The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

[Mulger bill]

Had this bloke pass me on King St Newtown yesterday afternoon, blasting past me on the left leaving about a foot. I yelled out to him to pass on the right, but pretty sure he didn't hear me. He eventually pulled onto the footpath to park outside a bike shop so I told him again, but pretty sure he didn't care.

Now if cyclists were registered, you could pull up behind him, remove his plate and slash his tyre...

Or something like that according to the Feral Huns readers.

[yugyug]

I don't mind passing on the left and have mirrors both sides to watch for it. Not illegal either, but I do expect a but of room be given in the arrangement. If we can pass cars on the left so can a bike pass us. But safely...

Agree. The beauty of a bicycle being thin! Of course, safely....

[il padrone]

A simple call "passing on your left" would resolve much

[jasonc]

A simple call "passing on your left" would resolve much

+100000000

then again, I don't pass other bikes on their left.

[CXCommuter]

Passing other cyclists and pedestrians is dangerous IMO, I don't expect it and secondly if I need to move left for an emergency situation (easy to envisage on a road like King Street) it removes that avenue of escape. I have seen a serious accident occur due to a twit riding fast and undertaking another cyclist on the left when there was insufficient room.

If you have to overtake on the left then a simple call out would suffice though, but this all assumes these people GAF, which is often not the case

[silentC]

then again, I don't pass other bikes on their left

Ditto and I'm sorry but it really pisses me off when people do it. If you are travelling at speed and you think you have the lane, only to have someone squeeze between you and the gutter, apart from anything else it startles you a bit if you're not expecting it.

We have a young guy who rides with us sometimes and he is notorious for it. He picks a gap that doesn't really exists and next thing you know you're brushing elbows. Fairs fair on the track, where I gather he spends a lot of time, but when you're riding with old farts on a supposedly casual trundle of a Sunday morning. Yes I'm talking to you, young master you know who you are!

[Jangari]

Passing other cyclists and pedestrians is dangerous IMO, I don't expect it and secondly if I need to move left for an emergency situation (easy to envisage on a road like King Street) it removes that avenue of escape. I have seen a serious accident occur due to a twit riding fast and undertaking another cyclist on the left when there was insufficient room.

If you have to overtake on the left then a simple call out would suffice though, but this all assumes these people GAF, which is often not the case

I presume in your first sentence you mean 'passing other cyclists and pedestrians on the left is dangerous'.

Entirely agreed. Passing on the left shouldn't be ruled out, but only do it if it's not unsafe, and a simple 'on ya left' will suffice as a warning. That's basically what I say in the video description anyway.

[Summernight]

then again, I don't pass other bikes on their left

Ditto and I'm sorry but it really pisses me off when people do it. If you are travelling at speed and you think you have the lane, only to have someone squeeze between you and the gutter, apart from anything else it startles you a bit if you're not expecting it.

Agreed. I am claiming the lane and riding wide for a reason.

And on this topic this is the next step for an undertaker:



I was motioning the left indicating (and turning) driver in front of me to continue with his turn. Because of the two cyclists' stupidity (recklessness?) in passing both me and the left turning car on the left they caused a back up of vehicles and did a dangerous move. If they obeyed the law, or even realised that they should slow down because the lady cyclist in front of them is obviously waving to the left turning driver to turn, then they might actually realise that traffic flows a lot better and they wouldn't have endangered their lives with their stupid move.

I told one of them what he had done was stupid when we were stopped at the lights in Collins Street. The other one I didn't get an opportunity to tell off when I passed him as we were moving and it wasn't appropriate timing, but from the violent wobbling of the out-of-true rear wheel (it could have wobbled off the ends of the Earth) maybe he just doesn't care.

[silentC]

Gawd what a gaggle of geese. Glad I don't have to deal with that here...

[Summernight]

Gawd what a gaggle of geese. Glad I don't have to deal with that here...

I consider them sheep - all following the leader and not thinking for themselves. Even the guy in front of me shouldn't have gone on the left of that car, IMO.

