Australian Politics Forum - Melbourne Cyclist Doored by Taxi Passenger

... Gold Member Offline Posts: 23673 WA Gender:	Re: Melbourne Cyclist Doored by Taxi Passenger Reply #75 - Mar 19^th, 2014 at 7:30pm I can imagine some of you guys having a heart attack in somewhere like Amsterdam, where every front bottom rides a bike. I really, really don't understand what the problem with them is.
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UnSubRocky

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Re: Melbourne Cyclist Doored by Taxi Passenger
Reply #76 - Mar 19^th, 2014 at 7:48pm

FriYAY wrote on Mar 19^th, 2014 at 10:05am:

Gawd i hate bike riders.

How many bike riders choke up the atmosphere from exhaust smog from riding their bikes? I happen to be one of those regular bike riders who gave up bike riding chiefly because of the rudeness of some vehicle drivers. But I'm willing to have another go and give drivers hell if they have a go at me. The fact is if we saw 20% of drivers take to bike riding, we would probably see a definite drop in fuel prices as service stations get loaded with an over supply of petrol. Dare to dream.

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Kat

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Re: Melbourne Cyclist Doored by Taxi Passenger
Reply #77 - Mar 19^th, 2014 at 7:54pm

Grappler Truth Teller Feller wrote on Mar 19^th, 2014 at 7:30pm:

So I take it he was passing on the inside - a traffic offence?

Tough titties - I've advocated for years that cyclists should wear a numbered jacket so they can be identified when breaking the law.

I used to drive a blind van around Sydney city (sometimes ) and was once in the midddle of a left turn with green arrow when I heard this wailing sound coming from te left - I stopped immediately - being a good driver - and barely missed a cyclist courier screaming through on my inside against the law.

Had I not stopped you can imagine who he'd try to blame.

Many other incidents spring to mind - red light running, turning into a one way street the wrong way and forcing me to stop suddenly while driving the correct way etc -and all I can say is if they wish to carry on with suicidal actions while riding in traffic - they have only themselves to blame.

Number 'em and charge 'em an annual fee for registration of the number - fine em for traffic offences.

The road laws say 'vehicle' - anything used to convey a person - that includes a horse etc as well and many a person has been done for traffic offences while riding a horse.

Same applies to bicycle riders.

It was a she, she was, and it isn't.

The Vict-whorian cops seem to agree.

Or did you ignore my post (replying to Gnads, #71) completely?

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Gnads

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Re: Melbourne Cyclist Doored by Taxi Passenger
Reply #78 - Mar 19^th, 2014 at 7:57pm

Kat Laws about "dooring" should only apply to the drivers side when a bicyclist passes on the right as for all normal passing operations. Passing on the blind side against the curb is the actions of an idiot.

I believe she was expecting this to happen, & so she should in the CBD where cabs are picking up & dropping off. As such it should be her obligation to be prepared to stop. The rear passenger does't have a rear view mirror & the rider was blind to him.

The cyclist was a deliberate idiot.

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"When you are dead, you do not know you are dead. It's only painful and difficult for others. The same applies when you are stupid." ~ Ricky Gervais

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Kat

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Re: Melbourne Cyclist Doored by Taxi Passenger
Reply #79 - Mar 19^th, 2014 at 8:09pm

UnSubRocky wrote on Mar 19^th, 2014 at 7:48pm:

FriYAY wrote on Mar 19^th, 2014 at 10:05am:

Gawd i hate bike riders.

How many bike riders choke up the atmosphere from exhaust smog from riding their bikes? I happen to be one of those regular bike riders who gave up bike riding chiefly because of the rudeness of some vehicle drivers. But I'm willing to have another go and give drivers hell if they have a go at me. The fact is if we saw 20% of drivers take to bike riding, we would probably see a definite drop in fuel prices as service stations get loaded with an over supply of petrol. Dare to dream.

I took up riding again about 8 years ago because it's cheap and healthy. And (mostly) fun!

My family owned our town's 'bike shop' when I was a kid, so I'd always had a background
with bikes in it. Got my first (a 16" Speedwell) in 1962 as a 4-year-old.

The difference in the attitudes of drivers nowadays towards cyclists, compared to when I last
rode regularly (the mid-80s, when the kids were ... well, kids) is bloody incredible! Their
hatred really does border (and sometimes crosses that border) the psychopathic.

