Reckless cycling -> jail in Oz. wtf!

http://www.theage.com.au/national/tougher-laws-to-deter-reckless-cycling-20090618-clz9.html
more evidence that Oz is a slave to ridiculous personal liability law

*"Cyclist Paula Coster, from Brighton, supported the laws, as long as they were part of a larger strategy that supported a growing cycling culture in Melbourne. "If they're going to focus on cyclists they should also focus on improving things for them," she said.

But Ms Coster said the penalties were too high, as cyclists were often students and people who could not afford to drive"*

Shit. The. Bed. Peds in Tooley Street are like fucking lemmings. I'd lose my salary every month.

What are the equivalent laws for driving in Australia? The article suggests that it puts cyclists on an 'equal footing' with motorists. Are existing motoring laws applied effectively and do they consistently lead to justifiable convictions?

I am wiling to go out on a limb and say oz has to be one of the most over regulated countries I have been too, over the years of coming and going from home (and going back for good in sept), i have found that u can't fart on the street without a shit house law or fine...... so 2 pedestrians are killed by bikes in 10yrs and they justify this law being made..... typical..... old fucking bastards.

I would like to know what's the penalty for a drivers who was found to kill/seriously injured someone is in Australia.

here is a joke, killed someone you'll only get a fine and a slap on the wrist, like the bus driver once said to me "I can kill you and all I get is a fine! so get out of my fucking way!".

ive had that before as well, and it really isnt funny.
thankfully there are people like the Roadpeace lot around.

On another level, used to have loads of fun playing cat and mouse with the bikecops when riding helmetless in Sydney. He He good times back in the day.

I agree with dayno. I'm from Oz and every time I go back I'm astonished at the crazy amount of laws there are.
Also, I don't think most people really 'get' the idea of cycling - everyone drives everywhere. My in-laws were visiting from there recently and it soon became apparent that to them anything further away than a 5 minute walk warrants jumping in the car and driving to.

if your found to have injured someone by say riding through a red light, recklessly at say 20mph or something, i can see why this law would useful.

The Hell Ride death in Melbourne where the aged pedestrian was killed seemed to be a turning point. The report on the coroner's finding. The average speed goal was stupid in an urban environment.
I went to Melbourne to again ride the Around the Bay in a Day ride (210 km) soon after. All bike riders were targeted by some idiot motorists. It was ugly. 12,000 riders and some drivers seeing it was 'hunting' season.
In South Australia we have had a long running case where a cyclist was killed in a hit run on a country road. It has been established that the driver of the car was a very high profile defence lawyer and former policeman. The matter is still before the courts. It led to substantial changes to the laws for drivers leaving the scene of an accident in South Australia.
Most laws are justified by their promoters because a small minority want to behave differently to the majority.

I agree with dayno. I'm from Oz and every time I go back I'm astonished at the crazy amount of laws there are.
Also, I don't think most people really 'get' the idea of cycling - everyone drives everywhere. My in-laws were visiting from there recently and it soon became apparent that to them anything further away than a 5 minute walk warrants jumping in the car and driving to.

No surprise that Australia is the most obese country in the world.

No surprise that Australia is the most obese country in the world.

our competitive instinct, our way of competing with the Americans.

and Scotland too! don't forget that.

30 years ago in London I ran a red light on a rainy night and was pulled over, same when I went down a one way on a Sunday - both times I was the only thing on the road for miles - Things have changed and when I was there last month I enjoyed the total lawlessness as much as the 50% running lights, going the wrong way etc.

But I think that if ALL the rules were enforced both for cars, bikes and peds it would be a kinder gentler world out there - for all. By that I mean I should be able to go 20mph and not worry about a ped walking out in front of me, I should not be able to run a red light and hit one. Nor should a car use its size to intimidate me.

So make a law that makes cyclists think about their speed when it might hurt someone but come down hard on the idiots on foot and in cars too.

the Melbourne Hell Ride crash
[INDENT]"For years, a growing pack of keen cyclists – amateur and professional – had been gathering in the post-dawn light at the nearby Black Rock clock tower for a furious 80km training ride to Mt Eliza and back. At 8.30 on this morning, 100 of them were coming down the hill as Gould waited to cross. As the traffic lights turned red, about 20 riders at the head of the pack sped through. Those behind slowed down. Some of them yelled out, “Stop!” But three of those latter cyclists pulled out to overtake. They passed the pack and went through the red light, too. And as they did so, Gould was crossing the road.
[/INDENT][INDENT] ...was the first of those three riders. Under pressure from pursuing cyclists, some of whom were yelling out “Rolling, rolling!” he raced through the red light at between 40kmh and 50kmh. The impact was catastrophic. Gould was thrown 5m. “His head hit the ground pretty hard; it was bleeding from the back. He’d smashed his false teeth. His mouth was bleeding,” says Heitman, who drove up only moments after the collision. “He was literally in the middle of the road, so I parked my car right near him to protect him from any cars coming in the opposite direction.” Then, using his experience as a volunteer firefighter, he and another passer-by administered first aid until an ambulance arrived.

