Could this be the end of Chappies for us?

[Icycling]

Are you serious that cyclists do not need to educated?? So you would send your 10 year old kid out onto the roads and say "Dont worry Johnny, you dont need to know the rules of the road, the cars, trucks and busses will makes sure they dont hit you when youre riding in the middle of the road...." WTF?? FFS I give up......

 

This is possibly the most friendly Cycle nations view - The Netherlands - on that matter regards motorized versa non motorized transport!

 

It might be good to mention another Dutch legal instrument: that is the

legislation on liability. In Dutch law motorists are liable in case of

accidents with non motorised road users regardless the question whether the

non motorised road user might have been at fault. The reason for this is

that motorised road users by their chosen mode of transport create a larger

risk for fellow road users, and therefore have to behave more cautious. In

fact they could only escape from liability in case they can prove force

majeure. But this is not the mistake of a non motorised road user as

mistakes can be expected. Thus motorists have to be prepared to be able to

react to 'normal' mistakes of children, cyclists etc.

 

The main advantage of this type of legislation is that you don't need to

enforce a certain legally requested behaviour, but simply make the motorists

pay if they are involved in an accident.

[Lucky Luke.]

Very interesting, and I'd love for that type of law to exist here. To tell the whole story though, the Netherlands also educates it's cyclists from a very young age:

 

 

 

At age 11, most kids in town are tested on their cycling skills on a course through the city, winning a certificate of accomplishment that ends up framed on many bedroom walls.

 

“To make safer roads, we focus on the children,” Tamse explained. “It not only helps them bike and walk more safely, but it helps them to become safer drivers who will look out for pedestrians and bicyclists in the future.”

 

http://www.yesmagazi...-from-the-dutch

 

This harks back to my earlier point about SA cyclists coming from a 'car-first' perspective - ie. they learned to drive on the roads before they learned to bike on them, and this defines their approach to cyclists. I see it everywhere from on the road to on this forum.

 

More on Dutch cycling law from Wikipedia:

 

 

"Strict liability", supported in law in the Netherlands,[2] leads to driver's insurance being deemed to be responsible in a collision between a car and a cyclist. Dutch drivers are trained for the interaction with cyclists, for example by checking and re-checking their right-hand side before making a turn to the right.

 

Bicycle helmets are hardly ever worn in the Netherlands - the same can be said for Denmark, and for other places with much traffic by bicycle. Cyclists of all ages, and the government, consider the bicycle helmet unnecessary and there is no 'helmet law'.

 

These factors together far outweigh the negative factors of wet and windy weather, strong headwinds due to the flat terrain, and frequent bicycle thefts. Nearly a third of all journeys made in the Netherlands are made by bicycle. Even the over 65 age group make nearly a quarter of their journeys by bicycle. Within some cities, over half of all journeys are made by bicycle.

 

http://en.wikipedia....the_Netherlands

Edited November 22, 2012 by Lucky Luke.