Northern Beaches council is conducting a road safety blitz to encourage awareness by motorists and support more people riding bikes in the area.
The campaign aims to educate drivers to watch our for bike riders on the road, particularly when travelling through intersections, when overtaking or when entering / exciting driveways.
This comes after a recent survey conducted by the council revealed big gaps in road rule knowledge relating to bike riding. Only 36 per cent of motorists surveyed correctly answered that when at an intersection drivers must give way to bike riders.
The survey also revealed that bike riders in the Northern Beaches avoid riding on roads because they do not feel safe, with only 22 per cent of riders stating they eflt safe on the road.said they felt safe riding on the road.
When asked what would make bike riding safer, the most common answer was the enforcement of road rules and education of motorists.
Northern Beaches Mayor Michael Regan said: "Many people in our community are still nervous about sharing the roads with motorists.
“It’s up to all of us to play our part in keeping our roads safe for everyone because the safer our roads are, the more confident people will be to ride.
“More bikes means fewer cars, which means less congestion on our local roads. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
From 2016-2020, there were 194 reported crashes involving a bicycle and vehicle on Council roads, with many more going unreported.
Of the reported incidents, nearly 50 per cent of drivers involved did not give way to a bike at an intersection and around 20 per cent did not give way to a bike when coming out of a driveway.
The council has recently constructed new off-road shared paths at Belrose, Manly Vale and North Curl Curl, with more planned or in construction.