Just one cyclist has been fined for speeding across a pedestrian crossing since new rules allowed people to ride slowly across them without dismounting, despite growing community concern the law puts cyclists at risk.
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The fine was issued in the 2015-16 financial year. Another fine was issued in 2019-20 to a cyclist for approaching a crossing faster than 10km/h.
Police fined six drivers between July 1, 2016 and July 28, 2019 for overtaking cyclists too closely and issued another 11 cautions in the same period.
The officer in charge of traffic operations, Detective Acting Station Sergeant Marcus Boorman, said cyclists who felt they had been passed too closely should report the incident to the police.
"Police will then access the report and available evidence and take appropriate action. The action can include issuing an infringement notice or in some cases a court summons for relevant traffic offences," he said.
ACT Policing said they regularly conducted patrols targeting road user behaviour, including pedestrians and cyclists.
A spokeswoman for Justice and Community Safety said the directorate continued to work with ACT Policing to investigate ways to practically enforce the laws, which started under a trial in November 2015.
"[The directorate] is also working with the Transport Canberra and City Services directorate to investigate options across the network for infrastructure or signage that will increase compliance with the laws, and remind road users to be aware of their obligations," she said.
Most bicycles are not fitted with speedometers or trip computers, and the devices are not required equipment.
A report evaluating the cycling rule changes prepared by the the Centre for Automotive Safety Research at the University of Adelaide in 2018 found the number of crashes involving motorists and cyclists on pedestrian crossings increased during the trial period.
In the two years before the trial started, there were 22 crashes involving cyclists and motorists on pedestrian crossings. In the two years after the start of the trial, there were 35 crashes.
Nine crashes occurred at four intersections on the Sullivans Creek cycle path which connects Dickson to Barry Drive through Lyneham, O'Connor and Turner.
There were no crashes involving cyclists and pedestrians in either period.
"This may confirm initial concerns from some ACT residents that cyclists may suddenly ride across pedestrian crossings from footpaths without giving enough time for motorists to react," the report said. "Further investigation with a detailed analysis of the causes for each of those crashes is required."
When the report was tabled, Minister for Road Safety Shane Rattenbury said three of the four crossings where the most crashes occurred had traffic calming measures installed after the report was completed.
Mario Mongiardini, a co-author of the report, said if there was a problem, it would be localised to specific intersections identified in the report.
"That is why one of the suggestions was to monitor those sites. Potentially, ways to achieve this monitoring could be by video recording and subsequently analysing the behaviour of both motorists and cyclists at those intersections, including during the approach to the intersection," he told the Sunday Canberra Times.
A statement from the Justice and Community Safety directorate said the ACT government relied on the 2018 report and interstate examples when making the pedestrian crossing rule changes permanent.
In May, a separate study found Canberra drivers were generally compliant with the minimum passing laws.
Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