[jules21]

i don't think the driver is allowed to cross the solid white line there

147 Moving from one marked lane to another marked lane across a continuous line separating the lanes
A driver on a multi-lane road must not move from one marked lane to another marked lane by crossing a continuous line separating the lanes unless:
(a) the driver is avoiding an obstruction; or
(b) the driver is obeying a traffic control device applying to the first marked lane; or
(c) the driver is permitted to drive in both marked lanes under another provision of the Australian Road Rules or under another law of this jurisdiction; or
(d) either of the marked lanes is a special purpose lane in which the driver is permitted to drive under the Australian Road Rules and the driver is moving to or from the special purpose lane.

[CXCommuter]

Passing other cyclists and pedestrians is dangerous IMO, I don't expect it and secondly if I need to move left for an emergency situation (easy to envisage on a road like King Street) it removes that avenue of escape. I have seen a serious accident occur due to a twit riding fast and undertaking another cyclist on the left when there was insufficient room.

If you have to overtake on the left then a simple call out would suffice though, but this all assumes these people GAF, which is often not the case

I presume in your first sentence you mean 'passing other cyclists and pedestrians on the left is dangerous'.

Entirely agreed. Passing on the left shouldn't be ruled out, but only do it if it's not unsafe, and a simple 'on ya left' will suffice as a warning. That's basically what I say in the video description anyway.

Sorry- I meant passing on the left- and was referring to the other posters re their comments elsewhere

[Summernight]

i don't think the driver is allowed to cross the solid white line there

147 Moving from one marked lane to another marked lane across a continuous line separating the lanes
A driver on a multi-lane road must not move from one marked lane to another marked lane by crossing a continuous line separating the lanes unless:
(a) the driver is avoiding an obstruction; or
(b) the driver is obeying a traffic control device applying to the first marked lane; or
(c) the driver is permitted to drive in both marked lanes under another provision of the Australian Road Rules or under another law of this jurisdiction; or
(d) either of the marked lanes is a special purpose lane in which the driver is permitted to drive under the Australian Road Rules and the driver is moving to or from the special purpose lane.

It is a guidance line only to show where the turn is into the new street. The bike lane disappears at the same time into the same lane as the car is in - so the cyclists themselves are also crossing the line. There is no continuity of the bike lane through the intersection (which would mean the driver does have to give way to the cyclists in the bike lane) so the left-turning vehicle rule applies, IMO.

There is also a left turning (and straight ahead) arrow painted on the ground before the intersection (under the vehicle).

[jules21]

It is a guidance line only to show where the turn is into the new street. The bike lane disappears at the same time into the same lane as the car is in - so the cyclists themselves are also crossing the line. There is no continuity of the bike lane through the intersection (which would mean the driver does have to give way to the cyclists in the bike lane) so the left-turning vehicle rule applies, IMO.

There is also a left turning (and straight ahead) arrow painted on the ground before the intersection (under the vehicle).

i agree the intention is for the vehicle to turn left, but it clearly crosses a continuous white line in the process. by my reading of the rule*, that's a breach. it didn't used to be a breach, but the rule was changed a while ago.

you're correct that cyclists are also crossing the white line (although further on than when the car turns), but one offence doesn't justify another.

i understand the point of your post, cyclists need to yield to LH turning vehicles (in fact this is still a breach here - if the car is turning left - i'm unsure it is?), but in this case the intersection seems to me to be a bit of a balls-up.

* i've been known to misread these, happy to receive another opinion.

[silentC]

The solid line looks continuous to me and so I can't see any way of getting into the side street without crossing it. You can blame infrastructure, but road sharing is a two-way street and they just gave that guy a reason (if he didn't already have one) to think cyclists are ignorant idiots.

[il padrone]

i agree the intention is for the vehicle to turn left, but it clearly crosses a continuous white line in the process. by my reading of the rule*, that's a breach. it didn't used to be a breach, but the rule was changed a while ago.

I believe the rule on not crossing solid lane lines does not apply to road-edge lines, which this could effectively constitute. It is this intersection, Elizabeth St into Albert St, a major bike route from the east into the CBD.

I do not believe there is any 'no left-turn' sign at that intersection, and these lines do not prohibit a turn, they are simply guidance lines through the intersection, not lane lines. Most traffic-light controlled intersections have such lines, mostly for right turns; if they could not be crossed then u-turns would be illegal at 90% of controlled intersections in Melbourne.

