Sydney "Hell on wheels" -according to Bruce McDougall

[cfsmtb]

Just proving a.b is not completely Melbourne-centric, here's a rathe
biased news article from the Daily Telegraph. (see full article below
link)

If this annoys you, get to it & make your opinions know. Logic? Wha
logic? The purveyors of media spin don't require such advance
thinking. Think more ratings & hostile talkback. Ah, what ever happene
to the seperation of Church and State? Ah, that's a big question with n
simple response, however here's some links to help counter guf
generated by minions like Bruce McDougall.

Excellent letter writing tips from the Sierra Club:
http://www.sierraclub.org/takeaction/toolkit/letters.asp

Have Your Say:
http://tinyurl.com/aobcr

Letters to the Editor:
http://tinyurl.com/cgn4t



EDITORIAL
Address: The Daily Telegraph
2 Holt Street, Surry Hills, NSW, 2010.
Telephone: (02) 9288-3000.
Fax: (02) 9288-2300.


Privacy Statement:
http://tinyurl.com/82qoo

....And Michael Costa's contact details:http://tinyurl.com/bkh8s

Office: Legislative Council, Parliament House, Macquarie St Sydney 200

Phone (02) 9230 2111 (parliament switch)
Fax TBA

Ministerial Office: Level 31 Governor Macquarie Tower 1 Farrer Plac
Sydney NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9228 5665 Fax (02) 9228 5699

***PS. COSTA APPARENTLY \"REALLY ENJOYS\" DRIVING HIS PRADO**


Hell on wheels
http://tinyurl.com/9s5gq
THEY'VE become one of the biggest scourges of city streets – idiots o
two wheels who daily place themselves and others in mortal danger
Bending the rules with no regard for other road users, they run re
lights, ride on the footpath and blatantly refuse to wear a helmet. I
some of the worst cases, caught on camera by The Daily Telegraph, the
even ride the streets while speaking or text messaging on a mobil
phone.

Finding new and creative ways of breaking the road code has been turne
into an art form by a growing band of two-wheel maniacs. Professiona
couriers, long among the greatest offenders, have been joined in thei
law-breaking ways by a range of other cyclists of all ages.

It took us just three hours yesterday to compile a series of more tha
a dozen photographs showing cyclists endangering themselves an
others.

When The Daily Telegraph showed the photos to Roads Minister Michae
Costa yesterday, he said the examples concerned him – and flagged
blitz on dangerous cyclists. "As a regular road user I have experience
inappropriate behaviour by cyclists," Mr Costa said. "The Dail
Telegraph's photos highlight some of the issues that need mor
attention. "This includes not obeying traffic signals, not wearin
helmets and riding on footpaths. "All cyclists have a responsibility t
obey the road rules like every other road user. Safety and courtesy ar
the priority. "That's why I have asked the RTA to see whether mor
needs to be done, including education similar to other road users an
effective enforcement of the road rules." Sydney's cycling populatio
is booming. Statistics show more bicycles than cars are sold throughou
Australia.

While a war on errant cyclists is looming, Bicycle NSW chief executiv
officer Alex Unwin said some cyclists may be forced to break the rule
in the interests of their own safety. "On a bike on the road if yo
have an altercation with a car you'll come off second best," Mr Unwi
said. "So generally cyclists are sensitive to their safety and focuse
on ensuring they don't get knocked over. "Sometimes the smartest thin
is to hop on to the footpath so they don't get squashed by a truck.
Those who transgressed were a minority, he said.

Fears arose that cycling issues would be downgraded when the RTA'
bicycles and pedestrians general manager was moved recently. But
spokeswoman said yesterday the role had been folded into another senio
position – traffic management general manager.

Cyclists spoken to by The Daily Telegraph yesterday said their number
were growing rapidly in most suburbs. "Many want the benefits o
cycling – it's healthy, easy to park, low impact on the environment and
simply fun," one said.


