“This time they decided to indicate and then turn left.”
Julian, who was continuing straight, had been beginning to brake, but said the ute appeared to slow down as if to let him pass first.
But instead as he cycled on, the vehicle turned left across the cycle lane.
He was not scared, but said he thought “oh f***, not again” as it happened.
Julian can be seen in the video colliding with the car and continuing on around the corner with it.
“I slammed on the brakes [but] because of the speed I’m going I kept on going around the corner with it. I was standing on their running board and steering my bike around.”
He said the driver apologised and said they didn’t see him.
Julian was thankfully unhurt but was “shaken up”.
He had near misses while cycling every week, he said.
“Cars don’t see cycle lanes. They don’t understand that a cycle lane is there, or they don’t see it.”
He felt part of the issue was the design of that cycle lane and the lack of standardisation for cycle lanes nationally.
This particular cycle lane had cyclists riding in between the footpath and buses that were picking up passengers, he said.
“It could have been better designed.”
He also felt drivers didn’t realise cyclists could not stop instantly.
“People think a bicycle can stop within 2m. If I’m going 30km/h you’re going to get a 5m brake.”
Julian posted the video on a local cycling Facebook page to raise awareness of the issue and was met with mixed feedback.
While some supported him, others said he should have ridden more defensively, particularly as the ute was indicating left.
