Road Cyclists 'Take their lives in their hands', Says Cycle Group

SYDNEY—Cyclists take their lives in their hands when they venture out on Australian roads, cycling officials say.

"There's almost zero tolerance. It's a real risk now, every time you go out on the bike," said Kerry Ruffels, president of Cycling NSW.

He said today's case of apparent road rage against a group of cyclists in Sydney was not an isolated occurrence.

"We've had this sort of thing happen before. Six months ago we had a similar incident with a number of riders where a motorist came out of a service station and tried to aim straight across the bunch.

"You can be minding your own business, riding as hard left as possible, and you'll still have some motorists who decide you're an easy target.

"They'll try to come as close as possible to you, cut you off, turn in front of you ... do anything."

Sprinter Ben Kersten, who hopes to ride in the Beijing Olympics, said passing motorists hurled abuse at the cyclists as they tried to pick themselves up from today's multiple crash near Sydney airport, caused by a driver braking sharply in front of the group.

Drivers yelled taunts including "get off the road", "go get a car, you tight ......" and "....... in", Kersten said.

"It is our office, our workplace. But because of the attitude of some people, we're risking our lives every time we go out there."

Ruffels said Australian drivers were far more aggressive towards cyclists than their overseas counterparts.

"In Europe, cyclists are treated completely and utterly the other way."

About 40 cyclists die on Australian roads each year.

Competitive riders killed include Olympic triathlete hopeful Luke Harrop (2002), mountain biker Gary Payne (1997) and Olympic cyclist Darren Smith (1992).

One of Australia's greatest ever riders, dual Olympic gold medallist Russell Mockridge, was killed by a bus during a race in Melbourne in 1958.

Cyclists have also been known to cause accidents themselves. In 2006 Melbourne cyclist William Raisin-Shaw was fined $400 after he killed a 77-year-old pedestrian when he and a group of cyclists ran a red light during a weekly bay-front event known as the Hell Ride.