Cyclist Problem

[Tom_kkh]

i think the cyclist if riding on the road should always remember that no matter how professionally they dressed and even if it cost them 30k for the bicycle and the outfit, they are still human powered.

 

so stay at the left most lanes and not pretending to be a super duper cyclist taking up 1 car length on lane 1 at the traffic lights.

 

TP should come out with laws to ensure that they either follow the car traffic lights or pedestrian lights as the cyclist seems to have best of both world and endangered not only their life but also car owners' insurance claims...

Edited July 24, 2012 by Tom_kkh

[Arixlim]

believe me..haha..i will claim them personally.....i will give them a good wake up call...unless its a ah ma...super granny, then i blame myself not to siam, i think sam sui or ah ma obviously is making a trip or living due to life predicaments cause by evil people, ah pek..also no give chance....cos i also will grow old..nobody will give chance to me one.....i know. already 16 years old graduate long time liao, won't impose on people to ...please please please.....oh [please] .... but have to be fast..cos they can cash and carry the bicycle and run away...

Edited July 24, 2012 by Arixlim

[Trebuchet]

When did I say pay tax would lead to less accidents?

Funny, I thought the whole point of this thread is to lower the risk of accidents to both cyclists and motorists.

 

Paying tax would regulate cyclist behaviour since now they have a unique number, a unique code.

 

No, it won't. And if regulating cyclist behaviour does not lead to fewer accidents then what is the point of it?

 

That would make many more responsible.

 

Naaaah.... that's not going to happen either. In Shanghai, they did have tax and licenses for bikes but they recently unlegislated it because many simply don't bother paying.

[Arixlim]

just saw a maid buying groceries without any carrier of those metal baskets on the bicycle front or back, ride dangerously and heck care drivers , ride center of 1 single road, so how? wait forever? maid abuse..again....people with bicycle just like to ask people to give chance....u do this u do that...isn that so NOT surprising...i respect geylang gangsters ..the least is they ride with style with the illegal batteries but they know how to not irked drivers...thumbs up for gangster who doesn seem so disturb...rather than minus 1 for maid and minus 2 for angmoh, and minus 3 for stupid locals, but plus 3 if they go designated road areas....minus 6 if they cannot get there on the car with bike transport....staying still so cheapo now....got no reason to please please please... bear ur brunts...la.... accept it...you road hoggers are worse than a samsui or tricycle uncle who trying to make a living, at least they got diginity, and really share the road...u buggers got no reason, just leisure riding also so much kbcowB...also people Olympic go gym got bicycle..why on the road, cos u want to ya ya... no papaya licence to sell papaya...u illegals...

[AK_fish]

Having seen so many comments, wonder if somebody is looking into the public concern seriously.

 

Both cyclists and drivers need to behave on the road, I guess. I used to cycle on the road, but I make sure I'm not obstructing the vehicle users, or posing any clear danger to them. Now that I also drive, I make sure I give way to the cyclists provided they also do their part, otherwise the finger will just by default mode press the honk button.

 

But I'm always curious if the driver will always get the bigger blame in such accident with the cyclist, and who should pay the damages to the driver's vehicle if the fault lies with the cyclist? Maybe somebody can provide some guidelines? I mean, the cyclist does not buy vehicle insurance, but if he/she causes an accident and damages the other party's vehicle on top on his/her own bicycle and getting him/herself hurt big time, how can the driver recover his losses?

 

Maybe that's the reason why road users need to buy auto insurance before they can use the road.

 

hmm........

[Taipan49]

just saw a maid buying groceries without any carrier of those metal baskets on the bicycle front or back, ride dangerously and heck care drivers , ride center of 1 single road, so how? wait forever? maid abuse..again....people with bicycle just like to ask people to give chance....u do this u do that...isn that so NOT surprising...i respect geylang gangsters ..the least is they ride with style with the illegal batteries but they know how to not irked drivers...thumbs up for gangster who doesn seem so disturb...rather than minus 1 for maid and minus 2 for angmoh, and minus 3 for stupid locals, but plus 3 if they go designated road areas....minus 6 if they cannot get there on the car with bike transport....staying still so cheapo now....got no reason to please please please... bear ur brunts...la.... accept it...you road hoggers are worse than a samsui or tricycle uncle who trying to make a living, at least they got diginity, and really share the road...u buggers got no reason, just leisure riding also so much kbcowB...also people Olympic go gym got bicycle..why on the road, cos u want to ya ya... no papaya licence to sell papaya...u illegals...

 

Grammar check to aisle 5! Can we please get a grammar check to aisle 5!

[AK_fish]

By the way, you may not believe, but not all people know how long or far is 1.5 mtrs.

[inlinesix]

Could also consider:

1. Installing wide side mirrors for bicycles, so it's easier and safer for the cyclist to check traffic.

2. Providing cycling belts with signal lights, so cyclists are equipped with signalling capability (left, right, brake, hazard). Don't know whether such a belt exists yet.

