Hundreds of cyclists fined or cautioned for not wearing helmets and other offences, with three motorists cautioned for breaching new minimum distance passing laws

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

South Australian police have denounced cyclists for disregarding the law and road users’ safety following a month-long operation in which 333 were fined and nearly 400 cautioned.

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Preliminary figures released by police on Tuesday showed the three-week Operation Safe Cycling initiative in January resulted in 806 “detections”, with drivers receiving 53 fines and 36 cautions, and cyclists 333 fines and 381 cautions.

More than 400 cyclists were caught riding without helmets, 176 were riding at night without lights, while 116 were reported to have disobeyed traffic lights.



The penalty for riding a bicycle without a helmet is $98, and $54 for riding without lights in hazardous weather conditions or at night.

Seventy-eight motorists received penalties or cautions for parking in bike lanes, and eight for driving in them. The fine for driving in a bicycle lane is $251.

All fines also incur a $60 victims-of-crime levy.

Superintendent Anthony Fioravanti, the officer in charge of the traffic support branch, said in a statement that many of the detections directly compromised road safety.

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“Cyclists not wearing helmets, driving without lights and disobeying traffic controls are putting themselves and other road users at risk.



“That is unacceptable to police and should be unacceptable to the wider community.”

Road rules were amended in the state in October to introduce a minimum gap for motorists when overtaking cyclists, and to allow cyclists of all ages to ride on footpaths.

Drivers are now required to maintain a minimum distance of one metre when overtaking cyclists in areas where the speed limit is 60km/h or lower, and 1.5m when the limit is above 60km/h.

A similar rule will take effect in New South Wales from 1 March, along with drastic increases to fines for cyclists. Fines will go up from $71 to $319 for not wearing a helmet and to $425 for running a red light or failing to stop at a pedestrian crossing. Cyclists will also have to carry ID or risk a fine of $106.

A three-month cautionary period allowing South Australian motorists to adjust to the new rules ended on 25 January, but only three drivers received cautions that month for breaching the minimum distance rule.

The fine for failing to maintain the minimum distance when overtaking is $287 and two demerit points.

More than 500 cyclists were injured in crashes in South Australia last year, and four were killed.