Riding against the Traffic Part 1

Another footnote in the anals  annals of a cyclist... ;)

Over the years I have had too many conversations about, rules, regulations, laws etc... when it comes to cycling. I have read 1,000s of blog articles, news reports and so on about the merits of cycling, the attitude of  drivers vs cyclists and so on... My experience has been that arrogance, self righteousness and pigheadedness are not the exclusive domain of car drivers. If you're a pedestrian on any of Darwin's shared cycle/footpaths you will find that some cyclists can be even bigger arseholes than the majority of drivers when it comes to their sense of entitlement on what they perceive as 'their road'.

Quite a while back I wrote a blog post that discussed roadmanship; at the time I thought I'd continue to write about such things but the reality is, I don't have the time or the energy to devote to producing any deep study or reflection on the subject. These days I'm flat out just getting to work and performing my parental duties, but, all the same issues still irk me! Besides that I've discovered that I'm actually lazy. ;)

As a cyclist and someone who would like to see much more acceptance of bicycles as a legitimate form of transport I am often dismayed by the crazy shit I see cyclists doing on the road. (OK I've made a few mistakes on the road and have been grateful to survive.) I am not talking about minor maters like failing to dismount to cross a road. There are a lot of road rules that make no sense and I believe that with a strong sense of self preservation, a clever defensive cyclist can assess the potential for danger and choose the path of least hazard regardless of what appears to be the rule. Helmets are a good example. The NT has quite sensible helmet laws. Children must wear them all the time, adults can choose not to wear a helmet  when cycling on the bicycle paths but must wear them on the road. I'd prefer no laws on helmet use for adults but can live with what we have here. It makes sense and common sense dictates that even if the police aren't too interested in busting people for not wearing helmets on the road I wear one whenever I ride on major roads. There are signs along one of the local bike paths that instruct cyclists to dismount before crossing the road. This makes no sense and is potentially more hazardous so I do not comply! However there are some activities that defy logic. One of these is riding against the flow of the traffic!

WHAT NOT TO DO! (Giddy Goanna, Bikes Busses and Roads. Book 4, 2000 Giddy Goanna Ltd..)

I don't know if this happens so much in the other states but here in Darwin I regularly see people cycling on busy roads against the traffic. I admit there are times when crossing a road or switching paths I have found it necessary to travel a short distance in a contrary direction to the rest of the traffic. For example there a section of road inbound on the Stuart Highway where the bicycle path ends a few hundred meters away from the Post Office in Winnellie, it's crazy, that there's nowhere to go except onto the verge and into oncoming traffic, I have ridden it a few times and it's always hair raising! For me this is an exception. What I am talking about in this post is something else. It's about the large number of people in Darwin who seem to think that riding against the traffic is the norm. It is my belief that riding against the traffic is extremely dangerous and creates all kinds of danger on the road including potential head on collisions with other cyclists but so many cyclists in Darwin seem oblivious to the danger. 

What spurred this post was seeing yet another wrong way cyclist on my way to the Airport recently. I saw a young woman cyclist cross the road on the opposite side of the road to me and was confounded by the way she rode. She was heading in the same direction as me but was riding against the traffic. She rode boldly along the side of the road, not on the dirt but on the road toward oncoming traffic. The traffic was not going fast but the combined speed of car and bike increased the danger enormously. I watched the cars coming towards her and flinched at the thought of the impact. The cyclist peddled on oblivious. I have seen it so many times before... why do they do it?

I have discussed the practice (issue for some) of riding against the flow of traffic with a few people, cyclists and drivers, and have had some curious responses to my questions about safety. Perceptions seem completely contradictory to each other, yet none of the people I've spoken with have offered any logical argument either way... What has become most obvious to me is that generally people don't seem to be interested in thinking about these things they just want people to stay the f--k out of their way. 

Now I've written a swag of words and still haven't made my point so I'll label this 'Post 1'and try to follow up another time.

"Don't dream it.... be it."

Apologies to the writers of Rocky Horror, this post has nothing to do with the Rocky Horror Picture Show and I probably could have saved that quote for something related to the play or film, whatever. But the catch phrase really fits this situation.
The following video offers an alternative to how things are and shows how the Dutch have successfully realized a dream.

