Rage against the machine
As more cyclists hit our roads, riders and motorists are meeting a new phenomenon head-on: bikelash. Jono Galuszka investigates.
You can see them a mile off: swarming, lycraclad, side-by-side-byside, clogging the road. You want to pass, but threading the needle between the oncoming traffic and the cyclists is impossible. Eventually, you pass, accelerating quickly and muttering a few four-letter words under your breath.
Most motorists would have experienced such dark thoughts about cyclists. But why so much rage against a pedal-driven piece of steel and rubber barely a fraction the size of a small car? And, more importantly, how do we get everyone to calm down?
Earlier this week in
Australia, police in New South Wales asked motorists to show care and sensitivity after a 49-year-old Kiwi cyclist was hit by a truck on the Federal Highway in Sutton and died. The 38-year-old truck driver was subsequently charged with dangerous driving causing death and negligent driving occasioning death.
NSW Police Inspector Sandy Green describes the accident as ‘‘absolutely devastating’’ and says some queued motorists were insensitively impatient and rude.
‘‘I suggest motorists be really patient and consider one another and drive safely and carefully. It might be a good idea for all of us to rethink how we treat each other on the road and be a little more courteous,’’ she says.
Mike McRedmond has been cycling on New Zealand roads since the early 1970s. A national sprint champion multiple times, he won a silver medal at the 1982 Commonwealth Games and coached Olympic and Commonwealth medallists Jesse Sergeant, Simon van Velthooven and Campbell Stewart.
He says cycling has changed since the 1970s when riders were often serious competitors training after work. Now, the majority of cyclists are doing it for fitness, most are in their mid30s or older and those on the road are likely to be hobbyists.
Back then, cyclists tackled the Dulux – a six-day cycle race from Auckland to Wellington McRedmond says was like New Zealand’s mini-Tour de France. Today, it’s the Lake Taupo¯ cycle challenge – a one-day event where competitors can choose to ride as few as 40 kilometres.
But it is not just recreational cycling that has grown – New Zealand Transport Agency now says cycling is the fastest growing mode of transport in several New Zealand cities and towns.
And, as the two-wheeled commute has grown, so has the focus on infrastructure to make it safer. That, it would seem, is where much of the anger at cyclists hits the road.
In Lisa Prager’s case, she actually hit the road, taking a sledgehammer to an Auckland traffic island in March 2018 as part of an ongoing protest at a cycleway which she said would damage her business. In Wellington, cyclepath-protesting residents scattered tacks on the Island Bay cycleway in Wellington because they disliked it running between the footpath and parked cars.
University of Auckland researchers have dubbed this behaviour ‘‘bikelash’’ and say the rage appears to stem from an apparent lack of consultation.
Associate minister of transport Julie Anne Genter made international headlines when she used an e-bike to get to Auckland City Hospital to be induced for the birth of her son Joaquin in August 2018.
And she says the lack of cycling infrastructure and the tribalism that allows people to blame all cyclists when they see one person on a bike misbehaving, are her main worries.
‘‘We don’t see one person run a red light and say ‘take the cars away’,’’ Genter says. ‘‘We need to get away from thinking that everybody is defined by whatever mode of transport they use that day.’’
Having cycleway trials, where road cones or temporary barriers could mark out proposed routes, instead of moving straight to a permanent fix could help alleviate tensions, she says, adding something also needs to be done to make life safer for budding cyclists.
E-bikes were making it easier for older people and those who are not so fit to take up cycling, but the lack of infrastructure is putting people off – including Genter with Joaquin in the front of her cargo trike.
While they are common MONIQUE FORD, DAVID UNWIN / STUFF
in Denmark and the Netherlands, Genter says using one in Auckland made her much more nervous than being on a bike on her own.
People like to moan about cyclists getting ‘‘free’’ cycleways, but Genter says they free up space – both on the road and in parking spaces – for drivers.
‘‘We have a very high dependence on cars in New Zealand. That’s why driving around is so frustrating. If we had a more balanced approach, then people in cars wouldn’t be so frustrated.’’
AA Research Foundation manager Simon Douglas says a survey found 84 per cent of AA members actually want more
‘It’s about trying to get the cars past you as quickly as possible. If we cannot resolve things easily, we just have to be courteous.’ MIKE MCREDMOND, RIGHT