QLD Minimum Safe Passing Distance e-petition

[myforwik]

How long would it take to get there from coronation drive?

For a rider of reasonable/moderate fitness on a road bike, allow 35 minutes, starting from Coronation Drive, down Sylvan Rd until you get to Milton Rd, then its out along Centenary bikepath all the way until you get to the turn off at the Fig Tree Pocket Rd freeway overpass.

Thanks, I usually go up V1 not centenary, but I'll be there.

How many people does everything think will show up?

[The 2nd Womble]

http://m.brisbanetimes.com.au/queenslan ... 2jozq.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Talented violinist Richard Pollett rode his bike for the last time along Moggill Road on September 27, 2011.
On Friday morning, dozens of cyclists will ride the same stretch to demand a change to the road rules they say could have saved Richard's life.
“Motorists can, and do, regularly give cyclists mere inches as they whiz past you,” said Paul French from cycling lobby group CBD BUG.
The group is supporting a petition to require cars to give cyclists a minimum 1.5 metres distance when overtaking.
“We'd be happy with a metre,” Mr French said. “We just need something.”
Mr Pollett, 25, was killed when a cement truck struck his bike while overtaking him.
Truck driver Luke Stevens was found not guilty of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death on May 6, after a three day trial.
Director of Safe Cycling Australia David Sharp said he was inspired to create the petition after speaking with Mr Pollett's devastated mother Patricia.
“She was very disheartened and upset as you can imagine, and she just wanted to know what else could be done,” he said.
“She wants her son's life to mean more than what the courts have basically told her it meant.”
Member for Moggill Bruce Flegg has sponsored the petition, which has received more than 3000 signatures since being lodged on May 10.
Dr Flegg, himself a keen cyclist, will join CBD BUG's A Metre Matters Awareness Ride, supported by the Amy Gillett Foundation.
Riders will start the three-kilometre journey at the Kenmore Village Shopping Centre at 7.30am then travel along Moggill Road past a "ghost bike" that marks the spot where Richard Pollett died.
Dr Flegg said the current law that simply requires vehicles to leave a sufficient distance was no longer enough protection.
“There is a need for a specific gap to be left, which gives motorists a clear idea of how much room they need to allow them,” he said.
Mr French said a growing number of jurisdictions in Europe and the United States were bringing in minimum passing distances.
“It's just a best practice approach that we'd like to see adopted in Queensland,” he said.
He said the publicity of introducing a safe passing distance rule would educate motorists, and suggested it could be enforced much like tailgating regulations.
“It typically isn't enforced unless police happen to be on the spot, or in the case of a crash, it becomes clear when a motorist hasn't allowed enough space between vehicles,” he said.
Transport Minister Scott Emerson said the petition would be considered, but there were currently no plans to change rules regarding overtaking cyclists.

“Any petition lodged will be considered, however a fixed distance raises a number of issues such as making it illegal for cyclists to move slowly and closely past queued vehicles,” he said.
“All cyclists and drivers should be considerate of each other and ensure they are travelling safely at all times.”

this is why the 30m exemption. I want no more excuses from yet another a transport minister!

[brett.hooker]

Kudos and respect Womble...

Damn straight in regards to the Minister's response; maybe he ministerial staff could read the whole petition before preparing his canned response... Time for a face to face with the minister on the petition I think...

See everyone in the morning!!!

Counting the days until I can order that 1.5m kit too...

[The 2nd Womble]

SCODY sent through the first design mock up for 1.5 today. We just have to sell the last cpl of jerseys first. Not long now.

[K2]

Was it this guy: .....

Nah. Mine was a little white buzzbox.

Glad you survived your's too though.

[The 2nd Womble]

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/polls/s ... 2jq85.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Summernight]

So many options....

[myforwik]

Brisbane CBDBUG (http://www.cbdbug.org.au) is organising a Ride for Richard, this Friday 17th May 2013.

The ride will start at 7.30am this Friday (17 May, 2013) at/near the Kenmore roundabout and terminate at the Centenary Bikeway junction (approx 3km). They will ask the QPS Bike Squad to ride with us.

Please spread this far & wide.

And for anyone looking for a safe way to get to the starting point from the Centenary bikepath (Western Freeway bikepath), this is my suggested route:

https://maps.google.com.au/maps?saddr=U ... 6&lci=bike" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you don't want to ride up and over the hill on Cedarleigh Rd, you can use the footpath on the northern side of Moggill Rd. Its narrow and slow in spots but definitely rideable.

About 100 to 150 showed up is my guestimate - not sure if that is good or bad turnout. People were there from seven news taking some footage and interview so it may be on the new tonight. Traffic was very light, possible held up from an accident further west?

[Rhubarb]

Good video coverage here:

http://media.brisbanetimes.com.au/natio ... 79725.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

PS - I make a little cameo in my velomobile at the 53 sec mark

[ldrcycles]

I noticed this among the comments on the Brisbane times website- "Fairly recent data collected by the University of Western Australia covering the period 1987 to 2000 indicates that during that time slightly over 80% of cyclists killed or seriously injured in WA were involved in accidents where no other vehicle was involved".

Surely that can't be right?

[human909]

I noticed this among the comments on the Brisbane times website- "Fairly recent data collected by the University of Western Australia covering the period 1987 to 2000 indicates that during that time slightly over 80% of cyclists killed or seriously injured in WA were involved in accidents where no other vehicle was involved".

