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Motorists have hit back at allegations they cause Orange’s cyclists to fear for their safety.

They believe it is the cyclists and their “unpredictable” behavior that is of greatest concern.

And motorists have received support from Orange City Council road safety officer Andrea Hamilton-Vaughan, who believes both parties are equally to blame.

“It’s pretty simple. The roads are there for everyone,” she said.

“There’s no magic solution to either, everywhere I go I have cyclists complain about motorists, and motorists complaining about cyclists.

“Cyclists, cars and pedestrians should know they have an equal right to be on the road.”

Ms Hamilton-Vaughan admitted more education for both parties was needed, but wouldn’t necessarily solve the problem.

“The biggest concern is obviously people don’t know the road rules properly, and that’s both cyclists and motorists,” she said.

“Unfortunately I don’t have a magic pot of money that I can spend on education. Anyway, how much money has been spent on speeding? Has that totally stopped speeding? Education alone won’t get people to do the right thing.”

She had some simple advice for cyclists to avoid any accidents. Wearing safety equipment and highly visible attire was a must.

“I’d also be advising cyclists not to use busy streets like Summer Street because of the width of the road, parked cars, cars opening doors - it’s just not safe and we can’t change that,” she said.

“All cyclists should also do a risk management assessment before taking any cycling route.

“Both cyclists and drivers should approach with caution and expect everyone to do the wrong thing. If they do that, we can avoid a lot of these incidents”

Ms Hamilton-Vaughan said council had tried visual message boards in both Summer and Byng streets, but was forced to remove them because of unhappy business owners.

She said they would continue to work with both parties to ensure safer roads in Orange.