this post was submitted on 02 Oct 2023
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Why cyclists should NOT get the same fines as motorists | Car Culture 6 - Motonormativity (youtu.be)
submitted 1 year ago by Zagorath@aussie.zone to c/australia@aussie.zone
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[–] Zagorath@aussie.zone 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's well-known that severity of punishment has very little bearing on deterrent effectiveness. What works is likelihood of facing that punishment at all.

But again, enforcing speed limits on bikes just makes no sense. It's responding to a risk that basically doesn't exist, and any resources that could be spent on it would be far better spent ensuring drivers don't break the law.

Of course, that would require cops doing the right thing in the interest of actual safety. But the truth is, cops don't give a fuck about that. They're as car-brained as our politicians, if not more so. They'll spend heaps of resources enforcing these nonsense speed limits, while they refuse to enforce laws like the minimum passing distance for cyclists even when they're literally handed the evidence needed.

[–] abhibeckert@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

while they refuse to enforce laws like the minimum passing distance for cyclists even when they’re literally handed the evidence needed.

It's not enough to show video footage of a car passing a cyclist. The cops need to know who was driving the car.

Police speed/red light/mobile phone/etc infringement notices are only issued if they have an accurate photo of the driver's face (or, if they pull over the vehicle immediately and identify the driver). To achieve that they use powerful flashes when the photo is taken. They send the notice to the registered owner of the vehicle but they also need the photo to sort things out when the driver says "that wasn't me".

A bicycle GoPro is just too small, and has no flash. You'd never be able to identify the driver.

[–] Zagorath@aussie.zone 1 points 1 year ago
  1. Police have the power to require the owner of the car nominate who was driving at a given time. They just refuse to use it.
  2. They refuse to prosecute even when evidence of the driver is available (for example, when you catch up to them later and clearly show their face).