Know Your Rights
Knowing your legal rights as a rider can change the way you ride. In partnership with the Redfern Legal Centre, BIKESydney has developed Pedal Power, an advisory website aimed at informing cyclists of their rights.
With a view to making the resource as useful as possible to existing and would-be riders, we’re opening up the “draft version” of the website to the community and inviting your feedback. As you may imagine, the website needs to strike a balance between simplicity, relevance, and legal rigour.
What would you like to see added or changed on the Pedal Power website?
Leave your comments, critique or support below.
We’re also looking for peeps that can assist with creating simple graphics and video content that can support the points made or suggested by the website (eg, “riding in the centre of the lane, rather than at the kerb“, “filtering”). Contact us at cityride@bikesydney.org if you’d like to assist.
There needs to be clarification of having to use a bike lane if there is one. Because many are not bike lanes but to most people they look like bike lanes. Only if it is signposted “Bike Lane” must you use it. If there is no sign post you can still take the traffic lane. A major problem in Newcastle is this: On Newcastle roads wherever there is a bike picture on the road do not cycle over the top of it. The authorities usually recommend for your safety you should usually cycle just to the right of it. NSW Road Rules 153, 144 & 247 advise to ride the safe way (usually 1.5m away from opening parked car doors) RTA.nsw.gov.au.
Over 90% of people dangerously believe they must ride in narrow Newcastle “bike lanes” (2013 survey by and more safety tips at BikeLoveCorral.blogspot.com).
If you are taking a bike on a train or ferry and you are using an Opal card, then you don’t need a child’s ticket for the bike. See the FAQ website https://www.opal.com.au/en/faqs/
If a bicycle cannot be ridden away from the scene of an accident, does that constitute it being “towed”? Does that therefore require the police to attend any accident that causes damage to a bicycle that prevents its use?
Indication of turning or stopping when it is unsafe to remove a hand from the handlebars (eg: hill, obstacles or road surface issues).
If it hasn’t been mentioned already, legal information regarding cyclists who have been the victim of a dog attack in NSW.
What are the steps that should be taken after being bitten?
What should you/can you do if the dog owner refuses give you their name/ behaves aggressively toward you?