Motorbikes in bike lanes
This morning I witnessed a motorbike riding in the cycling lane along Payneham Road. Has anyone else witnessed this kind of illegal activity?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by hozozco on -
Yep.
I've also seen Police booking people for it on South Road near Flinders Medical Centre (a couple of years ago when I was still driving). I don't know if it's changed, but I can't say I used to notice it being Policed very often - but I have seen a couple of people being booked.
I've never been had the problem as a cyclist, but I've often seen it when I'm driving. Perhaps they are moving out of the cycle lane if there are cyclists there? Maybe I'm just lucky!
Simon
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Permalink Reply by MARK FERGUSON (SPARTACUS) on -
You're lucky, I've been abused for going too slow by a motorbike using the cycling lane.
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Permalink Reply by David B.o.R. on -
I've noticed the scooters a lot but not proper motorbikes. As an ex motorcyclist (I got my first car in when I was 34) I always saw cyclists - engine or not - as one group. 2 wheels good, 4 wheels bad. So I'm surprised that m/bikes would ride in cycle lanes.
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Permalink Reply by MARK FERGUSON (SPARTACUS) on
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Larger motorbikes use them when traffic is conjested.
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Permalink Reply by Darren S. on -
Yep. I see it quite a bit on my way to work, particularly from scooters. They are possibly intimidated by riding in amongst all the peak hour traffic and think that the bike lane is safer.
Apart from the obvious law breaking issue, what really gets me is that they are going at the same speed as the traffic. Surely this creates safety problems not only for cyclists using the bike lanes, but other motorists too.
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Permalink Reply by hozozco on
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A few years ago now I used to ride one of those 50cc scooters. One of the problems with them is they only do 50 kph (ish - some do up to 60, but they're not meant to). In 70/80 zones and even 60 zones they can hold up the traffic if they 'take the lane'.
I would 'take the lane' and hold up traffic in preference to riding in the gutter and possibly getting knocked over. It's my understanding that it's safer and legal.
However, a lot of scooter riders do ride on the edge of the road like a cyclist - thing is, they're not a cyclist and are certainly traveling faster than I go on my cycle!
I think scooter drivers need some level of education - maybe just a written test for safety reasons, rather than just relying on them holding a car licence.
The 'petrol powered cycles' are a different story. Almost all of them are over the 200W limit and are illegal. I spoke to one owner who's bike had an 80cc motor which could do about 90kph! I do however think the Police should concentrate on bigger issues as I don't think they're generally a major hazard.
Simon
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Permalink Reply by David B.o.R. on
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I'm pretty sure they are going to be 'legislated away' on the grounds of noise and emissions in the medium the future. The electric ones will be ok, but the bolt on an engine types will be subject to australian standards.
This is however an old rumour.
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Permalink Reply by GlenM on -
I've seen it on Greenhill Rd, Main North-East Rd and Golden Grove Rd. There was a thread some time ago about this issue and it seems to be something that happens reasonably often.
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Permalink Reply by Doddsy on -
Its just too tempting for some.
Personally i don't have an issue with it just so long as they go slow and give way to cyclists.
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Permalink Reply by Pip on -
I'd ride in the bike lane on my scooter in the 70 zone where you merge from Port Wakefield Road onto Salisbury Hwy (as long as there were no bicycles in it). This is because as a vehichle limited to 50km, trying to merge into 70km/h traffic, with a bunch of motorists who don't know how to merge, in peak hour traffic is quite hair-raising. It was much safer for me to pop into the bike lane and let all the crazy commodore drivers, who seemed to think the merge lane was a race to get to where one lane runs out and then jam on the brakes, go past. Then I'd casually merge with the traffic once that mess was over.
Again, this was only when there were no bicycles using the lane (there rarely was).
I also used to use the bike lane to get past a long line of cars at lights (when there were no cyclists) but I don't do that any more now that I've started cycling. I feel rude now but I didn't really think about it before :-$
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Permalink Reply by Michael Warner on -
I've seen it, but it's rare, and usually scooters rather than real motorbikes. So it's a long way down my list of gripes, and it probably makes riding scooters safer.
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Permalink Reply by Marty Shears on -
When I lived on Hutt Street I used to see scooters in the bike lane when I was walking home (on Hutt Street) a few times a week .. very unsafe with cars pulling in and out, cyclists in the mix.
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