I'm not some young tear-arse on a mountain bike with no lights, I don't 'race' on the road as
if I'm riding in the Tour de France and, as a motorcyclist for most of my life, I am both aware
of, and OBEY the road rules. My bikes are not the $10k+ playthings of the rich, they are mostly
vintage and classic machines, and nor am I a 'MAMIL' (middle-aged man in lycra). But I am 56
not 16, and I do tend towards preserving my life rather than risking it.

I know that there are a lot of male reproductive organs out there riding bicycles. Of course there
are. Every barrel has its rotten apples.

But to abuse, denigrate and threaten cyclists as some are doing, is truly fracking reprehensible.

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Grappler Truth Teller Feller

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Re: Melbourne Cyclist Doored by Taxi Passenger
Reply #80 - Mar 19^th, 2014 at 8:09pm

UnSubRocky wrote on Mar 19^th, 2014 at 7:48pm:

FriYAY wrote on Mar 19^th, 2014 at 10:05am:

Gawd i hate bike riders.

How many bike riders choke up the atmosphere from exhaust smog from riding their bikes? I happen to be one of those regular bike riders who gave up bike riding chiefly because of the rudeness of some vehicle drivers. But I'm willing to have another go and give drivers hell if they have a go at me. The fact is if we saw 20% of drivers take to bike riding, we would probably see a definite drop in fuel prices as service stations get loaded with an over supply of petrol. Dare to dream.

You no like chokee - no ridee bike in traffic! Nobody is forcing you to.

Rudeness goes both ways I'm afraid - what ever became of the rule that you ride bicycles Indian file.... not side by side like it's a Sunday jaunt in the park.

You want respect - give it.

Door 'em all - let God sort 'em out! Cool

ADDS:- Unit cost - i.e per litre cost - of petrol would go up since the costs still occur....

Let's try it this way - your costs of selling petrol, owning the joint etc, are 80% of your total take. You suddenly stop selling as much - are your costs going to go down? You won't buy as many litres, but you won't sell as many litres - and therefore the overall profit margin declines - ergo - you are forced to raise the price to continue in business.

That kinda juggles up and down a little - but with static costs as high as they are, a business needs to turn over stock to earn.

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Kat

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Re: Melbourne Cyclist Doored by Taxi Passenger
Reply #81 - Mar 19^th, 2014 at 8:12pm

Gnads wrote on Mar 19^th, 2014 at 7:57pm:

Kat Laws about "dooring" should only apply to the drivers side when a bicyclist passes on the right as for all normal passing operations. Passing on the blind side against the curb is the actions of an idiot.

I believe she was expecting this to happen, & so she should in the CBD where cabs are picking up & dropping off. As such it should be her obligation to be prepared to stop. The rear passenger does't have a rear view mirror & the rider was blind to him.

The cyclist was a deliberate idiot.

Wrong.

Passing on the left is LEGAL for a cyclist.

Opening a car door in a manner which causes obstruction or accident is ILLEGAL.

The LAW says so.

The LAW says she did nothing wrong.

What causes your irrational hatred of cyclists?

Or, is it the poster (me) you have the issue with?

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Grappler Truth Teller Feller

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Re: Melbourne Cyclist Doored by Taxi Passenger
Reply #82 - Mar 19^th, 2014 at 8:23pm

Kat wrote on Mar 19^th, 2014 at 8:12pm:

Gnads wrote on Mar 19^th, 2014 at 7:57pm:

Kat Laws about "dooring" should only apply to the drivers side when a bicyclist passes on the right as for all normal passing operations. Passing on the blind side against the curb is the actions of an idiot.

I believe she was expecting this to happen, & so she should in the CBD where cabs are picking up & dropping off. As such it should be her obligation to be prepared to stop. The rear passenger does't have a rear view mirror & the rider was blind to him.

The cyclist was a deliberate idiot.

Wrong.

Passing on the left is LEGAL for a cyclist.

Opening a car door in a manner which causes obstruction or accident is ILLEGAL.

The LAW says so.

The LAW says she did nothing wrong.

What causes your irrational hatred of cyclists?

Or, is it the poster (me) you have the issue with?

Kat - with all due respect - even if it is 'legal' for a fool to attempt to pass on the inside of a vehicle stopped to pick up and set down passengers - it should NOT be, for two reasons.

