Footage of a cyclist being hit by a car has reignited the debate over whether bicycles should be registered in Australia.
A male cyclist collided with a silver car at an intersection in the early evening of May 14. Footage of the incident was shared by Dash Cam Owners Australia.
After being hit, the cyclist quickly rushed to get up, narrowly avoiding a blue ute before it came to a stop.
The cyclist then picked up his bicycle, which had split into two pieces due to the impact, and quickly walked away from the cars. He fled the scene shortly afterwards.
The cyclist was not wearing clearly visible clothing and was not using lights.
As a result of the collision, the car suffered significant damage, including a broken windshield and a detached side mirror.
The images sparked a debate over whether cyclists should be required to register their bicycles for road use.
Dramatic dashcam footage has captured the moment a cyclist trying to turn right at an intersection was hit by a car and narrowly avoided by a motorist.
The video was uploaded online with netizens calling for the implementation of bike rego in Australia after the cyclist apparently fled the scene of the accident with his broken bike.
‘Purely the cyclist’s fault. No lights, no high visibility clothing, I didn’t even bother to look at oncoming traffic before crossing the road,” said one man.
‘He drove through an amber light into the intersection and could easily have stopped. I blame the cyclist,” a second added.
“I hope he gets caught and gets the car damage bill,” a third added.
“And yet cyclists still don’t have license plates when they blow red lights and do stupid things like this all the time, I don’t get it,” another fumed.
“I don’t expect them to pay rego, but give them a license plate so they can be identified on the road and held accountable.”
The cyclist allegedly fled with the wreckage of his bicycle and paid no attention to the damaged car that had just hit him.
The idea of creating a registration system for cyclists has long been debated in Australia, but any legislation has yet to gain public support.
Registration would require cyclists to show their identity to other vehicles and protect them with basic insurance for any collisions on the road.
Neither state governments nor motoring organizations have expressed support for bicycle registration.
The RACV, RACQ and the NRMA have openly opposed such an arrangement, with state governments claiming it would be financially impractical.