When Opening Car Doors - Look 1st

[J_Tank]

they can't...

[MAGPIE]

Originally Posted by gz1

And for this you blame the car? Sorry no sympathy for bike riders here, you ride on the road that close to parked cars you get what you deserve. Roads are for cars not push bikes. go ahead and flame away if you like won't change my mind. bikes on the road are my pet hate.

NO, I'm laughing at you, not what you wrote ! Fool

[Yaw]

As far as I am aware you are when in chartge of a vehicle be that truck, bus, car or bike you are to be as close as practiable to the left side of the road.

And also when opening a car door it is YOUR resposnibility to check it is clear to do so first, you are the one causing the obstruction.

Now that I have stood up for cyclists and what the road rules are. I wish the vast majority of them did not disobey the road rules and go through red lights or cross in front of you path dangereously.

[xbgs351]

Originally Posted by GORDZ

if there was a bike lane, you have my sympathy. if not, get off the road unless you can ride at the speed limit.

For your information, there was no bike lane, and I can ride at the speed limit. During that ride I had been riding numerous times at speeds aproaching 60km/h, and that was on flat roads.

Originally Posted by gz1

And for this you blame the car? Sorry no sympathy for bike riders here, you ride on the road that close to parked cars you get what you deserve. Roads are for cars not push bikes. go ahead and flame away if you like won't change my mind. bikes on the road are my pet hate.

No, I blame the driver of the car. Try reading your road rules. Roads are not just for cars, they are for all sorts of vehicles. Bikes were around before cars and roads were around before bikes. I wasn't exactly riding that close to the parked cars either. I reckon 1/2 an inch further away and I wouldn't have had an accident. I actually feel sympathy for you for being such a cold hearted and ignorant bastard. We recently had a nurse killed in very similar circumstances in my home town. Someone didn't look before opening their door, the nurse hit the door and was flung into the path of a truck which hit and killed him. How would you feel if a member of your family was killed in a similar kind of accident.

Originally Posted by satria

fair enough you're ****ed off about almost losing your fingure mate i do feel sorry for ya, but cyclists on roads are my pet hate too. it's not like a motorbike where you can at least hear them coming, cyclists would be alot harder to detect in mirrors.

i'm not saying motorists aren't at fault sometimes but hey, if you really think about it, a cyclist probably is the hardest thing to detect on the road so it might be sensible to ride on a footpath, at least sometimes. it is your life we are talking about here.

and a tip for cyclists: if you are causing cars to merge to a second lane to just drive past you, use the footpath thats only like 1m away!!! at least you won't be risking your life!

and what reeeeeeeally aggrivates me is when a cyclist uses a cars wheel arch or bumper at the lights to build up speed... i swear to god if any cyclist wants to touch my car im gonna make sure they taste my front bumper with their face at 60km/h.

i should do my ow peter griffin "what really grinds my gears" segment lol

Are you seriously suggesting that you listen for vehicles instead of taking a thorough look? Two cyclist in brightly coloured lycra shouldn't be that difficult to see.

As for riding on the footpath, besides the fact that it is illegal, normally I travel between 40 to 90% of the speed of a car on the road, where on a footpath I would be travelling around 500 to 1100% of the speed of a pedestrian.

Here is a tip for drivers. If you are forced to move from the left lane into the right lane to get around some cyclist, don't get flustered. You wouldn't think twice about going around a slow moving tractor or crane, so why stress about going around some cyclist? There is a reason that riders ride two abreast in the left lane and that is so that other vechicles pass them properly, instead of trying to squeeze into the lane with a cyclist leaving bugger all room for safety. From my experience riders riding single file are hit by cars far more often than those riding two abreast.

I would never lean on a car at traffic lights. That's inconsiderate.

Originally Posted by XCSEDAN

oh ouch man....

are they going to foot the repair bill?

im surprised you only have 2 weeks off work. VERY lucky mate

Yes, he asked for a quote.

[quote=SPK-250] Riding 2 abreast as well

riding 1 metre out from the line of parked cars would put you in the middle of the lane nearly

But i do feel for you coz the same thing nearly happened to me 2 weeks ago but i was in a bike lane and some joker saw me in his side mirror but still pulled out anyways. Lucky i got fat discs all round. [/qoute]

Gee it is hard to please everyone isn't it? Some say I deserved it because I was riding too close to the cars and you reckon I was riding too far away from them. If I had been closer to the parked cars I reckon I would still be in hospital. I have already stated why cyclist ride two abreast.

