Attitudes

My recent encounter with an aggressive driver got me thinking about the attitude of the driver, and those of Australian drivers in general.  The post I wrote about the encounter also got quite a few interesting comments from non-cyclists, and while they were mostly civil, to me they also highlighted a difference in attitude to those I had also encountered recently while in Europe. 

As cyclists we are all too unfortunately familiar with the negative attitude that many Australians seem to have towards us - just read the comments section of any Courier Mail "article" on cyclists.  I think though that these attitudes can generally be summed up under the word 'entitlement', and this resonated when reading through some of those comments in my earlier blog post.  Essentially these drivers feel more entitled to be using public roads than cyclists, and will provide all sorts of reasons as to why that is.

 

Now I don't intend this post to become a driver-slagging rant, clearly the anti-cyclist ranting in mass media has done no good.  I'm also not going to say directly that the attitude of Australian drivers is wrong, although clearly I have a vested interest in it being a less popular attitude.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and if that opinion happens to be that bicycles don't belong on our roads then I just hope that the drivers with those opinions accept that bicycles aren't going to be disappearing any time soon and don't kill anyone because of their views.

What I was more interested in was why there is such a difference between Australian and European driver attitudes to cyclists.  My experience when riding a bike in Europe was so different to the sort of experiences we get here, and everyone I have ever spoken to about this subject has always expressed the same.  Not only were European drivers not aggressive towards cyclists, but I also had the impression that they were not giving cyclists space begrudgingly, ie not because they felt the 'had to'.  Instead they accepted a bicycle as a legitimate method of transport, with as much right to be there as cars, motorcycles, trucks, buses etc etc.  To go back to that word, the European driver did not have the same sense of entitlement as the Australian driver.

I would love nothing more than to have similar experiences when cycling locally.  I never felt threatened when cars were behind me in Europe, and it made the bike trips so much more enjoyable and relaxing.  In Brisbane where I live, there are roads that I chose to avoid completely

on a bike because it simply feels too dangerous to do otherwise.  Even if this danger is only perceived, it doesn't make for an enjoyable commute.

I have a few ideas as to why the European attitude was so different, but I don't pretend to have all the answers, and it certainly doesn't come down to any one thing.  Here are some of my thoughts:

• The roads.  I noticed in Spain that there was an excellent network of connecting roads and highways, which is what motorised vehicles would use if they needed to get somewhere quickly.  The back roads, which were much more scenic, were excellent for riding on.  If a car or truck was also on a back road, they accepted that they weren't going to get where they needed to go quickly.  If you need to go somewhere quickly, you use the highway.  In Australia, nearly all of our roads are either connecting roads, or dead-end suburban streets.  Because of this, we all end up using the same road space, no matter what your vehicle type.
• Cars aren't king.  In Europe lots of people don't drive or own a car, they use other transport options instead.  Here there is a strong cultural connection to our cars, and any other option is considered inferior.  Parallel with this notion is the view that roads were built and are maintained for cars.
• Cycling is a legitimate sport.  In Europe the sport of cycling is extremely popular, and people know the riders and the rules like Australians know football players.  In Australia, although the sport is growing, it is still on the fringe.  Cycling very rarely makes the sports report on the news, unless perhaps an Australian wins a stage of the Tour de France or crashes in some spectacular way.
• Everyone rides or knows someone who does.  The bicycle in Europe is not just for racing on, and not every cyclist wears lycra clothing.  You grow up around bikes and family and friends on bikes.  In Australia, cyclists are still mainly identified as the 'lycra brigade'.

I'm sure there are lots of other factors.  What I do know is there are now more bikes on our roads than ever before, and Australian attitudes have not kept up at the same pace as the growing popularity of cycling.  What are your thoughts?