-- Will MOT step in?
Fear is a gift. It stops us from doing things that jeopardize our safety.
Fear also stops the vast majority of New Zealand’s 1.5 million bike owners from riding to work.
We don’t want to get hit.
Fear is a gift. It stops us from doing things that jeopardize our safety.
Fear also stops the vast majority of New Zealand’s 1.5 million bike owners from riding to work.
We don’t want to get hit.
And while the risk of an incident isn’t particularly high, the likely consequences of a collision are so brutal (at least for the cyclist) we don’t even want to go there.
So we don’t and the bike stays in the garage.
What to do?
What to do?
The practical folks at Bike New Zealand are on the case and looking to work with Ministry of Transport on the 10-year road safety strategy, which will, we hope, establish a law requiring the preservation of a 1.5m safe passing distance between cars and cyclists.
The threat of a fine for passing too closely might make a difference, though I reckon the associated publicity and awareness of the legislative process, should it go ahead, might make the biggest difference.
The threat of a fine for passing too closely might make a difference, though I reckon the associated publicity and awareness of the legislative process, should it go ahead, might make the biggest difference.
I guess we’ll see.
At the least it will reduce the cyclist fear factor and hopefully encourage more people to dust off their bikes. This, on its own, has proven to make cycling safer – the more cyclists on the road the safer it gets.
On this matter you should sign the online petition to add weight to Bike New Zealand’s submission.
Road safety’s a funny thing. They say you never see the one that gets you. Just ask Beijing Olympic gold medallist and Argentinean sporting hero Walter Perez, who while cycle training with a group on the Autopiste del Oeste, one of the few roads in Buenos Aires that riders consider safe enough to train on, was run off the road, beaten and arrested by Police.
Turns out the road is a six-lane highway which, by law, is not open to pedestrians or cyclists. But because Buenos Aires roads are so dangerous to ride on, the area's cyclists frequently risk being run off by the gendarmes in order to train on the highway.
And we reckon we’ve got it bad.
In other cases beatings are well and truly deserved.
And I put it to you that these two (below), who I’m embarrassed to say are Kiwis, should be beaten. The inventors of the foldable electric Yike Bike have, in their infinite wisdom, mounted the handlebars BEHIND the seat. And then there’s the small matter of looking like a complete tosser riding it.
On this matter you should sign the online petition to add weight to Bike New Zealand’s submission.
Road safety’s a funny thing. They say you never see the one that gets you. Just ask Beijing Olympic gold medallist and Argentinean sporting hero Walter Perez, who while cycle training with a group on the Autopiste del Oeste, one of the few roads in Buenos Aires that riders consider safe enough to train on, was run off the road, beaten and arrested by Police.
Turns out the road is a six-lane highway which, by law, is not open to pedestrians or cyclists. But because Buenos Aires roads are so dangerous to ride on, the area's cyclists frequently risk being run off by the gendarmes in order to train on the highway.
And we reckon we’ve got it bad.
In other cases beatings are well and truly deserved.
And I put it to you that these two (below), who I’m embarrassed to say are Kiwis, should be beaten. The inventors of the foldable electric Yike Bike have, in their infinite wisdom, mounted the handlebars BEHIND the seat. And then there’s the small matter of looking like a complete tosser riding it.
The beatings shall continue
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2 comments:
That Yike bike is awesome! I currently own a Segway. Which is super-awesome also, but people laugh at me behind my back. I can hear them. But Yikes! A Yike Bike is next on my list!!! No one will laugh at me once I have a Yike Bike!!!
Hey, maybe we should hook up? I don't have a Segway, but I've built my own recumbent bicycle!! So cool.
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