Call to register cyclists
Numbers would help dob in rule breakers, says motorcycle body
CYCLISTS should be required to wear numbers so they can be identified and reported for breaking road rules, the Tasmanian Motorcycle Council says.
Tasmanian Motorcycle Council president Paul Bullock has written to the Road Safety Advisory Council — of which he is a member — calling for it to look into cyclists aged over 18 being made identifiable by wearing a number on their vest or helmet.
But the state’s cycling body says the idea would be costly and do nothing to improve safety — and such schemes had been rejected elsewhere.
CYCLISTS should be required to wear numbers so they can be identified and reported for breaking road rules, the Tasmanian Motorcycle Council says.
But the state’s top cycling body says the idea would be costly and do nothing to improve safety.
Tasmania Motorcycle Council president Paul Bullock has written to the Road Safety Advisory Council (RASC) — of which he is a member — calling for it to look into cyclists being made identifiable.
He says cyclists over 18 should be required to wear either a number, such as on a vest or on their helmet, so people can dob them in for traffic offences.
“While the majority of cyclists obey the law there is an element within the cycling fraternity that continually do not,” he said.
“The Tasmanian Motorcycle Council would like to see cyclists be identifiable so that the cyclists who break the law can be identified and proceeded against.
“They obstruct vehicles travelling on the road — while travelling in a group doing far less speed compared to other vehicles, they will not move into single file to allow vehicles to pass.”
Bicycle Network spokeswoman Alison Hetherington said the idea had no merit.
“The Motorcycle Council’s main complaint seems to be about riding two abreast, which is legal in Tasmania,” she said.
“Riding two abreast is considered safer than single file as the riders are more visible to vehicle drivers.
“Each year some more than 30 people die and close to 300 are seriously injured on Tasmania’s roads. We want to see the road safety levy spent on initiatives that will bring that toll down, bicycle registration would be a waste of this money.”
Such schemes had been rejected elsewhere, she said.
“No other Australian state, or indeed other countries, have bicycle registration,” she said.
“Bicycle registration would do little to help compliance with road rules.
“If someone riding a bicycle breaks the law, then police can pull them over and charge them, just as they would stop and charge a pedestrian.
“We want to see greater re- spect and patience from all road users to each other because our lives depend on it.”
The next meeting of the RASC is in March.
A government spokesman said the RASC was the appropriate body to explore the proposal.
“The Government will consider any advice that the RSAC provides in due course,” he said. “We expect all road users to obey the road rules and be respectful and aware of other users.”