waiting said:
Cyclists is one of my many bug bears.
I'm going to possibly upset a few who cycle and do the right thing.
But this morning , driving my wife to work, on Ferntree Gully Rd, two lane, two cyclists riding next to each other having a good time , instead of in a single file, really got me quite upset. Cars had to move to the only lane available as these two , strolling without any care for motorists behind them and slowly the traffic to a crawl. I got next to them, did a toot and got a two finger salute!
My wife had to calm me down as I wanted to stop in front of them at the lights and let them teach them some manners. I know bad of me. Fortunate she was with me.
They use our roads. Free of charge, yet cars, motorbikes, trucks have to pay for them to use the roads and show motorist and pedestrians such arrogance . We build new lanes for these guys and they contribute not a cent. They should be licenced, a form of a plate , number on their bikes, a registration fee like most of us have to pay for their privilege to ride on the roads.
These sort of behaviours doesn't help their cause amongst us drivers!
I'm not saying to pay a high premium , but $100 something along those lines is warranted.
They use our roads?
Who do you think 'they' are?
I always find it interesting the way motorists comment on cyclists. It becomes a very us vs them situation, in a way that usually highlights a fair amount of ignorance.
I split my travel pretty evenly between cycling and driving. I travel from Glenroy to the city every day, alternating between the two, usually dependent on the weather. And I can tell you, you cop a lot more aggro, danger, threats, and stress being a cyclist facing motorists, than you do frustration as a motorist navigating cyclists.
I understand cyclists can be irritating. Usually because they're slow and in your way. But if every cyclist out there was commuting by car, your trip would be significantly more frustrating in the gridlock. For instance, around 500 cyclists travel down Sydney road and the Upfield bike path between 6-9 am on a weekday. 500 more cars on that road, and it wouldn't move.
And 'they' are just people on bikes. As opposed to people in cars. 'They' are not a different species. Most also own a car. Think of it this way, I pay just as much registration as any other car user. Some mornings I use my car, some I use my pushbike. In every way, shape, and form it's better for congestion, traffic, the environment and sustainability that I ride my bike. I'm paying the rego to drive my car, but I'm riding my bike instead. I, like every other cyclist, also pay taxes (which are what actually pays for the roads). The idea that 'they don't contribute a cent' is simply ridiculous.
I contribute exactly what a motorist contributes. I just ride a smaller, greener vehicle on occasion.
The other point you make about cycling next to each other, cyclists are allowed and encouraged to ride two abreast, so tooting them for doing so is a bit of road rage, that got you some road rage in response. Not very helpful. Having said that, most cyclists don't cycle two abreast if the road doesn't suit it, because most are also motorists who know how annoying it is. I almost never travel two abreast, unless it's a wide, multilaned road, and there are no cars around. Thing is, cyclists are people. Some cycle like knobs, just as some drive like knobs. A pair of cyclists travelling two abreast, is just annoying as a Grandma going 30 down the road and blocking your path. Only the cyclists aren't breaking the law.
Also, there are a number of reasons people cycle, and the fact that it's free is a major one. Introducing rego is just going to force more of them into cars, which is going to destroy congestion.
I've cycled through a few countries, and the infrastructure in some is horrendous. Cycling in Florence was terrifying and way more difficult than Melbourne, cycling across Vietnam and Cambodia was frenetic and scary, but it seems that only in Australia do you cop the weird abusive entitlement from motorists who think for some reason that they're better, have more right to exist, and should be allowed to force cyclists off the road. And it always comes back to this weird registration/pay argument.
Again, most cyclists are also taxpayers who pay registration on their cars anyway. And, in the end, when I'm sitting at my steering wheel behind an idiot cyclist who is cycling slowly in front of me, weaving in and out of parked cars, and making me slam on the brakes, I think, would this be less frustrating if they paid a fee to be there?
No.
Rego for cyclists will increase congestion, and do nothing for frustration. You'll just be mad at them without a reason to vent about it.