Originally Posted by J_Tank

I've had many close calls of the same nature, but never when riding 2 abreast. I'm pretty sure this is one of the reasons why it's not legit in NSW. Having said that you have my sympathy, as for a few others... you should try it out sometime and see what it's like riding on the road with some of the tools out there.

Two abreast is legal in NSW.

Originally Posted by bowsaw

I was going to say, isnt it law that its single file? is in WA.

Are you sure?

Originally Posted by D1XR2C

I dont really like bike riders either (sorry)
How come they can go through red lights?

They can't. I for one never do.

[J_Tank]

My mistake, I aplogise, I must admit it's been some time since I read the book!

[poolkeeper]

I havent seen 1 biker EVER stop at a red light, all they do is slow down then go through

[DoreSlamR]

Originally Posted by bowsaw

I was going to say, isnt it law that its single file? is in WA.

Yeah it's supposed to be, unless you're one of the couple of hundred cyclists who have been training for the triathlon in Busselton this weekend for the last 3 months.

They ride 2-3 wide on the road i drive on to get to work, this road is lined with huge tuart trees, has no verge and tight blind corners, absolutely ****es me off when i have to go on the other side of the road to get past them on a blind corner. selfish !!

[XR8putts]

Firstly, sorry about your injury, there is no doubt the person that opened the door without looking is a muppet, and it is 100% their fault. Hope you get better real quick and you are fully compensated in regards to damage to the bike. No matter what peoples opinions are in regards to cyclists, that was just stupid on their part.

Now on to one of my pet hates, can I ask why you need to/were traveling 2 abreast? So your friend on your right (road side) got away unhurt? This is where you would have been if you were following one another and thus you wouldn't have been hurt? If not in a cycle race, I'd assume this is for social reasons? Too many times I've had to negotiate cyclists 2 or even 3 abreast on normal (not very wide) roads. One cyclist is easy and I have no issue with, but I really, really dislike the Tour de France mentality of some of our cyclist friends. And for the person who questioned if cyclists really do hang on the rear fenders/spoilers to gain speeds at lights, they sure do. Has only happend to me once, and I was in pure shock. Did not know how to react to that one.... the ordasity!
And to all those cyclists who run red lights; if you want to be treated like a car and be given as much room as a car; then act like a sodding car. :

[TZENU]

Just like there are hoons out there,, there are those moron cyclists who do break the law....

In vic a cyclist is legally allowed to ride two abreast providing there is a lane for cars to go around... On single lane roads single file applies..

offtopic:
xbgs351 how long can you sit on 60k for ??? (is it in a pelaton?) I struggle to sit in a pelaton doing 50k! let alone 60 and i have been riding for 8 years.... YOUR A FREAK!!!!

[XR6TCraig]

Bikes have the same rights on the roads as every other vehicle, so I am a little suprised with the attitude of some of you. Roads are NOT just for cars. I can't believe some people believe that . No wonder you have issues with bike riders if yo think that you have automatic right of way when in a car!

Hell, I don't like old drivers, asian drivers, young blonde female drivers in Festivas or Barinas or drivers that hog the right lane, but I don't try run them off the road to drive that point home.

As for riding two abreast being illegal, so what! If it saves one persons life for the reasons stated by xbgs351, then I can't say I blame cyclists for doing it.

If you were overtaking someone on a two lane highway do you only accelerate to the speed limit so as not to break the laws, at the risk of having a head on? Of course not because that would endanger the lives of everyone in all three cars.

I don't ride a bike on the road, however I do ride a motorbike. I break road rules daily because it puts my life in a lot less danger.

Lessening the danger and conserving my life is a pretty good reason IMO!

[Steffo]

Originally Posted by Craiginmackay

Bikes have the same rights on the roads as every other vehicle, so I am a little suprised with the attitude of some of you. Roads are NOT just for cars. I can't believe some people believe that . No wonder you have issues with bike riders if yo think that you have automatic right of way when in a car!

Bicycles shouldn't be allowed on the road with cars. Its unecessary danger first and foremost. Nothing worse then Mr. Dumb Bicycle Guy (and more of them seem to do stupid then smart things) doing something dumb infront of you, getting run over, then you get the blame (as happens 99% of the time thanks to super biased backwards legal system).

