Recreational cyclists

[BlackAndWhiteSince87]

Just an idea for anyone who cycles down Nepean Highway,from Mordialloc down to Carrum-USE THE STATION ST BIKE LANE!
I am so sick of nearly hitting cyclists on Nepean Highway...and the ones who ride 2 or 3 a breast...I swear one day,someone is going to come off second best and I don't think it'll be my car!

[stui magpie]

Bike riding is not my thing. I can appreciate and sympathise with those who want to get fit, cycle for fun and recreation etc, but a couple of things get forgotton by some.

the roads were built for cars. They're being modified to cater for cycles in lots of cases by the additions of bike lanes, but lots aren't and when cyclists block lanes and slow down car traffic they're not popular.

To the d1ckheads who ride several abreast, taking up car lanes, running red lights and ignoring road rules except to sook when cars get too close, you're in the running for a darwin award. Get out of the gene pool and stay out.

[John Wren]

[watt price tully]

Great programme this morning on am Radio - Radio National about cycling & roads etc. on the "Background Briefing programme. it's repeated on Tuesday Evening about 7 or 7.30 pm I think.
Here is a link to the programme .

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/backgroundbriefing/stories/2010/2769072.htm

[Culprit]

Had a group of cyclists abuse me for just missing them as they rode through a red light. Caught up with them again at another red light which they ignored and proceeded to go through once again. Abusing motorists as they went along. All of a sudden a car did not give way to them and the leader of the pack braked hard and pulled up in time but the rest all ran in the back of each other. Bloody hilarious and KARMA!!

[John Wren]

[David]

Little man syndrome on wheels.

[London Dave]

[watt price tully]

Article in The Age today about local councils in the Beach Road vicinity banning parking between about 6am & 10 or 12 midday on weekends.
SEN Kevn Bartlett had a former cyclist on who was hit by a truck & made paraplegic I think some years ago on beach Road. He was also featured on the link I posted the other week - Background briefing on 3AR sorry, Radio National am radio 621. Unfortunatley, I was mowing the lawn on this f....'n hot day so I missed KB's voice.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/bay-parking-ban-pumps-cyclists-deflates-residents-20100209-npqp.html

http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2010/01/bbg_20100131.mp3

[watt price tully]

Jump in the number of doorings of cyclists:

From Bicycle Victoria on line read:

Opportunity knocks for dooring campaign
9 January 2012. Two Thousand and Twelve is shaping up as the Year of the Door, with growing media and community interest in the dooring issue ahead the Operation Door Knock campaign which rolls out in the coming months.

Operation Door Knock is a response to the rise in doorings which suddenly spiked in 2009 and 2010.

Preliminary research for the campaign is due to get underway soon, to be followed by a series of road user engagement exercises on Melbourne streets focused on drivers and riders.

The operation is a joint venture of Bicycle Network Victoria and Road Safe Action Group - Inner Melbourne (RSAG-IM), together with Victoria Police and VicRoads.

The Coroners Inquest late last year into the tragic death of James Cross in Hawthorn in 2010 seems to have triggered a new level of awareness of the problem across the community. See The Age feature.

The Coroner was told that the rate of doorings had increased dramatically, reaching 171 in 2009 and 161 in 2010. In nearly all the recorded crashes there was an injury of some kind.

The trend is also reflected in Bicycle Network's own membership crash data, which shows doorings doubling in a year.

Dooring made the media again in late December when the Chief Officer of the CFA, Euan Ferguson, had a door opened on him while riding on Riversdale Road at Hawthorn on Christmas Eve, breaking his hand.

It is also expected that the long-awaited VicRoads campaign aimed at improving driver-rider awareness will kick off next month, and may further highlight the dooring issue, among others.

The Door Knock campaign this year will test a number of initiatives aimed at making drivers more aware of the likelihood of riders on the street, and the of the need to be mindful when opening doors.

One behaviour change concept being looked at is to develop in drivers the habit of opening the door with the left, or inside hand. This method, taught to drivers in several European countries, has apparently been successful as it forces drivers to swivel in their seats and positions them to look for bikes, as well as restricting the initial arc of the opening door.

A dooring is always the fault of the driver, but there are measures riders can take to manage the risk and prevent injury. The campaign will also remind riders, especially those new to commuting, to stay out of the door zone so as to reduce the chance of being surprised by an opening door.

Door Knock will probably start in locations in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, St Kilda Road and Chapel Street.

For further information on the car door issue see here.


http://theprojecttv.com.au/video.htm?movideo_p=39696&movideo_m=154332

[Nick - Pie Man]

[Doc63]

[David]

[think positive]

[stui magpie]