Cyclists bite the dust

[bell]

cars have a different story....if the cyclist wont move, the car has to go wide around them, usually going half into the lane of oncoming traffic. what if that oncoming car, fails to see the car swerve and they hit each other. whos at fault there?

i have no problem with one or two, so long as they are in single file. its when they get in groups and refuse to go single file that they become a hazard. i think the roads should be wider to allow for that.

Sorry sunhuntin, but if I was Mr Plod I'd say that if you moved out to overtake the cyclist/group of cyclists and caused the accident you'd be at fault because you were not driving to the conditions at the time....and those conditions were that you had slower moving traffic in your lane - it doesn't actually matter if they are in the wrong.

I recall a bus driver down on the Te Anau-Milford Rd hit a cyclist a couple of years back AND HE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW! Driving to the conditions? I think not. It's all situational. BTW did you see the guys that got hit on the TV news tonight? If you're one of the sick individuals that makes statements like "If they don't move over then they should expect to get hit" then I'd say it would be fir enough if your face looked like that when you next picked yourself up off the ground after having an off.....rant over. Dinner to cook.

[sunhuntin]

didnt see em, wasnt watching.... i wouldnt deliberatly try and scare em/run them over. i spent long enough on a pushy to know better. trust me. what i was saying is cyclists should be restricted to single file on the open roads as they arent wide enough. excepting races, and then i think the affected roads should be closed to motorised traffic.

im fine with cyclists on the open road...so long as they try and respect those moving faster than them. same as a motorbike with a car...we know they can and have killed us, so we ride to protect ourselves. cyclists generally dont seem to. even riding two abreast, they often have a large gap between them, which means the outside bike is often in the middle of the lane. cars get stuck behind them, which can lead to road rage.

i would love to see high speed roads widened specifically to make room for cyclists...maybe even a slightly raised "footpath" type thing. would make things a bit safer. i loved riding my push bike on the open roads, but didnt do it often due to lack of space and my own low speeds.

[Jantar]

Sorry sunhuntin, but if I was Mr Plod I'd say that if you moved out to overtake the cyclist/group of cyclists and caused the accident you'd be at fault because you were not driving to the conditions at the time....and those conditions were that you had slower moving traffic in your lane - it doesn't actually matter if they are in the wrong.

Unfortunately, you are absolutely correct. With the situation you describe the vehicle overtaking would be charged with careless driving, even though the cyclists are at fault. A licenced driver can be fined and provide revenue to Auntie Helen, the cyclists are not such and easy revenue source.

See the previous thread on a similar matter, and note that only one of the police officers on this fourum answered my question about the cyclists receiving a ticket for obstruction, and even then, it was simply because he wished to meet his quota. http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...light=cyclists

I take it then that if you witnessed this incident that you would ticket the motorist for dangerous driving. Would you also book the cyclists for riding more than two abreast and for obstructing traffic?
....

Yeah... quotas....

[R6_kid:Me]

i have nothing against sports people training in public, fuck i used to wear spandex one piece suits for rowing, but when people dont obey the rules of the road/water then shit is bound to happen.

On one side it saddens me that these future prospects have been hurt/injured, and also the fact that it happened by pure accident (driver being temp. blinded?).

But on the otherside i have no time for people (generally cyclists) who see it as their right to take up a whole lane 2, 3 sometimes even 4 abreast. Had a couple of these types today which could have resulted in a head on accident for a motorcyclist, or many cyclist bowled down.

It happened when we went on the 250 ride out kaiaua when a car had to go wide half way through a corner because some cyclists werent riding single file.

I wish those injured a speedy recovery, but someone needs to get the message across to cyclists that the rule is single-file, i've known this since i got my first push bike.

[Finn]

the only arrogant cunts around here are winja and beemer.

brad and and ryan are good mates of my son, are really nice guys, and it pains me to hear they have been injured.

Marty, you don't call a lady a cunt. Appologise to her you cunt.

[bell]

Glad you don't ride a bicycle Dynamytus....there's some ugly attitudes towards cyclists out there!

[Beemer]

Marty, you don't call a lady a cunt. Appologise to her you cunt.

I've been called worse and by better people than Marty, but thanks anyway Finn! I could retaliate and call him a vittu...

[Lou Girardin]

Sorry sunhuntin, but if I was Mr Plod I'd say that if you moved out to overtake the cyclist/group of cyclists and caused the accident you'd be at fault because you were not driving to the conditions at the time....and those conditions were that you had slower moving traffic in your lane - it doesn't actually matter if they are in the wrong.

No such offence or legal requirement. If you overtake someone and they hit you, they're in the wrong.

[Sketchy_Racer]

I noticed that a few people only ever seem to take the bad stuff i say.

In my original post.

Cycling. Great. A good way to get out and get some fitness in. I ride my push bike every weekend.

And you know what. I ride in single file and stay outta the way. i never get any one tooting or hurling abuse at me.

I wonder why?

If the cyclist wont have the common curtosy to move out of the way and go ing to single file. Why the hell should I have to have the curtosy to move for them?

And you rant about the . "I pay for this road" thing.

Well damn straight.