[blk_frmnt]

This is how you ride a bike through a city:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nR2ygFn-yR8

[XAGSV8]

Originally Posted by Steffo

Bicycles shouldn't be allowed on the road with cars. Its unecessary danger first and foremost.

Tell me where they can ride then? Why don't we just ban bikes!!! On that note lets stop boxing, football etc as they are a danger to the people that participate in them. Hell why don't we ban V8's and turbo's off the road as they are not really needed to get someone from A to B. Some people have got to start growing a brain.

[Steffo]

Originally Posted by XAGSV8

Tell me where they can ride then? Why don't we just ban bikes!!! On that note lets stop boxing, football etc as they are a danger to the people that participate in them. Hell why don't we ban V8's and turbo's off the road as they are not really needed to get someone from A to B. Some people have got to start growing a brain.

Okay keep bikes on the road with several tonne steel objects that can travel much faster then they can. But change the rules so that if Mr. Dumb Cyclist Guy doing something dumb gets himself run over, it isn't the car's fault 99% of the time (which it really isn't, its just an unfair legal system).

[Nostalgia]

Originally Posted by TZENU

Just like there are hoons out there,, there are those moron cyclists who do break the law....

In vic a cyclist is legally allowed to ride two abreast providing there is a lane for cars to go around... On single lane roads single file applies..

offtopic:
xbgs351 how long can you sit on 60k for ??? (is it in a pelaton?) I struggle to sit in a pelaton doing 50k! let alone 60 and i have been riding for 8 years.... YOUR A FREAK!!!!

2 abreast in a service road, every morning on my way to work. Who pays Rego, ME. Who has right of way, ME. If cyclists want right of way then they can pay Rego too.

[dom_105]

Originally Posted by D1XR2C

How come they can go through red lights?

No accountability, that's how.

[flappist]

There is some real emotion here. Yes some push-bikies are pains, don't obey any traffic rules and act dangerously but not all or even most.

On the road push-bikes are similar to motor bikes, they all have "kill me" written on them.

Going flat out (32km/h) close (1M) to parked cars may be legal and if someone opens a door on you they are in the wrong BUT YOU ARE THE ONE WHO IS KILLED OR INJURED.

Glad you are ok and hope it doesnt happen again but I also hope you have learned something here and next time will be 1.5m or 2m from parked cars.

We all have to get along and share and you don't have a big tin cage around you.

[FlipXW]

Originally Posted by D1XR2C

I havent seen 1 biker EVER stop at a red light, all they do is slow down then go through

Well u must be lucky enough to have seen every d1ckhead cyclist there is because every cyclist i know and in the group I ride in everyone always obays the road rules as if they were driving a car. We always stop at red lights. I also always unclip my shoes because i know i wouldnt like someone leaning up against my car so I dont do it to others.

I feel for you mate some people have no idea about awareness, as a fellow rider i wish you a speedy recovery and hope you continue to enjoy the sport.

As for all you jokers that believe riders shouldnt be on the road, WTF why dont you wake up, where the hell do u think we are going to ride then? Where is the Tour de France run? Thats right a road. Where are olimpic road races and triathlons run? Yes a road. I know that at these major sporting events the roads are often closed but where do you think people train for these?
As long as the cyclist doesnt obstruct traffic in a bad way i dont see the problem. The fool in the car should check before he opens hes door, how hard is it? :

[fmc351]

Originally Posted by Steffo

Okay keep bikes on the road with several tonne steel objects that can travel much faster then they can. But change the rules so that if Mr. Dumb Cyclist Guy doing something dumb gets himself run over, it isn't the car's fault 99% of the time (which it really isn't, its just an unfair legal system).

Cars are bigger than bikes? Thanks for the headsup.

Where do your figures come from? Most accidents between motorcycles and cars are the fault of the driver, I doubt push bike figures are much different.

Unfair legal system? Explain this in context of bikes.

Originally Posted by NostalgEA

2 abreast in a service road, every morning on my way to work. Who pays Rego, ME. Who has right of way, ME. If cyclists want right of way then they can pay Rego too.

Rego doesnt come anywhere near close enough to pay for roads, not even close. Everyone pays for them in all the taxes they pay. And I assume from XBGS, he pays rego, so has the right to use it using your logic anyway.

