New push bike laws

First of all I want to say that everyone should be able to ride a bike if they feel they want to,but I will also say that it should be done with safety and with concern for the faster moving motorist that is bigger and faster than they are.
There are road rules that we all have to follow to make sure we get home to our family's.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/...er-proposed-laws/story-fnihsrf2-1226770826919

This is a clip from my vehicle on Sunday morning past around 6am in the morning on Brisbane's North-side.All I can say is if someone hit these bike riders,it could ruin their life (If they didn't have a dash cam)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeM169kcwCs&list=UUWFRLjC12F51Z6Q21RddNfg
 
I say, pay rego or get off the road. They cannot be held accountable if they do something wrong, which I would say the majority do (not stopping at stop signs/pedestrian signs/running red lights/moving between pedestrian paths and roadways/being a nuisance).
 
The article states that bicyclists will be allowed in some circumstances under the proposed new laws not to wear helmets. To me this is craziness.

It does state that bicyclists under the laws will be required to pay the same fine for breaking a law as a car driver. I think that's fair. Many of us have seen so many cyclists disobeying the law in regard to traffic lights especially.
 
The article states that bicyclists will be allowed in some circumstances under the proposed new laws not to wear helmets. To me this is craziness.

It does state that bicyclists under the laws will be required to pay the same fine for breaking a law as a car driver. I think that's fair. Many of us have seen so many cyclists disobeying the law in regard to traffic lights especially.
This is where the problem starts,these bicycles know they can run the lights and have no consequences as they have no number plates to identify them with.
Another problem I see in this video is the use of foot clips on the road,these hinder the bike rider harder to stop and put his foot down.
Our roads are getting smaller as they put green bike-ways everywhere,the bike lanes are as big if not bigger than the same lane I have to drive my truck on.
 
I'm a cyclist that commutes to/from work every day (on a few main roads) and I have to agree with the rego point. If it means we get respect from all motorists then I'm more than happy to invest a few hundred dollars for my safety.

These days enforcing the law comes down to capturing the video footage. So cyclists should be identifiable..

In my opinion 99% of motorists are courteous to cyclists. About 70% of cyclists follow the road rules, so it's the 30% ignorant cyclists that antagonise the 1% crazy motorists which makes all cyclists a target. Bring in rego for cyclists!!
 
Rego for cyclists wouldn't have to be a full rego at the same cost as cars. Rego pays for road costs, and cars inflict far more damage and require a lot more space than cars. A small cost to cover processing and a small set of plates would be all that was necessary.

Mind you it wouldn't go down too well with cyclists.
 
The "provision to allow motorists to cross double white lines" is the bit that scares the carp out of me. I really do NOT want to encounter a truck (or car) on a road that has a speed limit of 80k and double white lines.

I think there needs to be rego for Id purposes. I am seriously considering installing dash cams on both the work utes.

Painter, what is your unit, how much did it cost and how long does it record for?
 
Bike penalty a clanger: mayor

Fremantle mayor Brad Pettitt fears overzealous policing may be discouraging people from riding bikes.

Dr Pettitt's comments come after an environmental scientist was fined $50 for not having a bell on his bike while riding down a Fremantle street on Friday night.

James Dolin, 24, was riding to visit a friend when he was stopped by two police officers on bikes.

He was fined for not wearing a helmet or having a light on his bike - offences he acknowledges deserved punishment.

Unusual to see the police pick up someone one a bike re helmets as they had stated they wouldn't enforce it? Must've been the light and bell issue?
 
the bike lanes are as big if not bigger than the same lane I have to drive my truck on.

No they aren't, they're not even half the size.

Look, bike riders have just as much right to use the road as you do. If you don't like it, don't use the road. I freely admit that sometimes I'm a little bit reckless on my bike and I take full responsibility for that, but I can tell you mate, some car drivers have absolutely no regard for bike riders (having said that, most do, which is great). The amount of times I've had cars cut right in front of me, thereby putting my life at risk is ridiculous.
 
Why do so many bicycle riders, where there is a dedicated bicycle path off the road (Canberra has an excellent network of bike paths) choose to ride on the road?
 
Or parents who have to register their kids bikes and especially people who only ride a bike very occasionally.

You would think the rego fees would be scaled in the same way as other vehicles/bikes/trailers ie. under 60cc motorcycle rego is cheaper by hundreds of dollars per year, compared to a motorcycle with an engine capacity of over 500cc.

