NSW government racks up $2.2 million from cyclists in 12 months since increase of fines

SYDNEY has been cracking down on cyclists since the introduction of some of the most expensive fines in the world, but is it really for the greater good?

Cyclists were fined more than $2.2 million dollars in 12 months.

IF SYDNEY’S lockout laws weren’t already enough to embarrass the city on the world stage, the state’s heavy fines for cyclists should certainly do the trick.

Since March 2016, NSW police has been targeting bike riders and pedestrians in a series of operations to enforce the increased penalties for cyclists introduced by the state government.

The laws, which are among the strictest and most expensive in the world, resulted in cyclists copping more than $2.2 million in fines across the top-five offences in the 12 months following the introduction of the fines.

Figures from Revenue NSW revealed the crackdown saw a 38 per cent increase in fines from the year prior, with a total of 9760 infringements handed out to cyclists, reports Fairfax Media.

Of the total infringements, a whopping 6162 fines were given to cyclists not wearing a helmet.

And despite this only being 1377 more fines than the same period from the previous year, the newly quadrupled $319 fines increased revenue from $337,000 to $1.99 million for the same offence.

Riding a bicycle on a footpath was the second biggest offence, collecting $127,730 from 1205 fines — 518 more than year earlier.

Wonder if this troublemaker was riding on the footpath like a reckless criminal.

Even with the fine for running a red light or stop sign jumping from $71 to $425, police nabbed 849 cyclists to earn $360,825 in revenue.

Offences relating to riding without a bell increased from 166 to 463 to collect $49,770, while riding in the dark without a front or real light earned $81,148 from 756 offences.

While cyclists were heavily targeted with these infringements, only 17 fines were handed out to motorists failing to pass riders at a safe distance, earning just $5610.

When examining the breakdown, Bicycle NSW said it was disappointing to see a large focus on cyclists and not on drivers failing to give the minimum passing distance when overtaking a bicycle.

“To have only 17 drivers caught infringing the minimum passing distance road rule in the last year demonstrates that better support to enforce this rule needs to be delivered,” Bicycle NSW wrote in a blog.

“We have more than 100 records of vehicles in the last three months that have not given bike riders a safe space when overtaking on our roads.”

Police warning and booking people at Darling Harbour during Operation Pedro 5. Picture: Stephen Cooper

The organisation said it had seen a high failure rate for participants who try to accurately estimate the minimum passing distance they need to give bike riders in campaign funded by a Community Road Safety grant.

“An alarming 80 per cent did not know they can legally cross double lines, when safe to do so, in order to give cyclists enough room when overtaking,” the organisation wrote.

“Bicycle NSW wants to see a significant increase in public education on how to share our roads so that bike riders, pedestrians and drivers all know their responsibilities when travelling in whatever transport mode they choose.”

Bicycle NSW said the 6.5 per cent decrease in injuries and cyclist deaths since the crackdown was a welcomed statistic, but argued it might not be all as it seems.

“In 2015, 16.7 per cent of people in NSW rode bikes regularly, that has now dropped to only 12.5 per cent in 2017 — the lowest in the country according to the Australian Bicycle Council’s National Cycling Participation Survey,” the organisation wrote.

“It’s certainly difficult to declare that the increased penalties have reduced the incidents when the overall number of people choosing to ride a bike have declined so dramatically.”

News.com.au has contaced NSW police for comment.

What do you think of the $2.2 million in revenue made from cyclists? Continue the discussion in the comments below or with Matthew Dunn on Facebook an d Twitter.