[gz1]

Originally Posted by XAGSV8

Tell me where they can ride then? Why don't we just ban bikes!!! On that note lets stop boxing, football etc as they are a danger to the people that participate in them. Hell why don't we ban V8's and turbo's off the road as they are not really needed to get someone from A to B. Some people have got to start growing a brain.

When bikes start having rego plates so they can be fined for doing stupid/illegal things, and when bike riders need to get a license to ride on the road, and when bike riders actually start obeying the road rules, then yes they can ride on the road. Until that time though no keep the things off public roads.
And yes football, boxing etc are not allowed on the road either.
If the road is to be shared it has to be done so with a common set of rules that everyone using the roads has to abide by. this applies to V8's turbos, motor bikes and cars. However the vast majority of push bike riders seem to think that road rules do not apply to them. Especially that pathetic critical mass mob that clog up Sydney every so often. Hence my attitude to keep them off the road.
And riding 2 abreast only 1 meter away from cars at speed may or may not be legal however it is dumb.

[Nostalgia]

Originally Posted by fmc351

Cars are bigger than bikes? Thanks for the headsup.

Where do your figures come from? Most accidents between motorcycles and cars are the fault of the driver, I doubt push bike figures are much different.

Unfair legal system? Explain this in context of bikes.


Rego doesnt come anywhere near close enough to pay for roads, not even close. Everyone pays for them in all the taxes they pay. And I assume from XBGS, he pays rego, so has the right to use it using your logic anyway.

Correct, but. Bike riders dont pay $550 annually. Car drivers do.

[FlipXW]

Originally Posted by gz1

And riding 2 abreast only 1 meter away from cars at speed may or may not be legal however it is dumb.

So you want us to ride in the middle of the road going 15/20 kms under the speed limit then?

[Tribal]

Sorry to hear about your stack - that is one of the scariest situations to be in because you can't stop and if you swerve you're rolling the dice. I wear motorbike gloves with carbon fibre across the knuckles for this reason.
As a fellow rider - car doors have been on my mind lately, you see I have already been t-boned by a car on a roundabout (apparently we are invisible), been run into a gutter (no we're not invicible as you may think) and on once occasion going around a roundabout with perfect visibility and no cars in the roundabout - an unmarked cop car of all things nearly cleaned me up.
So its only going to be a matter of time before someone does the same to me, especiallly with the attitude of some of you guys.
On that note, a challenge to those who are bagging cyclists, come and do the 25k round trip I do every day - and we'll stay in the bike lanes and stop at lights like every other vehicle. We'll play leapfrog with buses and trucks, and when you stop shaking and realise you're still alive you might realise how precious life is and think twice before opening your mouths or your car doors.
:

xbgs351: hope the recovery is quick for you mate.

[Nostalgia]

Originally Posted by gz1

When bikes start having rego plates so they can be fined for doing stupid/illegal things, and when bike riders need to get a license to ride on the road, and when bike riders actually start obeying the road rules, then yes they can ride on the road. Until that time though no keep the things off public roads.
And yes football, boxing etc are not allowed on the road either.
If the road is to be shared it has to be done so with a common set of rules that everyone using the roads has to abide by. this applies to V8's turbos, motor bikes and cars. However the vast majority of push bike riders seem to think that road rules do not apply to them. Especially that pathetic critical mass mob that clog up Sydney every so often. Hence my attitude to keep them off the road.
And riding 2 abreast only 1 meter away from cars at speed may or may not be legal however it is dumb.

AGREED. Well said mate.

[fmc351]

Originally Posted by gz1

When bikes start having rego plates so they can be fined for doing stupid/illegal things, and when bike riders need to get a license to ride on the road, and when bike riders actually start obeying the road rules, then yes they can ride on the road. Until that time though no keep the things off public roads.
And yes football, boxing etc are not allowed on the road either.
If the road is to be shared it has to be done so with a common set of rules that everyone using the roads has to abide by. this applies to V8's turbos, motor bikes and cars. However the vast majority of push bike riders seem to think that road rules do not apply to them. Especially that pathetic critical mass mob that clog up Sydney every so often. Hence my attitude to keep them off the road.
And riding 2 abreast only 1 meter away from cars at speed may or may not be legal however it is dumb.

Didnt ride a bike as a kid? Never rode to school? What, you think the pedestrians on the footpath deserve the danger instead?

