Duncan Gay ... licence for cyclists, bans from certain roads

Bicycle related chatter & discussion
jcaley
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Postby jcaley » 02 May 2014, 11:09

http://www.theage.com.au/nsw/duncan-gay ... zr2zf.html
Read the article - not just the headline.
There's also a poll at the bottom of the article about whether there should be a licencing system for cyclists. Currently "No" leading 56% to 44%

Anthony K
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Postby Anthony K » 03 May 2014, 12:18

I do not think banning cyclists from particular roads is a good thing. It is far too blunt an instrument.
BUT
Many of the recent spate of serious accidents have occurred at places and times that are just not sensible.
Yes, the law says we are entitled to ride there.
Yes we SHOULD be able to ride there safely.
But, is it really a sensible thing to ride alone on arterial roads at peak hour?
Please people, show some common sense, spend 10 minutes taking some back streets and maximise your chance of getting home to the family in one piece.

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weiyun
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Postby weiyun » 05 May 2014, 11:42

The Neutral Bay accident was that of a rogue cyclist who rode on the footpath without helmet and crossed an intersection against red pedestrian light at speed. So many of those knee jerk, electorate pacifying politician statements are way off the mark. Not worth losing sleep over.

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jimmy
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Postby jimmy » 06 May 2014, 05:45

In the last few days, there have been 3 fatalities in/near central Sydney involving buses, why isn't there a call to ban them from certain roads? I know that there have been a few fatalities of motorcyclists when riding through the RNP, why hasn't there been a call to ban them from that section of road? It's clearly dangerous.

Oh, of course, they're both knee jerk reactions. But it seems fine to make a similar call when relating to cyclists.

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Philip
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Postby Philip » 06 May 2014, 08:56

Surely the answer is to license pedestrians.

Anthony K
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Postby Anthony K » 06 May 2014, 10:59

Excellent editorial in today's SMH on the topic.

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/smh-edito ... zr4y2.html

jcaley
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Postby jcaley » 06 May 2014, 14:03

Another article with some good discussion in The Urbanist http://blogs.crikey.com.au/theurbanist/ ... lic-roads/

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jonboy
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Postby jonboy » 06 May 2014, 19:25

The most disturbing aspect of this whole debate for me is the derisory proportion of Australians who understand the difference between licence (the noun); and license (the verb).

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Philip
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Postby Philip » 06 May 2014, 20:04

Really?

andrewm
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Postby andrewm » 06 May 2014, 20:24

I think John might be using literary licence.

boltonfamily
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Postby boltonfamily » 06 May 2014, 22:09

Hi Anthony,
Thanks for the editorial link. That makes most of the key points well.
I believe cyclists are largely scapegoats for car drivers who are fed up with sitting in traffic jams and struggle to tolerate any threat to their progress.
The licensing of bikes is a silly idea. Every day, whether in my car or on my bike I witness numerous examples of aggressive, selfish and essentially dangerous driving. They include red light running, driving while on the phone (often still hand held) and erratic lane changing. The drivers presumably have licenses and the vehicles certainly have rego plates. These don't inhibit the negligent driving in any way and there is no action unless there are police present. How would this be different for cyclists?

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humanbeing
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Postby humanbeing » 07 May 2014, 10:45

Hi Anthony,
Thanks for the editorial link. That makes most of the key points well.
I believe cyclists are largely scapegoats for car drivers who are fed up with sitting in traffic jams and struggle to tolerate any threat to their progress.
The licensing of bikes is a silly idea. Every day, whether in my car or on my bike I witness numerous examples of aggressive, selfish and essentially dangerous driving. They include red light running, driving while on the phone (often still hand held) and erratic lane changing. The drivers presumably have licenses and the vehicles certainly have rego plates. These don't inhibit the negligent driving in any way and there is no action unless there are police present. How would this be different for cyclists?
Well said,
Have a great ride,
Peter


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