Do cyclists really break road rules? Top 5 rules that aren't actually rules...
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ส.ค. 2024
- Spend any time on social media, listening to talkback or looking at comments on news stories about cycling, and there'll be a stream of copium-depleted individuals who rant and rave about all the law breaking cyclists they witness.
The thing is, a lot of the time the things they complain about aren't actually laws. Like, not riding in a bike lane, or riding 2 abreast.
So here are the top 5 rules that you probably think cyclists break that aren't actually rules.
Links to Legislation
Cyclists and bike lanes:
www.legislation.qld.gov.au/vi...
Cyclists and crossings:
www.legislation.qld.gov.au/vi...
Cyclists and riding side by side:
www.legislation.qld.gov.au/vi...
Cyclists keeping left:
www.legislation.qld.gov.au/vi...
Unreasonably obstructing drivers or pedestrians:
www.legislation.qld.gov.au/vi...
Giving way to pedestrians, cyclists and PMDs on side streets and slip lanes:
www.legislation.qld.gov.au/vi...
www.legislation.qld.gov.au/vi...
Queensland Walks - The Other Side:
• The Other Side
What is a Bike Lane:
• Why don't cyclists use...
New rule for cyclists:
• When motorists must gi...
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0:00 Intro
1:02 Rule #5: Cyclists must ride in a bike lane
1:35 Rule #4: Cyclists must dismount to cross the road
2:36 Rule #3: Cyclists must ride single file
4:48 Rule #2: Cyclists must stay as far left as possible
6:40 Rule #1: Cyclists obstruct drivers by not doing the speed limit
11:00 Bonus Rule!
13:34 Conclusion
We need someone like you here in the US!! Love the channel! Keep up this important work!
Thanks for watching! There's lots of great US urbanists on TH-cam. They don't tend to dig into rules and riding so much. I'd love us to have proper infrastructure so most of these issues don't happen. But we're s long way off that sadly 😢
I like your videos and good humour. Keep it up, mate!
I was a serious endurance cyclist in the past. Now I am mostly a walker. But once a biker, always a biker.
Great production! Keep it up.
I think that a lot of drivers simply don't understand that they can hang back behind a cyclist for a little while until they get a safe opportunity to pass. How else can we explain drivers passing on blind corners and crests of hills? They feel that they have to pass RIGHT NOW. I don't think they are merely being impatient. They get stressed and feel they have to act right now. That would explain why they get so angry at cyclists. They feel that the cyclists keep putting them in dangerous and stressful situations.
Spot on. And then complain that the cyclist is at fault because they're "obstructing" them (which is what non rule 1 is about). No, not obstructing you, you just need to chill out, slow down and wait for a safe time to pass.
On corners, crests and directly into oncoming traffic ain't it
Yeah, I know! People are dead set idiots!!!!….
My left ear enjoyed this
Yeah, thanks. I've identified the issue with the balance in future videos.
Minor nitpick. at 3:11 The law doesn't state you can ride 3 abreast when passing. 151 (3) states: "The rider of a motorbike, a bicycle or a personal mobility device may ride alongside more than 1 other rider if the rider is overtaking the other riders."
Honestly this means it could be 4 abreast whilst passing. OR 6 if 2 groups were passing other groups at the same time etc... I mean, road widths would get in the way of that scale out but you know... That's the law...
The rule about drivers giving way to pedestrians crossing a side street was introduced in the UK last year. It received a lot of publicity in the media - mostly from angry, self entitled motorists. But after the new rule came into effect, I saw pretty much everyone adhering to it. For the first month or so anyway. Now the drivers have given up on it and there are zero consequences for any of them.
Yeah, unfortunately it's not a balanced relationship between car drivers and everyone else. As I said in my video, to can't use your flesh and bone to enforce your legal rights against a 2 tonne wankpanzer driven by a sociopath who is desperate to get where they're going as fast as possible, but is happy to stop and abuse you.
People walking and riding more makes the most difference. You see it from the other side and drive with a bit more empathy.
But the wankpanzer driving men with small appendages won't walk or ride anywhere. Another consequence of fragile masculinity.
Really enjoyed that - the rules are very similar here in the UK and we have the same kind of issues!
Cheers! Yeah it's frustrating isn't it. In reality it's just drivers who are frustrated about traffic, so they concoct made up rules to get angry at cyclists about.
Exit roads with wide turning arcs and non-continuous sidewalks?
Slip-lanes without beg buttons and lights?
My weekly Queensland is so backwards comment…
Great video, Chris. I particularly like the s72 bit ;-)
I recently had a cyclist indidicate that it was safe for me to overtake as they had a better sight line then I did.
Yeah, I never do that, and I never take advice from someone else when to pass. Sometimes it feels like pressure though, but I won't do something that doesn't feel safe. That's my call.
Love your videos Chris! Keep up the good work mate. It must be hard with all the facebook Kevins and Karens dropping thier L takes, especially on the shorts, but people like myself really love and appreciate your work!!! Love seeing videos about cycling, the infrastructure and the laws in my home town!
Thanks mate! Appreciate the support 😀
When I (occasionally) drive, I always slow down at slip lanes when there are people looking to cross. I've had drivers use their horns behind me because I'm stopping to give way, but I'm more patient than they are.
Good man. I do the same. I don't care if drivers behind get cranky. I'll do the right thing by the more vulnerable every time.
I wish you hadn't used those clips of people on Stanley Street, because frankly that's not an example of the cyclists doing anything wrong morally speaking. Yes, it's against the law, but it's an example of poor infrastructure design. A red light on a bike path for a pedestrian crossing when the visibility is as good as it is there is overkill. It's an example of traffic engineers having no clue what they're doing and just designing things with carbrain. A cyclist can easily see if there are pedestrians coming and slow down to give way to them, and proceed with literally zero risk as soon as the pedestrians have passed. All of those intersections (the two on Stanley St and the one northbound on Annerley Rd) should have been give way signs for cyclists.
