New push bike laws
- Thread starter Pa1nter
- Start date
I mainly want a number plate to be displayed on the bike so you have some means of recourse if they do something wrong. And of course it would allow them to be fined by the police if they do something wrong.
Maybe lifetime registration could be introduced for a one-off fee like with dogs?
Maybe lifetime registration could be introduced for a one-off fee like with dogs?
We have to register our dog each year. If this can happen for about $40 why can't a bike system be administered for a similar fee? We get a little tag for the dog, so a small ID plate could be issued for a bike.
Along with registration should be education like getting a learners permit. IMO a child getting collected when crossing the road is a result of a lack of education and poor parenting. These days most parents wouldn't dream of letting their kids ride to school.. a parent that does should drill into their child they must ride on the footpath and dismount when crossing at an intersection - as per the road rules.
I'm more than happy to pay $100 rego for riding my bike as it puts to rest the bogan motorists stupid argument. It should also command a bit more respect from motorists since I'm identifiable in case I break the law.. After a few years the government can make rego renewal free considering the massive cost savings each cyclist makes as apposed to driving a car.
As a simple test of how well motorists know the road rules, pop over to the WAPOL facebook page. A couple of cyclists were accidentally run over by a motorist. The response? "get of the road", "serves them right", "should not have been riding two abreast" etc. In WA it is legal for cyclists to ride two abreast. The funny thing is that some are saying "ride on the footpath", which is illegal in WA for an adult, and others are saying "get off the footpath".
On my daily commute I see motorists:
-fail to give way at roundabouts (to other cars)
-fail to give way at give way signs
-speed
-run red lights
-change lanes without indicating... etc
Driving a registered vehicle does not stop motorists from breaking the law. Many drivers with a current driver's licence are ignorant of the law, choose to disregard the law or both.
What about a pedestrian that crosses the road illegally? Should they be registered and have a number plate so they can be fined by the police if they do something wrong?
How about skateboarders or inline skaters? They are just as capable of breaking the law as cyclists, can go fast enough to crash and die and don't have to wear a helmet (unlike cyclists). I call for registration for all skateboarders and inline skaters so they can be fined by the police if they do something wrong.
I don't know about in Perth, but here in Canberra I barely see any skateboarders, and if I do they're usually at a skateboarding park or on the footpath. So to me, that's not a valid argument.
As for pedestrians, I don't regularly get cut-off by them, see them run red lights when it's clearly very dangerous for either them or a vehicle coming towards them, but I see all this happen with cyclists everyday.
As for pedestrians, I don't regularly get cut-off by them, see them run red lights when it's clearly very dangerous for either them or a vehicle coming towards them, but I see all this happen with cyclists everyday.
Lame argument.. Motorists aren't concerned about cyclists "crossing roads illegally" nearly as much as failing to indicate, running red lights, failing to give way - rules we are supposed to comply with since we're regarded as vehicles.
Suppose there was registration for bikes, and some type of number plate fitted (remembering also it will probably be an 8 digit/numerical plate due to sheer volume of bikes;
How many people would actually call up the police? You claim you only see cyclist break the law, but we all know that there are a magnitude of motorists who break the law;
How many motorists do you see on mobile phones at lights, fail to indicate, can't use a roundabout properly, make dangerous maneuvers, speed past you on the highway etc
I guess those here lobbying for cyclist registration already regularly call the police when they see these types of behaviours by motorists and cyclist registration would just be an add on to their already diligence of reporting all road traffic crime! You have no excuse if you don't - all vehicles have these magical registration plates that make them identifiable.
Yeah, and pigs will fly!
pinkboy
How many people would actually call up the police? You claim you only see cyclist break the law, but we all know that there are a magnitude of motorists who break the law;
How many motorists do you see on mobile phones at lights, fail to indicate, can't use a roundabout properly, make dangerous maneuvers, speed past you on the highway etc
I guess those here lobbying for cyclist registration already regularly call the police when they see these types of behaviours by motorists and cyclist registration would just be an add on to their already diligence of reporting all road traffic crime! You have no excuse if you don't - all vehicles have these magical registration plates that make them identifiable.
Yeah, and pigs will fly!
pinkboy
The main intersection on my daily commute is exactly this situation. A shared path that crosses a road. To cross illegally, pedestrians and some cyclists run a red light. Most cyclists and pedestrians wait for the green to cross but some choose to break the law and run the red. I have seen both peds and cyclists come very close to being struck by motor vehicles. In these types of arguments, it doesn't seem to bother motorists that pedestrians put themselves and other road users at risk by running the red and breaking the law. It's just cyclists that cop the vitriol. Hitting a pedestrian will damage your car too. I have seen it happen and the damage was pretty bad.
Interestingly at the same intersection, it is much more common for motorists to run the red light, almost cleaning up cyclists crossing on the green on a daily basis. Now, these drivers pay rego and have licences *. Why don't they obey the road rules then?
* I know that motorists also drive unregistered vehicles and drive without a licence but presumably the majority will have both a registered vehicle and a valid drivers licence.
Difference is that a bad driver is identifiable but a bad cyclist is not.
I would be more than happy to pay and have some form of tag on my bike so that I may be identified and think it would do a lot to steer these discussions to a more meaningful direction.
Do I think that people will take note of it and ring in a complaint? As per Pinkboys sentiments no I don't.
