ARE PUSH – BIKES VEHICLES ?

NZ Truth, Issue 1104, 27 January 1927, Page 16

ARE PUSH - BIKES VEHICLES ?

• Cyclists and Rules of the Road . We are constantly noticing the ' "way m which cyclists ignore the ordinary traffic regulations and there can be no doubt that many accidents are caused by the attitude of the rider of the humble - ' '

THREE things m particular need the attention of the powers that be m this connection. , Tn the first place, some form of rear indicator is needed at night. Some ruling also needs to be given as to whether the cycle comes under the control of the officer ori point duty at intersections and a great many cyclists need to be warned what a very dangerous practice it is to slip, past a slow moving motor-car, between it arid >the curb. v /■ Now all three of these things affect the cyclist himself so much, that it is rather strange that it sholild.be necessary to draw attention to them. The rear light or, at the least, a ruby reflector, is so important from the point of view of the cyclist's safety, that one would expect every cyclist to carry one. It is almost . Impossible, especially upon bitumen roads or roads having a dark surface, to pick out "a cyclist with dimmed headlights. ;■ The number of cycles < without rear reflectors, and often without lights of any kind which may',' be; met on the road any. evening, is another example

of the old saying that nobody knows how many fools there are m the world until he has driven behind , the windscreen of a motor-caiv For some reason or other, cyclists have * always been considered to be outside, the jurisdiction . of . the traffic controllers on point duty. • No objection seems to be raised to this, the cyclist being seemingly looked upon a;s a sort of super-pedestrian rather than a minor kind . of vehicle. Slipping in* between the motorist and the curb is a habit which one frequently sees. The danger is so obvious that it is difficult to see why this should be done so often. In the majority of cases, the motorist knows nothing about the cycle between him and the curb and if he decides to pull m suddenly, what Is to become of the cyclist? . Our advice to motorists is, give all push-bikes as wide a berth as possible, i They are capable of doing the most amazing things m the ways of sudden turns, sudden stops and. so on. We should like to see all cyclists taught to drive cars. , They would then appreciate just what a car can do and cannot do and would modify their own riding accordingly.