New rules for cyclists in NSW - Safe passing distances, but massive fines as well....

redbruce said:
'Tis now. http://www.cambodiacycling.com/

Hopefully my next O/S (cycling) holiday.
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The roads in Cambodia are absolute chaos, I would really hope that the cycle routes are on the back roads as the website says! The main roads are shared by dogs, cattle, kids playing, people pushing carts, motorbikes, crap cars going slow, nice cars going fast and completely overloaded trucks! Static objects, unpredictable moving objects and others doing 100 km/h+ all mixed together...recipe for disaster!

Back on topic...good to see SMH getting more mileage out of this (insert sarcasm), some of the comments are very alarming!

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/nsw-c...t-others-are-bewildering-20151221-glsj4j.html
 
spoozbucket said:
So can we still ride four abreast and yell as loudly as we want at 6am on a Sunday? That's the bit I enjoy most about road riding.
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That's fine, keep it up. Meanwhile, the car that contains a young guy on his way to work is allowed by law to pass you on the gravel off the opposite side of the road.

Fuck roadies. The whole country is going fucking crazy. I'm driving safely inside my lane on my way to work / the pub / taking my mountain bike to a trail to ride and I'm expected by law to move into an oncoming lane and chance the risk of a head on with someone else who is driving along just so someone can get some fucking exercise on a bike? That's fucking shit. Now, don't for a second say that I should be aware and should just slow down and wait for the right time to pass the cyclist. I do that already, I'm not the problem as I am a very competent, safe and responsible driver. Not all roads are straight, you can't see ten feet around a bend on a hillside so there will be times that these stupid rules just won't apply to people with common sense.
Again, you shouldn't be allowed to cycle on a road that doesn't have enough room for a car or a truck to pass you without them needing to go into the other lane. I see no point in fucking about with this; we either need dedicated cycle lanes or nothing else. Mixing a scantily clad really slow moving object into a rock solid fast object can never be safe, regardless of what stupid idiot fucking laws are imposed.
 
Dozer said:
That's fine, keep it up. Meanwhile, the car that contains a young guy on his way to work is allowed by law to pass you on the gravel off the opposite side of the road.

Fuck roadies. The whole country is going fucking crazy. I'm driving safely inside my lane on my way to work / the pub / taking my mountain bike to a trail to ride and I'm expected by law to move into an oncoming lane and chance the risk of a head on with someone else who is driving along just so someone can get some fucking exercise on a bike? That's fucking shit. Now, don't for a second say that I should be aware and should just slow down and wait for the right time to pass the cyclist. I do that already, I'm not the problem as I am a very competent, safe and responsible driver. Not all roads are straight, you can't see ten feet around a bend on a hillside so there will be times that these stupid rules just won't apply to people with common sense.
Again, you shouldn't be allowed to cycle on a road that doesn't have enough room for a car or a truck to pass you without them needing to go into the other lane. I see no point in fucking about with this; we either need dedicated cycle lanes or nothing else. Mixing a scantily clad really slow moving object into a rock solid fast object can never be safe, regardless of what stupid idiot fucking laws are imposed.
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Some of the comments are indeed alarming... This is the main thing about Australian road culture - the automatic blaming of someone else...

Its really really simple - if you cant pass, don't pass. Suck it up princess and wait your bloody turn. If that means waiting a while, tough shit - life is hard and full of caravans, slow trucks, bicycles and really annoying things that impede progress like red lights and stop signs and queues of traffic. Only one of these things seems to be the end of civilisation for some folks...
 
Haakon said:
Some of the comments are indeed alarming... This is the main thing about Australian road culture - the automatic blaming of someone else...

Its really really simple - if you cant pass, don't pass. Suck it up princess and wait your bloody turn. If that means waiting a while, tough shit - life is hard and full of caravans, slow trucks, bicycles and really annoying things that impede progress like red lights and stop signs and queues of traffic. Only one of these things seems to be the end of civilisation for some folks...
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I don't pass until it's safe, I pointed that out. I'm the responsible one remember? What I'm eluding to is the rule makers are making this more dangerous for everyone on the road.
 
scblack said:
Looks like I might be wrong then.

cheers guys.
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Your role as president of the Andrew Bolt fan club has given you great practise at this...

bloodpuddle said:
Congratulations!

You win the prize for the stupidest comment ever made on any forum anywhere.
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Stick around long enough and something stupider will no doubt pop up.

MARKL said:
Sorry my mind wondered at scantily clad, what were you saying?
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Dozer said:
I was referring to dudes! :llama:
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So you're a closet wrestling fan Dozer?
mms_img-252976310.jpg
 
The meter rule has been out in QLD for quite a while now, I still haven't seen or heard of anyone being charged or fined for breaking it.
 
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Haakon said:
If I thought for a second the Police would equally and fairly enforce the 1 metre rule I would welcome this heartily.

