dont pass a cyclist only to go slower than the speeed limit or in to a side street or drive way right before them. craig had some good points, ridley motorcycles beeing penalised for dumb car drivers crashing in to them is enough punishment rather than two road users getting wrongly stung dont forget cyclist drive vehicles to so pay ACc. why shouldn’t cyclist have some perks for using physical energy to propel themselves How about you all watch WALL.E? a great kids movie, and see yourselves as you really are...only instead of the floating chairs you have the cars which can take you to burger king or to get some suvilarki, here's hoping there's no cyclists in the way, where in a hurry!…It all may sound a bit hard yet I know exactly where most of you pro car people are coming from. I was once a small man syndrome Muppet car enthusiast {when I was in my teens, a lot of you are adults now...}. I couldn't ever gage the distance between the bars of cyclist and my big 73 valiant charger, and I would often cut to close and didn't see why they were all pulling the finger at me, I also swerved for a girl in my class for a joke who was cycling to school in my little orange ford escort. Once I sold the charger I bought a bike and now see the light and can confidently pass a cyclist while driving any big vehicle. PS I also apologized to nerida my former class mate last year. 16 was far to young to have a full licence, but even then the road code didn’t have any consideration for cycles nor did I seem like it was written by a cyclist.basic road rules people in motor vehicles dont run redlights use our mirrors indicate for the minimum 3 seconds before making your move, give cyclist 1.5m clearence{if you cant then you shouldnt be driving}, use correct following distances{3 second rule}, dont cut corners{center line divides your side and the oposing side, so you stay on your side} and dont speed.Dust off the cobwebs and get on your bike you might enjoy yourself.
Perhaps the cyclists should pay a road tax.Motor bike riders have to pay.So why not cyclists seeing they want to use the road so much.
Gotta love road rage, I get in that mood too...
As a heavy vehicle operator in Christchurch I very rarely, if ever, have problems with cyclists, but am continually hassled by idiot car drivers,not indicating,cutting me off,changing lanes in front of me then breaking hard for traffic lights, running red lights etc. But if you watch them, the car drivers are doing all this to each other, just look at Brougham st at rush hour! As a cyclist I get the same hassles even though I obey the law.Since cycle lanes were introduced it's like a "this is our road, thats your road" mentality has developed.If cyclists could always ride in the cycle lanes then that would go a long way to help,BUT,we can't because they are always full of broken glass and rubbish, or too rough.Cycle lanes only have to be CLEAN and SMOOTH. Let's demonstrate respect for each other and share the road.
drivers have rights to the road. cyclists GET OFF. you guys are the biggest pain.go cycle on a track somewhere.
I am constantly amazed at how these guys can label motorists as arrogant road hogs, yet when it comes to inconsiderate cyclists, the response is usually "well, you'll always get a few bad apples..." Their bottom line always seems to be "So what if we cycle badly. WE are the ones who will get hurt, so YOU have to make allowances for US". I liken their selfish attitude to that of boy racers. The key difference is that your typical boy racer is called Brent, lives at home with mum and dad, and works at pack n save. Your average cyclist, on the other hand, is a white, middle class, middle aged professional, who is able to argue much more articulately about why his/her rights are much more important than everybody elses.
It is never right to assault someone though I do understand his frustration. I live in Christchurch and many many times I have inwardly cursed the cyclists on the Port Hills. They do not pull over to the left to allow vehicles to pass. Often they are cycling two abreast. Due to the nature of the road it makes passing them in a vehicle highly dangerous as you have to cross the centre line and often you cannot see what it coming in the opposite direction. I have followed cyclists uphill for 10 minutes or so going 10 kmph because its not safe to pass and they wont pull over to allow me to do so safely. It is SO frustrating and though I would never assault someone I can see how it would fire someone up enough to do so. I think a little more respect and thought for others is required from the cyclists.
As I cyclist I have nothing but respect for the drivers. If there is nothing coming they always, on the roads we ride pull over to the other side of the road and give us a wide berth, if there is something coming they pull over as far as they can. Thank you Timaru Drivers, you appear to be the best in the country.
Press charges against the driver for assault, it doesn't matter who was in the wrong, you don't just go around strangling and potentially killing people.
As a cyclist and driver I have sympathy for the driver who if the road is a twisty as said may well have been driving as fast as she felt comfortable. Her male passenger needs to gain a little maturity and the cyclist needs to pull his head in. As a commuting cyclist I am sick of both my fellow 2 wheelers who ignore the rules and motorists who don't / won't see you or simply consider your patch of road their own. C'mon guys cool it down before more people get seriously hurt and the lives of all involved get ruined.As the price of gas increases there will be more bikes and slow moving scooters on the road so drivers may as well get used to it. Cyclists may be in training or social mode but we have to consider no matter what it WILL hurt us more when hit by something ....