3. Cyclists should also wear good quality helmets.

4. A cyclist should also make an effort to be easily spotted (e.g. blinking LEDs on shoes or handles or helmets).

 

Since our country is small, we should all come to accept the situation where cars/bicycles/motorcycles will share the roads. Each party should learn to give in a little.

e.g. Drivers slow down and not tail-gate a cyclist. Cyclists dismount, rather than cycling over zebra crossings.

1. Bicycle is not so fast that u r unable to turn ur head to look what's behind.

2. There is hand signal to use.

3. No doubt.

4. No doubt.

[Elfenstar]

It's okay, I enjoy being a jackass here too. Anywya I can think of a few things for passionate readers of this thread to take away:

 

1. There will always be only so many cyclists on the road. The numbers will grow year on year but the humid weather and hectic pace of life here ensures that it will only be for semi-outliers. Cyclists should also understand that we will never be Copenhagen or Amsterdam.

 

2. That means there will never be bike lanes, no matter how much tax cyclists pay. And trust me, there's no chance ever of a bicycle tax. Not high on their priorities, as they say.

 

3. A tax on bikes will also mean that a larger percentage of people who get into cycling are those who can well afford a $10k bike. They will be fitter than you, richer than most of you, and better able to take your ass to court for legal damages in an accident, or take you out full-stop, if you get into a fight on the road. What this means is that cyclists will get not only more obnoxious, but more demanding of space on your roads.

 

These are already the kind of people who wear tights and ride in groups and block lanes. Put a tax on bikes and you can watch roid rage blossom before your eyes. It is a beautiful thing really.

 

 

4. If on the other hand, you check your blind spots like you are supposed to, you don't have to deal with congestion, roid rage or self-entitled hairy dudes who shave their legs.

 

If too lazy to turn your neck, install blind spot mirror, which I have.

 

Also do drive around cyclists carefully if they are slow, some of them are old, some of them may be sick, some of them may be poor but need to get somewhere for a job. They are not asking for handouts, merely consideration. If you are in a hurry, drive around them recklessly, I find it amusing to watch hirsute cyclists curse at me in my rear view mirror. But I am skilled enough to not be bothered by a cyclist. What is a cyclist when I have to drive around tipper trucks??

 

5. Think of your problem with cyclists as mere sawdust, and work on the planks in your own field of vision. Cyclists don't kill drivers, cyclists don't slow drivers down, other drivers do.

 

I agree with everything you've said. Think you've got it spot on!

 

[Elfenstar]

Anyone with brains would be able to see that the rate of accident per Km travelled is highest for cyclist. Cold hard stats gets ignored.

 

Whats wrong with you? Motorcyclist = cyclist?

 

Motorcyclist do that for leisure or can use cycling paths or pavements or travel at max 40km/h avg? I am holding myself back not to suan you leh...

 

Fact: Motorcyclists have the highest fatalities on the road regardless of how you look at the statistics.

 

There is such a thing as getting the facts right but the point wrong.

 

If it already is the safest mode of transport no? Are you insist that more be done on a group that already enjoys the safest statistics? So the drivers that are not giving the cyclist their rights are so minor according to the report right? Then arent cyclist being prima donnas for further complaining

 

So by your analogy nothing more should be done for aircraft safety since its safer than driving, or nothing more should be done for car safety since its safer than riding? 1 is already too much.

 

Anyone with brains would be able to see that the rate of accident per Km travelled is highest for cyclist. Cold hard stats gets ignored.

 

Prove it. My stats can be proven with actual data. Can yours or are you assuming?

 

 

[Elfenstar]

Bring back the bicycle plate, make those who intend to cycle on public road to have this on their bicycle.

 

I have no problem sharing public road with cyclists, what I hate are cyclists beating red lights, cycle against traffic flow, cycle along zebra crossings etc.

 

 

 

tour de france wannabes will swear at me, they spend thousands of dollar to shave 100g off their bicycle, this license plate is going to cost them thousands of dollar in weight penalty and the cool factor dropped to zero.

 

And you're telling us why??? Btw, cyclists requested for this a few years back. LTA responded that it was not practical.

 

[Elfenstar]

What if one day you see people ride horses on Singapore roads ?

 

I like xD well except for the poop on the road. Need to make horse riders do the same as dog walkers. Pick up the poo

[Elfenstar]

Are you sure? This article says that Singapore's average car speed on arterial (main) roads is 27km/h. That isn't fast.

 

http://citiscope.org/2010/singapores-transportation-secrets

 

I average on my 20km commute 25-27km/h. And i stop at traffic lights and obey the road rules. Hence giving up the car to the wife and using the bike and keeping more money in my wallet.

