Have you been incorrectly fined for not riding in a bicycle lane?
Some Members and friends of Bicycle NSW got in touch after they were fined for ‘not riding in bicycle lane’.
"We naturally looked into this issue," said Bicycle NSW CEO Peter McLean. "After speaking with the riders, we were able to help get these fines dismissed as they had been incorrectly issued and not been paid. We are so glad these riders reached out to Bicycle NSW and we could help."
The fine for breaking Rule 247 (1) ‘Not ride in bicycle lane’ is currently $136.
Bicycle NSW didn’t stop there though. The very curious Peter McLean kept digging. He soon realised that it was highly likely a number of other bicycle riders may have paid fines without knowing that they had been incorrectly fined.
So, he submitted a Government Information Public Access or GIPA (which used to be called FOI). After some months Bicycle NSW received a response and learned that at least 16 riders had been fined for the same offence of ‘not riding in bicycle lane’.
"I then contacted the government as well as the Minister for Revenue, Hon. Courtney Houssos MLC," says Peter. "A number of follow up emails were required. We note that this process has taken over 6 months so one could claim that government is fast to give a fine but less enthusiastic to refund an illegitimate fine."
The official response stated that Bicycle NSW was essentially not representing any of these fined riders and no information on who these riders were could be shared. However, we note the response did not disagree with or discount our legal argument. So now we need those who have been fined to come forward because the definitions of these 'bicycle lanes' are mostly not the same as those described in rule 247 (1).
Call to action
If you have received a fine for this or know someone who has, please contact Bicycle NSW if you’d like a refund. We need to ensure that future bicycle riders aren’t incorrectly fined and that government understands why this is unacceptable.
If you get fined for any bicycle related offence and you’re not sure if its correct, then make sure you ask Bicycle NSW for advice.
Bicycle NSW looks forward to bringing you updates very soon on minimum passing distance, illegal bollards, fine proportionality and much more - because we have your back.
This is why we need you, as Members, to tell your friends and family to join Bicycle NSW today!
Together we can achieve so much more.