21 Jun 21 | By pp-admin | Advocacy, Cycle safety, Pedal Power
Do you ride a bike? How much do you think the law values your safety?
Do you know that under Canberra’s road rules, the fine for knocking someone off their bike is less than the cost of fixing the bumper that hit them?
WE NEED YOUR HELP to change the road rules to better protect people on bikes.
Pedal Power asks YOU, our members and community, to show your support for legislative change.
We have intensely campaigned to change Canberra’s negligent driving laws since a driver was given a $393 fine for hitting and seriously injuring a bike rider on Coulter Drive last October. The community was outraged that our laws place such a low value on the safety of legitimate road users.
Today, we stood with Jo Clay MLA – Member for Ginninderra to announce it is time for change. Ms Clay will table a bill tomorrow to amend our road rules. The amendment will add an offence of ‘Negligent driving – harm to a vulnerable road user’, and will quadruple the maximum penalty to 50 penalty units, or a maximum fine of $1600.
We need to send a message that Canberra values the safety of people riding on our roads.
We ask each of you to contact your local MLA (https://bit.ly/2UhrTJH), to let them know the law must change to reflect community expectations.
Whether you ride a bicycle or a motorbike, or simply cross the road between your car and your destination, YOU are a vulnerable road user.
We know legislation isn’t the whole solution, but it’s an important part of it. It sends a message that our community is serious about protecting our vulnerable road users.
Strong protections under the law are essential to improve the safety of all Canberrans. We know strong penalties act as a deterrent. People’s driving behaviour changed when strong penalties were introduced for drink driving and speeding through school zones. The time has come to protect all vulnerable road users.