 

Agreed. My average commute speed is 20kmh (+-2kmh if looking at individual rides), even with expressway driving and my recent 1500kmh trip to Perhentian, my average speed since my last serving at the end of May for my car is 32kmh.

Edited July 24, 2012 by Elfenstar

[Elfenstar]

The time taken is completely irrelevant. First of all, there is no guarantee at all that cyclists spend more hours on the road than motorised vehicles, because a) they don't suffer equally from the effects of congestion and b) people planning long commutes, especially when it involves going over expressways, are far less likely to cycle there. Second, *even* if we're talking smooth traffic with the cyclists spending more time on the road, that's simply a consequence of this mode of transport being ridiculously slow compared to motorised vehicles. The accident statistics must be based on a sensible measure of "risk exposure". The roads are a conveyance meant for transporting people from their origin to their destination. The appropriate measure is distance travelled, because that's the whole point of going on the road. If one is simply hovering around the middle of the road for hours going nowhere fast, that's not a sensible measure of risk exposure.

 

 

There are also many thousands more bikes than there are vehicles.

 

Seriously? If you're including all the kiddies' bikes and the recreational casual, sports and mountain bikes that people purchase yet never bring out onto the public roads, then I might agree with you. But if you're talking about bikes plying the public roads on a regular basis (which is the sensible measure here), then your assertion is laughable. *Anyone* can see that there are far fewer bikes on the public roads than motorised vehicles on a day-to-day basis. And that includes weekends.

 

Sorry bro, I have to agree with bro Trebuchet's subsequent response to you.

 

Anyway my 100K cyclist estimate was referring to those who commute on bicycle. This figure is based on calculations extrapolated from our latest census results with the formula from a white paper on Cycling in Singapore saved on NUS's website. As it states that the PDF document and its contents are not to be shared I've italicized the three terms you need to search on Google to find it.

 

Btw its conservative as I decided to use the 1.2% instead of the higher current figure, and if you read the paper, it also excludes non-citizens and non-PR's as well.

 

Realistically we're probably looking at cyclists making up about a fifth of all commuting vehicles, and our accidents (both fatal and not) account for about a tenth of all accidents.

[Elfenstar]

[laugh]

 

I mean it. The bane of my driving existence (and walking existence in Melb's CBD due to the smell) was poop from the horse carriages.

[Taipan49]

Agreed. My average commute speed is 20kmh (+-2kmh if looking at individual rides), even with expressway driving and my recent 1500kmh trip to Perhentian, my average speed since me last serving at the end of May for my car is 32kmh.

 

A friend of mine was telling me over the weekend that on his current car the average speed of it has been 23km/h since it left the showroom. He bought it 1 year old and has had it for 3 and overall km on the odometer is 26,000, but that is very low speed. The funny thing is that it is an Aston Martin!

[Elfenstar]

Could also consider:

1. Installing wide side mirrors for bicycles, so it's easier and safer for the cyclist to check traffic.

2. Providing cycling belts with signal lights, so cyclists are equipped with signalling capability (left, right, brake, hazard). Don't know whether such a belt exists yet.

3. Cyclists should also wear good quality helmets.

4. A cyclist should also make an effort to be easily spotted (e.g. blinking LEDs on shoes or handles or helmets).

 

Since our country is small, we should all come to accept the situation where cars/bicycles/motorcycles will share the roads. Each party should learn to give in a little.

e.g. Drivers slow down and not tail-gate a cyclist. Cyclists dismount, rather than cycling over zebra crossings.

 

1. I kind of agree. I have a commuting helmet with a rear view mirror attached. That being said, I prefer turning my head to check. No blindspots that way.

2. There is such a light (bicycle mounted), but its not cheap. I doubt most of the foreign workers etc could afford it.

 

3. I totally agree. Nobody should be allowed to wear those things Mustafa passes off as helmets. That being said we don't even have laws that deem helmets compulsory for cyclists unless they ride electric bicycles.

 

4. Again this I agree. Unfortunately the law only dictates front light at night, rear reflector at all times. Go and google "seen and be seen" and you can see (pun intended) a group of cyclists trying to advocate this idea to other cyclists.

[Elfenstar]

i think the cyclist if riding on the road should always remember that no matter how professionally they dressed and even if it cost them 30k for the bicycle and the outfit, they are still human powered.

 

so stay at the left most lanes and not pretending to be a super duper cyclist taking up 1 car length on lane 1 at the traffic lights.

 

TP should come out with laws to ensure that they either follow the car traffic lights or pedestrian lights as the cyclist seems to have best of both world and endangered not only their life but also car owners' insurance claims...

 

The law is for cyclists to be on the roads and follow the regular traffic lights. I follow it to a T with one exception. As much as possible, when needing to turn right, I make hook turns instead of right turns.

 

Unfortunately, hook turns are illegal even though they're safer for me, and inconvenience other road users less.