Go Together or Go Away?

One of the lead stories on the ABC showed footage of a close pass in Cairns, a rider who caught up with and challenged the driver, After that, the driver got out of his vehicle and attacked the rider from behind.

This morning one of the lead stories in the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age newspapers covered the death of Michael Grinter in Victoria when Timothy Scollary fatally hit him with his car, and failed to immediately call emergency services.

The terrible behaviour and tragic consequences in both cases shouldn’t happen on our roads. Over the past 12 months we have seen a reduction in news headlines that feed into a ‘war on the roads’ agenda, but no strong support for safer roads for bike riding.

The change needed.

‘Go Together’ campaign hasn’t worked to make roads safer for people riding bikes. Subsequently, these type of headlines act as a ‘Go Away’ message for the 70% of people who are too concerned to ride their bike.

“We regularly hear of and experience the positive side of bike riding and we want to share great examples of the change we need to see,” said General Manager of Public Affairs, Bastien Wallace.

Bicycle NSW is calling on our followers and members to share examples of the on-road behaviour you appreciate and tag us in on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. In other words, this could be safe passes, stopping to help, the offer to help change a puncture or provide a lift when a rider has a flat.

“We know most experiences on the bike are great, so let’s highlight safe behaviour and what we want to see on our roads,” said Bastien.