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The Insurance Commission forked out $60m in insurance payouts last year to more than 600 cyclists who were injured after being hit by cars on WA roads, prompting renewed calls to put an end to the hostilities between cyclists and drivers.
For the year 2016-17, the commission made a total of 647 insurance payouts to cyclists – 292 of the claims were new, amounting to $8m; while the remaining 355 claims were made in previous years, valued at $52m.
Of the new claims, 291 were paid through compulsory third-party insurance and one was paid through the catastrophic injury support scheme, more commonly known as no-fault insurance.
Rod Whithear, the commission's chief executive, said road users should “show more courtesy” on the road “to reduce pressure on insurance costs” and end the “angst” between motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians, PerthNow reported.
“If your car injures a cyclist, the insurance claim and any legal action to support the claim will be taken against you as the driver,” Whithear said. “Fewer accidents between cars and bikes will reduce cost pressures on injury insurance premium prices.”
According to the commission, the number of cyclists getting hit by cars have remained relatively flat over the past five years, with an average 330 new claims a year.
Matt Fulton, WestCycle's chief executive, said cyclists would be better protected with better road infrastructure and education for both cyclists and drivers.
“Everyone in the community benefits from people riding bikes, regardless if they ride or not,” Fulton told the publication. “Therefore, we all have a vested interest in getting more people out of cars and onto bicycles. The tension between riders and drivers seems to have escalated. However, at present, this appears to only be in the media and on social media. We need to be very aware of how comments have the potential to flow out of these environments and become normalised in everyday life. There is a small percentage of riders who give all riders a bad reputation, in the same way that there are a small percentage of drivers doing the same thing.”