“I spoke to him, tried to see if he knew where he was … His body was trying to fight. His arms were throwing around; he was groaning. But he gripped my hand and he held my hand and when the ambos went to take him, he squeezed my hand.”

The following morning, suffering extensive head injuries, Gould’s life support was switched off. He died early that afternoon."
[/INDENT]from here

Thats not a training ride... I mean thats a swarm. I was in a race where a senile old guy walked around the barriers into the middle of the final sprint, sad but nobodies fault. This is negligence and if I had been the rider I would take the punishment.

so 2 pedestrians are killed by bikes in 10yrs and they justify this law being made..... typical..... old fucking bastards.

So I agree with Dayno but lets get every one to be a bit more considerate or in the end it will be us against them and lets face it we are the minority and will be shunted into naff cycle paths or worse not allowed on roads.

Ok here goes... first post!
I'm from Perth, Aus, I'm currently waiting on a court summons for fixed gear traffic offenses,
eeek!!!
also racked up a few fines lately.
the standard on the spot fine here is $100 for no lights, $50 for no helmet, $50 for no brake.
so thats $200 a pop if you get caught.
the officer said at my hearing ill face charges for running a red, failure to stop, no brake, bald tyres, no bell, no helmet, no reflectors... the police also let my tyres down and photographed my bike. dont worry i made the c*nts work for it, they chased me for a while but then i was cut off by a second pack of bike police. they patrol the city in little groups of 4 all on bikes. and they think they know everything about cycling.
"why dont you just put a brake on it"
"look you can just put one on here like this..."
HA!
Basically its pretty dumb to ride the city here with no "safety" equipment on a friday or saturday night cause they are out in full revenue raking/raping force!
im hoping they were just trying scare me and that the judge will have pitty on me and my little pink and baby blue cup cake bike.

I'm too old for that, I ride and I drive. I drive with respect for riders, I ride with respect for drivers.

That Hell Ride crash is just so infuriating. The poor guy. The description sounds horrific.

drivers who kill cyclists due to culpable driving do tend to get jail sentences in Melbourne, at least. the maximum penalty for culpable driving is 20 years, i think.

i understand the political reasons why these laws about cyclists have been introduced, even if I disagree that cyclists mowing down peds is enough of a problem to worry about it (and it does create an undue poor reputation for cyclists as rampaging outlaws). i mean, how many pedestrians are killed by cars every year? For that matter how many people are killed by peanuts? i'm sure it's more than one every 5 years.

the fact is that far too many drivers in Melbourne actually think it's ok to run cyclists off the road or throw things at them (i drive in Melbourne too when I'm there, as do most people). Until this is addressed it's difficult to take the State Government's new laws on face value. Proportionality seems a bit off, i reckon.

to the bloke complaining about getting fined for running reds while riding brakless/helmetless, what the fuck did you think would happen?? you know the law(s), you choose to deliberately break it, there is a risk of being fined. Gotta cop it sweet.

Oliver the Hell Ride crash was a shocker. Really awful.

The ride was being tailed by a police helicopter every weekend for months after that, and talkback radio went berserk over it.

the officer said at my hearing ill face charges for .... bald tyres

Bald tyres???? where they down to the casings or do you guys have a tread requirement?

Bald tyres???? where they down to the casings or do you guys have a tread requirement?

I went along to a session with the State Bike group and the Police, and the good officer told us about the min requirements, lights, reflectors, tread depth etc. We all sniggered at the last point. It was enough, he worked out his error.

One of our road bike groups was stopped by a young officer and told they couldn't ride two abreast (there were no bike lanes, it was a wide road). I visited the Police Station armed with the L.A.W., because I am like that.
The errant young Officer was identified (and he was still in the Station at the end of his shift) and got a lecture on how to read the law from the the senior Duty Officer. Then I was sure I saw that senior Duty Officer lining up with us the next day for a 100km ride.
We were carefully watched for weeks after that.

my brother got fined for jaywalking in Melbourne. Now that's a nanny state...

despite this driver behaviour in Aus is pretty appauling. Many motorists tend drive exactly at the speed limit (due to speeding fines) - but with no regard at all to traffic conditions, peds, cyclists, OAPs limping across the road in front of them etc...

in aus you actually have a police force that do their job, unlike in this country. there are lots of cops on the road. for example if you speed in your car on a freeway you will be fined in a short amount of time, they have unmarked speed camera's, lots of random breath tests etc.

So it's illegal to ride a bike without a helmet, lights and reflectors in Aus?? And they'll fine you if you get caught?!?

WTF?