Saturday 8 September 2007

My knowledge of the road rules is sorely lacking

As part of bike week (I had no idea we were having a bike week in NSW), the local rag has published a cyclist awareness quiz. If you complete the quiz and send it in to the local council, you have a chance to win a $50 DJ's voucher.

Woopee-do.

We sat down and had a look at the 10 questions. Even though I have been riding for 3 or 4 years now, I had no idea what the answers to some of the questions were. "Can a bicycle rider turn right from the left hand lane?" Frankly, I have no idea, but this is not something that I want to try. I doubt it is a stunt that could be pulled that often by those that have any expectations of seeing their next birthday.

"Are bicycle riders legally entitled to use the roads?"

Well, that is a good question. Many drivers seem to think that the answer is negative, along with a reasonable number of police. Just try to report an incident between a car and a bike. You get that raised eyebrow look that says, "what were you doing on the road anyway?"

"Must a bicycle rider give a stop signal before stopping?"

This is something that I was taught as a kid, but I haven't done it in years. I like to have both hands on the brakes, thank you very much - especially in the wet. I was able to do it as a kid, but back then, my dragster had those back-pedal brakes, not handlebar mounted brakes that require both hands to operate.

Besides, I stop for nothing. There should be a signal that cyclists can give that says, "I intend to run this red light/stop sign/give way sign/pedestrian crossing."

"Can a bicycle rider overtake a vehicle on the left?"

Yes, a bicycle can do that. It's a bloody silly idea though, as in my experience, cars that are moving slowly enough for me to overtake them are about to make a sudden left hand turn. I also think the grammar of this question is stuffed. Shouldn't it say, "May a bicycle rider overtake a vehicle on the left?" 'can' implies the ability to do so. 'may' implies permission to do so. There's a difference.

Can I eat this chocolate biscuit?

May I eat this chocolate biscuit?

So what this quiz has shown me is:

  • Strathfield council are a bunch of cheapskates - a $50 voucher indeed!
  • I need to brush up the road rules (as if)
  • Strathfield has crap schools

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