Pedalling safety message

VULNERABILITY: Ride4Change instigator, Tui Allen is dwarfed by an articulated truck as she cycles along Bank Street in Te Awamutu. 290061AD

An event likely to see hundreds of cyclists travelling from Te Awamutu Rose Garden to Hamilton Rose Garden is being staged to highlight safety issues for motorists and cyclists.

Organiser of Ride4Change, Tui Allen of Te Pahu, has combined her love of cycling and web page design talents to promote the ride. The Rose Garden to Rose Garden ride has been confirmed for November 5.

Mrs Allen was motivated to organise the event because she was haunted by the plight of a 17-yearold in Auckland who was recently run off the road by a motorist with a negative attitude. The boy was left paralysed.

“We, here in the Waikato, are sitting at the heart of cycling in New Zealand. We would like to do something in response to this accident/crime or whatever it was and would like it to come from our cycling-mad region. I want to try to change the negative attitudes and ignorance of some motorists to make the roads safer for cyclists in this country. It is not a protest ride - it is simply a ride for positive change. We need to change lots of things, such as the traffic abilities of some cyclists - including myself - road design, town planning, etc. But the main purpose of this ride is to dispel some common myths motorists have and to enlighten people about the sport of cycling to help them better understand us.”

Participants can ride all or part of the ride and they will be asked to wear a black armband or ribbon.

Mrs Allen says she has been inundated with positive responses, mainly via email, and while somewhat daunted by the organisational requirements, is hoping for a huge turnout on November 5.

Link for the web page is www.hamiltonmtb.org.nz/pagefiles/ride4change.html

Meanwhile national cycling organisation BikeNZ has called for nationwide campaigns to educate motorists and cyclists on how to co-exist safely on the road. Recent incidents involving competitive cyclists have included a bunch of riders in Te Awamutu being hit from behind, and Tauranga cyclists being threatened with a baseball bat and assaulted.

BikeNZ chief executive, Rodger Thompson says these recent crashes don’t tell us that cycling is necessarily unsafe, but they do show an urgent need for changes in driver and cyclist behaviour.

Chairperson of the Cycling Advocates’ Network (CAN), Robert Ibell, says very few motorists actually deliberately set out to harm cyclists.

“Many motorists are unsure about how they should behave around cyclists. CAN is concerned that driver training and licensing doesn’t deal with this. Motorists and cyclists both need to use the roads wisely and safely, but motor vehicles pose a much greater risk. That means that motorists have an extra duty of care.”

With increasing numbers of commuter, recreational and competitive cyclists, BikeNZ is calling for the Government to fund and co-ordinate a national Share the Road campaign, including television advertising. It also wants to see all New Zealand children receiving cycling skills training at school. We welcome a Land Transport New Zealand initiative to pilot a best practice training course and look to the Government to fund its rollout around the country,” Mr Thompson says.