Again - a bicycle is a vehicle and must be bound by the road rules.

Secondly, as the other person said - the passenger has no way of seeing a bisexual running up the inside and cannot take avoiding or preventative action... the bisexual rider has every opportunity to take such action by NOT doing the stupid thing in the first place, and should therefore be held as responsible as a car driver for the same actions.

In the case I cited, with my turning left - that idiot was doing at least 25 mph and had no intention of stopping no matter what - he only survived through my sound judgement as a driver - but he did not deserve to.

What law permits ONLY a bisexual rider to not keep a careful lookout, to pass on the inside, and to drive in a manner dangerous? If I ad ever attempted, in a van or car, to do what the cyclist did and an accident occurred as a result - I would be massively punished.

Imagine the impact of a bicycle traveling at 20+ mph hitting a frail passenger alighting from a cab in a situation where that passenger had every reasonable expectation of being able to do so safely.... your grandmother for instance.. what would you say then?

IF those laws say bisexual riders can do those things with impunity - then the laws need to be changed and such fools need to not be covered by any injury compensation because of the very nature of their own foolhardy behaviour.

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Kat

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Re: Melbourne Cyclist Doored by Taxi Passenger
Reply #83 - Mar 19^th, 2014 at 8:26pm

... wrote on Mar 19^th, 2014 at 7:30pm:

I can imagine some of you guys having a heart attack in somewhere like Amsterdam, where every nice person rides a bike.

I really, really don't understand what the problem with them is.

Want my guess?

Too bad, here it is anyway.

I found the same thing riding motorcycles for many years, but I feel that a large part
of it, especially in the major cities where roads are crowded and time is money, is due
to the perceived way that bikes and cycles can take advantage (legally) of gaps that a
car cannot. So they perceive that the motorcyclist or the cyclist is somehow getting an
'unfair' advantage. This has actually been mentioned to me by several non-riders when
discussing the issue.

While it may look 'dangerous' to someone who's never ridden (or hasn't ridden for many
years) 'filtering' at traffic lights by going between two lanes of traffic is, provided no ass-
hole opens a door) is perfectly safe, and is often legal. Bicycles are legally allowed to do
this on the left.

Lane-splitting on the open road/expressway/tollway at 100km/h, as shown in some 'bikie'
films, is neither safe nor legal, and rightly so. But so many fail to understand the difference
between the two.

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Grappler Truth Teller Feller

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Re: Melbourne Cyclist Doored by Taxi Passenger
Reply #84 - Mar 19^th, 2014 at 8:31pm

You could also add in 'intimidatory riding' - riding in such a manner as to deliberately compel another road user to abide by your behaviour and allow you unfettered right of way - even when it is a clear breach of law and sense.

Deliberately placing yourself in harm's way in order to - say - be able to run a red light against traffic - and thus forcing other road users with right of way to stop needs to be punished.

Numbered jerseys and penalties from cameras etc when such things occur.

I recall one group of kindly bisexual riders stopping up the gates on a freeway in Sydney in some protest over being allowed to rule the roads (as usual) - one went at an Asian man sitting in his car, waving a bisexual pump at him...

Don't recall that arsehole being fined or charged with assault. It seems bike riders think they are above the law - therefore they need to be brought into line with it.

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Grappler Truth Teller Feller

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Re: Melbourne Cyclist Doored by Taxi Passenger
Reply #85 - Mar 19^th, 2014 at 8:32pm

... wrote on Mar 19^th, 2014 at 7:30pm:

I can imagine some of you guys having a heart attack in somewhere like Amsterdam, where every nice person rides a bike.

I really, really don't understand what the problem with them is.

If I were in Amsterdam I'd be strolling around and trying to shag Dutch women... not driving on the narrow streets in a strange city.

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Re: Melbourne Cyclist Doored by Taxi Passenger
Reply #86 - Mar 19^th, 2014 at 8:34pm

Kat wrote on Mar 19^th, 2014 at 8:26pm:

... wrote on Mar 19^th, 2014 at 7:30pm:

I can imagine some of you guys having a heart attack in somewhere like Amsterdam, where every nice person rides a bike.

I really, really don't understand what the problem with them is.

Want my guess?

Too bad, here it is anyway.