--
cfsmtb

[EuanB]

cfsmtb Wrote:
> Just proving a.b is not completely Melbourne-centric, here's a rathe
> biased news article from the Daily Telegraph. (see full article below
> link)
> Can't have that, Melbourne Centric rebuttal follows..
cfsmtb Wrote:
>
> Hell on wheel
> http://tinyurl.com/9s5gq
> <snip
> It took us just three hours yesterday to compile a series of more tha
> a dozen photographs showing cyclists endangering themselves and others
> It tooke me just ten minutes crossing one side of Melbourne to the othe
yesterday to have

# Three doors opened into my path
# Two drivers fail go give way to me whilst they were turning right a
a cross road
# Five instances of cars running the red ligh
# Two instances of cars stopping across a crossing in traffic

Three hours? Don't think I could carry that much film
--
Cheer
Eua

--
EuanB

[Tamyka Bell]

EuanB wrote:
>
> cfsmtb Wrote:
> > Just proving a.b is not completely Melbourne-centric, here's a rather
> > biased news article from the Daily Telegraph. (see full article below +
> > link)
> > Can't have that, Melbourne Centric rebuttal follows...
> cfsmtb Wrote:
> >
> > Hell on wheels
> > http://tinyurl.com/9s5gq
> > <snip>
> > It took us just three hours yesterday to compile a series of more than
> > a dozen photographs showing cyclists endangering themselves and others.
> > It tooke me just ten minutes crossing one side of Melbourne to the other
> yesterday to have:
>
> # Three doors opened into my path.
> # Two drivers fail go give way to me whilst they were turning right at
> a cross roads
> # Five instances of cars running the red light
> # Two instances of cars stopping across a crossing in traffic.
>
> Three hours? Don't think I could carry that much film!
> --
> Cheers
> Euan

*Gasp* Euan! You offensive individual!... you menace!... endangering
others in such a way...

Oh wait... that wasn't you, that was DRIVERS. Hmmmm, interesting. But I
thought I'd read a recent scientific study on how evil cyclists were...

Tam *proud to be a rebel, even if these rebels are all quite
well-behaved*

[kingsley]

Come on!

It's the _Daily_Telegraph_ ...

No one actually reads it!

-kt

[LotteBum]

I've done my bit. Wrote a letter to the editor and a letter to tha
Costa F*ck. He was on 60 minutes (before anyone says anything, I KNO
that this show can be a big load of horse snot) in the truckie debate
while ago and he was pulling typical politician nonsense ("It's an issu
that concerns us and something must be done!").

*-_YOUR_TURN._-

--
LotteBum

[cfsmtb]

kingsley Wrote:
> Come on!
>
> It's the _Daily_Telegraph_ ...
>
> No one actually reads it!
>
> -kt

I'll pay that, yeah the DT's are Sydney's Funny Pages. :

--
cfsmtb

[EuanB]

cfsmtb Wrote:
> I'll pay that, yeah the DT's are Sydney's Funny Pages. :p
And the Herald Sun's Melbournes yet I believe it's the most popular

Just 'cause something's a load of ****e doesn't mean it doesn't ge
consumed. Witness McDonalds, music etc
--
Cheer
Eua

--
EuanB

[Spider1977]

The tragedy is I turn on the news tonight to see a story about a ki
being killed in a hit and run in western Sydney last night. The kid'
family even said they felt sorry for the HR driver. Then the kid'
brother says he regularly gets terrorised by motorists on the sam
stretch of road. Am I missing something?

I rode home from work in the pouring rain last night - it was dark i
Hobart at 4:45. I was lit up like the proverbial christmas tree.
Still some jerk wanted to assert his right to get as close to the ca
in front of him while stopped at the lights in peak hour traffic. H
managed to nearly knock me off the bike. What is it with thes
people?

If the DT wants to lambast the minority of cyclists who break rules i
needs to examine how many cyclists have been the cause of fatal traffi
accidents. Oh - did I hear someone yell "none"

--
Spider1977

[cfsmtb]

Latest Cycling News for June 22, 2005

Hit and run on cyclists - Australia's new blood sport?
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2005/jun05/jun22news2
Opinion by John Stevenson

A cyclist was killed yesterday in Western Sydney and another is i
hospital in a serious condition after a hit and run incident o
Richmond Road at Londonderry, near Penrith. According to news.com.au,
police spokesman said the two men in their twenties were hit by
vehicle. One died at the scene while the other was taken to Nepea
Hospital in a serious but stable condition. Police have urged anyon
with information about the crash to contact Windsor Police Station.

Meanwhile, Sydney's Daily Telegraph, a tabloid newspaper, has toda
published an article attacking cyclists. The Telegraph spent thre
hours compiling "a series of more than a dozen photographs showin
cyclists endangering themselves and others." The newspaper excoriate
cyclists as "idiots on two wheels", "two-wheel maniacs" an
"dangerous".

