EuanB said:
Brian Watson said:
There is also the pure logistics of it - a bicycle can move much
faster
than a pedestrian. If cyclists were allowed to use pedestrian
crossings
I can imagine situations where a bicycle doing 40km/h, exercising
their
right-of-way,
There is no such thing in the Australian Road rules as `right of way.'
There is `duty of care', as in others may have a duty of care to give
way to you but that does not give you `right of way'.
Nonsense you don't have a "duty of care" to giveway, and that is not
what the Australian Road Rules say at all. Nor is "duty of care"
anything that is defined in the road rules.
"Duty of care" is part of the road rules it is legal term from
negligence law. While it applies to driving as an overriding sort of
thing, as accidents can result in negligence suits, iot doesn't apply
to the road rules or fines. It is actually more likely to apply to the
RTA because they have a "duty of care" established in negligence law
to build safe roads and warn of dangers and these days will get sued.
What the road rules say that one vehicle must giveway and that the
other vehicle doesn''t pure and simple.
For example rule " 69 Giving Way at Give Way Sign or Give Way Line at
an Intersection
1. A driver at an intersection with give way sign must give way in
accordance with this rule.
[details and references to definitions in dictionary]
2. The drive must give way to a vehicle in, entering or approaching
the intersection except for
[details of exceptions including the other vehicle has a stop sign
(which overrides give way sign, is making a U turn, or on a slip way
etc]. "
etc.
Not "duty of care" but "must" give way. All accompanied by diagrams
showing one vehicle slowing or stoping in accordance with the
definition of giving way, and the other vehicle continuing as it would
if the giving way vehicle was not there.
In English terms one vehicle "must" give way according the road rules
and one doesn't, that vehicle is said to have "right of way" (common
English usage).
Quoted message said:Operate whatever vehicle you haappen to be using with a `duty of care'
mindset rather than a `right of way' mindset and things get a lot more
pleasant and easier.
If you operate continously under a "duty of care" mentality then you
are living in permenant fear of litigation and nothing ever gets done
because the risks are too high.
dewatf.