Daily Telegraph Editorial: Cycling right must be weighed

The Critical Mass cyclists who organised themselves into a self-righteous and disruptive phalanx on the Harbour Bridge on Friday are correct, of course. Strenuous physical exercise such as pedalling a pushbike has been shown to be of benefit in the treatment of a range of diseases associated with sedentariness - hypertension, diabetes, obesity - obviously - and even depression.

Likewise, if we were all to ride a bike rather than drive a car, the greenhouse effect of our disproportionate reliance on the private motor vehicle would be reversed in an instant.

So Critical Mass will claim they have right on their side in their pompous occupation of the moral high ground.

But let us also face some realities. Like it or not, we are dependent on motorised transport.

Cars are a necessity, a conduit of life in modern cities such as Sydney, as are buses, heavy transports and other commercial vehicles.

Of course, we would all prefer it if our vehicles did not belch carbon into the air, just as most of us would be happier if we could catch fast, convenient public transport.

But the ideal of pollution-free engines remains just that - an ideal - and we are still a way from having a public transport network that meets all our needs.

Now, cyclists do have rights, and aggressive motorists, who go out of their way to intimidate bike riders, should mend their dangerous ways.

But riders’ rights come with responsibilities, the first of which is to obey the rules of the road.

Then comes the obligation to show the same decree of courtesy and consideration they demand of other road users - to cause as little impediment as possible, to ride defensively, to understand and respect the flow of traffic.

Participants in Friday’s “rally'’ - in reality, a petulant display of childish bad manners - plainly had no regard for the rights of other road users, and a flagrant disregard for the law.

Next time, rather than condoning this mass display of illegality, police should insist that - at least _ they obey the law.

Better still, protests designed specifically to inconvenience as many people as possible should not be permitted.