Blue Order

Yeah, I don't know the law in Australia either.

But looking at NYC CM is a good example. The new parade permit guidelines will make CM arrests easy. I believe that the Hell Ride is a different situation in any event, however. CM is just a bunch of people riding more or less lawfully, except for the blocking traffic part. The Hell Ride is a bunch of people riding at speeds that I would suspect are illegal and blowing through stop lights, failing to yield, etc. If you think the state doesn't have the police power to legislate for public health and safety-- for example, to ban unpermitted road races-- you would be in for a surprise.

recursive

Will the new parade guidelines become law? Last I heard, there was much controversy and it seemed they would not ever be anything more than a proposal. It sounded like the proposed guidelines were ridiculously over-reaching. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be in favor of a law that makes it illegal to ride bikes in groups.

Blue Order

I don't know. I think existing law, if enforced, would probably make a law that prohibits riding in groups unnecessary. Corking is illegal. Blowing through stoplights is illegal. Impeding traffic is illegal. Riding more than two abreast is probably illegal. There may even be a requirement to ride to the right. If the cops enforced all of these laws, they wouldn't need a special law that prohibits riding in groups. There's a difference between a mass ride and a mass ride that violates traffic laws, and nobody seems to understand that.

webist

The article suggests that the gentleman who died was habitually walking in that area. I wonder if he was aware of the custom of the Hell Ride? I wish there were a follow-up on this story.

sentinel4675

Who cares is the man knew about the ride? If the cyclist broke the law why should the old man enjoying a nice walk have to alter his plans because of some jerks who want to ride fast?
Funny some on this board just can't wait to claim the police harass cyclist, but some blame the police for not doing active enforcement?

tomcryar

Yes he had a habit everyday, probably doing the same walk. These cyclists (from what I read in other articles) don't have a "habit". They start at different times. The local "law officers" who participate in this ride should have known his routine and said something at the least. They should be reprimanded, suspended, or fired! I hope the cyclist(s) who killed him are thinking about him every day!

nm+

Didn't notice that.
Should stop the ride. Friggin juvinile anyhow.
And they should try to apply any street racing alws to it they ahve. Strict punishments in teh US often inculde arrest and seizure of vehicles.

Wilchemy

Warning....Long post

Just to clarify things a little bit (media reports are not always accurate)....and this is not first hand knowledge but came to me from a reliable source:

Beach Rd, where the incident occurred is a very heavily used cycling route in Melbourne with literally thousands of cyclists using it particularly on weekends - including recreational/social riders, solo riders out training plus bunches of anywhere from 2 to 30 are quite common.

In this instance the Hell Ride bunch had split because the pedestrian crossing had been triggered just before they got to it and the front 20 or so had gone through before it turned red and then sat up to wait while the rest of the bunch (perhaps 60+ riders) stopped at the crossing. Two riders came along the road from behind the stopped bunch and moved into the right hand lane, (remember we ride on the other side of the road here) to pass the other stopped riders and blow the red light resulting in one of them colliding with the pedestrian with extremely tragic consequences.

The rider involved was completely wrong and stupid beyond belief and should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Unfortunatley there exists some anomalies in the laws in this State and in this situationit seems a bicycle is not considered a vehicle so a charge of vehicular manslaughter cannot be made, and a fine for running a red is all that can be issued. I expect that due to the public attention this story is receiving, particularly in the tabloid media that police will be looking into any other avenues.

One of the outcomes of this tragic incident which will affect all cyclists here in Melbourne is the way the the trashy/talkback type media is lapping it up and giving as much negative press as possible to all cyclists and stirring up much anti-cyclist hate. This could make the roads a bit less safe for anyone on a bike in the coming weeks.

A key lesson to all who feel they can run reds & do whatever because, "well, it's my life & it's only me who will get hurt/killed"..... think again! Not only has a pedestrian been killed, but the cycling public has now been relegated further down the respect ladder thanks to the actions of a fool.

3chordwonder

I'd also like to chime in as a local who enjoys riding along Beach Road here in Melbourne.