Which brings me to the one rule that I see drivers bring up the _most_ which wasn't covered in this video, because under the letter of the law the drivers are right. Unfortunately it's just a crap law. And that's stop signs. We really should have an Idaho Stop law. (Of course, the _other_ counter to this when drivers bring up that cyclists don't obey it is "neither do drivers".)
I don't disagree with you.
AS we all know most car drivers flout the law ie 90% speed every time they go out. As you say if Car Drivers dont like the Laws get onto the Law makers and effect change --- until that change follow the Law and stop using cars as a weapon.
When the driver comes up behind me and then turns in front of me, I long for a horn to blow.
Something like a Nathan P5 train horn. Because I want to remind that I'm still there.
Some harder homework for you:
- Can I bicycle rider ride through a "scramble crossing" light?
- Can a bicycle rider "filter" in traffic like a Motorcycle rider is allowed to under QLD law?
Short answer is yes to both. But I will look at the legislation a bit closer to see where it's explicitly allowed or disallowed.
Scrambles aren't in the legislation at all to my knowledge, but would be considered a pedestrian light controlled crossing... so a bicycle can be ridden across.
Filtering would be covered by rules allowing to overtake on the left, and being able to ride in any lane on a multi lane road. Unless there is an explicit mention that bicycles can't lane split, I can't see any reason it would be illegal.
@@ChrisCoxCycling yeah. Riding through a scramble looks and feels like running a red light which sucks.
The lane split thing looked very grey in my last reading years ago.
Legal though I think.
If it's any consolation I was once road raged on that section at the tennis centre by a motorist for not letting him past (on the narrowed cobble section where there is absolutely no room to pass). Retrospective analysis of my ride data showed I was doing 45km/hr in the 40 zone. So the excuse of 'but the cyclist wasn't doing the speed limit' didn't even apply! Fortunately at the time he decided to stop in the middle of the bike lane and get out of his car he was heavily outnumbered by cyclists. On a related note that Tennyson section on the river loop is one of the most dangerous pieces of cycling infrastructure in Brisbane. Or maybe it's just the drivers there.
It is absolutely ridiculous that King Arthur Terrace through the tennis centre is a through route. People use it as a shortcut for Oxley Road/Sherwood Road/Fairfield Road, and don't give a stuff about safety of cyclists or even pedestrians in my experience.
King Arthur Terrace should be blocked at the roundabout at the tennis centre, with retractable bollards only allowing access on event days. Want to drive to the centre? Go the long way around via Fairfield Road.
The phenomenon where they still tailgate and want to overtake even when you ARE doing the speed limit is a weird psychological thing where drivers "see bike, must pass".
Another gem mate 👍🏼
I bet that honking bully is the owner of harrowsmiths on walker Street just near the tennis centre.
Looked like him.
He owns one of them in that colour.
Absolutely hates cyclists.
Good Intel, thanks!
Rule 4 - Cyclists must dismount. I've paused my video at this point so forgive me if covered later in the video. I've seen signs (small white background and black writing) that state cyclists must dismount. Should these signs be removed now if that rule / law has been repealed?
Yes they should, and to Council's credit, when they're reported they remove them. There's just no rolling program to do it.
@ChrisCoxCycling I'll start notifying my local council - Cairns Regional Council - when I see them still installed then. Thanks
Temporary roadworks like to use the "Cyclists Dismount" sign, including on cycle paths. This isn't an approved use of this sign in the Qld MUTCD and should be treated as for guidance purposes only. I had a grumpy roadworker on the Kedron Brook Bikeway try to talk to me about this, but I had ridden on and didn't want to turn around. If the roadworks really needs the cyclist to dismount then a "Bicycles Prohibited" sign should be used - then we have to dismount and become pedestrians.
They also get used on narrow shared paths (eg Victoria Bridge) but again is an incorrect use and the only approved usage (in Qld MUTCD) is for staircases or pedestrian malls.
That said, I do treat the "Cyclist Dismount" signs as a warning there may be a hazard ahead and ride more carefully.
Nice one!
I could become your only cycling friend but I live too far away and you'd have minimum standards. Sadly not many bogan motorists will watch this video. Keep up the cycling advocacy.
I keep hoping people will share this on Facebook or X where all the bogans and Karens live...
What about rule #6? Cyclists don't pay rego so they are not allowed to use the roads 😁
Nice video! Your laws (and people's misinterpretation of them) are very similar to those in my part of the USA. It's amazing how many people think that a speed limit is the lower limit instead of the upper limit.
Where on earth did you find a raised zebra crossing in Brisbane?
Ha, King Arthur Terrace at Tennyson near the tennis centre.
In your experience, how often do you see cyclists running red lights? I ride into the city for work, and unfortunately I at least one bike going through a red signal every day, mostly at pedestrian crossings.
To be honest, not that often here. Most commonly, it's a cross on red scenario at a pedestrian light, rather than going through a full traffic red.
Great video. I like it how you showed yourself in your car because it means your giving a balanced argument. And honking your horn could startle the cyclist which is more likely to cause an accedent. A fool is a fool wether their in a car bike or on foot. I've seen a video where a cyclist annoys a car Driver and it's almost like the cyclist is out to have a fight because he rides after the car driver. It ends up with the car driver running after the cyclist and doing a barrow roll behind him because the drivers like a raging bull. I'm not one for confutation
Your audio is really left-heavy for the dialogue, sadly I can't watch this video comfortably. Might be worth fixing and reuploading.
Sorry about that
Must be due to many years of leaning to the left too much 😅