I am bewildered by the whole ruckus that is occurring at the present time in the New Zealand media about cars versus cyclists.
In the last few weeks there have been a number of high profile accidents involving cars hitting cyclists, and one of these resulted in the death of the cyclist. There was also a prominent case of an elderly woman, with previous convictions for drink-driving, who hit, and killed, a cyclist in the Lower North Island. These cases, and the car hitting a bunch of cyclists on Auckland's Tamaki Drive on a recent Saturday morning, have pushed the mainstream media into a frenzy.
Firstly, the cyclist who was tragically killed last week on Peak Road as a result of a hit and run was Graham Robinson, a well respected and loved North Shore GP. I would like to extend my condolences to his family. He was in training for the Great Ride for the Heart in early 2010, and was an advocate for the health benefits of cycling and exercise. A fund raising page to assist the Heart Foundation directly through rider sponsorship has been set up for Graham and can be visited here . It is a worthy cause, and well worth supporting.
None of what I am about to say diminishes the tragedy of any of the above mentioned deaths or injuries, and, to my mind, and in an ideal world, they were avoidable and should never have happened.
Now, to the nub of the issue, and the cause of my bewilderment. I firmly believe that this issue, motorists versus cyclists, is a true media beat up, and in reality is a symptom of a far deeper malaise within New Zealand society. That malaise is that we, as a nation, are extremely inconsiderate road-users.
Firstly a few statistics.
According to the Land Transport Safety Authority, from 1 January to 23 October here are the deaths of cyclists in road accidents for the last two years:-
2008 2009
9 8
Worse yet, here are the deaths of pedestrians for the same periods:-
2008 2009
24 27
Deeper data can be found here the Ministry of Transport Cyclist Crash Fact Sheet.
Here is a summary of cycling deaths and injuries (Police reported) for the 20 years from 1987 to 2007.
Hell, from this, twenty years ago, New Zealand's roads were a war zone!On the face of it, based on these stats and the the growth of cycling, cycling has become safer, but so have New Zealand roads as a whole.
Cycling has grown as a sport, a form of exercise and recreation dramatically in the last decade, and as such cyclists are riding in far great numbers and more visible to the wider community than ever before. Add to this mix the wide ranging abilities and behaviours within cyclists that I have alluded to previously in this blog. In Auckland this increased visibility on one of the few flat, scenic roads, Tamaki Drive has also come with increased user conflict.
In the case of Tamaki Drive I firmly believe both sides are at fault here. We, all road users, have rights on the roads, we also have obligations, both legal and communal, but too often we ignore these. We take umbrage at others who transgress laws, or even merely inconvenience us.
That Tamaki Drive is an iconic piece of road, an arterial commuting drive, is part of the reason that mainstream media (print, talkback radio) have latched onto, and fed, the conflict so well. Easy pickings, what they are doing is ignoring the wider issues here and often simplifying a complex issue into very simple ideas.
As a road user (motorist, cyclist, pedestrian) my perception is that New Zealand road users are a pretty rude, impatient and intolerant lot. Why this is, is a thesis for some bright, budding student, but, anecdotally for me, road user behaviour is worsening. If I compare New Zealand roads to my limited experiences as a rider, driver and pedestrian in various overseas countries we, here in New Zealand, are selfish road users. We don't consider other road users to any great degree.
I am all for an increase of road user safety, but not just for cyclists, but for all road users. I don't have any easy answer to provide that increase, but I do my part everyday to help make that happen. I would encourage all of you to think about how you ride, drive and behave on the road, how you interact with your fellow road users and hope that you will encourage others to do likewise.
I'm with you on this, my lumpy skulled, neanderthal throwback friend.
ReplyDeleteAs I pedal around the cycling megalopolis in which I live, the cause of problems seem almost equally divided between riders and drivers. When I'm driving about, I see the same, and "what the fuck is he doing?" is a frequent thought when I see cyclists on the road. In short, a lot of cyclists certainly don't do much, if anything, to improve our lot on the roads.
Part of the problem is education. Too little time in driver education is spent on rules and responsibilities. Instead, the classes seem only designed to show you how to make the vehicle go in the direction you'd like. Education of riders is equally bad or non-existent. Way too many cyclists aren't if even aware that they have to follow road laws just as motorists do.
As cyclists we can't do much to fix the driving and attitudes of motorists. We can, however, extend a bit of courtesy on the roads and good will. We need to promote ourselves as being responsible road users, not the pedaling version of asshat drivers.