"Panic buttons" for Brisbane's cyclists

[Aushiker]

Hi

It seems Brisbane cyclists need to harden up road.cc is reporting that you will be getting "panic buttons" along part of the Bicentennial Bikeway.

The devices, which will also have sirens and flashing lights, should be in place by June next year, and once the button has been pressed, contact will be made to a monitoring centre while CCTV images will be shown on a screen.

Andrew

[rhancock]

"... a decade ago, a student almost drowned and was left with severe brain injury when he and his girlfriend were attacked by a number of people as they cycled back home after a party... "

Two things here.... It's taken TEN years to get around to doing something about it! And secondly, do we really need panic buttons for an area which is heavily trafficked into the evening, yet has only had one incident (albeit a serious one) in ten years?

Surely there are better things they could spend money on down there? Maybe some paint? or resurfacing? or landscaping, even?

[Dimma]

I agree doesn't seem like the most cost effective way to spend funds, will hopefully have a deterrent effect at best.

[Drunkmonkey]

The panic buttons arent just for cyclists - pedestrians use the path also.............thats who the buttons will be abused by.

[Chanboy]

The panic buttons arent just for cyclists - pedestrians use the path also.............thats who the buttons will be abused by.

...So I can't press it when I get a flat tyre and expect some emergency repair guy to come fix my bike?


Might be easier to just have some policemen or security guards regularly walk through the area?

[Rhubarb]

You guys aren't taking this seriously....

The number of people attacked within a 2m radius of these poles is forecast to be astronomical and there is currently no credible evidence to suggest that pressing a big red button cannot stop even the most violent of offenders dead in their tracks and send them fleeing instantly.

So either its a 100% foolproof means of actually preventing crimes, or .... cynically, a tangible (albeit useless) initiative they can reference to prevent them being sued by victims for negligence.

6 months ago the bicentennial bikeway was crawling with cops on MTBs every morning. Running a couple of random patrols around the botannical gardens then out along coro drive would do more for proactive policing then these emergency buttons.