Motorist hits out at 'ignorant' cyclists' dangerous move into oncoming traffic
While the war against cyclists and drivers rages on in Australia, it seems New Zealand motorists are just as aggrieved when riders fail to adhere to the rules of the road there.
Nikki Bessem was the passenger in a car driving in western Auckland on Sunday morning when she captured video of a group of about 10 cyclists hogging a whole lane.
“[We were] stuck behind them pretty much the whole way from the middle of the road which is our drive to almost the end,” she revealed to Yahoo7 News.
A common sign on Australian roads, the cyclists can often be seen riding four abreast at times, making it difficult for drivers to overtake.
But Ms Bessem was left stunned when one cyclist veered across the centre line around a blind bend, just moments before a vehicle was coming around the corner.
“One of them actually was on the wrong side of the road coming into a blind corner and a car came the other way,” she said.
“That dude had to quickly get back on the right side of the road. Not once did they look behind them to check if a car was there.”
She revealed her partner was trapped behind the cyclist for some time on the 100km/h stretch of road thanks to their “inconsiderate” behaviour.
“I was furious. Riding singly is annoying enough as they never stick to the side of the road,” she said.
“They’re always closer to the middle but having them riding four in a row is just plain stupid and inconsiderate of others.”
Earlier in the year more than 100,000 signatures were gathered in a bid to change the law to make cyclists travel single file along roads.
“We are tired of taxpayer dollars being lavished on expensive road systems with designated bike lanes, only to see cyclists continue to ride two or more abreast, spilling into main traffic lanes and impeding traffic flow,” the online petition said.
