ANARCHY ON WHEELS

Last year a gentle, elderly man, James Gould, was minding his own business on a morning walk and crossing Beach Road, Melbourne, with the lights in his favour when that swarm of anti-social cyclists, taking part in their weekly Hell Ride barreled towards him and a wave of wheels ignored the red light.

Mr Gould died from head injuries. Last week a coroner was severely critical of the two-wheeled anarchists but  on the weekend there they were again. Some of them still running red lights as if they owned the roadway.

And that despite Police helicopters monitoring the ride – and waking up residents at 7.15 a.m. – for the past three Saturdays.

One of those residents, A. Sellers from Edithvale, wrote  to the Herald Sun and was right in saying ‘cyclists who ride on the roads should be registered, plate and all, so they can be traced for running red lights, being abusive and riding illegally’.

I’d go further. They should be licenced, should also be made to display rego plates and pay for third party insurance. And at night they should be booked for riding on pavements and having insufficient lights. Some of the twinklers, if they are using lights at all, wouldn’t guide Tinkerbell home.

And if they also hold a driver’s licence demerit points should be applied to that licence. Just like if you are driving somebody else’s vehicle.

Ironically such drastic action was proposed by Police back in 2005. So what’s happened?

The plan was supposed to clean up bad riding habits on Beach Road from Port Melbourne to Frankston in the lead up to last year’s Commonwealth Games.

Back then Inspector Alan Carlisle, who was driving the proposed law changes, said ‘If you breach a road rule, it doesn't matter if you are a car or a bike, you've breached the road rule, therefore the penalty is the same.  

‘If a cyclist all of a sudden saw he was going to get three demerit points for going through a red light on his Sunday morning bike ride, and that might affect his livelihood as a sales rep, I think there'd be a lot more responsible attitude."

Parity was introduced a few years ago for financial penalties for the same offences committed by either cyclist or motorist, but without strict enforcement and demerit points, the change has had little effect.

Inspector Carlisle said back then the Hell Ride was still ‘unfortunately, at times, anarchy on wheels’ - and in the pack mentality, there was safety in numbers.

‘Even when the police come alongside in a car and say to cyclists in the Hell Ride, 'pull over', they don't - they just keep riding.’

These laws are now more urgent than ever. The State Government is more than ‘bike friendly’. Thery are pushing and pushing to get more people out of four wheels and on to two. But with that must come responsibility.

In my mind I don’t care if you are in a Merc or a perambulator with a two-stroke engine. Once you are on the roads then the road rules and licences and registrations etcetera must apply to you.

Otherwise two-wheeled anarchy prevails.

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

©Copyright Derryn Hinch 2007