Perhaps I should have re-titled this “can e-scooters and pedestrians co-exist?”, as we’ve just heard that Waka Kotahi (NZTA) have decided to renew their Gazette notice declaring that “e-scooters (up to 300W) are not motor vehicles” and are thus able …
Tag: Legal issues
Flashback Friday: New cycling research causes a flurry
It’s a busy time for me at the moment, as I frantically finalise two draft research reports and prepare to start another research project. Research work is a big part of what I do, and many of these projects relate …
Flashback Friday – Cycling and the Law: Where can you Ride your Bike?
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As we roll out more cycleways and other facilities around the city, it’s probably timely to remind everyone where you can and can’t bike and the Road Rules around them. Mind you, that could all change before we know it; …
Flashback Friday – Mythbusting: What a Safe Passing Rule Means
It was eight years ago now since I was involved in the national Cycle Safety Panel that made various recommendations to government, including a number of Rule and policy changes. One of them that got a bit of attention was …
Flashback Friday – Cycling and the Law: What is a “Cycle”?
A couple of projects I was working on a few years ago related to potentially changing some of our road rules around cycling, and looking at possible changes to regulations for e-bikes and other low-powered devices. Sadly in …
Flashback Friday: Progress on Cycle Safety Panel Recommendations
It hasn’t be a great year for cycling safety in NZ, with a larger than average number of road deaths to date. While there is sadly an element of randomness about whether some crashes become fatal or not, it has …
Submit on getting a Fringe Benefit exemption for Bikes-to-Work
Connor Read (co-founder of the Shutl e-bike rental service) has alerted me to an interesting but troubling development in the world of fringe-benefit tax (FBT). Many of you may know that current legislation in NZ requires FBT to be paid …
Flashback Friday: Cycling in Nantes and #VeloCity2015 Conference
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Like many parts of the world, Europe is starting to attempt some semblance of post-lockdown normality (even despite the ongoing Covid infection numbers…). In the cycling world, that meant another recent Velo-City cycling conference two weeks ago, in Ljubljana, …
Flashback Friday: Would the Draft Cycle Safety Panel Recommendations make a Difference?
Seven years ago I was hugely involved in a significant exercise in the biking space: a national cycle safety panel. It was an amazing experience that led to the forging of many great ongoing connections with some talented people. More …
Flashback Friday: How should we tackle Cycle Safety in NZ?
It’s been a tough past month safety-wise for cycling, with the tragic death of two people cycling, one in Auckland then one in Christchurch. That still only takes the total of cycle fatalities for the year to 4, but …
Flashback Friday: Dealing with Cycling Safety in NZ
Concerns about the safety of cycling in NZ certainly haven’t disappeared in recent times, and sadly we still have a number of deaths and serious injuries occurring every year. Still, many of the current efforts in this space (including considerable …
Who are we providing cycleways for?
Recently there was a Facebook post to Chch City Council’s site by someone grumbling about cyclists using traffic lanes in the central city when a cycleway exists on the same road. Not surprisingly, there was quite a bit of animated …
Flashback Friday: Can You Ride Two Abreast?
Cycling behaviour regularly seems to come into the public firing line; what’s often interesting is whether the perception of what riders are doing “wrong” actually matches the reality of the law (often not). Cycling two abreast is one of those …
Flashback Friday: Don’t be a D***k – Stop at Red
Nothing gets the cycle-moaners vocal quicker it seems than any hint of law-breaking by people biking. And while that is often a case of “the pot calling the kettle black”, I do still often see some fairly dodgy behaviour at …
Cycling and the Law: Positioning yourself on the Road
OK, time to consider some of the nitty-gritty in the road rules when you’re riding, particularly when in the vicinity of other road users. We’ve previously covered the various places where you can/can’t ride, but it’s probably on the …
Can e-scooters and bikes co-exist?
In case you have been living under a rock lately, it’s been two months now since Lime e-scooters turned up on Christchurch (and Auckland) streets. Judging by the volume of alarmist news articles and letters to the editor, you’d think …
The problem with cycleways and turning traffic
The new separated cycleways have given a dramatic transformation to our city cycling network. Lots of people are now enjoying these new connections around town. However, if there was one particular thing that is causing ongoing angst for all parties …
Stay wider of the rider – sign the petition
We’ve discussed in the past the potential for a rule specifying a minimum space for motorists when passing a bike rider (and all the myths surrounding such a law…). Now it looks more likely that the new Government may …
Can you overtake a bike now on Dyers Pass Rd?
Recently, the City Council voted to reduce the speed limit along Dyers Pass Rd and to introduce double yellow no-passing lines along the route. This comes after many concerns about safety along this route over the Port Hills, including …
New cycling research causes a flurry
Three interesting research reports about cycling have just been publicly released by the NZ Transport Agency and already they’re causing a bit of a stir around cycling circles (and elsewhere…). We previously alluded to these pieces of work being underway, …