A good but unfortunately partisan article, Roger. That is, it's unfortunate that the issue tends to be partisan; get ready for the petrol heads, they'll be venting their collective spleen presently, blaming the cyclists rather than the attitudes of some motorists. I've been bicycling on QLD roads for many years and we remain an endangered species. Part of the problem remains, in my opinion, that the cycling fraternity down under is still a comparatively small cohort; until it grows substantially the pressure for change remains minimal. But the biggest problem, which you allude to, is that motor vehicles are much more than modes of transportation; they are marketed to reflect the personalities of their occupants. Hence, for instance we have the macho-fluro utes with their chromium accessories and manic owners who are obliged to live up to the stereotype they've bought into. Or the arrogant executive, hermetically sealed in his BMW, who doesn't deign to notice the tooling pedalist he just cut-off. Or the "Mad Bitch" in the Berina who's obliged to act like the harpy depicted under her auto's insignia.
As I've said elsewhere, we need to de-sex cars, turn them into clean, efficient, slow and nerdish modes of conveyance. Triple the price of petrol too, and force the socially challenged occupants onto their pins or a set of pedals. The time is coming!
In the meantime, imo, rather than spending millions building facilities that segregate our CBD's, reduce speed limits to 40kph, and enforce it. Make the roads social and civilised places where commuters of all persuasions can cohabit peacefully. Of course this might add a few minutes to the average motorised commute, how dreadful--so, get a pushbike!

I agree with the author that the roads are just not adequate for both cars and bicycles at the same time. How often do you see roads narrow and then there is no where for a bicycle to go except to get in front of cars, and irritate everyone concerned, or onto the footpath.

Until the road system caters adequately to the cars, then bicycles just can't expect the system to cater to them as well. I ride a bicycle, and value my life and health, so stay off the roads if at all possible - if I need to go somewhere I know the roads or paths will not be adequate, I take the car.

Getting aggro at car drivers who are already stressed by poor road systems is hardly the way to go. Of course car drivers get defensive, it's probably the only way they can get around where cyclists, like me, clearly have choice - you don't always have to ride your bike.

It's not the car drivers fault, nor is it the bicycle riders fault, it's our pathetic governments who cannot come to grips with changing lifestyles and infrastructure.

We have to stop blaming road users and blame the ones we pay taxes to who should be providing services and infrastructure the community requires, like roads, water, law and order, courts, hospitals, education etc.

Good article Roger. But there are several other factors of vital importance to cyclists’ safety.

Firstly, it is certainly not just car drivers that are remiss. It is very much cyclists that all too often put themselves in highly risky situations. Most riders don’t have a good understanding of the risk factors and therefore don’t ride in a manner so as to maximise their safety.

Secondly, the law is dog’s breakfast when it comes to cycling, with such absurdities as it being legal for a cyclist to ride on the road when there is a cycleway right next to the road, it is legal for a cyclist to travel out in the middle of the lane, it is apparently illegal for a car to overtake a bicycle in the same lane, etc, etc!

The law is archaic, confused and totally at odds with reality. The community doesn’t understand it and neither do the police. It needs to be sorted out. We’ve all GOT to know just where we stand wit the law!

Thirdly, the policing of road safety as it concerns cyclists is pathetic. Indeed, it is pathetic overall. The complaints regime is of particular concern. What are the police going to do if a cyclist reports a driver for dangerous driving that nearly caused their death? NOTHING. Similarly for drivers who report cyclists. The police are not interested in that sort of stuff unless an accident has happened. The community needs to be empowered to make complaints and have them acted upon. EVERYONE needs to be able to do something about law infringements and dangerous antics on our roads, and not just the very thin blue line!

In Queensland we have just had a considerable boost to the number of covert police vehicle on our roads, across a range of models and makes, so we are told. This is GOOD. With a greater covert police presence, people will start feeling as though just about any vehicle on the road could be a police vehicle, instead of only the extraordinarily sparse and ridiculously obvious normal sort of police vehicle.

I drive a car but now I am now afraid to ride even my motor cycle because of the half blind other stupid car drivers.
I ride my bicycle only on side roads.

More cycleways ,more cyclists ,less imports of cars,less imports of oil.
Fewer road injuries or fatalities.Get fit without gym fees.
Maybe the cycleways would pay for themselves by what they save.

Cities like Melbourne and Sydney to name a couple, have a million miles of footpaths designed for pedestrians who no longer use them. What is wrong with them being made more bicycle friendly and getting the bike riders off the roads?

I also might ask, what is wrong with bicycle riders learning that traffic lights are also for them. It would be interesting to learn the percentage of accidents from various causes. Pushbike riders, like motor bike riders need to remember that they are virtually invisible to motorists and act accordingly.

David

I fully agree VK3AUU
"Cities like Melbourne and Sydney to name a couple, have a million miles of footpaths designed for pedestrians who no longer use them. What is wrong with them being made more bicycle friendly and getting the bike riders off the roads?"

It becomes especially annoying when the footpaths are in front of no houses, shops, or anything that could possibly have any pedestrian use.

I'm convinced that the people who make these laws work in the few areas with busy footpaths (CBDs) and can't appreciate that the remaining 99% of the city is the opposite.

I'd support converting most walkways into walk/cycleways, possibly even converting cyclists into pedestrians instead of road-users- and simply having zones specifically saying that cyclists must convert to road-use when the pedestrian-use is too high.
Chances are they'd actually get around a LOT faster too.