'News' article from Daily Smellograph today

[AndyTheMan]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/s ... 6530020247

[g-boaf]

So, we are all arrogant cyclists are we? Dumb newspaper defaming everyone with over-the-top blanket statements.

It's a stupid piece of puffery. It's a shame they don't put more effort into dealing with hoon drivers, my area is plagued by them most nights and the Police don't want to do a thing about them, despite numerous phone calls.

Cyclists are an easy target. That said, I do support something being done about ALL people who run red-lights, be it car drivers, buses, trucks or anyone else.

[Dean Whittle]

It's good to know that the police have an operation going, I'll be a little more cautious.

I saw a cyclist get pulled over and fined in Macquarie St last week for running a red, and I got followed by a police car in Newtown because they saw me slowly riding along the footpath for a block. They dropped off when I got back onto the road (King St).

[g-boaf]

http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news/lates ... YWxsPTE%3D

Operation Reliant commenced in February 2012 in response to increased bicycle traffic in Sydney’s CBD and the development of dedicated and shared bicycle paths.

It must be a slow news day, if we are only getting reports of it in December 2012.

[Ozkaban]

The heading is pretty offensive and I wonder how many cyclists they 'interviewed' to find the two nut jobs who said the fine would not be a deterrent and would continue to break the law. Other than that nothing really worth reading in there. Oh, and to the numpty who complained about police tackling him - $10 says you would have been in the process of riding away from them after ignoring the direction to stop...

Still, saying that at least one cyclist ran the red on every traffic light cycle on oxford st is pretty irritating. Is patience really that hard? Give me whatever excuse you want for doing it but it boils down to knowing you'll 99% get away with it and you can't be stuffed waiting. Gives all of us a bad name.

The police can do a blitz on whatever they want. I'll give them a friendly wave as I ride past, like the vast majority of cyclists who aren't breaking the law.

[g-boaf]

The police can do a blitz on whatever they want. I'll give them a friendly wave as I ride past, like the vast majority of cyclists who aren't breaking the law.

+1. And I bet they won't write about the time when someone is in distress or trouble and the person who stops to help out is the "arrogant Sydney cyclist". The so called arrogant Sydney cyclist tends to be the one who is very likely to stop and help out someone in need or help other cyclists. Case in point, I was fixing a puncture the other weekend, a few people stopped to ask if I was okay, one even offered their spare tube (I had one already).

Oh yes, how arrogant they must be.

[Ross]

I always thought the fine was the same for a cyclist or a motorist running a red light. Why would it be different?

[Howzat]

The heading is pretty offensive and I wonder how many cyclists they 'interviewed' to find the two nut jobs who said the fine would not be a deterrent.

The headline is worse than the article. Headlines are written by (arrogant) editors, not (hard-working) reporters.

But I don't think you don't have to go far to find cyclists who will rationalise riding without a helmet or disobeying some road rules, if you give them an open microphone.

(The same can be said about motorists who speed or run red lights; however the Smellygraph is likely take their side with stories slanted against "revenue raising red light camera bureaucracy gone mad".)

[human909]

Where are the headlines about arrogant motorists running reds? Do the thousands snapped every day not count? And if the amber is short by a HALF A SECOND then the newspaper will rush to your defence for running reds.


(I'm only objecting to double standards... As I've said before I have no big objection to going through reds when its clear and safe.)

[AUbicycles]

If this was about motorists then this would be the headline:

Police put the squeeze on frustrated Sydney motorists

Is anyone surprised by this type of reporting?
They turn 1% into 50%.

[g-boaf]

If this was about motorists then this would be the headline:

Police put the squeeze on frustrated Sydney motorists

Is anyone surprised by this type of reporting?
They turn 1% into 50%.

No, I'm not surprised - just annoyed. Everyone should be complaining to the Telegraph about this. Email them, phone them, etc - make your voice heard.

[Addictr3]

If this was about motorists then this would be the headline:

Police put the squeeze on frustrated Sydney oranges

Is anyone surprised by this type of reporting?
They turn 1% into 50%.