On that formula multiple bike regos would still be less than one car or large motorcycle rego. Hardly an outrageous amount for bike riders if they are to share the same responsibility and rights as other road users.
 
Why do so many bicycle riders, where there is a dedicated bicycle path off the road (Canberra has an excellent network of bike paths) choose to ride on the road?

Because sometime it dangerous for other slower users or walkers of that path. Beach rd in melb is a prime example, if I pushed reasonably hard it's not out of the question for my middle aged body to move at 35kmh on the flat. That speed with slow peds or kids and dogs doesn't mix well
 
You would think the rego fees would be scaled in the same way as other vehicles/bikes/trailers ie. under 60cc motorcycle rego is cheaper by hundreds of dollars per year, compared to a motorcycle with an engine capacity of over 500cc.

On that formula multiple bike regos would still be less than one car or large motorcycle rego.

My car rego is around $900pa. So what would bike rego be? $50? $100? - Couldn't be less, or it would cost more to administer that it brings in. An adult who uses a bike as transport, or serious fitness would undoubtedly pay that.

But what about kids and adults who use a bike for recreation? So will a family of four pay $200-400 pa to register their bikes for occasional use?

Hardly an outrageous amount for bike riders if they are to share the same responsibility and rights as other road users.

Bike riders have virtually the same rights and responsibilities as other road users currently (increasing fines for bikes to be commensurate with motor vehicles will correct an anomaly).

Enforcement of the rules? Bikes are highly unlikely to be caught by automatic detection systems. They're highly unlikely to pass through a speed camera at enough speed and get fined and just as unlikely to be detected by a red light camera. So registering them would make no difference. Registering them would also make no difference for police to manually enforce regulations.

So IMO it comes down to "why should bikes get free road access"?
 
http://www.smh.com.au/executive-sty...sts-should-never-pay-rego-20120614-20bk6.html

^^ That should debunk most of the Rego debate!

It is usually the most impatient and aggressive drivers who resort to the 'pay yer rego' type comments. As said, 99.9% of drivers agre good enough to have a little patience.

Roads were built by and large for bikes well before cars and trucks come along. Infrastructure over time has been paid by all who pay taxes - not only motorists.

I think in fact cyclists should be able to tick a little box when they go to pay their car registrations so a discount can be applied to the payment for keeping congestion off the roads!

Just remember:

You're not stuck in traffic - you are traffic!

pinkboy
 
I don't want bike riders to pay rego, but I DO want bikes to have identification numbers of some sort clearly displayed on them.

As it is they are anonymous in lycra and a helmet and cheerfully flout the laws.

I had a bike run into my child (on a shared pedestrial / bike way). He gave me the finger and rode away without even checking if my toddler was hurt. There was no way I could give chase even if I was not checking that a screaming 2 year old was not seriously hurt.

Identification is essential.
Marg
 
I don't want bike riders to pay rego, but I DO want bikes to have identification numbers of some sort clearly displayed on them.

As it is they are anonymous in lycra and a helmet and cheerfully flout the laws.

I had a bike run into my child (on a shared pedestrial / bike way). He gave me the finger and rode away without even checking if my toddler was hurt. There was no way I could give chase even if I was not checking that a screaming 2 year old was not seriously hurt.

Identification is essential.
Marg

What brand bike was the cyclist riding?

pinkboy
 
Part of this comes down to obedience and enforcement.

If bike riders obeyed the law to the same extent as drivers then registration wouldn't even be on the table. But we've all seen bicycle riders completely ignoring traffic lights and riding lanes, often to their own peril, and quite frequently. It seems to be a matter of gospel that traffic lights only apply to cars for many bike riders (this may be a minority of riders, but it is a large and visible minority).

And bike lanes. While Beach Rd is a very popular recreation path, the paths I see around Canberra are not shared by huge numbers of people. Where they are shared, they coexist well. When I'm on a shared path, a bicycle coming from behind will ring and I'll move out of the way. But where taxpayers have paid millions to build these bicycle paths, I don't see why a path with very few riders on it should be shunned in favour of a busy road. I have actually been behind two bike riders riding side by side in the middle for several km on a road with double lines and a bike path alongside, unable to legally pass. That is just spitefulness, and gives the majority of bike riders a bad name.
 
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