Step nine. The hunt continues and some random rantage.

Still looking for a truck. Been to see a Toyota Dyna that would have done, nice big deck (the deck is going to stay and a 4 meter one will leave me room for my cunning plan...) but had too much floor pan rust the owner 'didn't know about'. Pity. It ran and drove nicely. The search continues. There are some good'uns about but none in my general location. Just have to stay on the case.

Now the rant.

New Zealand has had a horror week for cyclists getting squashed by car, and in one case, truck, drivers. 5 Since last saturday. Ok, maybe for China or something this would be unfortunate but statistically ordinary, but here, not so much. Let me be clear, I have no particular axe to grind for or against cyclists on public road, I've been a daily peddle hound myself at several points in my life. Good exercise, cheap transport (if you don't mind riding a budget cycle) and yes, that wonderful catch cry Good For The Environment. Seems to me tho, that all of that is wasted by just one solid stay in hospital as the result of a bike crash.

The general hue and cry seems to revolve about road users (vehicle's other than cyclists, that) should be constantly aware of cyclists, pass them with a minimum of 1.5 meters clearance, look around more at intersections  etc etc. All sound and sensible advice, I'm not arguing with any of it. After all, they have a just as much right to the road as anybody, huh?

No.

They are the only regular road users who don't pay to use the roads. Trucks pay, quite a lot. Ordinary cars pay. Motorcyclists get royally reamed. Anyone who uses diesel has to pay road tax by the kilometer.

This is the part where the arguments of 'cycles don't pollute and use road space much more efficiently.' get trotted out. Yes and yes, not arguing them either...well not exactly.
 In order to pass a cycle on a standard road with 1.5 meter clearance and not cross the center line, the cyclist needs to be on the extreme left hand edge of the tar seal, something which some, but by no means all, do. More likely the only way to pass cleanly is with your wheels on the center line. Ok just as long as there is no one coming the other way. Like a string of traffic, for instance. Then you get to choose between missing the oncoming traffic by passing nice and close to the cyclist, or missing the oncoming traffic by less then might be good practice. But that's ok, these things happen.

All this is assuming that there is only one cyclist, or several that are in single file. Trouble is, the inconsiderate dicks will not uncommonly insist on riding two and, occasionally if you are lucky, three abreast. I've seen it. Then what? Miss both the on-coming traffic AND the cyclists by a coat of paint?  I'm staggered there hasn't been a massive pile-up caused by just this situation. Single file at all times should be the enforced rule.


The lack of consideration continues. Here is an individual exercise for you, dear reader. Find a comfortable cafe in the mid-city some place, pick a window seat and for the next fifteen or twenty minutes count the cyclists flouting road rules in a manner that would get any car driver locked up in prison.

Jumping red lights, diving through gaps in the traffic, one way streets in any direction, you name it. Don't even get me started on cycle couriers. Then when they get knocked off they piss and moan about how dangerous cars are.

At best they are non-paying guests on the public roads the rest of us have to pay to use, and like all good guests they should remember their manners.

It would be easy to think at this point that I want to see push bikes banned from our roads. Not so. They serve a useful function and I'm all in favor of cycle lanes, by-ways around narrow bridges and tunnels etc. Lower the speed limit on some inner city roads to make then safer for everybody, I never did like the 'one size fits all' New Zealand approach to speed limits, the standard 50kph is far too fast on many inner city and not a few suburban roads just as 100kph is too slow on some highways.

So I think it comes down to this. Road users generally should be aware of the fragility and frequent unpredictability of cyclists who in turn need to understand that they are also bound to and by the rules of the road the rest of us have to abide by. I'm all in favor of care and courtesy, but, if you will forgive the pun, it has to be a two way street..

Here endeth the rant.