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| Cyclists commuting to work are increasing every year. Bikes have outsold cars for the past 10 years. |
I’ve been trying to hold off writing a post about this for a while but after another ride I am now fed up. Why can’t anyone ride a bike properly on the road in traffic? I’m as pro-cycling as it gets but even I get riled up and shout at people who constantly break road laws and make a bad name for the rest of us. In my ride in to work last week, I saw people run red lights, go the wrong way round a roundabout, ride without helmets and fail to indicate their intentions when turning. Moreover, when they do something that is blatantly their fault and cause a ‘close-call’ or worse, they usually abuse the motorist who is nearest.
At one point I got so fed up with one particular man who was riding in front of me, constantly running red lights at pedestrian crossings and weaving in and out of cars, I asked him what image he thought he was setting for the rest of us. He promptly began a tirade like I’d accused him of rape, murder and high treason, swore at me in some of the foulest language I’ve heard (which is really saying something for a student) and pulled his drink bottle out as if to throw it at me.
As a cyclist, I can understand that riding on the road in Melbourne can be infuriating at times. Motorists are very unpredictable, particularly those in large 4WD’s or very flashy, expensive cars, who, like us, fail to indicate at almost every occasion. Pedestrians are even worse; they never look when walking out onto the road. Almost every person, who is not a cyclist or a mother with a pram, will walk into the road, then stop and look to see if there is any traffic before quickly scarpering when something is bearing down on them. Also, they always open car doors without checking their mirrors, which can be seriously dangerous.
Having been on both sides of the coin now for a few years, I can understand both sides of the story. Motorists hate cyclists who break the law and think that the road rules do not apply to them. Cyclists hate motorists who do not look and are not observant and conscious to their surroundings. It is true that both can be culprits and victims of negligent behaviour but, unfortunately, that is the nature of cycling on the roads in Melbourne.
Some of the problem has got to do with the infrastructure. The roads in Melbourne are in completely inadequate condition for the amount of use they get. Melbourne has approximately 22,000km of roadways, one of the longest road systems per capita in the world. Yet a large amount of them are in poor condition and, more still, do not have bike lanes marked. As a result, cyclists often have to dodge around potholes, manhole covers and sunken metal plates in the road, or ride right up against the gutter when there is no bike lane. This means that they spend more time looking at the road than at the traffic, which again increases the danger. Couple that with a record number of motorists, on an increasingly clogged up system that strains to cope with the 3.6 million vehicles in the Melbourne area, frustrated drivers do unpredictable things, leading to avoidable accidents.
It has now become particularly obvious that Melbourne needs a drastically improved public transport system, particularly our train network. I am also a frequent user of this and the inconveniences are rife in the system. Firstly, unlike many of the large cities in the world, (London, Paris, New York), we do not have a metro-style system of train regularity. Instead, all of our trains are scheduled, which often means that they are late or run too infrequently. Also, all of our train services run out of Flinders St or Southern Cross stations, fanning out to the eastern and western suburbs. Yet there are no cross- or link-lines meaning if you have to travel from the eastern to the southern suburbs, you have to ride all the way into the city before changing trains, which is ridiculously inefficient. You might think it a bit ludicrous to compare Melbourne to New York but in terms of area, Melbourne is roughly equivalent to urban New York City. Whilst NYC’s subway is quite old and rather dirty, at least you can get to places on it relatively quickly, particularly for a city 5 times the population of Melbourne. Also, compared to here, the trains are quite empty, making you feel a bit safer.
This is all well and good you might be thinking but how is it relevant? Well, if the State government stopped dragging their feet and wasting their money building more freeways, why don’t they invest the money in public transport? This would encourage more people to use it, freeing up Melbourne’s streets and freeways and saving the rest of us from the dangers of cycling on the road.
Mostly, however, the problem with cycling on the road is the attitude of both cyclists and motorists. Its interesting to note that bike sales have outperformed car sales for 10 consecutive years. A decade where more bikes are going into people’s homes than cars. In 2009 alone, 1.2 million bikes were sold, compare to just over 1 million cars. It stands to reason then that people are giving up their cars and hopping on a bike to commute. However, whilst this is a fantastic thing for the environment and for our fitness, relationships between cyclists and cars have nose-dived. Most people who ride on the road will have driven a car at some point in their life. So they know the road laws but suddenly assume that when they’re on a bike, these laws don’t apply. When cyclists then go and break the law, particularly on busy roads, it sets a bad image in the motorist’s mind. Couple this with the fact that a lot of non-cycling motorists FALSELY believe that because cyclists don’t pay registration, they aren’t paying for the roads# and, therefore, aren’t allowed to use them, our reputation is constantly on the slide. Moreover, cyclists who are wronged by drivers often lash out unnecessarily (I’ve been guilty of this in the past), often unleashing verbal tirades, squirting windows, I’ve even heard of people kicking door panels.
So, what can we do about it? Is the relationship beyond saving? Well, yes and no. If the government wants to address this issue, it needs to come on three fronts. Firstly, motorists need to be informed that there are more bikes on the road than ever and, as a consequence, another hazard to be aware of. Awareness programs should be set up and recognising cyclists should be part of teaching learner drivers. Secondly, cyclists need to be taught how to ride on the road properly. I’m of the opinion that 90% of people in Melbourne can’t drive properly in traffic. But I’m pretty sure 99% of cyclists don’t know how to ride in traffic either. Cyclists need to know that the same rules apply to them that apply to cars, trucks, buses or any other vehicle on the road. This includes indicating, giving way, traffic signals, speed limits and road signage. Finally, the government needs to do something about public transport. Long has the belief been that building more roads is the solution to Melbourne’s traffic problems. But in a time where environmental concerns are as high as fuel prices, its time they considered a viable public transport system that can carry more people, service more areas and run more efficiently than the farce they currently have.
