Agree with the rest of the rant' date=' but just a note worth mentioning is that it is against the law to ride in the yellow line, and it is within the law for cyclists to cycle two abreast (although motor vehicles are required to change lanes to overtake), and within the law to cycle anywhere in the left lane. I'm not saying it would be wise, just that it would be lawful. [/quote'] I dont know what law you know, but that is not SA law. I downloaded the law awile ago and i can gaurentee you the law says you have to ride single file. It also says if there is a cycle lane you are not allowed to ride in the road. Google it. I would suggest you not be facetious, particularly when you are in the wrong. The law is pretty simple - a bike, as long as it has a driver/rider, is a vehicle by definition as it is "propelled primarily on wheels". S296 of the Road Regs requires vehicles to keep in the left half of the road and "not encroach on the half of the roadway to his or her right...". A number of other sections provide for how to overtake, always putting the onus on the passing car to ensure it is safe and prudent, and to move to the right half of the road to perform this maneuvre (with a few caveats about multi-lane roads and "undertaking" that aren't relevant). The basic rule is "shall pass to the right thereof at a safe distance and shall not again drive on the left side of the roadway until safely clear of the vehicle so passed". There is no further mention of where a bike is required to ride (other than the left half), although S298A prohibits the driving of a vehicle (including a pedal cycle) on the shoulder with an allowance, not a requirement, to move over to allow passing. S311 provides specifically for bicycles, including the much mentioned (and, in your case and others, misread) subsection (2) which requires cyclist to ride single file except when passing another cyclist. Effectively this gives license to ride two abreast as there is no distinction between passing and riding alongside. I didn't plan to get involved in your little territorial war, but I would suggest that at least 90% of the reaction you get from cyclists is that you seem to believe that your anger is righteous. Perhaps showing a little respect to the cyclists may engender a little respect in return. Most of the photos show nothing illegal, except in cases where the cyclists are more than 2 abreast. Even in these cases, the photo's you took show a solid white line, so passing is illegal there anyway. Cyclists have legal right to use the road, they have the historical right (given that bicycles and roads for them preceded the invention of motorised transport) and obviously the moral right in a world searching for greener methods of transport. Perhaps, but probably not, this article will help you get over yourself: http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/Pages/Bicyclesarelegaltraffictoo.aspx Finally, you did mention a bicycle lane - I don't see any in the pics. I never brought that into my initial point as I referred directly to "riding within the yellow line". There did used to be reference to cycle lanes in one of the guideline docs from the department of Transport a few years ago, but I don't recall it making legislation. In the UK bicycle lanes are compulsory in terms of their code of conduct, but recent case law has seen that section being removed from the highway code. The primary reason is that a cyclist should have a choice to ride wherever on the road he feels safest. That all said, I have no interest in how this issue is resolved, but am concerned that motorists still believe that they have a right to be indignant because their (often illegal) driving behaviour has been slowed for a few seconds, and that cyclists seem to have the ridiculous notion that somehow behaviour of cyclists has any impact on the general perception motorists have of their "absolute" right to the road. http://www.transport.gov.za/library/legislation/road%20traffic%20act.txt The Road Traffic Act 29 of 1989, Section 105 pertains to cyclists and states clearly: Ride in single file, except if overtaking another pedal cycle. Ride on a cycle path and not the road whenever there is a cycle path available . And a whole lot of other stuff There are cycle lanes in the cradle. And you miss the point completly.
