Can cyclists and drivers exist harmoniously?

05 Nov 2009 09:54a.m.

David wrote:

If Tamaki drive was reduced to a one way road, one lane for cars and one lane for bikes it would reduce the amount of cars and allow cyclists room, and allowing better access to the beach front.
Also the speed limit should be changed from 50kmph to 30kmph with the use of mulitiple speed bumps.

Most main roads in auckland are more than 2 lanes wide, which gives plently of room for cyclists to take up the entire lane and still allow at least one lane for cars.

As for cyclists riding more than 2 abreast, there is no reason why you can't travel there speed, most cyclist can travel between 20 and 30kmph which is fast enough.

If you have a problem sharing the road with other road uses likes bikes, then get out and walk or catch a train. its much easier.

05 Nov 2009 09:19a.m.

bob wrote:

to the bloke who wants to know why cars rule.have a look at the width of the carriageway of roads. clearly, they were never built for cyclists. and for the argument about carbon emissions - read ian wisharts book about climate change and you will learn that you have all ben conned

05 Nov 2009 09:02a.m.

bob wrote:

cyclists in my town have scant regard 4 road rules.they make turns against red lights,dont stop at stop signs,ride across pedx's,give no turn signals,no lights at night etc.last nights story had your reporter down 2 25 km as she couldnt pass a group of bikes. bikes arent registered,dont have 2 have a wof so contribute nothing to acc for their accidents.they have no licence plate so they cant be identified in cases where they are at fault,like breaking that guys wing mirror and kicking in doors.but cyclists expect the rest of the road users to provide them with cycle lanes!!the courier in your story was often in the on coming lane while passing cars in town.another guy was in the bus lane!!!as for the health aspect - give me a break, sucking down the exhaust fumes from the motor vehicles theyre surrounded by,yeah thats real healthy.
car owners that also own a motorbike pay 2 lots of acc as part of their regos, and it's heaps.push bikes attract no rego fee at all, hence pay no acc levy,yet cost the rest of us acc levy payers a fortune each year patching these people up. its the cyclists choice to put themselves in a vulnerable postion on the roads.at least motocyclists have proper leathers and real helmets to protect themselves.
cyclists want respect from motorists - earn it you guys, or you will never get it

28 Sep 2009 10:54p.m.

J wrote:

A lot of angry car drivers here, I ride to work along Tamaki Drive every day, and I’ll try and justify some of the "rule breaking" I do.
Going through red lights- often I will leave just before the light goes green, if safe to do so of course, mainly because it is far safer for me to do this than try to clip in on the bike with cars accelerating closely past me.
Not riding tight to the kerb- where it is unsafe for a car to pass me without entering the other lane, I will take up more of the lane to make sure you have to go over to the other lane, since you should be there in any case! Passing anything closer than 1m to me is downright dangerous! Also bear in mind a bike may need to suddenly swerve out the way of an obstacle, or avoid the manholes in the road, so we need a bit of space either side.
People just need to slow down and give a wide berth when passing a bike and not just 'go for it', it'll only take another 5 seconds, and in any case unless you can overtake the line of cars in front it’s not going to affect your journey.

28 Sep 2009 07:39p.m.

David wrote:

Well personally I think Wendy should get off her fat arse and do some exercise. It takes two seconds to wait and pass a cyclist without being dangerous. How can you be so narrow minded? And hey, when do you see cyclists on the motorways? Its highly illegal and extremely dangerous! As Janet said is a lot harder to ride right by the kerb then people think. And common! How are cyclists being compared to boy racers? Boy racers are going at speeds up and past 150kph, cyclists have to push to do 40!
Although I agree that sometimes cyclists bring it on themselves, it’s in the law that we can ride two abreast (as long as we don’t take up the whole lane), realistically there is a time and a place for everything, and if you’re riding 5 a breast on a blind corner then yea... you DO deserve to be hit!
But how can you argue to ban bikes? Everybody is arguing out left right and centre to exercise more and be healthy, as well as governments wanting less people driving to reduce carbon emissions and what not, instead riding a bike is a great way to do so. How can you be have such great double standards! It’s not the roads that are the danger, it’s the people’s attitudes I personally think, and until you have experienced both then you should be more understanding both ways

28 Sep 2009 07:07p.m.

Hey Sandra wrote:

Cyclists can't use the bike lanes because they are always full of parked cars.

28 Sep 2009 07:03p.m.

Hey Michael wrote:

Crap! Cyclists do not use motorways at all - it's not only highly illegal, but I've never ever seen one do it. Anyone who tried would be killed in minutes, or reported. Secondly, cars do everything you've said cyclists do - except at three times the speed and much more dangerously.

28 Sep 2009 07:01p.m.

Janet wrote:

I can't believe peoples narrow minded ignorance when it comes to cyclists! I cycle to work some days and others get a lift with my husband. I don't particularly like cyclists riding 2 abreast, but it is legal. As for going through red traffic lights, some of us would be waiting a VERY long time for lights to change given that bikes can't activate the lights! We need to ride out from the curb because of all the crap in the 0.5 metre next to it - glass, dirty nappies, sharp stones, slippery grit, drains that could swallow a cyclist etc. If drivers had a bit more understanding why cyclists ride the way they do, then maybe there would be more tolerance.

28 Sep 2009 06:52p.m.

Sandra wrote:

I agree with John Cox, but the thing I would like to add to it, is that there is cycle lanes on the side of the road, with the side walk, but the cyclists do not want to use that. The cyclists should respect the drivers as the roads are smaller and move to the cycle lanes if there are any, other wise move to the side of the road as much as you possibly can. This goes for all cyclists throughout Auckland that ride in the middle of the road and/or ride two abreast!

28 Sep 2009 06:46p.m.

Adam wrote:

I believe the issue here is that more than one party was breaking the law. If you are speeding and a car pulls out and hits you then you are partially culpable in the accident. How is it that bikes can ride in groups like this one (20 bikes?) without having to follow the road rule of being able to stop within your visible distance without hitting the vehicle in front? If the bikes were correctly spaced, like all other traffic, then maybe this would have only been an accident of 1 car vs 1 bike and the following cycles could have taken better evasive action. Accidents happen, but if you want to share the road, then you have to follow the rules too.