Their lights are too bright, they don't have lights; they ride on the line, they ride on the road; they ride too fast on footpaths, they ride too slow in traffic; they don't wear helmets, they do wear lycra.

This week we looked at road rage against cyclists and received hundreds of texts:

Cyclist bring the hatred upon themselves they are the scum of society.

Cyclists are f**king dangerous, a road hazard. And there the one that's gonna come off second best. Regards, the general motorist.

I hit a cyclist once, just by opening my car door when parked. Was a total accident, but he was in my blind spot. He flew straight into my door.

Road toads. If I have to pay to use the road then so should they.

Start paying for using the road or keep copping abuse and 2inch flybys.

That last one wasn't a text, it's actually a 2012 Facebook comment by a man who was found guilty this week of manslaughter. In 2013, Ben Smith was on a motorbike and sped past a 62-year-old man cycling with friends on a highway north of Sydney. The man came off his bicycle and suffered fatal head injuries. Someone who witnessed the event confronted Smith in a cafe afterward. Smith told him, "The c**t f**king deserved it".

That's an extreme example, but hatred towards cyclists is common enough. There's even an anti-cyclist Facebook page in Brisbane, where members post threats against the "road toads", "peddling terrorists", "pedalphiles", and "lycra-wearing latte set".

Hatred 1: Cyclists use roads they don't pay for

More texts:

Pay rego and you might get respect!

I'd pay bike rego if it would stop the whinging!

To help us understand the root causes of cyclist hatred, Hack got in touch with Matthew Beck, a University of Sydney senior lecturer in infrastructure who has a particular interest in cycling and why it makes car drivers so angry.

Matthew pointed out that, although fuel excise and motor licensing and registration costs recouped about $18 billion in Australia, the average expenditure on roads was about $28bn per year (not even counting Sydney's $16bn WestConnex).

"That leaves about $10bn worth of roads funded by every taxpayer in Australia, including taxpayers that happen to ride bikes and probably also own cars."

So cyclists, as taxpayers, are already paying for roads.

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Then there's the money cyclists pay in fines, which was dramatically bumped up in New South Wales in March last year.

The total value of fines issued to cyclists in the 15 months since the laws were introduced (up to June 7 2017) was about $4.3 million.

That's more than seven times the value of fines issued to cyclists in the 2013-14 financial year.

When the fines were bumped up in March 2016, a penalty was also introduced for motorists who don't leave enough space when passing cyclists.

The number of motorists fined in the 15-month period was 43.

That raised $13,717.

Note: this figure doesn't include motorists who have been fined for reckless or dangerous driving, which could include passing too close to a cyclist.

Hatred 2: Cyclists are dangerous

More texts:

Cyclists are the only road users who don't need a license or even to know the road rules. They are dangerous

I have had cyclists that don't give way to me at roundabouts and then yell at me when I almost hit them ... They don't care about the rules. They are dangerous.

There's no doubt some cyclists don't obey the rules. In the NSW figures above, more than 1600 fines were issued for riding on the footpath. Another 567 for running red lights.

The question is whether cyclists are getting a bad rap - whether their reputation for disobeying the rules is unfair - and also whether they're dangerous, even when they do break the rules.

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Whatsapp A post from Brisbane's anti-cyclist page.

Matthew Beck believes that, at least in Sydney, cyclists are being blamed for the inconveniences caused by other motorists. That is, as congestion gets worse, motorists get stressed, and they separate the road users into an "ingroup" of fellow motorists and an "outgroup" of alien cyclists.

The frustrations you feel as a driver can be transferred on to that outgroup of cyclists," he said.

Cyclists are perceived as one homogenous group. Every time a cyclist behaves like a dick, they reinforce the preconceived bias, and give every other cyclist a bad name.

Here's a text:

Cyclists are quite often dicks. But so are drivers. It's a bit of a chicken and egg problem.

The stats show motorists are way more dangerous than cyclists.

A 2013 University of Adelaide study found that in 80 per cent of crashes between cars and bicycles, the driver of the car is at fault.

Hatred 3: Cycling is un-Australian

More texts:

Cycling is not part of Australian culture. Cyclists don't know how to behave in traffic.

The hatred is driven by ignorance and misinformation driven by the media. They encourage it. I own a bike shop and many fear riding.

Cycling is relatively unpopular in Australia. In some western European countries, 10-20 per cent of journeys are made by bicycle compared to Australia with less than 2 per cent. We're also cycling less than we were six years ago, according to last month's National Cycling Participation Survey.

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Whatsapp Cyclists lay on the ground during a gathering to prevent bike accidents in Paris.

One reason for the decline may be the perception of an increase in cyclist-related accidents and the campaign of anti-cyclist hatred.

The good news is that cycling fatalities declined by about 2 per cent in the 22 years to 2013. The bad news is that cyclists remain the the most vulnerable road users, with studies indicating 10 times the risk of death compared to car occupants.

A 2012 study from Portland State University looked at the idea there are four kinds of cyclists: people who thought it was too unsafe, the "interested but concerned", the "enthused and confident" and the "strong and fearless". "Interested but concerned" made up 60 per cent of her survey group. If we apply those figures to Australia, where about 15 per cent of people ride a bike in an average week, it suggests millions of people aren't riding because of safety concerns.

Here's some more texts:

The absolute disregard for cyclists by both drivers and police is deplorable. I have been hit three times by cars. Once deliberately hit and steered into parked cars.

I cycled along the coast of South India for a month and was completely fine and safe - I'm terrified of the roads here! Everyone's super-impatient and full of rage!!

Australian used to be laid-back and cool, it seems a lot has changed.

Hatred 4: It's the lycra

More texts:

It's the lycra, Tom. If they just wore pants they would be more likeable.

The worst part about cyclists is having breakfast at a cafe and the men walk in their skintight suits. Being put off my sausage and eggs by getting an eyeful of theirs.

We can't argue with this one.