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CourierMail.com.au 24/4/08
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23587545-27197,00.html
Amy Schramm
April 24, 2008 12:00am
YOU either love them or loathe them. They are an expression of our freedom - two-wheeled environmental warriors or the cockroaches of the open road. Cyclists.
There seems to be no grey area on the subject, people are divided and with division comes conflict – between car and bicycle.
In recent years there has been a marked increase in this so-called cycle-rage.
On average, there are more than 800 bicycle crashes in Queensland each year where police become involved. Of these crashes, an average of nine are fatal, and 280 require hospitalisation.
Do cyclists need more protection on the road?
Have your say
Most crashes occur in urban areas, costing Queenslanders $35.4 million in 2006.
Bicycle-vehicle collisions can have serious consequences, and affect people from all walks of life.
This was highlighted recently in several highly publicised incidents – including the callous hit-and-run of Matthew Coley on Kelvin Grove Rd in 2004 that left him in a coma, with serious injuries and a long recovery; and the death of Australian Institute of Sport cyclist Amy Gillett while on a training ride. Cyclists are vulnerable road users, with little or no protection against injury in collisions.
Research from Britain shows that while cyclists represent 1 per cent of road users, they account for 5 per cent of all fatalities and 7 per cent of all serious injuries.
Per kilometre travelled, cyclists are 14 times more likely than car drivers to incur a serious injury or death from a traffic incident.
Given these figures, and with bicycle sales outperforming new vehicle sales for the past eight years, Queensland University of Technology's Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland has analysed the circumstances involved in bicycle-vehicle collisions.
More than 93 per cent of all reported bicycle crashes involved a cyclist and one other motorised vehicle. In most crashes (56 per cent), the police determined that the cyclist was not at fault.
Looking specifically at crashes involving adult cyclists, the other vehicle was at fault in 72.4 per cent of bicycle-vehicle collisions.
Most of these collisions were a result of the vehicle's failure to give way, or lack of attention.
With the number of cyclists on the roads increasing Australia-wide, it is important to consider this story from both sides.
Cyclists become frustrated when they are required to justify their right to use the road, however, under law they are recognised road users just as vehicle drivers are.
While drivers may feel frustrated with cyclists, misunderstanding and a lack of knowledge only serve to feed this frustration.
Cyclists are recognised road users under Queensland law, and as stated they are entitled to:
• Ride two abreast within 1.5m of the other rider.
• Ride as safely as possible to the far left side of the road.
• On a multi-lane road, or where there are two or more lanes of traffic travelling in one direction, cyclists may occupy the entire lane.
Most new bikes sold are adult bikes – nearly twice as many as children's bikes.
Therefore the obvious health, transport, environment and economic benefits of cycling can be considered important factors in this increase.
However, whether two or 200 cyclists use our roads each day, it is important that drivers and cyclists alike consider the safety and needs of all legitimate road users rather than their perceived "right" to be on the road.
Amy Schramm is a research assistant at the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety, Queensland.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23587545-27197,00.html
Amy Schramm
April 24, 2008 12:00am
YOU either love them or loathe them. They are an expression of our freedom - two-wheeled environmental warriors or the cockroaches of the open road. Cyclists.
There seems to be no grey area on the subject, people are divided and with division comes conflict – between car and bicycle.
In recent years there has been a marked increase in this so-called cycle-rage.
On average, there are more than 800 bicycle crashes in Queensland each year where police become involved. Of these crashes, an average of nine are fatal, and 280 require hospitalisation.
Do cyclists need more protection on the road?
Have your say
Most crashes occur in urban areas, costing Queenslanders $35.4 million in 2006.
Bicycle-vehicle collisions can have serious consequences, and affect people from all walks of life.
This was highlighted recently in several highly publicised incidents – including the callous hit-and-run of Matthew Coley on Kelvin Grove Rd in 2004 that left him in a coma, with serious injuries and a long recovery; and the death of Australian Institute of Sport cyclist Amy Gillett while on a training ride. Cyclists are vulnerable road users, with little or no protection against injury in collisions.
Research from Britain shows that while cyclists represent 1 per cent of road users, they account for 5 per cent of all fatalities and 7 per cent of all serious injuries.
Per kilometre travelled, cyclists are 14 times more likely than car drivers to incur a serious injury or death from a traffic incident.
Given these figures, and with bicycle sales outperforming new vehicle sales for the past eight years, Queensland University of Technology's Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland has analysed the circumstances involved in bicycle-vehicle collisions.
More than 93 per cent of all reported bicycle crashes involved a cyclist and one other motorised vehicle. In most crashes (56 per cent), the police determined that the cyclist was not at fault.
Looking specifically at crashes involving adult cyclists, the other vehicle was at fault in 72.4 per cent of bicycle-vehicle collisions.
Most of these collisions were a result of the vehicle's failure to give way, or lack of attention.
With the number of cyclists on the roads increasing Australia-wide, it is important to consider this story from both sides.
Cyclists become frustrated when they are required to justify their right to use the road, however, under law they are recognised road users just as vehicle drivers are.
While drivers may feel frustrated with cyclists, misunderstanding and a lack of knowledge only serve to feed this frustration.
Cyclists are recognised road users under Queensland law, and as stated they are entitled to:
• Ride two abreast within 1.5m of the other rider.
• Ride as safely as possible to the far left side of the road.
• On a multi-lane road, or where there are two or more lanes of traffic travelling in one direction, cyclists may occupy the entire lane.
Most new bikes sold are adult bikes – nearly twice as many as children's bikes.
Therefore the obvious health, transport, environment and economic benefits of cycling can be considered important factors in this increase.
However, whether two or 200 cyclists use our roads each day, it is important that drivers and cyclists alike consider the safety and needs of all legitimate road users rather than their perceived "right" to be on the road.
Amy Schramm is a research assistant at the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety, Queensland.