Do I think the police would act? I hope they would act the same as when I make a complaint against a motorist and they would tell you there is nothing they can (will) do.
Do I think it would stop a tragic number of cyclist being run down from behind? Certainly not.
Do I think it would take away this (in my view meaningless) facet of the discussion and make us focus on sharing the road in a more civilized fashion and consider cyclist more when building new roads? Sure do.
In the event of a cyclist causing an accident or injuring someone (as happened to me), it would certainly be worth reporting to police.
Yes, there are uncaring motorists out there, but cyclists are not always the innocent party.
Marg
How does that make any difference? Being identifiable does not stop motorists breaking the law at this particular intersection. It does not stop them from nearly running over cyclists or pedestrians.
Also, a cyclist is identifiable when pulled over by police. They can and do get fined. A bad cyclist is absolutely identifiable.
Even if the cyclist had a plate, how good do you think you could recall it as they rode away? You couldn't even recall the make and model of the bike (which are a very prominent feature by all accounts - my Colnago has 'Colnago' decals no less than a dozen times), colour of bike, helmet type/colour, rim type etc. You think you will magically be able to read a plate with tiny digits/numerals?
All you could recall was a man with a middle finger - and we all have 2 of those!
pinkboy
Every time I leave the house I see motorists, cyclists and pedestrians breaking the road rules. I don't think there are any innocent parties.
The worst drivers for me are the "text and drive" drivers. They are no more identifiable than cyclists in terms of speeding or red light cameras. They only get a fine if they get directly caught texting and driving by police. Rego for cyclists will not stop motorists from texting and driving. Maybe they need to invent a "text and drive" camera to make the roads safer.
Want to know what's more alarming than texting drivers?
My mate I ride with is a Coroner, and he is seeing an increase in fatal accidents where the driver has been distracted by using their phone, and running off the road and killing themselves and/or other innocent drivers while on Facebook, viewing a YouTube clip, and even pornography. Imagine explaining those to the families!
It has been discussed between ourselves before - some type of scrambling device for drivers mobile phones so they can't operate the vehicle unless it's scrambled. Pretty hard to implement, but I'm sure it can be done!
pinkboy
I don't think it's a valid point to argue, that because some motorists disobey the law, then there should be no education, training or enforcement for bicycle riders. What I was suggesting was that young people especially, who have no knowledge of road rules and how to stay safe, should have some sort of education on riding on the road safely.
Increased regulation and enforcement for cars has increased road safety in this country. In 1970, there were as many people killed on the roads in Victoria alone as there were in the whole of Australia. This despite a much bigger population and an even bigger car ownership and distance driven. Some of this is to do with safer cars- but there is a lot to do with better rules. People now must wear seatbelts. Drinking and driving has become a much smaller factor in road accidents. In 1970, there was no random breath testing- it was a common attitude amongst my peers that it was OK to drive despite having had a few drinks, as you would only get into trouble if you had an accident. Speeding enforcement has increased tremendously- and in fact, at that stage, there was ni upper limit on the open highway.
Increased regulation and enforcement has made for safer roads.
Yes, many people are breaking rules, and too many people are being killed and injured still.
Undoubtedly there needs to be education and enforcement of a new hazard which didn't exist in 1970- texting or phoning while driving. That hasn't become completely unacceptable to many in the way that drinking and driving has become unacceptable.
8Fold has said that there were 65 cyclists killed in 2013. That means something still has to be done.
Undoubtedly, there are faults on both sides.
But while there are still people being killed on bicycles, I don't see that there is anything wrong with educating younger cyclists.
Registration of bicycles is not a magic bullet. But registration and enforcement will perhaps go towards making the more irresponsible cyclists a little more accountable for their actions. A cyclist who knows that people have been fined for crossing roads against a red light, and who knows that their bike is identifiable, is perhaps just that little less likely to cross that road dangerously.
Registration goes towards creating accountability- anonimity lessens that accountability.
I agree with you on educating younger cyclists. Parents and schools both need to take responsibility for this. If students had cycle training all through school and had cycling experience on the roads, it might make them be more considerate as motorists.
Registration doesn't work for cars in terms of speeding, texting, facebooking, failing to give way, running red lights and changing lanes without indicating, so I doubt it will work for cyclists. I would like to see if a police crackdown would work. At the bad intersection on my daily commute I would love to see police stopping and fining any motorist, cyclist or pedestrian that breaks the law.
One rego per person should do.. About the size of a motorbike rego tag.
For example I have 3 bikes. For the commuter I could have the tag fixed to the pouch under the seat. For the weekend bike and tt bike I could pin a bib to the back of my jersey like they do in races. This can be funded by the government... congestion charge for cars coming into the cbd anyone?
I covered this in my first post. These days video footage needs to be documented of the event for police to follow through. Type of vehicle is irrelevant.
Who made this claim? nobody in this thread..
ok.. more whinging.. got it.
Look, I'm sure you could come up with a hundred other points to debunk rego for cyclists but your attitude is coming across as -
I want equal rights on the road.
I want to be treated as every other vehicle.
I do not want to be identifiable like every other motorist must be.
I do not want to be (as a novice coming onto the road) educated about the road rules relevant to a cyclist.
Sounds like the selfish, self entitlement attitude rife in bogan motorists that want cyclists off the road.
