NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Kerre McIvor: Patience and care needed to cut cycling death toll

Kerre McIvor
By Kerre McIvor
Herald on Sunday·
13 Jan, 2018 04:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The slightest error of judgment - from those on two wheels or four - can result in disaster. Photo / Dean Purcell

The slightest error of judgment - from those on two wheels or four - can result in disaster. Photo / Dean Purcell

Kerre McIvor
Opinion by Kerre McIvorLearn more

We all know that last year was a shocker on the roads.

Three hundred and seventy-nine people died, making it the deadliest year since 2009. And this year is starting off in a grim fashion with 10 people killed by Friday.

I suppose it stands to reason then that 2017 was a killer year for cyclists, too.

Eighteen cyclists were killed — that's almost four times the toll of previous years.

School kids, young adults and superannuitants were among those killed, representing the broad range of Kiwis who cycle.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Road policing Superintendent Steve Greally reckons that spike in deaths could be due to the warm dry weather, which encouraged people to cycle rather than take the car.

It could also be down to an increased number of people taking up cycling as a means of transportation or to get fit.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly why so many cyclists never made it home last year but Cycling Action Network's Patrick Morgan says a wrap-around approach is needed to reduce the toll.

He wants more 30km/h and 40km/h speed limits in inner-city areas and better designing of intersections.

Intersections certainly could do with a design overhaul as the Transport Agency's Crash Analysis System showed that more than 60 per cent of fatal cycle crashes occurred at intersections or driveways.

Discover more

Opinion

McIvor: Kiwi education - we must do better

09 Dec 04:00 PM
Opinion

Kerre McIvor: Being old not the end of the line

16 Dec 04:00 PM
Opinion

Kerre McIvor: Give it up for a happy Christmas

23 Dec 04:00 PM
Opinion

Kerre McIvor: See you soon, our place in the sun

06 Jan 04:00 PM

Another common factor is heavy vehicles involved in a third of the accidents.

Morgan also says, quite rightly, that cyclists can help themselves by obeying road rules and not behaving like idiots.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Whenever the subject of cyclists comes up on the radio — and it comes up a lot — there is a lot of anger directed at cyclists. They behave like jerks, running through red lights, and flouting road rules so they deserve everything they get, seems to be the general opinion of motorists.

And certainly, living in the city, you see that a lot.

Just this week, as the husband and I headed to the tennis, a cyclist had a near miss when he ignored his red light and attempted to cross the road against two lanes of traffic heading on to the motorway.

And this was just a few metres away from an intersection where a cyclist was killed going against the lights and was subsequently crushed under a truck.

According to the official stats, 40 per cent of on-road cycling crashes are caused by the cyclist — and many of those involve school-aged children whose lack of experience contributes to the accident. So probably far fewer cyclists are at fault than many would have us believe.

Although Cycling Action Network's claim that cyclists traffic offences total less than 1 per cent of all traffic offences in a year is a little disingenuous. Cyclists aren't given the same scrutiny as motorists — were they policed in an even-handed manner, I have absolutely no doubt that percentage would rise.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Still, dickhead behaviour aside, everyone makes mistakes, even cyclists. And I don't think I'd feel any better if I'd killed a person knowing that it was their mistake not mine, which is why I always try to give cyclists as much room as possible when I travel by car.

I used to be a cyclist. When I was a kid, growing up in small towns, it was the most wonderful and liberating feeling to get on your bike and ride, independent of anybody else. I'd also love to be a cyclist again — we are having a contentious cycleway put through our neighbourhood and it would make sense to make the most of it.

I think when you have cycled yourself you're aware of just how vulnerable cyclists are and that the slightest error of judgment — from those on two wheels or four — can result in disaster.

Perhaps that's why the cycle toll is so high.

Fewer kids are cycling to school these days and so a generation of motorists has grown up with no concept of what it's like to be on a bike.

And a generation of New Zealanders seems to have grown up with no concept of empathy and that's why we've seen all sorts of statistics take a turn for the worse.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

Premium
New Zealand

Work starts on new $110m Napier civic precinct

New Zealand

'Really scary': Tornado flips motorhome, traps elderly man

New Zealand

All Blacks assistant coach Jason Ryan and winger Sevu Reece ahead of the third test

Watch

Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Premium
Premium
Work starts on new $110m Napier civic precinct
New Zealand

Work starts on new $110m Napier civic precinct

'I remember tears when everyone was leaving the building. There was a lot of uncertainty.'

15 Jul 12:34 AM
'Really scary': Tornado flips motorhome, traps elderly man
New Zealand

'Really scary': Tornado flips motorhome, traps elderly man

15 Jul 12:34 AM
All Blacks assistant coach Jason Ryan and winger Sevu Reece ahead of the third test
New Zealand

All Blacks assistant coach Jason Ryan and winger Sevu Reece ahead of the third test

Watch
15 Jul 12:32 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP