"War on our Roads" - the Aussie version

[Shut Up Legs]

The Australian media has decided to run their own "War on our Roads" documentary. This one includes overseas footage, including part of Britain's documentary featuring @gaz. A reasonably well-balanced documentary, thankfully, although Derryn Hinch, who styles himself the "human headline" and is actually a professional troll since before the term became popular, refers to our cyclists as "cockroaches on wheels" .

Here's a link to the documentary, although I don't know if overseas viewers will be able to watch it or not:
http://au.news.yahoo.com/sunday-night/video/watch/18552758/war-on-our-roads/

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I could watch it. Australian roads seem daunting compared to my daily commute

 

[Shut Up Legs]

A lot of the footage, as I mentioned, is from other places, e.g. the UK. So it wasn't a very well constructed documentary - a bit confusing. I was pleasantly surprised, though, at the mostly pro-cyclist stance it took. Not what I expected from this particular TV station.

 

[avalon]

The attitude of motorists in the UK is very similar to that of Australian motorists. My own experience is that the majority of car drivers are considerate and try to do the right thing, it's just that the bad ones are the ones that we tend to notice.
The same old argument about registration came up, it would be interesting to see what changes there would be if we were to register bicycles. Very little I suspect.

 

[downfader]

I saw this talked about on twitter. My ISP wont let me watch it, however. Lots of Aussie cyclists seemed to retweet some abuse tweeted in general about riders during and after the program. Some people were having a proper hissie fit about cycling.

Agree with Avalon - and if registration came in we'd drop in numbers as well as those that remained would get a little poorer.

 

[buggi]

We've had the same debate on my company's yammer page (a bit like facebook but for companies) and the road tax issue was brought up. lets just say they got educated. One woman was specifically vocal about it. I told her that as a citizen i pay income tax and VAT, as a cyclist i paid VAT on my bike and i insure it fully comp, and as a motorist i pay "road tax", insurance, MOT and the high fuel duty also... so as i more than pay for my fair share of road maintenance i think i'm entitled to choose the method by which i commute to work.
i also told them that if the company's cyclists all chose to cycle in one day, the company would have to find another 400 car parking spaces (they haven't got enough for everyone as it is) and next time they think a cyclist is holding them up, perhaps they would like to think about the traffic jam they would be in if every cyclist in Britain got in their car.
I also told them (and they REALLY didn't like this) that EVERYONE is free to use the road... as a cyclist, pedestrian or horse rider, but in fact, you can only drive a vehicle if you prove you are responsible and competent enough to do so and if you are proven at any point not to be responsible or competent then you can have that right removed... so therefore, by default you actually have less right to use the road than a cyclist or pedestrian, or horse rider. This of course provoked the comment "so are you saying cyclists own the road?" to which i replied... no, i'm saying everyone is entitled to use the road but you have to prove yourself worthy to drive a vehicle on it. if you have your licence removed... you're still welcome to use the road... just not in a vehicle.
so far i'm doing pretty well sticking up for the 400 cyclists in my company, but i do wish that one of the other cyclists would wade in and help me out LOL.
Also, they did ask me about my camera... it's obviously worried them. !!! they asked me what i used the footage for, i told them that personally i don't upload it all to youtube or send it to the police, its just there for evidence purposes, but that i know plenty of cyclists that do report bad drivers
I also told the woman she was free to get a bike and not pay "road tax"!

 

[downfader]

Buggi, I do wonder if other cyclists put their heads down to avoid what they see as conflict but is in actual fact setting the record straight.

 

[ComedyPilot]

OK, I'll play.

To the farking people who make programs like this: if it is a 'War on the Roads' - then why the fark are there only casualties on the cycling side?

And the motoring side? - They're a little upset?

Oh, that makes it even then, a bit of mild irritation is more than a match for the death and physical carnage you inflict with your tons of shoot.....!!!!

 

[snorri]

I also told the woman she was free to get a bike and not pay "road tax"!

Ask her if she also rants against the owners of "green" hybrid cars who are not rquired to pay "road tax".

 

[Shut Up Legs]

OK, I'll play.

To the f***ing people who make programs like this: if it is a 'War on the Roads' - then why the f*** are there only casualties on the cycling side?

And the motoring side? - They're a little upset?

Oh, that makes it even then, a bit of mild irritation is more than a match for the death and physical carnage you inflict with your tons of s***.....!!!!

Yes, it's a war of attrition, that in the end leaves nobody the winner .

 

[Cycling Dan]

Yes, it's a war of attrition, that in the end leaves nobody the winner .

If its a war based on deaths we are losing. Not heard of one car driver killed by a cyclist.
Only one way to win this war. We need to introduce these