Because they cyclist don't pay for the road, they surely must have to be the ones that have to move??? Why should i go around them on roads like piecock hill, where it would endanger me? other CARS cant stay on their side of the road, and now you want me to end up in their lane?

bell,

You must be one of those arrogant cyclists that ride in 4 abreast and expect everyone else to move for. Dont come bitchin when you get hit

[gijoe1313]

Well I was riding out Clevedon/Kaiaua way and I hit the mob of pushies , competition or something like that. Since I was on a blat, I was patient and just bided my time until I could overtake safely. But, yeah - there was one big mob who were riding like 5 abreast and in a gaggle of 20 or so. There were a couple of cagers ahead of me and they got insanely impatient and started to do risky overtaking manuevers ... not having visibility for 100m, just before a blind corner, etc. I was genuinely fearful that I would be witnessing a tragedy of tragic proportions (metal plowing into a crowd of pushies doesn't bear thinking about). suffice to say, my safety first attitude meant I overtook each mob safely and kept my speeds down in case of the unexpected.

Case in point #1 : Three cyclists riding abreast around a blind curve. Insane. They had the nerve to look at me as if I was in the wrong when I was puttering behind them before zooming past them when I could see 100m clear around the curve.

Case in point #2 : Idiot cyclists who were passing a water bottle between them and dropped it on the road. Was far back enough to avoid easily. But riding over a plastic round thing filled with water is an experiment I did not want to conduct.

Case in point #3 : Two cyclists stopped having a natter on a blind curve. Mental.

I'm sure they thought with so many other cyclists out, people in motor vehicles and the motorbikers would be "watching out" more carefully. I've ridden pushbikes for years and I never count on them "watching out" for me. I translate that attitude to my motorbiking also. I support these people for riding and getting out there pursuing a worthwhile activity, but I don't support them when they are endangering themselves and others with haphazard attitudes and poor formation riding skills.

When I rode clear of each batch of nutters, I could only shake my head in wonder. Here's hoping no-one got hurt yesterday on that ride!

Lots of valid points made by everyone on this thread, but it doesn't do us much good if we end up smacking into one of them or having a bin because of them. Crash is crash whether we are right or in the wrong

Ride safely and keep it rubber side down.

[SuperDave]

Over here cyclists have thier own lanes, even on the freeways.

We wouldn't dare think of doing something like that, it's a good idea you see.

[bell]

Great to read your replies folks. But...
4 abreast RG100? No. You're mistaken. I ride my pushbike as I ride my motorcycle as I drive my car - defensively, expecting every other tosser on the road to do something which is going to fuck up my day and that of my family when their actions cause me harm. Sounds a bit different to what you've described methinks.

And the other thing you raise about cyclists not being the ones who pay for the roads and therefore them being the ones who have to move.....consider that a percentage of those on bicycles are also car drivers, motorcycle riders, etc and they have (hopefully) paid their dues for those vehicles. Maybe they also have jobs and pay taxes? Are we so naive to think that it's only levies from motor vehicle registration, licensing, etc that build and maintain our roads? Separate issues yes I know but worthy of mention nonetheless.

Speedie - perhaps you've lumped all cyclists into the 'bad' category becuase of what you see when you're on the road? We don't ALL run red lights and think that we're all "supreme" and ride inconsiderately so that other vehicles have to modify their driving to avoid us. Surely you weren't suggesting that?
I agree with you 100% re cyclist education. Let's go 1 step further and do a bit more than just 1 page in the Road Code that refers to "10 things that Cyclists would like Drivers to know"...or "10 things that drivers would like cyclists to know". How about the Plod start enforcing some of the stupidity that we see when cyclists do stupid things such as riding 4 abreast? Sure, the ute driver was charged over that incident yesterday but it's a fair comment to make that the cyclists needed some sort of "punishment" too. More "share the road" public education?

What next? 81 year old ladies assaulted by cyclists in road rage incidents? Oh dear.

[jrandom]

I NEVER see any cyclist stop at a red light they do that stupid wiggle thing cos there feet are stuck in the pedals...

It's called a trackstand, and it's supposed to be done on a fixed-gear track bike while waiting for the start gun at the velodrome. On them things, you can pedal both forward and backward, so you can balance on one spot. On a geared road bike with a coaster hub, you can only pedal forward, so you have to do a slow creep to maintain uprightness.

I don't do it, because I reckon it's more sensible just to filter to the left front of the queue and stand there with one foot down. Unfortunately, that means moving forward and getting one's bum off the seat. It's considered cool amongst the wanky roadie fraternity to complete a ride without putting a foot on the ground.

It's nothing to do with feet being 'stuck' in the pedals. It only takes a couple of weeks of riding with cleats and clipless pedals before you stop having to think about getting in and out of them.

I normally get one car v Cyclist on Tamaki drive per week.

Unsurprising. Cyclists are arrogant twats, and cagers are blind, distracted cunts. Hell, with all those twats and cunts around, you could just about bring a camera and sell the footage on the internet.

[Kickaha]

Unsurprising. Cyclists are arrogant twats, and cagers are blind, distracted cunts. Hell, with all those twats and cunts around, you could just about bring a camera and sell the footage on the internet.

What kind of cunts are Motorcyclists then?

[Pixie]

Two sides to any coin eh folks? Taking up the whole lane is asking for trouble from the huge amount of drivers that don't give cyclists enough space when passing....BUT....being assertive about giving yourself room on the road is what a cyclist needs to do. I'm sure lots of us do it on our motorcycles too. It's called riding defensively. You put as much distance between yourself and what is a danger to you. Riding two abreast is fuckwitted anyway, but car drivers who deliberately drive close to cyclists who are riding two (or more) abreast are driving dangerously. I believe there's a law regarding that in this country?

Being assertive,when vehicles may round a corner at 90 km faster than you are cycling and run into you,makes as much sense as being assertive in a lion's cage