Cycle lane bullies: Bad drivers put cyclists at risk with repeat offenses

In 2012, Su Yin Khoo made a simple post on social media: “I was hit by a car.”

A driver pulling out of a side street didn’t see her, and although her bag and helmet took the brunt of the fall, Khoo’s bike was written off.

She wanted to have video of the incident and five years ago she started recording her cycling trips. The stakes, he says, are higher now.

Her children are on board for most of her cycling journeys in central Auckland, from school to work and visits to the park, zoo, library or games.

Khoo shares videos of her bike rides on social media. It’s a catalog of bad driving behavior that shows vehicles from cars to trucks cutting her way, running red lights and blocking bike lanes.

It also sees drivers glued to their phones and “penalizes passes” where a driver passes a cyclist at close range.

It may seem benign, “but people on bikes are cramped and don’t have the same level of protection as someone in a vehicle,” says Khoo.

In one video a car is parked with its rear end blocking a cycle lane on Franklin Street in the suburb of Freeman’s Bay. The driver then reverses out of his parking spot and starts up the road half on the bike path, half on the road. Then he stops with his car, completely blocking the cycle path.

Khoo yells at him to “move”. Another biker arrives and slaps the car. The driver gets out, motioning for her to go onto the road and around the car.

For Khoo, that’s not the point of the bike lane, especially when you’re riding with kids.

“This sense of entitlement is very common among drivers. Usually when called out they will double down on their mistake,” says Khoo. “A true apology is very rare.”

According to Auckland Transport, parking in any designated vehicle lane, which includes cycle lanes, incurs a $60 fine, while parking on a footpath or cycleway is $40. The penalties set by the government have not changed since 1999.

While encroaching on a cycle lane is not an offence, riding in a special vehicle lane for more than 50 meters carries a $150 fine.

It may not be an offence, but a vehicle encroaching on a cycle lane can lead to problems for cyclists.

Ryan Langford was 60km into an 80km ride in late April when he passed an SUV that had invaded a bike lane.

As the vehicle passed, a strap from his bag hit the mirror and the driver called out to Langford, who responded with his middle finger and continued down the hill.

But 30 seconds later something zipped past his head. Langford turned back and found the projectile – a partially filled, plastic drink bottle.

The driver then chased him and pulled over to block him while shouting obscenities.

Langford avoided the vehicle, but the driver did not let go. He drove down the road, turned around and, driving on the wrong side of the road, came back to him.

Again, Langford avoided the car and, as luck would have it, officers were on the other side of the road doing a speed camera check. They told Langford they recognized the driver from previous road rage incidents.

After that experience, Langford changed the way he reacts to drivers. No more dodging angry drivers.

“Even when they’re wrong, I don’t want them to beat me.”

Khoo believes that transport agencies support a car-dependent mentality and that safe infrastructure is needed to stamp out bad driver behaviour.

Urie Bezuidenhout is a transport planner, traffic engineer and professional lecturer at the University of Auckland.

Cyclists’ frustration with drivers can be attributed to a lack of facilities that leaves them feeling vulnerable, says Bezuidenhout. Motorists take an independent view because they are protected and feel that their needs are not being met.

“Some [drivers] believe that something has been removed, while others [cyclists] believe that nothing was given to them.’

While more cycling infrastructure has been built in the last decade, transport agencies are trying to connect all modes of transport to the existing road corridor, says Bezuidenhout. “And that leads to conflict.”

Drivers also tend to focus on the threats that threaten them – “the bigger the threat, the more attention they receive, so other cars, trucks and buses will get the lion’s share of attention as cyclists and motorcyclists become more invisible” .

According to Bezuidenhout, vulnerable road users sometimes perceive this invisibility as a deliberate act of revenge.

Despite her experiences, Khoo continues to drive with her young children because it is “the fastest and most efficient way to get around the city center and surrounding suburbs.”

“They also enjoy being on the bike much more than being in the car. We can talk, see interesting things and stop whenever and wherever we want.”