New cycling laws are about to be introduced in NSW which raises the fines for ‘riding dangerously’ ($425), ‘not wearing a helmet’ ($319), ‘running a red light’ ($425) and several other infringements.
Transport for NSW will also introduce a new mandatory passing rule as part of a trial that will commence on 1 March 2016.
Furthermore, the NSW government will become the first in the world to introduce mandatory photo ID to be carried by all cyclists over the age of 18.
“From 1 March 2016, all bicycle riders aged 18 and over must carry the required photo identification. This will help riders be identified in an emergency. NSW Police will also be able to ask for identification if they believe a bicycle rider has broken the road rules.
“Bicycle riders will have 12 months to adjust to the new law. From 1 March 2017, riders stopped by police for breaking the road rules could face a $106 fine if they do not have the required photo ID.”
These rule changes were announced by Duncan Gay late last year and they have received plenty of media attention already.
Exactly how the police force responds to these new regulations remains to be seen but there is a tendency for an individual’s interpretation to be skewed enough to net the incorrect outcome of traffic incidents.
How police monitor the new passing laws is unclear. What is construed as ‘Dangerous riding’ is also vague.
There is, however, an Australian company that has responded to incidents in traffic by creating several inventions that have helped overturn decisions by proving beyond a reasonable doubt the cause of accidents.
Cycliq has invented two camera/light products – the Fly6 (for the rear of the bike) and Fly12 (for the front) – which records each ride, complete with time codes should there be an incident that needs reviewing.
RIDE caught up with Cycliq’s CEO, Andrew Hagen, to find out more about his products, why they were invented, and how they have already achieved justice.
Click the SoundCloud link below to listen to the full exchange as a podcast.
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Andrew Hagen on the benefits of Fly6 footage…
“We’ve sold over 20,000 products in the world already and we’ve only been selling for less than two years now, so we’re getting a lot of traction already. But I guess my most satisfying moment was when we heard about a story about a guy who went through a set of traffic lights and had a collision with a vehicle.
“It was a really nasty collision and what happened was that [the rider] was so badly injured he had to go to hospital.
“The car was so badly damaged it got towed away.
“And by the time the police got to the incident, there was no one to talk to because everyone had gone off on their separate ways.
“So, they found the motorist first because they had a number plate and the accident got reported.
“[The police] went to the motorist and said, ‘What happened?’
“The lady [driver] said, ‘Look, this cyclist, he went through a red light and hit me.’
“The police said, ‘Oh, okay, we’ll go and prosecute the cyclist.’
“So they went to the cyclist, they found him in hospital and they said, ‘Alright, we’re going to write you a ticket for going through a red light and causing all this damage.
“He said, ‘I didn’t go through a red light. I went through a green light.’
“The police said, ‘No, no. The motorist told us that you went through a red light, therefore you went through a red light. We’re doing to write you a ticket.’
“He said, ‘Hang on a sec, I’ve got a camera on my bike. Let’s look at the footage.’
“And so they looked at the footage and they clearly saw [that the cyclist] went through a green light.
“So, back to the motorist they went and they said, ‘We’ve got camera footage of you…’ and she said, ‘Oh, do you know, maybe I might have gone through a red light…’
“The camera footage elicited the correct result and the [cyclist] who was badly damaged physically – he had a massive gash down his back – he got his insurance for his bike all paid for, so he got a brand new bike, got all of his medical bills paid for by the insurer of the motorist, they had to cough up.
“That to me was the most satisfying thing because we invented [the Fly6] to try and help incidents which have happened to [Cycliq co-founder] Kingsley. And we know it happens to other people…
“And now cyclists actually have something to back to [police with] and get the right bit of justice.”
Listen to the full interview to get the full picture of how many parties – cyclists and the police, key amongst them – can benefit from Cycliq’s innovative products.