Introducing the Dutch Cycling Embassy!




Cycling For Everyone from Dutch Cycling Embassy on Vimeo.

This video dispels any myths that might exist about Holland always being bicycle friendly. They were headed down the same path as every other industrialized country! Cars begun to dominate the Streets of Holland's major cities just like everywhere else in the world. Holland didn't just happen to become a bicycle friendly country... They chose to respond to the negative social and environmental impacts of motor vehicles by deliberately creating bicycle friendly infrastructure for the sake of their citizens!
We can do the same in our cities... If we wish!

Careful with that mutika

I am not sure how to approach this subject since it arouses quite a bit if anger within me and I feel the subject is terribly misunderstood by the general public and more specifically the Dominant Anglo Mutika (motor car) obsessed culture!

(Telltale markings on the road)

I have to write something but once again I doubt I will do it justice! Maybe this can be the preliminary for some more substantial writing about the issue of road safety and the basic human rights of pedestrians.

Once again on my way to work I came across the remains of a grisly scene. Spray painted marks on the road indicating the various points of impact and final landing place of various objects after having been impacted by a motor vehicle. As I rode down Bagot Road toward the city I noticed the markings one by one until reaching the unmistakable outline of a person!

Another body has been smashed on the road! As I ride to work it is not uncommon to ride across blood stains and fur from countless, bandicoots, rats, cats and sometimes dogs. Occasionally but far too often there is evidence that a person has been hit. Thursday was one of those days!

I am talking about Bagot Road which links Darwin city with it's Northern Suburbs. It is three lanes wide and carries what I would expect most cities would consider a moderate amount of traffic. The road divides the residential suburbs of Ludmilla and Coconut Grove from the patch of land containing the RAAF base and Airport. Along the outbound side of the road there are retail outlets, MacDonalds, Red Rooster, two Primary Schools, blocks of flats and the Bagot Aboriginal Community. The majority of the in bound side has only a strip of grass and trees seperating the road from a high cyclone wire fence behind which is the RAAF, there is no footpath and very little space to stand, the ground is sloping towards the road. There are several bus stops along the road with about 4 or 5 on the side which has no footpath and very little space for people to sit.

Here I think are some of the factors which I believe have contributed to far too many people being hit on this road.

1. Speed limit - 70 - 80 kmh

2. Lack of appropriate pedestrian crossings

3. Lack of appropriate lighting at key sites where people cross the road

4. Higher than usual number of pedestrians/ Public transport users

5. Higher than usual likelihood of people who are not familiar with road conditions (a lot of people who stay at Bagot actually come from Aboriginal communities where there aren't any busy roads)

6. Pedestrian Intoxication

7. Driver negligence 
8. Insufficient space to stand at side of the road, sloping surface

I do not have any details about the facts involved in this recent accident and I would prefer not to speculate or try to draw any conclusions as to what happened on this occasion. However I would like to reflect on the attitudes that I come across when discussing the situation with people generally. I find their comments quite revealing and believe that it is popular Car Culture attitudes which have allowed this situation to continue without any 'meaningful' attempt to improve safety for pedestrians. (I use the word meaningful because there have actually been some attempts made to improve bus stops and crossing but they do not really address the real problems.)

These statements are a generalization and are not related to any empirical data, they are based only on general themes I have picked up on in discussion with people who are not experts... and were not present at the accidents. It is possible they may read a little too much of the local Tabloid or watch news on TV.

Q. What caused the accident

A. The the pedestrian was drunk and black

Q. Who was at fault

A. The pedestrian

Q. How could this have been prevented

A. He/She should stay off the road

Q. What about road conditions?

A. Not a problem.

Generally the answer I get  is that The pedestrian was hit because they were drunk and stepped onto the road at night, weren't seen and an innocent driver hit them.

Those hit aren't always black or drunk but there seems to be a general sense that this is the reason why people are hit by cars on Bagot Road. When the situation varies though people often seem just as willing to blame the victim of the incident rather than consider that there might be some other serious causes for the incident. For instance when a cyclist was hit a couple of years ago I remember the major point of discussion was whether or not he was wearing a helmet! It seems the blame for the accident could be shifted from the driver to the cyclist simply because he didn't have a helmet on when the car hit him!

