13-Aug-94 (Saturday afternoon);

I was riding along the cycle path parallel to Marcus Clarke street heading towards the lake. The path crosses several roads and at one there is a stop sign facing the cross traffic on the road. It is not clear whether cars (once stopped) have to give way to cyclists on the bike path or not, even though the threshold for the stop sign is on the left of the path, meaning that cars must stop, give way, then proceed across bike path and road.

As I approached one road crossing (at approx 5kph) a white utility sped up the cross street, didn’t even slow down for the stop sign and drove through ahead of me. I yelled out “Hey dickhead, that’s a stop sign!” At the next intersection I was waiting on the cycle path at the traffic lights while the car stopped three back at the lights, the driver half got out of the car and started screaming abuse at me, threatening to kill me, drive over me, and punch my head in, all of which I ignored. When the lights changed there was a green light for the cars and a green pedestrian light for the cycle path. I started across the crossing and the driver tore left around the corner, hitting my front wheel and knocking me off my bike, he then drove down to the next corner and through a red light before coming back around the block, up onto the cycle path and leaped out as I was sitting at the side of the road attempting to straighten my wheel. Again the driver told me that he “outta fucken’ kill idiots like you who think they can ride on the road”, threatened to drive over my bike “to teach me a lesson”, then drove off down the footpath, over the kerb and away through a red light.

I went to the city police station and told them all this, including the registration of the vehicle. Despite my very shaken appearance and grazes on knee and hand they refused to take any form of report as I had “aggravated the driver” (obviously this makes all his behaviour excusable), and then told me that in their opinion all cyclists should ride on the road rather than the cycle path since then all traffic rights and responsibilities are well known.

Refs: Originally in my bike incidents page.