Thankyou for the condescending tone I am a professional truck driver, Stevens' view was not obstructed at the time, and the model of truck driven offers excellent visibility.

Dave, I deleted the last paragraph of my last post at the last minute.

I shouldn't have. It reads....

BTW Dave, you are apparently representing an organisation called Safe Cycling Australia, but your language and tone is certainly not in keeping with the type that one would expect from such an organisation – a cool measured comment without insulting those who may hold different views. Not impressed.

My comment was to the OP and more than adequately highlighted his own ignorance. If you expect more from me - as the petitioner who started this after being asked for help by Mrs Pollett not ten minutes after Mr Stevens was allowed to walk from the courtroom a free man - and those who fear for their lives in the course of doing something to which they're legally entitled and have been since before federation, then I i will forever fail to meet your expectations. I make no apology for any offence taken or for doing what I and my org can to save lives on the roads we all pay for.

The Cook Highway between Cairns and Port Douglas is closed all day tomorrow to accommodate the cycling leg of an international triathlon event.

This is an example of the terrible lack of understanding that cyclists, drivers and the governing authorities have of the safety issues inherent in the mixture of cyclists and powered vehicles on this road.

Cyclists use it abundantly, not least in the lead-up to this event. Rather than encouraging cyclists to use this road and triathlon-entrant very fast cyclists to train on this road, cyclists should not be allowed on this road at all!

It is a very busy highway. It is narrow with lots of sharp blind curves. Lots of trucks and busses. And lots of really rank drivers who treat it as a race track.

I had a very close-call on this road yesterday, simply driving a normal car at a conservative speed, I passed a cyclist which meant getting out there close to the centre line but not over it, right at the same as some turd blasted around the curve towards me at break-neck speed and right out on the centre line. Half an inch was the gap between that vehicle and mine, I reckon.

I managed to have a long and amicable chat to the cyclist and impress on him just how dangerous it is to be out there on that road, not only for him but for all others involved. He said he knows…. But that hasn’t stopped him from doing it.

I witnessed the same sort of thing on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria earlier this year.

There are simply some roads where cyclists SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED. Particularly busy highways on hilly winding stretches, unless they have wide strips outside of the white line that marks the edge of the road for vehicles and that can accommodate cyclists.

Ludwig, the very thought of cycling along that stretch makes me shudder. Hell, even driving along that stretch is painful at times. Breathtakingly beautiful - especially heading north - but hard work the whole way. It's the shortest but most tiring leg on a trip to Port Douglas, in my opinion.

Ultimately, you are right: there are just some stretches where bikes don't belong. Not solo cyclists and not bunches. I struggle to understand how cyclists ride up Hervey Range, too, with all those trucks. And the descent would terrify me.

Praxidice, I am perfectly happy with your proposal that cyclists be registered. I'm not sure how it would work logistically, but others are paid to work those things out. I obey the rules when I'm on the road (so have nothing to fear), and have to admit that those cyclists who don't obey the rules really get my hackles up. It's hard work convincing those around us that cycling is an acceptable activity when so many ride down the wrong side of the road, unlit after dark and without helmets, or when so many blatantly ignore other road rules. I don't think we'll find agreement on the subject of funding for cycleways, though, so I won't continue down that path.

Onthebeach, I'm just not sure what comments you are expecting. Your tone suggests that you're expecting me to disagree with you, but I can't really work out why. All I can suggest is that, if we are living in a society so litigious that our way of life is threatened, it is the litigation that we must attack rather than the way of life. Kids need to learn the rules and follow them (which is why I think their bikes should also be registered if mine is); adults need to learn that there is no surefire way of preventing mishaps in our day-to-day lives.

<< I struggle to understand how cyclists ride up Hervey Range, too, with all those trucks >>

Oto, the Paluma Range road, being much narrower and with much tighter curves, is one that I have driven up and down hundreds of times. I’ve had a few near-misses with mad cyclists on that one.

But hey, I was a cyclist for forty years. I rode up and down Castle Hill in the evenings with great frequency for many years.