In 2020 Cycle Safe Bathurst, a community group focused on working with local and state governments to improve the quality and extent of the infrastructure that supports Active Transport in Bathurst. They formed after the death of a fellow cyclist who was hit by a car on a roundabout.
In 2022 the committee successfully applied for a Community Road Safety Grant from Transport for NSW.
“We received a lot of support from the Community Safety Grant team when, not surprisingly, we decided to focus safety at roundabouts in our application” President of the group, Geoff Hastings, was impressed with the support the group received from the Community Safety Grant team.
We based our application on solid research into the dangers of roundabouts around the world. The team was fortunate to have two Charles Sturt researchers – Dr Peter Simmons and Dr Wendy Hastings leading this part of the application.
With the $25,000 grant, CSB has been able to partner with Bathurst creative and filmmaker Henry Simmons and local volunteer acting talent to develop three high-quality video presentations focussing on safe interactions between cars and people on bikes at roundabouts.
Mr Hastings points out that nearly all of us who cycle regularly have had close interactions or, worse, been hit at a roundabout. Our research has shown that roundabouts are great for traffic flow, but they can be hazardous for those on bikes. In fact, while the grant was specifically for cycle safety, the message also benefits other people who interact with cars at roundabouts, for example, people on mobility scooters and pedestrians.
“We wanted to develop a simple message in three short, sharp videos and then use some of the grants to ensure they are accessible to a wide range of users on social media. The first video has already received many shares and thousands of views on various social media platforms.”
A collision between a car and any one of these groups can be lethal. The committee’s approach is to point out the simple steps that can be taken by car drivers and people on bikes to eliminate the risk of tragedy. Cycle Safe Bathurst really welcomes exposure through traditional media outlets and would invite all local media to come and see what can be done with a relatively small amount of money, talented young filmmakers and our wonderful volunteer actors. To this end, the group has worked with Bathurst Regional Council to officially launch the campaign and the remaining videos on Friday, 17th November, at 11.30 am in the council chambers.