However, the report doesn't provide any evidence of a bike ride
harming anyone during its three-hour vigil. The on-line version of th
story is illustrated with a photo of a cyclist riding along a
almost-empty pavement on Parramatta Road. This is an overcrowded urba
artery where cyclists face a choice of squeezing into narrow lane
between parked cars and lane-filling trucks, or hopping on th
pavement. Cyclingnews isn't short of extremely experienced traffi
cyclists, but even we would tempted to use the pavement along here.

And that's pretty typical. Sydney's road system features junctions wit
no safe route for anything but cars; abysmal surfaces; and narrow lane
- among the many failings of a transport network that is less planne
than thrown together with no consideration for cyclists. Combine tha
with a culture in which almost nobody takes riding bikes seriously as
mode of transport and driving is seen as a right, and you have a recip
for disaster. It's hardly surprising that, despite the Telegraph'
claims that cycling is on the increase here, the last two censuse
showed a decrease in the number of transport cyclists.

Cyclingnews' office is close to one of Sydney's busiest inner urba
streets. It would take three minutes rather than three hours to recor
more than a dozen examples of motorists breaking the law at th
junction nearest us. Red lights are regularly run here, and driver
talking on mobile phones is routine. Road user behaviour across th
board in Sydney is far from wonderful, but we cyclists are not the one
in charge of a ton of steel.

As the latest hit-and-run tragedy demonstrates - and the light sentenc
handed down recently to Eugene McGee after the death of Ian Humphrey
Australia has a problem with motorists and cyclists sharing the road
But the Telegraph's singling out cyclists does nothing to alleviate th
problem.Whipping up sentiment against us - a group of road users who ar
substantially over-represented in the road toll - just allows the nex
Eugene McGee or that anonymous hit and run driver on Richmond Road t
believe it's okay to kill a bike rider

--
cfsmtb

[cfsmtb]

General Site Feedback:
http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/feedback.jsp?feedbacktopicid=3

After yesterdays rant by Mr McDougall, some feedback from the viewers

Positive: 10
Negative: 2
Not sure: 2

*Love your work folks :D *


General Feedback

Hell on wheels

BOO! You really think cyclists are the problem! I have riden a bicycl
to work for a period of 3 years with a helmet, lights, reflective ves
and a bright yellow tracksuit! And STILL been run down by motorists a
least 4 times one of which put me in hospital, We are not accepted o
the road or footpath. So we dont fall under any rules without bein
hypocritical. Walk in the shoes of both partys before writing such
blatantly wrong view on a topic you obviously know nothing about.
five minute search on the internet reveals more facts on this topi
than you are even aware of! End rant!

Andrew

General Feedback

Inflammatory rhetoric of the kind in the article "Hell on Wheels" (2
June) is characteristic of the lack of support shown to law-abidin
cyclists. Perhaps if Mr Costa and the NSW Government improved fundin
to on and off-road cycling infrastructure, many of these problems woul
not occur. I note that there is no reference to the constant abuse an
bad behaviour that cyclists are exposed to from other road users. Whe
was the last time that a motorist was injured or killed by
hit-and-run cyclist?

Luke

General Feedback

Hell on wheels

What an amazingly biased article that qualifies as nothing more tha
gutter journalism from someone that is not qualfied. What did you hav
an argument with a cyclist recently which has inspired your trash
comments? If you took a 3 hour period anywhere in Sydney you would se
significant breaking of road laws by motorists. Frankly if we th
cycling community were treated with the same respect as someone i
their tin top polution creating device then laws wouldnt be broken
Cyclists are very concerned about their safety and if you Bruc
McDougall spent anytime on the road with us and see the absolut
disdain we are treated with then I would challenge that you could writ
such a one sided and ill researched article. Anytime you want more tha
anecdotal evidence to challenge your story just email me.

John Boles

General Feedback

Bruce McDougall - You sir are an opinionated idiot who needs to get hi
lazy butt out of the office chair or the drivers seat and actually rid
a bike to work and see how much trouble some motorists can be. Wha
happened, did a cyclist spit on your window after you cut them off? I'
not denying that cyclists break the rules occasionally, the main proble
is that motorists break the rules frequently also and there's never an
articles about that is there? It appears an orange light means "floo
the gas pedal" rather than "stop if you can otherwise go" and there'
always at least one clown going through the red. As pointed out in you
article by Alex Unwin, we cyclists come off second best so of course i
we need to break rules in the interests of safety we're gonna do it
You would too. Most of the examples of bad behaviour exhibited b
cyclists that you have pointed out (eg mobile phone use whilst moving
are common problems still shown by motorists also, so what are yo
getting at by targeting one group? Here in Brisbane cyclists ar
allowed on the footpath which is something I do very rarely. Footpath
are generally not as smooth as a road and you have to go slower. As fo
your comment on couriers - I've been one. Don't cry if your next courie
package doesn't make it in time due to traffic congestion. Rule breakin
is very common but a very necessary part of the job.

Karl

General Feedback

In answer to Pearl Blasina re her incident with the bike rider in Ol
South Head Road, Rose Bay (DT 23/6) The culprit was probably a Libera
bike rider. You know that the "Libs think that they have a divine righ
to rule" well this bloke is slightly different he is one who thinks tha
"he has a divine right to ride" and couldn't give a stuff about littl
old ladies on the footpath or anyone else for that matter. A typica
Liberal Trait.

B.F.Apps

Hell on wheels

Firstly I am dissapointed at your blatent attack on cycling and
cyclists. To me, reading the article, it seemed as though someone just
has a grudge against cyclists. You quote in the article that ' In some
of the worst cases, caught on camera by The Daily Telegraph, they even
ride the streets while speaking or text messaging on a mobile phone'.
Is this not true of motorists as well. All the time, every day I ride
back home, I see at least one person txting or talking on the phone in
a car. And if you ask me, it is just as dangerous as cyclists doing it,
possibly even more dangerous due to the increased speed.

Luke McCarthy

Hell on wheels

Having found out about your article through Australia's excellent
www.cyclingnews.com website I was a little annoyed to read about such
an inflammatory story being printed, however I can understand it if
Bruce McDougall himself had an encounter with an ignorant individual,
riding a bicycle (I'm a cyclist, a motorist, a pedestrian etc, over in
England) not all at once I hasten to add - though I'm sure even Bruce
would agree there are as many displays of human ignorance driving cars,
(cutting you up, tailgaiting, verbal abuse etc.) out walking (trying to
walk through you) shopping, (pushing past, ramming the shopping cart
into you) etc. it's a problem with individuals, not cyclists in
general.

damian redmore

Hell on wheels

I hope that the article "Hell on wheels" was some kind of ridiculous
joke, or at the very least an article written with a purpose; to open
up the public eye to cycling as a legitimate, cost effective, but
under-catered-for, mode of transport. I have some issues to raise about
the article which I find to be slight exaggerations or even brazen
untruths. In regard to the following sentence "Bending the rules with
no regard for other road users, they run red lights, ride on the
footpath and blatantly refuse to wear a helmet" why is there no
comparison to "other road users". I feel that it is an unfair
comparison in the first place to argue that cyclists have no regard for
other road users, especially when i believe it would be hard to maintain
that any road user has any regard for one another, especially car
drivers towards cyclists! I doubt that many cyclists ‘blatantly refuse
to wear helmets’ although I’m sure there are some. This is like saying
that “car drivers never wear seatbelts”. One rather valid point your
author pointed out was this, “In some of the worst cases, caught on
camera by The Daily Telegraph, they even ride the streets while
speaking or text messaging on a mobile phone”. Good point Bruce, but if
this is one of the worst cases please save me now!

Andrew Carter

Hell on wheels

"Hell on Wheels": a typical rant by selfrightous autosapiens. Even for
a fairly young, competitive athlete, who can ride out in traffic, Mr.
Unwin's comments apply. Why don't you pull up the number of people who
are killed every year by autos vs who are killed by cyclists? In the
States, you'll find friends of mine on the "killed by cars" list; and
not for riding any more reclessly then people regularly drive their
cars. Who's the maniacs again?

