Graham Cornes: Road-hogging cyclists entitled by our Tour Down Under share onus for road safety

THE Tour Down Under highlights the ongoing struggle between cyclists and motorists but the road-sharing rules are too often a one-way street, argues Graham Cornes.

The Tour Down Under peloton during Stage Four in the Adelaide Hills on Friday. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Peled

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IT is at this time of year when the divide between cyclist and motorist is at its greatest.

The Tour Down Under brings out the best and worst of us. At best it’s a phenomenal event that showcases our city and state like no other event. If you’re a non-South Australian watching from abroad or from interstate, you have to put Adelaide on your bucket list. (Even better would be to stage a leg of the event on Kangaroo Island.)

If you’re an expat watching from abroad you are conflicted as pride and homesickness battle for supremacy of your emotions.

However, at worst, it’s ugly as motorists, with little patience for this world-ranked event, vent their frustrations at road-closures and road-hogging groups of cyclists.

Those frustrations are compounded by the sense of empowerment that cyclists, both amateur and professional display. Don’t dare honk at a group of cyclists that are spilling out of the bike lanes, slowing traffic and causing more congestion.

The finger-pointing and abuse is exacerbated by the heatwave that invariably accompanies the Tour. It’s a wonder there aren’t more road-rage incidents.

Unfortunately the event, as successful as it is, highlights the inadequacies of governments and politicians to make Adelaide safer for cyclists.

Given our weather and terrain, we have the perfect city for commuting by pushbike. Given the inexcusable price of petrol and the shameless, barely legal, strategies of the oil companies, we should all be riding bikes.

The peloton rides up Gorge Road on Friday. Picture: AFP Photo / Brenton Edwards

Unfortunately, it’s just too dangerous. The dedicated bike lanes are too few and far between. Besides, they start in the most unusual places and funnel you into more traffic chaos. What parent, in their right mind, would allow a child to ride on the roads?

New traffic laws, designed to make motorists more aware and considerate of groups of cyclists, have helped. Motorists know, more than ever, they must leave a gap of 1m (1.5m on country roads) when overtaking cyclists.

But it’s still a very dangerous past-time. Who of us doesn’t know an avid cyclist that has been injured in the past few years?

And haven’t the cyclists enjoyed their new-found entitlement. However, with entitlement comes responsibility and consideration. Too few cyclists are responsible and considerate.

The popular cycling routes for the Lycra-clad groups invariably include busy suburban streets and the cyclists insist on riding two abreast, despite the frustration and congestion that it causes behind them.

The seemingly sensible suggestion that cyclists should ride in single file and not spill out of the bike lane on busy suburban streets, has been howled down by the cycling fraternity.

Charlie Walsh at training at the Adelaide Super-Drome back when he was Australian cycling coach.

The legendary Charlie Walsh, a great rider in his time and an even more successful coach, reacted quickly to that suggestion.

Walsh, who is not a young man anymore, is a splendid example of the fitness benefits of cycling. However, it’s the social benefits that he expounds just as vigorously.

“Cycling has a social aspect in that cyclists can ride side-by-side and chat while riding. This is part of the appeal of cycling. For those riding long distances/time, the capability to chat makes it more agreeable,” he says.

“The world is becoming less pleasurable. Do we want to make it worse?”.

It’s a valid point but it won’t wash with the motorist caught behind a group on Mosely Street at Glenelg or Lady Gowrie Drive at Osborne.

However, Walsh insists that over the years his experience is that it is much safer for the cyclists to ride two abreast rather than in single file. He cites the example in Colorado, USA, where the law is that cyclists must ride in single file.

“I found cycling in Colorado Springs was quite dangerous. Their law has not helped because it seems the motorists’ mentality is one of having no respect for the cyclist … this is our road, keep out of the way”, he says.

Walsh feels that cyclists are more likely to be run down from behind when riding single file. “I had two friends run down from the rear while riding on their own at the edge of the road and both died”, he says. “How many motorists actually know the road rules? Either not too many or there is a lot of ignorance.”

A cyclist keeps a safe distance from cars on Franklin Street.

This may be true but cyclists here in Adelaide must accept more responsibility. So many cyclists flout the road laws, ignoring stop signs and red lights, even speed limits.

The one-metre law obviously doesn’t apply to cyclists who pass slowed traffic on the inside. And they do it all with impunity because there is no means of identification. Besides, who can recognise a Lycra-clad figure disguised by a helmet and sunglasses?

Perhaps those who call for the registration of bicycles have got a point, however unwieldy such a system would be. But too many cyclists are wary of recognition. Their belligerence is enhanced by their anonymity.

It is true that our authorities must do more to ensure the safety of cyclists but the reality is that even the most careful of motorists might not see a bike-rider. So the greater awareness, care and consideration has to come from the cyclists.

It’s a fantastic sport and our Tour Down Under positions us globally, but until successive governments can make the sport safer, it’s just as wise to stay on the footpath.

Originally published as Graham Cornes: Road-hogging cyclists entitled by our Tour Down Under share onus for road safety