Lorry driver slams cyclist with "a camera on his helmet and a big chip on his shoulder"

brooksby just above has explained the (2 year trial) law change
very well but forget to mention for those that didn't notice is that these trucks are twice the length of any in the UK

crossing a solid line to give a cyclist the mandated minimum distance is allowed if it is safe to do so

http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Safety/Queensland-road-rules/Changes-to-road-r... the detail is in the linked pdf

there is a lot of background to this including one very sad failed prosecution where the truck driver that caused the death of a cyclist was allowed to walk free as he held "the honest and reasonable belief" there was enough room on the road to safely overtake

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/cement-truck-driver-luke-stevens-fo...

http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Travel-and-transport/Cycling/Parliamentary-inq...

according to Queensland cycle campaigners the case reported by road.cc is a rarity - in the first three months of the trial there was only 4 fines issued for passing too close but over 1300 cyclists fined under revised legislation
https://www.bicyclenetwork.com.au/general/media/2929/

live in Victoria and watching with interest as Government here is fairly anti introducing a similar rule

I hope they don't introduce this law in UK.
Where I live the bleddy trucks and tractors would have to stay behind us pedal-pushers causing endless frustration and annoyance to the much put-upon queues of lane-clogging emmets. Who, by the way, have not the remotest clue how wide their bleddy cars are in the first place!!!

To comply with the passing regulation he would have had to break another law by crossing a double white line in the middle of the carriageway

This law was changed when the passing legislation came in - in QLD drivers are now permitted to cross double white lines to give sufficient space; the defence lawyer should probably have known that...

Police also measured the lane at 3.7m and the truck at 2.4m. Therefore, if the truck passed within the lane (so as not to cross double lines), he passed the cyclist with 1.3m between his nearside wheels and THE KERB, with a cyclist sandwiched in the gap. The gutter is ~0.3m so the rider most likely had HGV wheels 0.7-0.8m from his shoulder at best.

Unfortunately, the mentality of too many Australian drivers is illustrated in the 500+ comments that follow the courier article.

So the guy got 1.3m space and went to the cops?

Get a grip, can any other driver out there judge 1500mm on their nearside?

It's not great, but not dangerous either.

I didn't see a need for the gutter riding either, sometimes you get locked in thereafter dodging a pothole, but the road looked OK

Only good thing is the article making it plain you need to cross the line to pass a cycle.

Quote:

“‘We always hear the argument that sticking to this rule would force drivers to overtake on the other side of the road but if there isn’t room they should wait … there is a brake pedal and we are more than ready to see them to use it,” he said.

Hear, hear, Mr Sharp of Safe Cycling Australia.

This is the problem: mustgetinfrontmustgetinfrontmustgetinfrontmustgetinfrontmustgetinfrontmustgetinfrontmustgetinfrontmustgetinfrontmustgetinfrontmustgetinfrontmustgetinfrontmustgetinfrontmustgetinfrontmustgetinfrontmustgetinfrontmustgetinfrontmustgetinfrontmustgetinfrontmustgetinfrontmustgetinfrontmustgetinfrontmustgetinfrontmustgetinfrontmustgetinfront...

Im wondering why hes upset that he was only "Technically" guilty? Seem more like hes upset because he was caught.

“It’s a war out there. It’s us against them."

It's the kind of "war" where one side does all the bleeding, and that happens to be the side of the non-aggressors.

Jaysus, that was plenty distance by the lorry in passing....
I barely get a quarter of that on a regular basis, irrespective of the size of the vehicle...

Stupid careless driver is stupid - shock horror

As others have said, he was tailgating the bus so didn't see the cyclist in time. The bus driver was smart enough to pull out for an overtake but if the trucker was too close to the brow of the hill for a safe overtake, he should've waited. But of course he couldn't stop in time as he was too close to the bus. Of course this dolt shouldn't be allowed behind the wheel of an HGV.

When I am on rural roads of Ottawa I get buzzed like this on a regular basis. There's typically just me and the 2 cars (sometimes just the passing driver). I like to count "Mississipi's" (ref. last night's Big Bang Theory) to see how long the passer would have to wait to pass safely (i.e. a break in the traffic): this is typically less than 5 seconds and rarely more than 10. And in Ontario its not illegal to cross a double line so they just need to wait for road to clear. This lack of consideration boggles the mind.

Quote:

“He has been caught out by technicalities of law.’’

Yep. The law that says it is prohibited to do that which he has done. Suck it up sunbeam.

Why was he cycling in the gutter? And secondly I really need to get my eyes checked, the truck looks about an inch closer than the bus, who wasn't criticised.

Agree if cyclist hadn't been hugging the gutter it might have been more clear cut, and they may have been safer (I never ride this close to the gutter). I was just pointing out that the lorry driver shouldn't be complaining at the cyclist that he couldn't legally overtake - the only reason was that his lorry was too big!

Lorry driver failed to recognise that the bus he was tailgating had pulled out around a cyclist. No evidence he saw the cyclist or the white lines (that were about to end) at all.

Nice fast legal process it sounds like. Only off note is the magistrate waiving the fine.

Cyclist didn't help things by being so close to the edge there... riding 4 feet out would have prevented both of those passes... well, I hope it would, but Australia seems to breed motons who will overtake no matter what...

The least the lorry drive could have done was slow down a little. I agree it would have been somewhat scary for the cyclist from the video. I think it's a reasonable outcome. The cyclist appears to have been keeping as far left as they could to allow the best possible chance of sensible sized vehicles overtaking legally. The bus could overtake safely - it seems to me that the lorry was just too big to overtake safely in the situation and should have waited at least until the brow of the hill, which AFAICR wasn't far away.

This seems like an over-reaction by the cyclist to me and on that basis is it any wonder the lorry driver is a bit peeved? The introduction of laws like this is a good thing but only if the infrastructure can support it and allowances are made in other laws. With regard to double white lines the UK Highway Code states that "You may cross the line if necessary, provided the road is clear, to pass a stationary vehicle, or overtake a pedal cycle, horse or road maintenance vehicle, if they are travelling at 10 mph (16 km/h) or less." Now 10mph is a bit slow for a pedal cycle I'll admit but at least the principle is there. Perhaps they should have something like that in Queensland.

As for the idea that the truck should have waited before overtaking it's very hard to call that one based on the cyclist's video. The speed differential between the bike and lorry is pretty high and as mentioned earlier the lorry driver might not have seen the bike until quite late because of the bus.

He couldn't cross the centre line, he couldn't give the required 1.5m clearance to the cyclist without crossing the line, how hard is it for the driver to wait until he was legally allowed to overtake?

Or, as is quite common, would crossing the centre line have really been an issue?? IME it can be safe to cross a centre line and overtake, it may not be legal, but the line markings are, I suspect, based on the premise of car overtaking car, ie two vehicles near the speed limit and not one at 15-20mph and one at 60+ mph.

I think the lorry driver didn't even see the bike hidden by the leading bus.

The implicit assumption on the part of the driver is that he will overtake - regardless of the double lines or the presence of the cyclist - there is nothing in the utterances reported here that would suggest that any thought was given or that the concept even exists for waiting till the road is clear to pass safely. It is this sense of entitlement that is so dangerous to us when we are out there cycling.