Michael Smartt

General Feedback

Re your article 'Hell on Wheels' I thoroughly agree that cyclists on
the pavement are a total menace. They are possibly my number one
pet-hate. They obey NO rules, running straight through red lights,
hopping onto the pavement at any angle/speed that suits them. Their
excuse, it's not safe on the roads. If they hit us pedestrians (and
where the hell are we supposed to go to be safe from them), we will
come off second best. Many times I wander down the street (particularly
along Flinders, near Oxford)deep in my thoughts when a cyclist, totally
silent (so I've no idea they're present) rushes from behind my back,
often passing within an inch or so. Naturally, from being relatively
calm/miles a way in thought, I suddenly find my heart racing(startled),
and feeling very angry at these TOTALLY selfish thick skinned jerks.

william broad

Hell on wheels

While I do not even live in Australia I feel I must comment on you
recent report "Hell on wheels". As a keen cyclist I am tired of the
general public implying that all cyclists are law breakers and a danger
to personal safety. You go on in your article as if we are murderers. I
have never in my life jumped a red light and would never do so. I also
doubt anyone would agree that the pavement is an ideal place to be on a
bike, but sometimes the lack of facilities and space on the road for
cyclists combined with ignorant, selfish and dangerous motorists means
that for some people it is the safest place to be. The little girl in
the photo is hardly being a menace is she, riding slowly up an almost
completely deserted pavement.

Keith Smith

Hell on wheels

Slow news day in Australia then? Or just covering up your cricket teams
embarrassing performances? Bad cyclists, naughty cyclists.

Ashtrayhead

General Feedback

Mr. Bruce McDougall, I am a cycling "idiot" based in Los Angeles. Your
article, designed to enflame the already hostile relationship beteween
motorists and cyclists, was a childish and irresponsible piece of
non-journalism. What's the matter; did a fit human being on a bicycle
slow down your daily commute in your gas-guzzling SUV by 20 seconds?
Cyclists lives are literally at stake on the open road, and your
attempt to pour fuel on the flame was pathetic. Perhaps you should just
pull over and spend some time in the donut shop (with a cup of de-caf)
where you belong.

Michael Ward

Hell on wheels

I have had two nasty encounters with irresponsible adults riding their
bicycles willy-nilly along footpaths. Firstly, I was walking out of a
shop on Old South Head RD, Rose Bay when a man on a bike ran into me
knocking me flying! I pushed him at the same time he collided with me,
and luckily nothing was broken. However he just jumped back on and rode
away along the path, without a helmet or waiting to see if I was OK!
Second encounter was with an absolute reckless fool who rode at great
speed along the Bondi to Bronte walk scattering walkers like bowling
pins!!! I was pleased to read your article today because I think this
problem is a serious one which needs more consideration.

Pearl Blasina


--
cfsmtb

[Tamyka Bell]

cfsmtb wrote:
>
> General Site Feedback:
> http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/feedback.jsp?feedbacktopicid=3
>
> After yesterdays rant by Mr McDougall, some feedback from the viewers.
>
> Positive: 10
> Negative: 2
> Not sure: 2
>
> *Love your work folks :D *
>
<snip the feedback>
> cfsmtb

I find that very interesting... what on earth happened to my feedback?
Did they not like it?

Tam

[TimC]

On 2005-06-23, Tamyka Bell (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
> cfsmtb wrote:
>> Positive: 10
>> Negative: 2
>> Not sure: 2
>>
>> *Love your work folks :D *
>>
> <snip the feedback>
>> cfsmtb
>
> I find that very interesting... what on earth happened to my feedback?
> Did they not like it?

Too long, and too well spelt. And you didn't look like a complete
nutter :)

Posted mine on the CM-melb list as well.

Oh, here's that LISP sig I was threatening about a week ago.

--
TimC
Yesterday, after years of trying, I finally managed to take a photo of a
subway train that said "INSTRUCTION CAR" just so that someday I can caption
it "...but where's the DATA CDR?" when I'm ready to make a joke that's
nerdy even by the standards of jokes about LISP. -- James "Kibo" Perry

[cfsmtb]

Hey, just got sent this link:

http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s911863.htm

Remember that email hoax about mobile phones blowing up cars at servic
stations? Bruce McDougall wrote it up for the Daily Terror - an
repeated it word for word. Why am I not surprised? :rolleyes

--
cfsmtb

[flyingdutch]

cfsmtb Wrote:
> Hey, just got sent this link:
>
> http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s911863.htm
>
> Remember that email hoax about mobile phones blowing up cars at servic
> stations? Bruce McDougall wrote it up for the Daily Terror - an
> repeated it word for word. Why am I not surprised? :rolleyes:

meh. mythbusters 'blew' that one out of the water
(those guys have_the_best_job!!!

--
flyingdutch