News bot Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 Everybody is saying it: we need to get more people on bicycles on our roads. The environmental, health and economic benefits are obvious. But the headlines are shouting back: “Cyclist killed” or “Mountain biker hijacked”. Click here to view the article nathrix and Marius 2
DIPSLICK Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 daily i see more and more commuters, the figures will go up, the figures going up are your commuters who are tired of 1/3 of their weakly wage(i know)going to taxi owners, the figures going up(VOLUME) i dont see how that will make the stats go down in SA, i think sa love for bigger,faster,more bling rides will always have the mindset THIS IS A ROAD its for "us" the motorist, using the danish mentality and how they reacted and thinking SA will follow me personally i dont see it, I SEE MANY MORE YOUTUBE TYPE VIDEOS like the ones from th UK when our figures go up SOMETHING MUST BE DONE AGREED BarHugger 1
Dirkitech Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 why would more people start cycling if they see how dangerously taxis shoot into the new "joburg cycling lanes" - people see bicycles, then they see how the cyclists are nearly killed cars, then they wet themselves, then they plonk down in front of useless dstv. Personally, I think cycling will pick up drastically by merely prosecuting reckless drivers and taxis.
marko35s Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 In a comment that may well get me lynched I have to say one of the reasons I am happy doing a late wednesday afternoon ride at Tokai with my son was the presence of all the runners (or Gumps as I used to call them), it meant there was a reasonable chance of finding your car with all its glass in the right place if you got back to the parking a little later than planned.Having a few people around can be a good thing but just stay off out singletrack please.
Wyatt Earp Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 Yet when we arrange an awareness ride for cyclists and their safety and allowing us an opportunity to speak out and make our voices heard to the press and media the response is less than forthcoming.More cyclists won't make for safer cycling unless more people become proactive . Frosty and marko35s 2
Wyatt Earp Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 why would more people start cycling if they see how dangerously taxis shoot into the new "joburg cycling lanes" - people see bicycles, then they see how the cyclists are nearly killed cars, then they wet themselves, then they plonk down in front of useless dstv. Personally, I think cycling will pick up drastically by merely prosecuting reckless drivers and taxis.The chances of that happening is as good as Ellen De Generes giving birth .
Red Zone Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 Only when there is an acceptance of cyclists as a part of the transport landscape will safety improve. At the moment cyclists are seen mainly as a nuisance and an obstruction to traffic. Only when motorists see cyclists as a simple fact of life, like a traffic light, speedbump or other part of the system that requires a change in driving behaviour, like slowing down etc... will safety improve. At the moment most motorists view cyclists as objects which are out of place and in their environment and thus not deserving of any consideration or respect. rock and Nick 2
davidl Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 Red Zone, you last comment is spot on! However, contributing to that attitude is some of cyclists who do not comply with traffic regulations. Many motorists say that if cyclists do not adhere to the regulations then why should they show respect. Maybe adherence to the regulations may help to bring about more tolerance and that should help bring down the accident rate between motorists and cyclists. ecg15 1
GoLefty!! Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 The law has to be very clear on motorist obligations.There has to be enforcement of these laws. Current even the basic traffic lawa are transgressed with impunity, especially taxi's. Until there is a political drive aainst taxi behavior traffic authorities will never gain the respect of the general motoring public since taxi's are viewed as exempt from the law. Then motorist culture of tarmac entitlement needs to change. This is best done through education and zero tolerance law enforcement. Cyclists here are not the real problem. Sure there are darwin club members but by and large cyclists, if motorists obey the law, will assist in reducing the number of road accidents since they will force motorists to drive sensibly and at safe speeds in built up areas. cyclists on highways or any road with a speed limit above 80km/hr is a no no. and cycling highways should be constructed to link cyclists to safer roads or cycle paths and parks. All this vision requires is political will to be implemented and its a win win win for everyone. ecg15 1
SwissVan Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 For cycling to be accepted it has to become a way of life, i.e. kids ride to school or to their friends house etc, people commute to work, school... rides to shop etc...not just a fitness or recreation tool. When people know what it is like to ride a bike on the roads or have family that ride they will be less likely to have that who gives a s h i t attitude towards cyclists. When i was a laatjie one of my "jobs" at home was to go and buy the bread, milk and newspaper everyday, i could either walk there or ride there...riding was much easier and gave me more time to play pinball....and then i would also go via the vlei and ride a few of the footpaths and bumps. Every kid owned a bike and used it, many parents rode to work (ok i lived in a an area where lots of adults could ride to work at Atlas aircraft) For this to happen the law has to be put in place and enforced to protect the cyclists.
alsoran Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 Red Zone, you last comment is spot on! However, contributing to that attitude is some of cyclists who do not comply with traffic regulations. Many motorists say that if cyclists do not adhere to the regulations then why should they show respect. Maybe adherence to the regulations may help to bring about more tolerance and that should help bring down the accident rate between motorists and cyclists. Getting a bit bored of this reasoning. On my commute I see the majority of riders following the rules. We will never get 100% buy in from cyclists there will always be a small number that ignore the rules and that is not and will never be a valid reason for motorists to avoid tolerance and common decency on the road.. Pure Savage and Bankie99 2
Wez-O Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 Government need to pass stricter laws to punish drivers that kill cyclists. If you kill a cyclist in Belgium or Canada (unless you have a VERY good reason) you are off to jail, end of story! Pure Savage, J∆kk∆ls and Long Wheel Base 3
Long Wheel Base Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 Government need to pass stricter laws to punish drivers that kill cyclists. If you kill a cyclist in Belgium or Canada (unless you have a VERY good reason) you are off to jail, end of story!And they need to speed up the conviction time. Burry got murdered over 2 years ago and we still waiting for a trial result. WTF??????
Red Zone Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 Red Zone, you last comment is spot on! However, contributing to that attitude is some of cyclists who do not comply with traffic regulations. Many motorists say that if cyclists do not adhere to the regulations then why should they show respect. Maybe adherence to the regulations may help to bring about more tolerance and that should help bring down the accident rate between motorists and cyclists.I see that as a knee jerk response from motorists, little more. Of course there are the lawbreakers but for a motorist to say that they wont give cyclists respect until they are all law abiding is nonsense. Firstly motorists are legally bound to obey the rules of the road irrespective of whether other road users are law abiding or not. Just because one group breaks the law doesn't give the other the excuse to do the same. This is kind of the point I was making in my original post that motorists need to get over the indignation that arises when the see the following"- A cyclist wasting their time by being on the road - the cyclist has an inalienable right to be there, whether training, commuting or riding with his kidsA cyclist breaking the law, riding two abreast etc...A cyclist effectively blocking a lane when a road is too narrow to pass safelyI think that this is the fundamental difference between road users in SA and for example, Denmark, Holland and France. In these countries cyclists are part of the landscape - sure they may behave a little better most of the time, but there simply isn't the degree of animosity towards cyclists that there is in SA
nathrix Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 There's something missing from this awareness poster....
Albatross Posted January 30, 2015 Posted January 30, 2015 I read recently that the more cyclists we get out there the better for everyone in general. At the moment a motorist is conditioned to see cars, trucks & busses in his vision and a cyclist doesn't fit into that known pattern. I don't know how many of you have seen the utoob clip which shows a bunch of basketball players passing balls to each other and asks you to count how many times it is thrown? after the clip you are asked if you saw the moonwalking gorilla and you didn't. The moonwalking gorilla is the cyclist on our roads, he's there but they just don't see us. J∆kk∆ls 1
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