At one point I got so fed up with one particular man who was riding in front of me, constantly running red lights at pedestrian crossings and weaving in and out of cars, I asked him what image he thought he was setting for the rest of us. He promptly began a tirade like I’d accused him of rape, murder and high treason, swore at me in some of the foulest language I’ve heard (which is really saying something for a student) and pulled his drink bottle out as if to throw it at me.
As a cyclist, I can understand that riding on the road in Melbourne can be infuriating at times. Motorists are very unpredictable, particularly those in large 4WD’s or very flashy, expensive cars, who, like us, fail to indicate at almost every occasion. Pedestrians are even worse; they never look when walking out onto the road. Almost every person, who is not a cyclist or a mother with a pram, will walk into the road, then stop and look to see if there is any traffic before quickly scarpering when something is bearing down on them. Also, they always open car doors without checking their mirrors, which can be seriously dangerous.
Having been on both sides of the coin now for a few years, I can understand both sides of the story. Motorists hate cyclists who break the law and think that the road rules do not apply to them. Cyclists hate motorists who do not look and are not observant and conscious to their surroundings. It is true that both can be culprits and victims of negligent behaviour but, unfortunately, that is the nature of cycling on the roads in Melbourne.
Some of the problem has got to do with the infrastructure. The roads in Melbourne are in completely inadequate condition for the amount of use they get. Melbourne has approximately 22,000km of roadways, one of the longest road systems per capita in the world. Yet a large amount of them are in poor condition and, more still, do not have bike lanes marked. As a result, cyclists often have to dodge around potholes, manhole covers and sunken metal plates in the road, or ride right up against the gutter when there is no bike lane. This means that they spend more time looking at the road than at the traffic, which again increases the danger. Couple that with a record number of motorists, on an increasingly clogged up system that strains to cope with the 3.6 million vehicles in the Melbourne area, frustrated drivers do unpredictable things, leading to avoidable accidents.
It has now become particularly obvious that Melbourne needs a drastically improved public transport system, particularly our train network. I am also a frequent user of this and the inconveniences are rife in the system. Firstly, unlike many of the large cities in the world, (London, Paris, New York), we do not have a metro-style system of train regularity. Instead, all of our trains are scheduled, which often means that they are late or run too infrequently. Also, all of our train services run out of Flinders St or Southern Cross stations, fanning out to the eastern and western suburbs. Yet there are no cross- or link-lines meaning if you have to travel from the eastern to the southern suburbs, you have to ride all the way into the city before changing trains, which is ridiculously inefficient. You might think it a bit ludicrous to compare Melbourne to New York but in terms of area, Melbourne is roughly equivalent to urban New York City. Whilst NYC’s subway is quite old and rather dirty, at least you can get to places on it relatively quickly, particularly for a city 5 times the population of Melbourne. Also, compared to here, the trains are quite empty, making you feel a bit safer.
This is all well and good you might be thinking but how is it relevant? Well, if the State government stopped dragging their feet and wasting their money building more freeways, why don’t they invest the money in public transport? This would encourage more people to use it, freeing up Melbourne’s streets and freeways and saving the rest of us from the dangers of cycling on the road.
Mostly, however, the problem with cycling on the road is the attitude of both cyclists and motorists. Its interesting to note that bike sales have outperformed car sales for 10 consecutive years. A decade where more bikes are going into people’s homes than cars. In 2009 alone, 1.2 million bikes were sold, compare to just over 1 million cars. It stands to reason then that people are giving up their cars and hopping on a bike to commute. However, whilst this is a fantastic thing for the environment and for our fitness, relationships between cyclists and cars have nose-dived. Most people who ride on the road will have driven a car at some point in their life. So they know the road laws but suddenly assume that when they’re on a bike, these laws don’t apply. When cyclists then go and break the law, particularly on busy roads, it sets a bad image in the motorist’s mind. Couple this with the fact that a lot of non-cycling motorists FALSELY believe that because cyclists don’t pay registration, they aren’t paying for the roads# and, therefore, aren’t allowed to use them, our reputation is constantly on the slide. Moreover, cyclists who are wronged by drivers often lash out unnecessarily (I’ve been guilty of this in the past), often unleashing verbal tirades, squirting windows, I’ve even heard of people kicking door panels.
So, what can we do about it? Is the relationship beyond saving? Well, yes and no. If the government wants to address this issue, it needs to come on three fronts. Firstly, motorists need to be informed that there are more bikes on the road than ever and, as a consequence, another hazard to be aware of. Awareness programs should be set up and recognising cyclists should be part of teaching learner drivers. Secondly, cyclists need to be taught how to ride on the road properly. I’m of the opinion that 90% of people in Melbourne can’t drive properly in traffic. But I’m pretty sure 99% of cyclists don’t know how to ride in traffic either. Cyclists need to know that the same rules apply to them that apply to cars, trucks, buses or any other vehicle on the road. This includes indicating, giving way, traffic signals, speed limits and road signage. Finally, the government needs to do something about public transport. Long has the belief been that building more roads is the solution to Melbourne’s traffic problems. But in a time where environmental concerns are as high as fuel prices, its time they considered a viable public transport system that can carry more people, service more areas and run more efficiently than the farce they currently have.
#For the record, roads are paid for by the taxpayer so unless you’re dealing with an unemployed cyclist, they have as much right to use the road as the car sitting next to them.
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