Cycle Safety and Sustainable Travel

Safety Around Cyclists and Pedestrians

Family biking. Marlborough is a great place to walk and to cycle and drivers need to be aware that more people are now out there on our roads.

Many of them are youngsters with a less developed traffic sense. Lots of them are on foot or on two wheels – bikes, scooters, skates and skateboards.

Traffic crashes are the single biggest cause of death for school age kids across the country.

Unfortunately, the 10-year trend in both pedestrian and cyclist casualties in Marlborough is gradually heading up, rather than down. Youngsters make up the bulk of the cycling casualties and the under-20s also represent the biggest group of pedestrian accident victims.

Sharing the road with those with less 'road sense' means drivers need to be ready to anticipate the unexpected. Remember that children:

are still learning how to estimate distance and speed
don't understand the time it takes to stop a moving vehicle
lack broad vision; they don’t see things out the corner of their eye as adults do.

Kids can suddenly appear on the road – from behind parked cars, or from behind fences or bushes, and they're not always concentrating on the road – they tend to think about one thing at a time and it may not be the traffic around them.

Remember they may also freeze when they find themselves in danger – rather than taking quick action to get out of your way. Be particularly cautious around school pedestrian crossings and prepare to stop suddenly.

Did you know that the law requires drivers to give way to pedestrians when backing out of a driveway? Pedestrians have primary claim on the footpath and drivers trying to cross over it must wait until those on foot, or skating or scooting along, have passed by.

Special care is needed around kids on bikes. They may be inexperienced. They may panic and wobble if a vehicle comes too close.

Remember that, under the law, cycles have the same rights as vehicles to be on the road.

Safe driving around children on bikes means:

Knowing your blind spots, especially if you're driving a big vehicle
Double-checking at intersections; it's where drivers have trouble spotting cyclists
Avoiding overtaking a cyclist just as you head into an intersection
Leaving at least 1.5 metres space as you pass a cyclist on the open road
Being prepared for cyclists to move suddenly and without warning
Checking your rear vision mirror and over your shoulder before opening a car door.

And, something that some drivers struggle with:

Don't insist on your right of way – even if the cyclist is in the wrong.

BikeWise activities are national events held throughout February every year. BikeWise is a great opportunity for communities and families to enjoy and celebrate cycling.