In my daily bike commute along North road from Huntingdale Station to Monash University, I decided to keep a count of where the other cyclists I saw were riding:
| Date | Road | Bikepath | Footpath | bus-lane | no helmet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 14 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 4 |
Notes: Anyone on the road or bikepath (shared footpath) is riding legally, anyone on the footpath or in the bus-lane or without a helmet are riding illegal. I’ve included myself on the road each day.
The biggest joke of them all? Following last year’s debacle with the bus drivers on North road who seem to just want bicycles off the road completely, now if you’re on the road and riding legally by being in the left-most non-bus-lane and you aren’t riding in the bus lane the bus drivers don’t seem to feel comfortable passing in their lane on the left but instead will pull out of the bus lane, into the lane you are in, then half into the next lane in order to pass on the right – leaving the bus lane completely empty of bus or bicycle. Its happened to me three times in a week and a half, and I’ve seen them do it to two other bikes as well!
Updates:
:: Earlier than normal due to the heat, two motorists refused to pass me on North road in light traffic and drove along behind for a couple of hundred metres sounding the horn continuously, then gestured wildly and the second swerved at me as they finally passed.
:: As of the middle of 2017 it is now legal for cyclists to ride in any bus-lanes in Victoria, unless specifically prohibited by other signs.