First, I feel sorry for the man who died - it was a tragic and avoidable accident, and the cyclist involved might have been careless, unlucky, or an agressive fool. None of us would know since we weren't there.

But the concept that there's some pack of mad out of control hooligans tearing down Beach Road every Saturday morning is a pathetic journalist-driven beat-up.

I can't entirely blame the journalists, they just wouldn't be able to help themselves when presented with a story with a 'Hell Ride' name mixed with a death on the road. It has conflict, drama, outlaws and selfrighteous community outrage written all over it. The talkback radio shock jocks have probably been onto it already as well. It's a free kick not to be wasted.

When I've ridden this road, I've usually ended up riding part of it in a club pack of some kind, and I'm always impressed by how organised and streamlined people are in these informal rides. Invariably the packs/pacelines do stop at red lights. If they didn't they'd die, basically - there's cars on this road.

Yes, the cyclist should have been more careful, of course, but Beach Road is not remotely the scene the press - even The Age, and shame on them since they are not even meant to be cheap tabloid press - are pushing in order to paint a sensationalist picture. I've seen aggressive drivers nearly take out cyclists on Beach Road several times, and unfortunately this kind of reporting will no doubt fuel those kind of incidents.

As for the guy who hit the poor old man who died, he will be dealing with this for the rest of his life. I wouldn't be in that much of a hurry to judge that he's getting off without penalty.

And finally - I'd take all this stuff about how extreme, lawless and tough this 'Hell Ride' is with a grain of salt. Forget the usual 'Aussie Tough Man' BS about how 'extreme' they are. In the end, it's a recreational ride by a bunch of hobby riders.

tomcryar

Apparently, it's more than a recreational ride by hobby riders. One article I read stated that ther main purpose is to "flout" the laws by riding like they do (that came from two of the riders). There are some rides like this in the US, and it's just a matter of time....These people did not stop at the light, that's exactly why this guy got run over!

3chordwonder

Well, I guess you'd know better than I do what goes on on Beach Road. I only ride there, whereas you've read an article.

Blue Order

Perhaps you haven't seen the lynch mobs formed here whenever a motorist runs down a cyclist? According to the prevailing wisdom here, there is no excuse for running somebody down. In fact, there are no accidents. And thus, motorists should be (but never are) punished harshly.

If this had been an informal weekly auto race, with the racers flouting the traffic laws as they saw fit, and some racer ran a red light and mowed down some elderly cyclist, there would be no doubt expressed here that the offending motorist should be shot at dawn. The offending motorist's lifelong trauma from the accident wouldn't even begin to make amends for what he had done.

And you think this is somehow different?

sentinel4675

Well put, Blue

brycer

I am also a Melbourne local and have ridden Beach Road countless times. The size of the pack for the Hell Ride is not unusual - in the warmer weather you will find quite a few 40+ bunches out there. Most of these packs are well controlled and responsible. The "Hell Ride" however seems to attract an idiot fringe who figure that if they just blow the lights the traffic will have to stop.

The guys doing it are those desparate to hang on to a wheel and avoid being dropped. There is no excuse for failing to obey the road rules and those who do should be punished in the same way as car drivers. If you miss the lights then so be it - try harder next time. Better that than being killed or injured.

The unusual outcome of the accident - pedestrian killed by bike - meant it was good media fodder.

As a result the two major papers both ran two articles each and editorials decrying the actions of these irresponsible cyclists. The TV stations also covered it and showed footage of a group ride (taken on a Tuesday morning) of the "Hell Ride" - this ride of course only goes on a Saturday.

On the other side of the coin I have seen car loads of fools roar past and throw bottles etc at cyclists. Last year I saw a guy with an i-pod jaywalk in front of a group of 20 - that time the cyclist was the one taken away in the ambulance.

Back in 2003 the police tried to shut the ride down with tactics like blocking the road and proceeding to fine anyone without a bell and reflectors. If the media attention keeps up then I fully expect similar petty tactics to be wheeled out again. And nobody is a winner from that.

