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Sydney cyclists reportedly fined £225 - for trackstandingTrackstand licensed CC BY-SA 2.0 by Richard Masoner (at) Cyclelicious

Sydney cyclists reportedly fined £225 - for trackstanding

Australian state introduced big increases in fines for law-breaking cyclists on 1 March
by Simon_MacMichael
Thu, Mar 10, 2016 18:18
9

Two cyclists in Sydney, New South Wales – the Australian state that brought in big increases in penalties for law-breaking riders on 1 March – have reportedly been fined A$425 (£225) apiece after police spotted them trackstanding at traffic lights.

Trackstanding in itself is not an offence, with the Twitter feed of campaign group Australian Cyclists instead suggesting that the pair were booked for “dangerous cycling” – although quite who they might have been endangering is unclear.

Some people commenting on that post wondered whether the trackstanding riders might have gone beyond the ‘Stop’ line, with running a red traffic light an offence that also attracts a fine of A$425.

Ahead of the new laws being introduced, Professor Chris Rissel of Sydney University, who has published widely on cycling-related issues, warned that New South Wales stood to become “the worst state in the world in terms of how we treat cyclists – if we’re not already.”

> New South Wales set to be "worst state in world" for cyclists

Just days before the new laws came into effect last week, 450 cyclists were fined on one day for a variety of offences.

> Police penalties for 450 cyclists in one day

New South Wales transport minister Duncan Gay however insists that the laws, which include higher fines for cyclists who flout the compulsory helmet law, are in the interests of making bike riders safer.

Sydney
New South Wales
trackstanding
Simon MacMichael

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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9 comments

Avatar
Peeler | 8 years ago
0 likes

I wish my cops had enough time (or I had enough of them) to be so draconian! If I did they still wouldn't be doing such nonsense things.

Avatar
davebinks | 8 years ago
1 like

The only danger I can see a track standing cyclist being is if he falls off onto someone else.  Or if he injured himself without affecting anyone else,  but all cyclists fall off occasionally,  as do pedestrians sometimes fall over! 

It just smacks of ignorance and cyclist hating. 

Avatar
psling | 8 years ago
2 likes

Methinks we need a re-run of Yes Minister on the TV here in UK to remind people of the real workings within the cogs of the Civil Service and the relationship with Government officials 3

Avatar
burtthebike replied to psling | 8 years ago
1 like
psling wrote:

Methinks we need a re-run of Yes Minister on the TV here in UK to remind people of the real workings within the cogs of the Civil Service and the relationship with Government officials 3

 

You might be right, but I don't think Yes Minister had the same level of downright evil intent shown by this government.

Avatar
mike_ibcyclist | 8 years ago
4 likes

It's $100 if they catch you without a bell! 

Duncan Gay is a member for a country seat. For the UK readers imagine if they put an MP whose electorate is in the Lakes District in charge of London roads. Insanity.

 

Avatar
brooksby replied to mike_ibcyclist | 8 years ago
1 like
mike_ibcyclist wrote:

It's $100 if they catch you without a bell! 

Duncan Gay is a member for a country seat. For the UK readers imagine if they put an MP whose electorate is in the Lakes District in charge of London roads. Insanity.

 

I didn't realise it mattered: MPs regularly become ministers with no regard to where they live or who they represent. And the minister for, say, welfare will regularly get reshuffled and become minister for transport or defence or something, which requires different knowledge and different skills. Ultimately it's all just bureaucracy and paper shuffling and spin, isn't it?

Avatar
StantheVoice replied to mike_ibcyclist | 8 years ago
8 likes

mike_ibcyclist wrote:

It's $100 if they catch you without a bell! 

Duncan Gay is a member for a country seat. For the UK readers imagine if they put an MP whose electorate is in the Lakes District in charge of London roads. Insanity.

 

 

Or indeed a Chancellor of the Exchequer with no understanding of economics, or  a Health Minister with a previously voiced intent to privatise the NHS, or....you get my drift....

Avatar
TerreyHill | 8 years ago
2 likes

Just one correction. Duncan Gay is the Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight. There is a separate Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, which adds to the lack of joined up thinking and roads-biased policies in NSW.

Avatar
bikebot | 8 years ago
10 likes

Meanwhile, also in Sydney, New South Wales...

//pbs.twimg.com/media/CdNwKokUsAAwVQH.jpg)

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/peak-hour-in-sydney-is-getting-worse--and-long...

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