Fixed your police blitz.

[diggler]

I have no problem with the headline or the article. It doesn't say all cyclists are arrogant. It is saying these cyclists who believe they are above the law are arrogant. I think that is fair enough.

I'm glad they fined these people. They give us law abiding cyclists a bad name. And that old chestnut, "Why don't you chase after real criminals" is just the lamest line and is guaranteed to p off cops.

Of course the cop tackled him because he refused to stop. Wouldn't happen if he had a rego plate, but that's a another issue.

[zero]

I always thought the fine was the same for a cyclist or a motorist running a red light. Why would it be different?

The police have discretion to use less than minimum number of penalty units on an infringement notice, which they might do in a blitz where the purpose is mostly education.

If some of those cyclists subsequently elect to have their matters heard at court, they might find a judge more inclined to hand out the proper number of penalty units in a fine.

[tubby74]

don't see too many problems with the headline or the article. Anyone who tries walking around the city is regularly forced to evade cyclists who run the red and barge through pedestrians crossing with the signals, or ride on the footpath. Headlines like this every now and then will hopefully change the behaviour of a lot more than the number who actually get caught.

[AUbicycles]

I have no problem with the headline or the article. It doesn't say all cyclists are arrogant. It is saying these cyclists who believe they are above the law are arrogant. I think that is fair enough.

The effect of such a headline is Cyclists = Arrogant.

[Xplora]

Embarrassment for the paper. They wonder why their circulation declines... anyone with half a brain can see through such drivel.

[human909]

I have no problem with the headline or the article. It doesn't say all cyclists are arrogant. It is saying these cyclists who believe they are above the law are arrogant. I think that is fair enough.

How does crossing against a signal make you arrogant? Compare the media response to similar actions by pedestrians.

PEDESTRIANS beware - step on to even the narrowest city street at the wrong time and you'll be fined.

Travel manager Daniel James found out the hard way last week when he was slapped with a $102 fine for stepping on to Leigh St - a one-way alley that is less than four metres wide - on a "red man" pedestrian signal.

In the four steps it took Mr James to cross the street the man had gone green, but that didn't stop an officer issuing him with a fine.

"I guess in the eyes of the law I am in the wrong, I did place my foot on the road when there was a `red man' on display," Mr James said.

"But in this particular location, with no traffic and crossing a street four paces wide, surely the common sense rule should apply.

"It is not like I was sprinting across King William St or a major thoroughfare.

"This had nothing to do with road safety, just taking an advantage of a location where 99 out of 100 people do the same thing." Eastern Adelaide police are conducting a 16-day blitz of pedestrian behaviour in the CBD.

The Advertiser witnessed two officers issuing fines to pedestrians yesterday.

The last time they conducted Operation Amble, in early October, police issued 161 fines to pedestrians for either crossing against a red light at an intersection, or crossing dangerously in between crossings - an average of 13 a day. There is no specific offence of jaywalking, but several offences exist in relation to walking without regard to other road users.

The fine is $42, plus a $60 Victims of Crime Levy.

At the same time last year the fine, including the Victims of Crime Levy, was $55.

Police did not answer The Advertiser's question about whether Mr James' fine was reasonable. But Superintendent Anthony Fioravanti, officer in charge of Eastern Adelaide Local Service Area, said pedestrians were vulnerable road users. "Our focus will be on the major pedestrian intersections in the CBD which carry high volume pedestrian traffic, which also places many pedestrians at risk of serious injury when they cross the road against the red signal," he said.

"Road safety is everybody's responsibility, and that includes pedestrians."

There have been 16 pedestrians killed on SA roads this year and 74 pedestrians have received serious injuries as a result of crashes.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/step-out- ... 6215621942

Police target jaywalkers in city blitz

Police have issued more than 3000 official warnings to jaywalkers in the past two days - and say that from now on, there'll be no excuses.