However...
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It's not about prosecuting anybody who comes within 99 cm of a bike. Heaps of drivers escape penalties after causing crashes because of the vagueness of 'safe passing distance' currently in legislation. Minimum passing distances should change that and encourage people to consider safety when overtaking bikes.

All the passing distances do is allow cars to cross lines to leave a safe distance, which most do already. It's pretty simple stuff.
 
Dozer said:
Closet? Hell no! I love WWE! Well, I did in my youth anyway. Mind you, I thought Mick Foley's Dude Love character was lame. ;)
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I'm not familiar with the character, but he definitely looks a bit unusual. Why was he lame?
 
A mate of mine is a frequent bike commuter in QLD, he rides 50km+ per day in rush hour traffic. He has told me that the 1m rule in QLD has made an amazing difference to not only the way cars pass bikes, but the whole attitude and way cars and bikes interact.
 
Soul-Rider said:
A mate of mine is a frequent bike commuter in QLD, he rides 50km+ per day in rush hour traffic. He has told me that the 1m rule in QLD has made an amazing difference to not only the way cars pass bikes, but the whole attitude and way cars and bikes interact.
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Thats promising. Good to hear some positive feedback.
 
I don't commute as such, but I generally do 40-50k minimum or so a day on my roadbike.

I also try and stay off the busier roads, and am normally out very early (leaving 430-5am), but I must admit I think there has been an improvement in driver consideration since the 1m rule was introduced.

However a dangerous trend I have noticed are halfwits that overtake giving me a totally un-required 2m of space who then stay on the wrong side of the road for far far too long. One I saw recently nearly caused a head on as he was still totally on the wrong side of the road a good 200m after passing me and by then he was at the crest of a rise when a car coming the other way appeared. This isn't a one off either. I see several a week where I would have pulled back across a lot sooner.

I would be happy with someone giving me just say 75cm of space if I actually was sure they had seen me and weren't texting, half asleep, eating breakfast etc.

I do however think the 1m gap is good for more social type cyclists who may not spend as much time in traffic, even if it all it achieves is making drivers think slightly more about their passing attempt. Its ridiculous really that it even needs to be a 'law' The larger gap also gives you a bit of leeway if you are suddenly faced with a massive pothole or similar.

There are some monumentally dumb cyclists however. I was driving home the other night on a totally unlit back-road to come across two kids probably about 14 or so riding bikes going the other way with no lights, helmets or even reflectors. TBH if they had been knocked off it would have been almost entirely their fault, and no doubt the driver would have been dragged through the press by the parents.
 
Dozer said:
That's fine, keep it up. Meanwhile, the car that contains a young guy on his way to work is allowed by law to pass you on the gravel off the opposite side of the road.

Fuck roadies. The whole country is going fucking crazy. I'm driving safely inside my lane on my way to work / the pub / taking my mountain bike to a trail to ride and I'm expected by law to move into an oncoming lane and chance the risk of a head on with someone else who is driving along just so someone can get some fucking exercise on a bike? That's fucking shit. Now, don't for a second say that I should be aware and should just slow down and wait for the right time to pass the cyclist. I do that already, I'm not the problem as I am a very competent, safe and responsible driver. Not all roads are straight, you can't see ten feet around a bend on a hillside so there will be times that these stupid rules just won't apply to people with common sense.
Again, you shouldn't be allowed to cycle on a road that doesn't have enough room for a car or a truck to pass you without them needing to go into the other lane. I see no point in fucking about with this; we either need dedicated cycle lanes or nothing else. Mixing a scantily clad really slow moving object into a rock solid fast object can never be safe, regardless of what stupid idiot fucking laws are imposed.
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They might actually be going somewhere too. A bike is defined by law as a vehicle. It's expressly prohibited by law, with only a few exceptions, for bikes to ride on the footpath. It is therefore a legal requirement for bikes to use the road. so get off your fucking high horse and accept your responsibility to overtake in a safe manner, which means crossing to the next lane, and if necessary, slowing to wait until it is safe to do so. Simple fact: It is not safe to overtake without moving into the next lane to some extent; the lanes are simply not wide enough.
 
What needs to be made clear to dumb fuck drivers, is that if you are passing a cyclist and it's double lines but nothing is coming - give the cyclist plenty of room, and cross the double line you stupid fucking dangerous idiot!

I am so amazed how close people will drive to a human on a bike because they fear that touching a double line is worse than potentially running down and killing a cyclist.

I blame the police in some respect - they seemingly revel in the idea that people will do inordinately stupid things in order to feel they are within the law.
 
And before someone says "but my mom says it's illegal " - stop listening to your mum, read the road rules, and do it with a brain in your head

(Always some fool who won't pass the tractor on the road as well, for the same reason)
 
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