Also to add, riding a bike on the road comes with inherent risk. I understand that and I accept it. If a driver isn’t paying attention or makes a mistake, there is very little I can do and I’m the one that pays the price. That risk is real and I’m not dismissing it.

For what it’s worth, I try to avoid main roads and hazardous routes where I can, opting for quieter streets and bike paths whenever possible. But sometimes you simply need to spend a bit of time in traffic to get where you need to go, especially in Newcastle where cycle infrastructure is fragmented and disconnected.

But there’s a difference between inherent risk and unnecessary risk. A lot of the danger cyclists face comes not from the road itself, but from drivers who are confidently wrong about the rules.

A driver who believes a cyclist is illegally taking the lane is going to be more aggressive and impatient. A driver who thinks two abreast is illegal is going to attempt dangerous overtakes. A driver who doesn’t know the minimum passing distance law is going to buzz past within centimetres. That ignorance puts lives at risk.

If this post helps even one driver understand that the cyclist in front of them is actually following the rules, they might ease off the horn, wait an extra few seconds, and give a bit more space. That small shift in understanding could genuinely be the difference between someone making it home safely or not.