the left side of the road? , allowing "big SUV" and others to pass? Is there no common sense left in the world (from both parties).
ryanm2,
Dec 12, 5:37am
looked like an empty bus lane to the left of the cyclist.
ryanm2,
Dec 12, 5:48am
i watched the video again - the cyclist was clearly not to the left. He had no need to take the lane as he did. I cycle too, a lot. Both parties need to be courteous as even if im in the right on the bike , if i get hit , I will be the one in pain or killed. You cant be overly self righteous or proud of yourself when you are 6 feet under.
2get1,
Dec 12, 5:51am
bears ? even when its a guy and girl lol
loose.unit8,
Dec 12, 5:58am
That was what the car driver argued
purplegoat,
Dec 12, 6:00am
Only the cyclist who was there would know which was the safest option . The cyclist felt that was the safest option which was backed up the judge The chump in the SUV was simply a aggressive knob who got caught out
PS . I don'nt know any cyclists who will deliberately ride unsafe just to piss motorists off.
loose.unit8,
Dec 12, 6:07am
Maybe not but I know some cyclists who choose to not use cycle lanes because of the increased debris and chance of punctures. Instead, they choose to ride within the car lane and piss people off.
clark20,
Dec 12, 6:13am
I don't know any either thankfully but have witnessed a few
dr.doolittle,
Dec 12, 6:22am
The driver of the "SUV" was a bus driver. In my experience, bus drivers dont even like cyclists to use the 'bus lane'.
purplegoat,
Dec 12, 6:30am
Which is an unfortunate byproduct of most councils pisspoor attitude to cycling infrastructure . With good quality road bike tyres close to $100 a pop i wont ride in so called cycle lanes that are filled with debris either A classic example of that is the so called cycle lane along side the Hutt Motorway . absolutely fill of debris of the adjacent motorway
medcare,
Dec 12, 6:33am
Mr Emet could easily have been a tad more considerate and moved a little to the left and been less of a hindrance.
The traffic volumes are irrelevant, because if all 3 lanes had been full with heavy traffic, would he still have chosen to block all cars from passing him in the inside line ?
In another article Mr Emet said the vast majority of drivers are considerate but he " had used camera footage over a dozen times to provide evidence of traffic infringements. "
If Mr Emet had situational awareness he would have known he was taking off from a traffic light (at midnight) he would have known there were only 1-2 cars behind him, so for a short period of time he could have stayed as reasonable as practical to the left, including using the bus lane, until the 1-2 cars had passed then he could have merrily sat in the middle of whatever lane he wanted to.
If the SUV had a dash cam, I think it would show that for the initial 100-200m there was ample room for Mr Emet to have used the bus lane with no cars in his way.
If you look at Mr Emet's shadow in the video he stays close to the middle of the lane in an area where he could have pulled to the left, he aggressively jabs his arm out demanding the driver move into the other lane.
So despite the vast majority of drivers being considerate he rides unnecessarily close to the middle of a traffic lane with 3 cameras and has made a dozen other complaints,
The SUV driver should not have swerved towards Mr Emet, but Mr Emet contributed to the problem by causing an unnecessary and dangerous obstruction by taking up as much room as he chose to do.
There certainly seems to be an element of 'baiting' involved.
thisles5,
Dec 12, 6:38am
this ! its like ive got right of way at a pedestrian crossing, but i dont jump out in front of the cars. i might be right, but i will be just as dead. the guys a prick.
2get1,
Dec 12, 6:39am
theyre legally entitled to ride in the "car" lanes as you put them, I thought a road was a road, for all road users, not a specified group "car lane"
if the cycle lane is as most are, full of rubbish, broken glass swept there by towies, rocks, pot holes and the like, that's the fault of the council and no cyclist will use them. That one along the wellington / hutt motorway to Petone is a classic example. Covered in rocks from the sea, broken glass and all manner of crap just gets swept onto it after crashes, its pot holed to hell and back. You are mad if you do actually use it. Ive seen jogger choose not to use it due to how bad it is.
cammey,
Dec 12, 6:42am
Possibly. But in my experience, all that does is invite a motorist to pass without allowing adequate room.
The NZ driver, seems to assume that if his lane is blocked by a slow moving vehicle like a tractor, that he can simply move into the other lane to pass, and approaching traffic will simply melt away.
However, if the slow vehicle is small, he assumes that he can simply barge past, without any regard to the person he is passing. Based no doubt on the terrible "hold up" the slow vehicle is causing.
NZ drivers are the problem. Poorly skilled, arrogant, and intolerant of anyone on "their" road going slower than they deem is safe.
headcat,
Dec 12, 6:42am
Cyclist vs SUV, Which dick is worse? What a conundrum.
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