So are you saying we should move over 1.5 metres when driving you car down a road that I drive everyday like Main Road Hope where there are often cars parked on the side of a road because a cylcist has not looked behind them which I see happen regularly and have had to swerve suddenly on more than one occasion because all of a sudden a cyclist is next to me. Especially near 3 Brothers corner when the traffic is slowing down but a person on a bike is still able to move. On a road like that moving over 1.5 metres is going to put you in the line of traffic on the other side of the road. In that case a road would have to widened. Its not a place where you can stop in the middle of the road to let them by. Imagine the chaos if there was a cyclist on each side on the road and a car parked in the same area. If roads are having to be widened to make it safer for cyclists when they are just as much the problem then why should people with vehicles pay for it. Vehicles stay within the white lines as it states in the road code to do so and I have also seen in the road code that cyclists ride single file when passing which they dont do especially in cycle races which are common around Hope when there can be 3 or 4 in a row. Sometimes I think cyclists have the idea of we are not in a shell so people are going to move for us to avoid hitting us regardless. Which is true because as the end of the day who wants to hit someone on a bike.

My younger brother is 15 and bikes from Hope to Garin College every day of the week and has never once had a problem with a vehicle in 2 years.

Dan #9 Please re-read the article. Cyclists are asking for cars to give more room when passing - i.e not almost hitting cyclists as they go past. I'm so sick of hearing ppl whinging about how cyclists should pay road user charges. When driving your car, when passing a cyclist, move over a bit.

As an ex-European, I am appalled by the almost complete lack of cycle infrastructure incorporated into urban highway design here in NZ.

In Europe, countries now give cyclists needs greater priority than drivers needs. Cycling is encouraged as a legitimate form of transport, not just a weekend hobby.

This is also true in many American cities.

We are supposed to be clean and green, 100% pure etc etc yet we do not promote cycling at all - nor, really, walking. Shared walking/cycling paths are a big feature of town planning in the EU and USA. For a start, I would like to see Lambton Quay closed to vehicles from Parliament to the State building end, open only for cyclists and pedestrians. Cafes and restaurants could also have tables outside then.

That alone would transform Wellington CBD into a delightful place.

We should be leading this - and if you want to see how it SHOULD be done and how good it is if it is done properly, spend a week cycling in Holland.

I wonder how many of you who post about the 'arrogance' and 'ignorance' of bikers have ever gotten out on a bike and ridden on roads like the Moutere Highway? I ride mostly solo so all of the bullsh*t about side by side is irrelevant to my situation, yet I am constantly put in peril by cars who refuse to give a SINGLE CENTIMETER (much less 150) to me: 1. Two weekends ago - riding alone past the go-kart track - I was almost killed by a driver passing other cars as he drove towards me. He ran me off the road into the grass and just kept going. 2. Last Sunday - again alone - I was passed on Gentle Annie not once, but twice, by cars who came within 10 cm of me, even though they had a passing lane to their right and no other cars were near.

In both cases, I was wearing a hi-vis vest and riding in the middle of the morning, not at dusk or dawn. So where should the charge of arrogance, ignorance and idiocy be placed in those situations?

Everybody recognises that there are idiots on bikes and that their behaviour should not be tolerated - I yell at anyone I see run a stop sign or light - but their misdeeds do not remove my right to be on the road or to be treated like a human being instead of a target.

Please think carefully about what it would be like to kill a biker by refusing to give a few extra centimeters - I don't know of a single driver who has died because of a cyclist but I have too many friends who were struck down by cars, even while riding safely, usually alone. We all are people too, many with partners and children.

Lucy #1 is correct with her opening sentence. The road code also states that cyclists must ride single file when passing cars (something they are not doing in this picture). It also states that where there is a cycle lane, cyclists should use it. I agree that there are a lot of ignorant drivers out there, but it's a pretty even split with cyclists too, and I find these are usually the dedicated cyclists out training, cutting in and out of cars, failing to give way or to stop at signs and hogging the road. I am a driver, but I have also covered thousands of k's on my bikes both on road and off road, racing or for pleasure. I'm slow so don't mind the cycleways - rough as they are, and only ride two abreast when there are no other obstructions. Urban areas are definitely single file. With so many immovable obstructions in the middle of the road or jutting out from the footpaths, you certainly don't want to take on moving obstacles.

A bigger 'bubble' is not the answer. Common sense is. Cyclists should drop to single file when a vehicle approaches and drivers should approach cyclists with caution as you would a horse. After all, neither is predictable!

If cyclists want the road widened which is completley unpraticle then they should be paying for use of the road like every other person whos paying for the roads to be maintained.

OMG! Try driving over the Moutere Hill after work to see the complete arrogance of the cyclist! How stupid are you to ride side by side over the hill on a damn blind corner with traffic 'legally' capable of driving at the 100km speed limit?? (and don't be totally arrogant, people do drive at the speed limit) Are you on a death wish? Example: approaching the bend before Redwood cellars (heading up the hill), two idiots side by side!!!! You put our lives at risk too. Ride safely & we will have consideration. I'm glad this topic has come up and hope something is done to protect the lives of the motorist.

Are cyclists doing all THEY can to keep THEMSELVES safe? It would seem that self preservation is an instinct that is becoming less common in this country.

Now lets have a guess at where the funding for the wider roads and extra cycleways will come from... Bet its not "user pays"!

why dont bikers stop being dickheads, if they think us cars users are angry drivers, well I wonder why, when you get bikers riding 2 or 3 or even 4 abreast and think they own the place, how much more selfesh can you bloody get. go in single file and then there would be no problems and both can use the roads, stop being spoilt little people and get a life. dont blame us look at yourselves before you blame someone else