A jogger has been charged with assault after lunging at a cyclist and punching him in the arm as he rode by.
Riding his bike in a designated bike lane on Hedges Avenue, Nick Hortovanyi was allegedly assaulted by Peter Hall as he ran past him in the same lane on Friday November 10.
‘Next thing I know, he’s charging at me and he’s got a striking pose and got me square in the arm,’ Mr Hortovanyi told 7NEWS.
Nick Hortovanyi was allegedly assaulted by a passing jogger while cycling in a designated bicycle lane
Dashcam footage from the cyclist shows the jogger lunging (left)and then forming a fist (right)
The following Friday, cyclists spotted Hall running along the same stretch of bike path in Mermaid Beach, forcing cyclists to swerve out of his way.
It is illegal in Queensland for pedestrians to use dedicated cycling lanes, and offenders face a $50 fine.
Speaking from Broadbeach Police Station, Senior Sergeant Scott Burness said that tolerance for people ‘taking matters into their own hands’ is very low.
‘Just show common sense, obey the markings on the road and the signage in the area, and we’ll avoid a repeat of incidents like this,’ he urged.
Senior Sergeant Burness has low tolerance for people ‘taking matters into their own hands’
Hall, who has been charged with assault, has taken to Facebook to defend himself.
‘[He] rode straight at me telling abuse,’ Hall said, describing the incident with Mr Hortovanyi. ‘He gives not only cycling a bad rap but basic humanity.’
In the video, Mr Hortovanyi yells, ‘F***ing got you on camera, you f***er’ after Hall has already run away.
Peter Hall is clearly jogging inside the cycling lane, which is illegal in the state of Queensland
Public opinion is divided, with plenty of cyclists and locals taking to the 7NEWS Facebook page to throw in their two cents.
Some blamed the cyclist for not giving Hall enough room, writing, ‘Cyclist had plenty of room to move to this right and safely pass without incident’ and ‘So many cyclists are so vocal about “A metre matters” (and rightfully so) yet don’t offer the same courtesy themselves’.
Others defended Mr Hortovanyi, saying that it was about time ‘joggers on the road are worse than cyclists’ and it was time that they got their own lanes too.
In a final swipe at his victim, Hall maintained that he ran by more than thirty cyclists without incident, and that Mr Hortovanyi was simply an ‘attention-seeking toddler’.
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