With the Round the Bay in a Day (210kms) coming up next month the numbers of cyclists will be increasing so there may well be other indicents that make the paper.

So for now I will stick to riding up the Dandenong ranges and stay away from Beach Road on the weekend.

tomcryar

Thank you brycer, but just one question remains---what can be done about the "idiot fringe"? Not just with this ride, but for these types of rides? Of which we have a few here in the US.

brycer

Well here in Aust we have a demerit point system on your car licence and if you run out of points you get it cancelled for six months and only a few point reinstated. If the penalties for bike offences were brought into line with cars and the police enforced the law now and then the idiot fringe would be walking to work.

Also it needs the group to tell these people to take their stupid attitude elsewhere.

ft_critical

+1 the Sassafras ride doesn't seem to attract the lunatics and people who don't know how to bunch ride. The hill is the great leveller (so to speak!)

Glad this was posted to remind us all though.....

recursive

Does riding a bike require a license in Australia?

tomcryar

No. What brycer was saying was: maybe the laws for cyclists should be the exact same for motorists, along with reinforcement of the laws. If I'm wrong brycer, please say so. But if this is the point, I agree 100%. I see and hear about so many cyclists intentionally breaking the laws and then try to justify their actions by some silly argument. If cyclists want to be treated with respect on the road, by other people on the road, then they will have adhere to the same laws. There is and will be no special treatment for cyclists who break the law in my mind.

Blue Order

I don't really think anybody, cyclist or motorist, should be shot at dawn. I do think that motorists who injure or kill should face appropriate charges in court, and if found guilty, should be appropriately punished. I don't see any reason that cyclists shouldn't be held to the same standard.

tomcryar

maybe there should be a standard definition of the word vehicle........It seems vague in some laws.

brycer

ThAts what I meant - same laws for all - while there are lesser rules for cyclists the perception is that we have less rights on the road. Interestingly we have now seen motorists becoming more aggressive - ie reasserting "their" rights - since the incident. The local police will be out in force this weekend to bust anyone breaking the rules. I might pop down and see whats happening tomorrow.

brycer

No it doesnt but here are road rules specific to bicycles eg no more than two abreast. Rest of the laws apply. But for accident related crime like culpable driving (=dangerous driving resulting in death or serious injury to someone else) the law at the moment assumes use of a motor vehicle. So I think they will change the laws to include bicycles as vehicles.

Johnny_Monkey

Cyclists honour 'Hell Ride' victim

Jane Holroyd
September 1, 2006 - 11:08AM

About 200 cyclists snaked their way through Melbourne's bayside suburbs at the crack of dawn today to pay tribute to an elderly man who died after being struck down during a bike race on the weekend.

James Gould, 77, was crossing Beach Road at pedestrian lights in Mentone on Saturday morning when he was allegedly hit by a cyclist taking part in the notorious "hell ride", which is a weekly communal ride involving cyclists in groups of up to 100.

The cyclist, a 30-year-old man from St Kilda East, had not stopped at the red light.

Mr Gould died the following day and the tragedy sparked legal debate after police revealed the cyclist responsible was unlikely to face criminal charges.

Many Melbourne cyclists are now on a mission to clear their names, saying most cyclists behave responsibly and respect other road users.

This morning cyclists from several bayside clubs participated in a memorial ride, which began at Cafe Racer in St Kilda at 6am.

Just before 7am, approximately 130 members of the St Kilda Cycling Club were joined by another 70 cyclists at the site of Saturday's accident in Mentone.

All removed their helmets for a minute's silence before SKCC vice-president Melinda Jacobsen made a speech appealing for cyclists to obey road rules.

"We asked everyone to vote on a code of conduct, to respect other roads users and to be be ambassadors for this great sport," Ms Jacobsen told theage.com.au.

"Everyone raised their hands, which was great to see."

theage.com.au

recursive

If bicycling doesn't require a license, then penalties can't really be "brought inline" with those for motor vehicles, since there are no licenses from which to deduct points.