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Article: Cyclists face fines as police get tough

Started by ozbob, June 21, 2011, 11:40:29 AM

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ozbob

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Cyclists face fines as police get tough

QuoteCyclists face fines as police get tough
Megan Levy
June 21, 2011 - 10:04AM

Cyclists entering Melbourne's CBD will face fines of hundreds of dollars if they disobey the road rules under a police crackdown beginning today.

Police will patrol major routes into the city at peak times following a recent jump in bicycle crashes that have left some cyclists with serious injuries.

Senior Sergeant Dale Huntington said four cyclists had died on Victorian roads this year, and in recent months several cyclists had been injured after riding into car doors on St Kilda Road.

Bike-related laws to be enforced include failing to wear a helmet (a $146 fine), not having lights ($146), failing to obey a traffic light ($292) and riding in a tram safety zone ($292).

"We have seen a number of incidents recently, particularly in the St Kilda Road area, where cyclists have collided with opening car doors," Senior Sergeant Huntington said.

"We're asking both riders and also motorists to share the road, to be courteous and considerate of each other.

"There's no second chance for a bike rider. When involved in an accident it's always going to be a serious incident."

The most recent figures from Bicycle Victoria's annual road count, taken on March 1 this year, revealed that 1510 cyclists passed through the intersection of Swanston and Flinders streets in the city between 7am and 9am.

That was the busiest bicycle commuter intersection in the city, recording an average of 12.6 cyclists per minute.

However, the number of riders was down 18.5 per cent on the previous year due to wet and windy conditions in the city on the day the count was taken.

Senior Sergeant Huntington said that under Operation Compass, police would target four key entrances to the city — Footscray Road, St Kilda Road, Albert Street in North Melbourne and Royal Parade.

He said despite bike helmet laws being enforced for the past 10 years, officers were finding cyclists were still flouting them.

"They also aren't wearing the proper lights at night time," he said.

"It's a winter period and we've got people riding to work later in the night time and also early in the morning when it's dark.

"Motorists find it hard to see bike riders at the best of times, so when you're not wearing those reflective vests, not wearing a helmet or not wearing the lights, you're riding around invisible to other road users."

He said Operation Compass would run for the next three months.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/cyclists-face-fines-as-police-get-tough-20110621-1gcjs.html
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Mozz

What the.... People opening car doors on cyclists and the cyclists get a Police crackdown .......

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