[Dragster1]

Gawd what a gaggle of geese. Glad I don't have to deal with that here...

I consider them sheep - all following the leader and not thinking for themselves. Even the guy in front of me shouldn't have gone on the left of that car, IMO.

Im glad you stopped and seen the danger ! SELF preservation comes first to me. I have driven a work ute like that and they have large blind spots because of the tool boxes and everyone that walks past them while being parked normally pushes the wide winged door mirrors out of range. I cant comment on the markings on the road and don't recall seeing them here in Brisbane like that but all broken lines at intersections.

[Mulger bill]

Yep, guidelines, poorly thought out but still there for the assistance of people with the spatial skills of amoeba.

Ugly intersection design too, not actually a turn but the convoluted promary route. Realignment should be a priority

[il padrone]

Ugly intersection design too, not actually a turn but the convoluted promary route. Realignment should be a priority

Realignment would be easy-peasy too. Just 1-2 properties to acquire and do a land-swap with the car wash business. Done and dusted.

[g-boaf]

A simple call "passing on your left" would resolve much

Don't pass on the left. It is a recipe for disaster.

Do the pass on the right where it is expected and where there is room to do so.

[myforwik]

then again, I don't pass other bikes on their left

Ditto and I'm sorry but it really pisses me off when people do it. If you are travelling at speed and you think you have the lane, only to have someone squeeze between you and the gutter, apart from anything else it startles you a bit if you're not expecting it.

Agreed. I am claiming the lane and riding wide for a reason.

And on this topic this is the next step for an undertaker:



I was motioning the left indicating (and turning) driver in front of me to continue with his turn. Because of the two cyclists' stupidity (recklessness?) in passing both me and the left turning car on the left they caused a back up of vehicles and did a dangerous move. If they obeyed the law, or even realised that they should slow down because the lady cyclist in front of them is obviously waving to the left turning driver to turn, then they might actually realise that traffic flows a lot better and they wouldn't have endangered their lives with their stupid move.

I told one of them what he had done was stupid when we were stopped at the lights in Collins Street. The other one I didn't get an opportunity to tell off when I passed him as we were moving and it wasn't appropriate timing, but from the violent wobbling of the out-of-true rear wheel (it could have wobbled off the ends of the Earth) maybe he just doesn't care.

The thing is, the rules for this are pretty stupid. Technically the bike lane is a separate lane of traffic, so you can undertake a turning car all you want, he has to give way before changing lanes. Even more technically - he should not be turning left from the non-left lane. He is meant to position himself inside the bicycle lane for the left turn. You are allowed to drive in the bicycle lane for 100m (or 50m?) to make a left turn.

Of course there is the 'rules' and there is what is actually done... I do what you do, but I hang back even more. Don't go within a few car lengths of anyone looking to turn.

[il padrone]

The bike lane ceased at the entry to the intersection. There are no markings for the bike lane continued across the intersection, so you become just another vehicle in the flow. Rule 148(2) covers vehicles needing to give way when merging with another line of traffic, however it does not apply if the two lines of traffic are merging. It becomes just a 'zip-merge' (give way to a vehicle ahead of yours). People would argue that is what is happening on entering the intersection.

That is the rules.

The stooges crashing through with the left-side undertake are breaking the law, not to mention behaving extremely unsafely.

[jaseyjase]

T-interection at Carr st and Fitzgerald (perth)

Dude on an e-mountain bike blows the red on fitzgerald and nearly gets cleaned up by the car coming out of carr st who has the green

absolute moron

was just about to catch up to him to inform him of his douchebaggery but he turned off before i got the chance

[il padrone]

Don't bother. He knows he is a douchebag, probably prides himself on this fact.

Some (many) people are like that. A bit like the bloke we saw yesterday while waiting to enter a main road - walking along and presses the ped crossing button..... then walks right along away from the crossing. Just pressed it to deliberately hold up traffic and annoy other people. Douchebag!

[ldrcycles]

Idiot jogger this afternoon, earphones in, having a good stretch. Nearly a metre from the kerb on a road with no shoulder, on a blind corner, facing away from traffic! It's a damn good thing i'm always extra careful on that corner, your average driver probably would have hit her.