Personally I find this situation quite intolerable and because it will result in more people being killed or maimed unnecessarily. I don't want to be one of them.

I will try to post on this subject in more detail when I have time to compose a constructive argument. But I would like to ask a few questions which I have asked several people I know and received somewhat negative feedback.

1. What if the speed limit was reduced to 60km. (how much time would actually be lost?

2. Would pedestrian crossings or lights make it safer for people to cross the road going to or from the buss stop?

3. Would improved lighting crossing the road near a buss stop increase visibility of pedestrians?

4. Would drivers pay attention to signs alerting drivers to the presence of pedestrians make them more cautious?

I am not blaming drivers for this situation. I still don't know any of the facts that contributed to this latest  incident and would hate to attribute guilt to anyone involved, it's not my place to do that. I have been in the situation more than once when an intoxicated pedestrian has stepped onto the road at night and it is a frightening situation. I have learned that there are times and places when this is more likely and I slow right down, regardless of what the other traffic is doing! Really I would just like to take a look at the whole situation and challenge some of the popular thinking on this subject in the hope that a solution might present itself.

Surely we must be capable of putting our fundamental responsibility for the care of human life before our perceived rights as drivers of motor vehicles?

Where can we ride our bikes?

Recently I read a blog article about cycling culture in Darwin. The author of the blog, who was visiting from interstate, commented on a variety of aspects of Darwin culture that differs from that in other states. The most significant difference is the fact that we have exemptions from helmet laws requiring cyclists to wear helmets at all times. This has inspired me to try and post more on this subject in future. One of the features mentioned was what the author considdered an impressinve network of bicycle paths.

It is true Darwin does have some nice examples of shared cycle/foot paths but I don't believe we live in a cyclists Utopia. There is much wrong in Darwin when it comes to infrastructure and planning for bicycles. There also appears to be growing hostility between drivers and cyclists on our roads. 

I'm not too sure about the state of Bicycle Advocacy in Darwin at the moment, I am aware of a few bicycle clubs but there is only a small group actively involved in our bicycle advocacy network 'Bicycle NT', which must make it quite difficult to form an active or effective advocacy group that is able to influence decision makers in Government.

Lately I've noticed a few changes to some of our bicycle paths but they don't appear to be following any coordinated plan or design. I am sure bicycle path or lane planning in Darwin is an add hock opporation that doesn't refer to any standard of design and I would be very surprised if decisions have been made in cooperation with informed representatives from our cycling community.

Examples of recent works include the new path along Vanderlyn Drive which joins McMillans Rd to the Stuart Highway. Some sections of this path virtually merge the cycle path with the road when there are open fields of open space available on the other side of the path. 20kmh speed limits in areas where there are children's playgrounds and many pedestrians, bicycle paths merging onto main roads at busy intersections and the most pathetic attempt at widening Lee Point Rd after Vanderly. This particular piece of roadwork should be the case in point for bicycle advocacy in Darwin. This is a single lane road with a speed limit recently reduced from Open to 80kmh (People still treat it as if it has an open limit) The road leads to a boat ramp, a popular coastal reserve and a caravan park that houses 1,000s of tourists during the dry season. Many of theis used by fishermen with boatsspeed limit, where drA road leading twhich is relied on  the.

I am hoping to blog some of this stuff over the coming weeks, not to bring you down but just as a means of showing how things are here and maybe questioning the logic.

One of my favorite bicycle blogs 'A View from the cycle path' written by David Hembrow often discusses issues of design and planning with the objective of creating a much more bicycle friendly universe. David produces some great video documentaries.


The latest post David's blog contains a video tour along a Dutch cycle path with text added to indicate various virtues of a dedicated cycle path.
Reality-vs myth dangers of dutch cycle

Although this model would not be practable for a place like Darwin where we have a much smaller population and far greater distances it still offers some basic principals that can be applied with regard to right of way, distance from roads, merging traffic and dealing with intersections.

If we want to create a safe cycling environment in Darwin I believe planners need to give propper considderation to these basic design principals rather than consrtucting cycle paths that channel riders into hazardous situations.