ORANGE has a growing band of cycling enthusiasts who are heeding the environmental message and riding to work or taking to the roads for fitness and recreation.
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However, there is no doubt the growing presence of cyclists seems to draw the ire of many motorists who are too impatient to wait or view cyclists’ presence on the roads as a nuisance.
Against that are the stories we hear about cyclists taking up too much of the road and making it difficult to pass.
Indeed some cyclists themselves say a rogue element who try to run traffic lights or dodge and weave through the traffic are giving riders a bad name.
Why is it if we come up behind a farmer in his tractor on the road, most motorists are patient and prepared to wait for an opportunity to pass?
Not so for many drivers when it comes to a bike rider on a public road.
Perhaps a licencing system might address the lack of respect for riders on our roads and fund the necessary infrastructure of additional bike lanes.
After all, the cost of motor vehicle registration goes into the state’s roads improvement programs and infrustructure.
The experience of some riders who have been pelted with projectiles and run off the road is appalling.
It speaks volumes of the work that has to be done to build a mutual respect on our roads between bikers and motorists.