Surely that can't be right?

Those statistics are about right for motorcyclists.

[brett.hooker]

I noticed this among the comments on the Brisbane times website- "Fairly recent data collected by the University of Western Australia covering the period 1987 to 2000 indicates that during that time slightly over 80% of cyclists killed or seriously injured in WA were involved in accidents where no other vehicle was involved".

Surely that can't be right?

By including "seriously injured" on he list you are going to get statistical skewing... What is "serious"? Did this include club racing/bmx/MTB etc...

Lies damn lies and statistics..

[Rhubarb]

Good video coverage here:

http://media.brisbanetimes.com.au/natio ... 79725.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

PS - I make a little cameo in my velomobile at the 53 sec mark

Ok - I have just watched the channel 7 coverage of the exact same story and I am angry. Armed with the same brief and the same footage as the folks who produced the video story above, the channel 7 story was "beware of these pesky greedy law abusing cyclists trying to get you innocently fined" !!!!!

IT WAS A MEMORIAL RIDE IN HONOUR OF A CYCLIST (and very decent human being) WHO WAS KILLED BY A TRUCK DRIVER WHO DIDN'T GIVE A TOSS ABOUT HIS SAFETY.

Man I feel so disappointed and angry with this. I so hope the Pollett family didn't see it.

[brett.hooker]

Good video coverage here:

http://media.brisbanetimes.com.au/natio ... 79725.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

PS - I make a little cameo in my velomobile at the 53 sec mark

Ok - I have just watched the channel 7 coverage of the exact same story and I am angry. Armed with the same brief and the same footage as the folks who produced the video story above, the channel 7 story was "beware of these pesky greedy law abusing cyclists trying to get you innocently fined" !!!!!

IT WAS A MEMORIAL RIDE IN HONOUR OF A CYCLIST (and very decent human being) WHO WAS KILLED BY A TRUCK DRIVER WHO DIDN'T GIVE A TOSS ABOUT HIS SAFETY.

Man I feel so disappointed and angry with this. I so hope the Pollett family didn't see it.

Interesting. I am out with the kids, so didn't catch it. Will have to see if I can find a replay on iview or something...

[The 2nd Womble]

On the bright side Rhubarb, on October 28 there will be a minute's silence for Richard and others on the front steps of Parliament House, and if nothing else. The petition link will help gain more signatures. We get this law changed and it should be dedicated to him. His case has been the turning point Rhubarb so we're already honouring his memory.

[CatCanRide]

http://au.news.yahoo.com/video/national ... road-room/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Link for the 7 News Report for anyone interested.

[ldrcycles]

That made my blood boil, they never mentioned that the ride and petition were organised because a young man was KILLED, and then they get ignorant halfwit tradies to say that 'if cyclists obeyed the rules then they would have rights'.

[KonaCommuter]

http://au.news.yahoo.com/video/national ... road-room/

Link for the 7 News Report for anyone interested.

Thank you for that.


I will be avoiding Ch 7 news as they clearly have an anti-cyclist agenda. What's with giving a motorist the airtime to voice his "if they followed the road rules?" slight?

[Lukeyboy]

Hahaha. What a crock of cow manure.

[Marto]

http://au.news.yahoo.com/video/national ... road-room/

Link for the 7 News Report for anyone interested.

Also on youtube if that in-house video doesn't work http://youtu.be/yTWOLG_7j48" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I was looking to see if anything about the petition got into mainstream TV. Nup. Still dumb TV for dumb people.

[The zob]

Hey...how come the only place I see a 1.5m distance is here? Everywhere else it's 1m.

http://www.amygillett.org.au/call-for-l ... cle-riders" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This mob even has tops printed up

http://www.safecyclingaustralia.org/merchandise.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

and so on...

Sorta dilutes the message when we're seen to be the usual, fragmented minority?

[The 2nd Womble]

Hey...how come the only place I see a 1.5m distance is here? Everywhere else it's 1m.

http://www.amygillett.org.au/call-for-l ... cle-riders" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This mob even has tops printed up

http://www.safecyclingaustralia.org/merchandise.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

and so on...

Sorta dilutes the message when we're seen to be the usual, fragmented minority?

We've changed our position over the last six months. We simply have the last few items remaining before our New Jersey update.
If you live in Queensland, nearly all press in the last week has been 1.5.

[RonK]

We've changed our position over the last six months. We simply have the last few items remaining before our New Jersey update.
If you live in Queensland, nearly all press in the last week has been 1.5.

I've posted previously my view that the AGF's one metre rule is inadequate, and I refuse to support it. Educate drivers that one metre is the minimum and that is what they'll give, regardless of the speed and conditions. This may be ok in low speed urban areas, but on the highway I don't want b-doubles passing me at 90kph only one metre away.

A quick Google shows that calls for a legislated minimum overtaking clearance around the world all nominate 1.5 metres. Quite a few EU countries and US states have already adopted this rule.

This minimum clearance rule would be in addition to existing rules requiring safe overtaking, not to replace it.

It seems that the cycling bodies are out of touch with the views of a great many cyclists.

[The 2nd Womble]

Initial design drafts. The new kit available fairly soon. One metre is simply not enough for us.

[The zob]

Can I get a 2m version? I'm pretty fat