- Crackdown on jaywalkers
- On-the-spot fines
- Lives at risk: police

From tomorrow, $57 on-the-spot fines will be handed out to those caught ignoring `don't walk' signals and crossing outside marked lines.

The blitz is part of a police operation named 'Don't Do Your Dash', which is aimed at reducing risky pedestrian behaviour in Melbourne's CBD. Just over 3300 people have already been issued official warnings.

"This is a serious issue and excuses such as `I'm running late' or `Everyone else was crossing the road' are simply not good enough," Acting Superintendent Paul Pottage said.

In the past 12 months, there have been 223 accidents involving pedestrians in Melbourne's CBD and according to police data, the pedestrian was at fault in 56% of cases.

"People don't seem to understand that they're risking their lives every time they cross the road against the red man or dart between cars," Acting Superintendent Pottage said.

"We're going to continue to target pedestrian behaviour until people get the message, and anyone seen doing the wrong thing will be fined."
http://www.theage.com.au/national/polic ... z2E8DBLWaN

[il padrone]

That headline tells me that all Sydney cyclists are arrogant

[george-bob]

Embarrassment for the paper. They wonder why their circulation declines... anyone with half a brain can see through such drivel.

Unfortunately people with more than half a brain wouldn't pick up the tele in the first place!

[find_bruce]

What concerns me about the article and the picture is the Police Officer physically restraining the cyclist, whether or not it amounted to a "rugby tackle" there is nothing that suggests it was a necessary or reasonable to use force.

I always thought the fine was the same for a cyclist or a motorist running a red light. Why would it be different?

The police have discretion to use less than minimum number of penalty units on an infringement notice, which they might do in a blitz where the purpose is mostly education.

If some of those cyclists subsequently elect to have their matters heard at court, they might find a judge more inclined to hand out the proper number of penalty units in a fine.

Close but not quite right Zero. The Police do not have a discretion on the size of the fine - it is dictated by the Road Transport (General) Regulation 2005 which provides for the penalty notice offences, who can issue them and the level of the offence.

In the case of a red light, "in relation to the use of a motor vehicle otherwise than at toll booth or in school zone" it is level 6, being $397, while "in relation to the use of a vehicle not being a motor vehicle" it is level 1 being $66.

The Police only have three options - (1) issue a warning instead of a penalty notice, (2) issue a penalty notice at the prescribed level or (3) take it to a court.

Whether the police take it to court or the cyclist does, you are correct that the judge can hand out a fine up to the maximum, 20 penalty units, currently $2,200 and the maximum fine is the same whatever vehicle is involved.

[il padrone]

Another aspect of selective reporting then, as the Smellograph reporter quotes police as saying they only handed out $66 fines to cyclists, while the fine for motorists was $324 plus loss of points. This is patently either incorrect and/or a matter of police using some discretion.

[Alien27]

Embarrassment for the paper. They wonder why their circulation declines... anyone with half a brain can see through such drivel.

Unfortunately people with more than half a brain wouldn't pick up the tele in the first place!

+1

Surprisingly the article isn't that bad, the headline is typically atrocious though.

[boss]

I always thought the fine was the same for a cyclist or a motorist running a red light. Why would it be different?

The police have discretion to use less than minimum number of penalty units on an infringement notice, which they might do in a blitz where the purpose is mostly education.

If some of those cyclists subsequently elect to have their matters heard at court, they might find a judge more inclined to hand out the proper number of penalty units in a fine.

I've been fined before for running a red light, I can't remember what the fine was for but it wasn't disobey traffic signal. It was well under $100 and no demerit points.

[human909]

Another aspect of selective reporting then, as the Smellograph reporter quotes police as saying they only handed out $66 fines to cyclists, while the fine for motorists was $324 plus loss of points. This is patently either incorrect and/or a matter of police using some discretion.

I'm not so sure.

I think the on the spot fines levels come from different legislation to the road rules. Either way this was the same situation in Victoria until parliment passed special legislation to increase the fine for cyclists. Naturally BV backed this.