Should cyclists ride in single file? Petition calls on the rules to change

Love them or hate them, cyclists aren’t going away. A recent petition has called for law changes that restrict cyclists to single file riding, adding another twist to the seemingly never ending conflict between motorists and cyclists.

LET’S BE REAL. We’ve all been guilty of a little road rage when you’re already 5 minutes late to work and a cyclist is holding up the lane. No doubt they can be a pain, but should the law be changed?

As it stands, cyclists are allowed to ride two abreast on the road. The petition wishes to confine the pesky peddlers to single file riding only, and has picked up a lot of steam with over 94,000 people having signed so far. The petition offers many reasons for why the law should be changed, citing things like safety and poorly allocated taxpayer funding.

And of course we can’t forget the fact that they’re just fed up with cyclists.

“We, the undersigned, respectfully call on the Transport Ministers of each and every State in Australia, and each State Cabinet, to implement Compulsory Single File for all cyclists who ride in groups, regardless of whether a bike lane exists or not. We also call on the respective Transport Ministers of Australia to implement a prohibition of cyclists on all roads with a designated speed limit higher than 80kph, if those roads don’t have designated Bike Lanes.” the petition explains.

Whilst single file riding is probably a solid idea that should definitely be considered by the powers that be, drivers must still be vigilant of cyclists no matter what, because at the end of the day they can do some serious damage if they’re not careful no matter what the law says. But with 600 people having signed the petition in the time that it took me to write this, it must be said that many seem to agree with the proposed amendments to the road laws.

YES. I know that cyclists can be arrogant at times, this is a very well established fact, and it can at times feel like they’re not being careful when riding. Heck the other day I saw one run a red light like it was nothing. Common sense should surely prevail, if it’s dangerous, don’t do it.

This issue is going to divide opinion all over Australia, but ultimately the two factions are going to have to tolerate each other, because neither are going away any time soon.