CYCLING

Ms CICCARELLO (Norwood) (15:37): Recently I spoke about the state of cycling in South Australia and how proud I was that Adelaide is now recognised as the undisputed cycling capital of Australia. Events such as the wildly successful Tour Down Under and the Australian Track Championships, as well as the positive initiatives of the state government in respect to city bike paths, BikeDirect maps, criterium tracks and riding trails have forged for us a peerless reputation.

Adelaide has been blessed with a geography which is ideal for cyclists and there is no doubt that cycling is an activity that contributes significant health, environment, economic and social benefits for all South Australians. With Adelaide now a mecca for cyclists everywhere and with recent examples of dangerous driving headlining the news, it is a great time to talk about the safety of cyclists on our roads.

As a lifetime bike rider, it is very obvious that with the inevitable increase in traffic driver behaviour is, unfortunately, becoming at its best discourteous and at its worst aggressive and downright perilous. My staff members and I, all of whom cycle, not to mention many of my constituents, have experienced alarming incidents recently due to bad or ignorant driver behaviour.

It has been interesting to hear some anecdotes in the past week or two from Amber Halliday, who has been doing some relief work in my office and who is in the gallery today, along with Shane Kelly, a four-time world champion. Amber is a world champion and Olympic rower who has recently changed track to become an elite cyclist. She has been riding on Adelaide's roads for many years.

In 2004, on her way to rowing training, Amber was knocked off her bike by a car. At the time she was travelling in a bike lane and observing the road rules. After much injury rehabilitation she did make it to the Athens Olympics where she achieved a fourth place. Amber tells me that she often wonders what might have been. This has, obviously, not kept her off the bike so she is well placed to express some concerns on behalf of Adelaide's cycling community about poor driving behaviour and ignorance.

Amber has suggested that simple driving schools and rules relevant to cyclists should be taught to new drivers and incorporated into the theory test for a learner's permit, and I agree with her. How many motorists know the theory and practice of simple skills like how to overtake bicycles safely? How many remember to check mirrors before opening car doors and have a good look for cyclists when entering an intersection or a roundabout?

Amber also raised concerns that many current drivers seem to be unaware of the rights of cyclists such as the right to use the road and to ride two abreast on the road. She informed me that her South Australian Sports Institute squad often receives abuse from motorists for riding side-by-side. The Road Traffic Act defines bicycles as vehicles, and, therefore, cyclists have a legitimate right to use our roads. By the same token, just like motor vehicle drivers, cyclists have a responsibility to obey the road rules.

Each year, around 460 incidents involving injuries to cyclists are reported to SA Police, and I suspect that many more go unreported. Of these, 61 were incidents where cyclists were seriously injured and four were fatalities. According to data from the Monash University Accident Research Centre, more than 91 per cent of injuries to SA cyclists involve a motor vehicle and the vast majority of these accidents occur at peak times Monday to Friday.

The state government's Share the Road campaign addressed some of these issues that I have mentioned but, in the near future, I will be raising the issue of incorporating some more cycling-specific questions into the driving test with the transport minister, who I should mention is a keen cyclist himself.

The state government has an excellent cycling strategy, Safety in Numbers, and it also produces high quality safe cycling publications which are available for download from its website. But is the message getting through? Perhaps we should be sending these pamphlets with every licence renewal and giving them to everyone who purchases a bicycle. Certainly, the owners of Trak Cycles and Norwood Parade Cycles on The Parade thought it was a good idea.

Australians have bought more bicycles than motor vehicles in the past six years. We are home to over 200,000 cyclists and, therefore, it is imperative that we continue and expand awareness and education of the rights of cyclists and drivers on the road. I know that many people are fearful of cycling on the road, and this is a huge shame which must be addressed. The benefits of a safer environment for Adelaide's cyclists are many: better health for our citizens, a better environment for our future, and freeing up public transport and traffic congestion for other commuters.

Finally, if we continue to make it safe for cyclists to ride our roads, we can continue to market Adelaide genuinely as the cycling friendly city it ought to be. I congratulate Amber Halliday for recently having been given the Amy Gillett scholarship. Amber is following in her footsteps. I wish her luck when next week she travels overseas to China and, later in the year, she will also be travelling to Italy to ride in the Giro d'Italia.