Originally Posted by NostalgEA

Correct, but. Bike riders dont pay $550 annually. Car drivers do.

So? Ill argue if you dont earn $150k a year you dont pay anywhere near enough taxes and shouldnt be allowed to drive either. As for XBGS, Id assume theres a car or two in his driveway, and rego would be paid regardless.

[gz1]

Originally Posted by fmc351

Didnt ride a bike as a kid? Never rode to school? What, you think the pedestrians on the footpath deserve the danger instead?

I did ride a bike as a kid to school.
Across empty paddocks and nowhere near a public road.
And that is my whole point. unlicensed riders that either have no clue or choose to ignore road rules and no way of tracking them down without a rego plate, should not be on a public road. There are heaps of bike tracks, and there is still plenty of open space in Australia away from public roads.
If you want to mix with others on the road you got to play with the rules. Bike riders want everything their own way.
And the issue is not weather you pay a rego fee or not, heck that could be free for push bikes for all I care, the issue is having some sort of identification and a way of finding and fining those that do the wrong thing.

[XR6TCraig]

Originally Posted by NostalgEA

Bike riders dont pay $550 annually. Car drivers do.

Bike riders own other vehicles like cars, so they do pay rego, just not on the bike.

When you consider what sort of wear and tear a push bike causes the road surface, how can you honestly expect them to pay $500 a year rego?

I can't see the issue with cyclists on the road, except for the attitude of some drivers towards them which causes conflict, becuase they believe that their bigger, heavier, harder cars SHOULD have right of way.That is the main problem here. Not the cyclist, but the fact that boof headed, selfish and arrogant members of the general public seem to have got it into their heads that the roads are only there for them. They aren't!

If a bike is on the road ahead, slow down and pass when it is safe to do so, just like you would any other slower moving vehicle like a garbo truck, an elderly driver in a 180B, etc. They have as much right to be there as any other vehicle. If they break road rules, so what. It isn't your job as a road user to stop them, nor is it your job to wipe them off the planet by rear ending them.

[Nostalgia]

Originally Posted by Craiginmackay

Bike riders own other vehicles like cars, so they do pay rego, just not on the bike.

When you consider what sort of wear and tear a push bike causes the road surface, how can you honestly expect them to pay $500 a year rego?

I can't see the issue with cyclists on the road, except for the attitude of some drivers towards them which causes conflict, becuase they believe that their bigger, heavier, harder cars SHOULD have right of way.That is the main problem here. Not the cyclist, but the fact that boof headed, selfish and arrogant members of the general public seem to have got it into their heads that the roads are only there for them. They aren't!

If a bike is on the road ahead, slow down and pass when it is safe to do so, just like you would any other slower moving vehicle like a garbo truck, an elderly driver in a 180B, etc. They have as much right to be there as any other vehicle. If they break road rules, so what. It isn't your job as a road user to stop them, nor is it your job to wipe them off the planet by rear ending them.

Ok so i pay $550 a year to drive my car on public roads because it weighs so much and damages the road surface. That's news to me.

[blackers10]

i think cycleists should have their own lane.. (which i thought the BIKE lane was for..) but for some reason they never use it..

even on roads with a 50cm hard shoulder (beyond the solid white line).. why cant they ride there instead of ON THE EDGE of the white line in the traffic??

its just stupidity..

in the city.. i can understand as theres usually cars in the lane.. and the traffic does 20kmh anyway..

but anywhere else.. speed limit or bust i say

[Tribal]

Originally Posted by Craiginmackay

Bike riders own other vehicles like cars, so they do pay rego, just not on the bike.

When you consider what sort of wear and tear a push bike causes the road surface, how can you honestly expect them to pay $500 a year rego?

I can't see the issue with cyclists on the road, except for the attitude of some drivers towards them which causes conflict, becuase they believe that their bigger, heavier, harder cars SHOULD have right of way.That is the main problem here. Not the cyclist, but the fact that boof headed, selfish and arrogant members of the general public seem to have got it into their heads that the roads are only there for them. They aren't!

If a bike is on the road ahead, slow down and pass when it is safe to do so, just like you would any other slower moving vehicle like a garbo truck, an elderly driver in a 180B, etc. They have as much right to be there as any other vehicle. If they break road rules, so what. It isn't your job as a road user to stop them, nor is it your job to wipe them off the planet by rear ending them.

Well put...