Head of cycling organisation says anti-cycling petition filled with fake names

A cycling boss has been publicly ridiculed after claiming some of the 100,000 furious Australians calling for a pro-bike road law were fake ‘bots’.

Anne Savage, CEO of Bicycle Queensland, claimed some of the 101,700 campaigners demanding cyclists are made to ride single file on Australian roads are not real people.

But petition website Change.org hit back on Thursday morning, insisting that all of the signatories are real.

The humiliating statement came after Ms Savage has called on the anonymous creator of the online campaign to be pursued for ‘hate speech’ and ‘vilification on social media’.  

 

A cycling petition demanding cyclists ride in single file (pictured) on Australia’s roads has been accused of fraudulent hate speech

Drivers For Registration of Cyclists launched the Change.org petition to protest the current law which allows cyclists to ride two abreast while on the roads, as long as they are no further than 1.5m apart

Drivers For Registration of Cyclists launched the Change.org petition to protest the current law which allows cyclists to ride two abreast while on the roads, as long as they are no further than 1.5m apart

Drivers For Registration of Cyclists launched the Change.org petition to protest the current law which allows cyclists to ride two abreast while on the roads, as long as they are no further than 1.5m apart. 

The petition, titled ‘Compulsory Single File for Cyclists’, says cyclists are presenting safety hazards by riding two or more abreast and flowing into the traffic lanes. 

Ms Savage (pictured) has called on the anonymous creator of the online campaign to be pursued for 'hate speech' and 'vilification on social media'

Ms Savage (pictured) has called on the anonymous creator of the online campaign to be pursued for ‘hate speech’ and ‘vilification on social media’

Ms Savage contended she had evidence that ‘the majority of names on that petition are false names’,The Courier Mail reported.     

Many of the names – now exceeding 101,000 – were created by electronic ‘bots’, she maintained.

‘We don’t expect the government or anyone else to take this petition seriously. It’s disappointing to see hate speech on social media taken this far,’ she said.

‘We would like to see this person pursued for hate speech and vilification on social media with content that is graphic and deeply hurtful to all in the community.’ 

The petition was linked to a Facebook page called Single File Please. There were no contact details for the creator of the petition or the Facebook page 

The petition was linked to a Facebook page called Single File Please. There were no contact details for the creator of the petition or the Facebook page 

'We, the undersigned, respectfully call on the Transport Ministers of each and every State in Australia, and each State Cabinet, to implement for all cyclists who ride in groups, regardless of whether a bike lane exists or not,' the petition reads

‘We, the undersigned, respectfully call on the Transport Ministers of each and every State in Australia, and each State Cabinet, to implement for all cyclists who ride in groups, regardless of whether a bike lane exists or not,’ the petition reads

Ms Savage has so far not provided any evidence relating to her assertion that many of the names were created by electronic ‘bots’. 

A spokesman for Change.org said all of the signatures were real.  

‘Our team puts significant effort into ensuring the legitimacy of signatures on Change.org.,’ he said.

‘Our spam systems automatically detect patterns, such as multiple signatures coming in from the same IP address and any signatures that prove to be fake are removed between 28-48 hours.’

The petition was linked to a Facebook page called Single File Please. There were no contact details for the creator of the petition or the Facebook page.

‘We, the undersigned, respectfully call on the Transport Ministers of each and every State in Australia, and each State Cabinet, to implement for all cyclists who ride in groups, regardless of whether a bike lane exists or not,’ the petition reads. 

‘We also call on the respective Transport Ministers of Australia to implement a prohibition of cyclists on all roads with a designated speed limit higher than 80kph if those roads don’t have designated Bike Lanes.’  

At 9.30am on Thursday the petition had 101,700 signatures and said it was aiming to reach 150,000.  

Daily Mail Australia contacted Ms Savage and Bicycle Queensland for comment but did not receive a reply. 

THE CONTROVERSIAL RULES THOUSANDS OF AUSTRALIANS WANT CHANGED 

Are bicycle riders permitted to ride two abreast in the same lane on a road?

Yes. Under the road rules, bicycle riders are permitted to ride alongside one other rider who is travelling in the same marked lane. 

Riders are also allowed to ride two abreast in the same direction of travel on roads without marked lanes.

However, when riding two abreast, riders must travel within 1.5 metres of the other rider. 

This means that riders should ride as close together as safe to do so.

Do bicycle riders need to give parked cars 1 metre when riding past them?

No. The minimum passing distance rules only apply to drivers of a motor vehicle when they are driving past a bicycle rider. 

There will be no requirement for bicycle riders to leave a metre when riding past a parked vehicle.

However, bicycle riders should always take care when riding past parked vehicles to leave sufficient room to avoid a collision. 

Source: NSW Transport 

 



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