By responding to the moronic rants of the likes of Shane Warne, Miranda Devine (Daily Telegraph) and numerous irrational correspondents to our local paper (Port News) and the Daily Telegraph, I am fearful of giving credence to their vitriolic calls for motorists to disregard the safety of the “demon” cyclists.
While realising you do not have a rational thought in your collective heads, I can only hope you have a responsible adult around you, who can explain the following in little words, you may understand.
Cyclists are allowed by law to be on the road, and are governed by the same road rules as you (although most of you don’t believe in these rules). If they break the road rules they are subject to the law as much as any motorist. It is not up to you to be judge, jury and executioner.
Let me extend your ill thought responses to their illogical ends. Registering pushbikes – great idea, using a prorata formula my pushbike would cost one dollar to register (no problem). Who has to register? All bikes or only those with riders over 18? Would I be able to ride my child’s unregistered pushy?
The number plates (something you seem to crave) would be too small to be of practical use, and when was the last time you rang the police with a rego number and got a response?
Once I am obliged to pay to use my half of the road, then I no longer need to travel as close to the left as possible but would be entitled to travel in the centre of my half of the road (that would slow you some).
Roads are for cars, not cycles – actually roads started as pedestrian tracks, then horses, horses and carts, push bikes and then early last century your cars (very late on the scene).
Licensing riders – not sure what this will achieve as many motorists choose not to have licenses. That would require all road racers, for example, Tour de France riders would have to carry a license while racing – triathletes also. All children on road would have to carry a license – a hard thing to police. My view of those that advocate the demise of pushbikes is one of sorrow. Feeling sorrow for people who have nothing more significant in their pathetic lives than the few seconds a push bike rider crosses their path.
As you have no doubt realised, I am a rider. I ride from Wauchope to Port Macquaurie and back every day to get to work and in all conditions – rain, heat, cold, wind and mug drivers. This is how I choose to get to work so if that bothers you so much perhaps you need to lobby governments, local, state and federal to ban us from the road (even though the bully in you cringes at the thought of taking on someone you can’t intimidate). Until such time we are entitled by law to be on the road and, believe it or not, when you see how close to us you can pass, cut us off at roundabouts, throw objects at us from your moving vehicles, overtake on unbroken centre lines and cross the unbroken line on the left hand side of the road, you are breaking the road rules, not we cyclists.
Shane Trotter
Wauchope