I found the same thing riding motorcycles for many years, but I feel that a large part
of it, especially in the major cities where roads are crowded and time is money, is due
to the perceived way that bikes and cycles can take advantage (legally) of gaps that a
car cannot. So they perceive that the motorcyclist or the cyclist is somehow getting an
'unfair' advantage. This has actually been mentioned to me by several non-riders when
discussing the issue.

While it may look 'dangerous' to someone who's never ridden (or hasn't ridden for many
years) 'filtering' at traffic lights by going between two lanes of traffic is, provided no ass-
hole opens a door) is perfectly safe, and is often legal. Bicycles are legally allowed to do
this on the left.

Lane-splitting on the open road/expressway/tollway at 100km/h, as shown in some 'bikie'
films, is neither safe nor legal, and rightly so. But so many fail to understand the difference
between the two.

It doesn't just LOOK dangerous - it IS dangerous when accidents such as this occur. Ipso facto...

The fact that many get away with dangerous and stupid things like running red lights, screaming through on the inside of a turning vehicle and so forth, does not mean it is not inherently dangerous to do so.

BTW - are you suggesting that it is legal to pass inside a vehicle in the process of turning left in Victoria and that it is somehow a 'right' to do so? You are kidding me!

There but for the grace of good drivers...

Door 'em all - let God sort 'em out!

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Kat

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Re: Melbourne Cyclist Doored by Taxi Passenger
Reply #87 - Mar 19^th, 2014 at 8:42pm

Can anyone answer this?

The motorists bitch like crazy (well not so much like crazy) about bicycles being 'allowed' on the road.

But wherever and whenever a Council decides to put some bike-specific infrastructure in place, the motorists scream
again because they've lost half a metre of 'their' road?

And yet, it's 'illegal' for anyone over 12 to ride on the footpath (pedestrians can walk on cycle paths,
though) despite the horrendously dangerous and often out-of-control 'invalid carriages' or 'mobility scooters' or
whatever you want to call them being allowed, pretty-well, open season on the footpaths.

A woman was recently run over and seriously by one of these 'hoons' in my town. On a travelator. In the mall.

My town's population is only around 25,000 people, so traffic is pretty good, except in peak hour. But there are
one or two roads that I simply WILL NOT ride on. They are too dangerous, and the cycle path is about 500mm
wide, and rough as guts. So, I ride on the footpath. Stuff the law, my safety trumps the law.

If a senile 90-year-old in a 4-wheeled small electric car (basically) is to be allowed on footpaths, surely an adult
on a bicycle (better reflexes, eyesight, strength, bike has better brakes, tyres, handling etc) should be allowed.

And it's London to a brick the cyclist would be the safer of the two.

Now, send in the clowns.

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Kat

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Re: Melbourne Cyclist Doored by Taxi Passenger
Reply #88 - Mar 19^th, 2014 at 8:48pm

Grappler Truth Teller Feller wrote on Mar 19^th, 2014 at 8:31pm:

You could also add in 'intimidatory riding' - riding in such a manner as to deliberately compel another road user to abide by your behaviour and allow you unfettered right of way - even when it is a clear breach of law and sense.

Deliberately placing yourself in harm's way in order to - say - be able to run a red light against traffic - and thus forcing other road users with right of way to stop needs to be punished.

Numbered jerseys and penalties from cameras etc when such things occur.

I recall one group of kindly bisexual riders stopping up the gates on a freeway in Sydney in some protest over being allowed to rule the roads (as usual) - one went at an Asian man sitting in his car, waving a bisexual pump at him...

Don't recall that arsehole being fined or charged with assault. It seems bike riders think they are above the law - therefore they need to be brought into line with it.

Again, a small minority.

And no-one but an abject bugger (sorry, mods) would deliberately put himself in harm's way on a bloody treadly.

Re the bisexual riders (is that the word-filter in action), as I said earlier, every barrel has its rotten apples.

Doesn't justify tarring all cyclists with that brush.

Nor does it justify killing and/or maiming them, or clamouring to do so on Farce-book.

Or here.

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Prime Minister for Canyons Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 26906 Canberra Gender:	Re: Melbourne Cyclist Doored by Taxi Passenger Reply #89 - Mar 19^th, 2014 at 8:52pm WTF is a bisexual pump?
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