The bike lane is for...? (They see me rollin')

Consulting the road rules, it look like he should not be on the road there AND he is supposed to be wearing a bicycle helmet.

Bit ridiculous that knowing the road rules when you don’t need a license involves a more thorough reading of them to catch all the tricky notes and sub-clauses. See Note 3.

Division 2 Rules for persons travelling in or on wheeled recreational devices and wheeled toys
Note 1 For the Australian Road Rules, a person in or on a wheeled recreational device or wheeled toy is a pedestrian, not a rider — see rule 18 (d). This Division contains rules that apply only to persons
travelling in or on wheeled recreational devices and wheeled toys.
Note 2 Wheeled recreational device and wheeled toy are defined in the dictionary.
Note 3 Rules that apply to users of wheeled recreational devices also apply to users of motorised scooters — see the definitions of wheeled recreational device and motorised scooter in the dictionary.

240 Wheeled recreational devices and toys not to be used on certain roads
(1) A person must not travel in or on a wheeled recreational device or wheeled toy on:
(a) a road with a dividing line or median strip; or
(b) a road on which the speed-limit is greater than 50 kilometres per hour; or
(c) a one-way road with more than 1 marked lane.
(2) A person must not travel in or on a wheeled recreational device:
(b) on a road at night; or

244B Wearing of helmets by users of motorised scooters
A person who is travelling on a motorised scooter on a road or road-related area must wear an approved bicycle helmet securely fitted and fastened on his or her head, unless he or she is exempt from wearing a bicycle helmet under another law of this jurisdiction.

tim_c said :

I’d assume the rules for use of a bike lane are the same as for use of any cycleway: that they are for all non-motorised traffic as well as motorised wheelchairs.

Um, no.

dph said :

An elderly man in Curtin used to do this. However he would go one better & use the road lanes. I’d always see him on Carruthers St, heading towards the shops.

He’s either no longer with us anymore or the police caught up with him. Wouldn’t be hard when you’re doing 5km per hr. So dangerous.

Indeed,I recall a similarly inclined old man used to ride his on the round; stopping at red lights and using round a bouts, the whole shabang ..

I’d assume the rules for use of a bike lane are the same as for use of any cycleway: that they are for all non-motorised traffic as well as motorised wheelchairs.

I know that guy. He’s not entirely all there, and his scooter is a pretty quick one. Probably better for the pedestrians if he does use the cycle lane.

Brandi said :

The footpath in the picture looks clear but it could be he was just nipping around an out-of-frame obstruction. He’s forcing cyclists into traffic to overtake him, but I’m sure this won’t be a problem if Canberra motorists are as gracious and sharing as always.

No, he was traveling down Northbourne at 3 PM in heavy traffic, in the cycle lane. he had been on the road for at least a kilometer. i stopped at two lights and he caught up to me at both. he was traveling at jogging speed as well, much faster than walking pace. There are footpaths on Northbourne Avenue. i was actually quite concerned. many cars ahead of me swerved to avoid him. he was not staying strictly in the cycle lane at all times.

Scratching my head at the people suggesting that the bike lane/using the road is a safer option.

Surely a bumpy footpath is nothing compared to being cleaned up by a car/bus/truck? At least on a bicycle, you have some chance of moving/pedaling out of the away. Those things have zero mobility & move at a snails pace.

If a car/bus/truck was to lose control or not see you there, you’d be finished!

2012 ACT Road Rules, p99:

Bicycle lanes are reserved for the use of
bicycle riders only.

Australian Road Rules Feb 2012, rule 153:

A driver (except the rider of a bicycle) must not drive in a
bicycle lane

Drivers of motorised wheelchairs slower than 10kph are defined as pedestrians and can travel on bicycle paths as pedestrians (rule 239) but not on bicycle lanes.

The footpath in the picture looks clear but it could be he was just nipping around an out-of-frame obstruction. He’s forcing cyclists into traffic to overtake him, but I’m sure this won’t be a problem if Canberra motorists are as gracious and sharing as always.

Motorised wheelchairs are allowed to be used on footpaths and cycleways, so why not on-road cyclelanes as well?

This is very common around Queanbeyan fyi