Magda Szubanski apologises, will join Ride to work day

Oct.01, 2009 in Cycling

magda-szubanski-enviroweek-spoof

After appearing on Good News Week last Monday night and advocating violence against cyclists, Magda Szubanski has issued an apology that was published on the Channel 10 forums:

“I am so sorry that the skit on bikers has caused offence. There are so many safety issues surrounding cyclists. Certainly motorists need to become much more aware and considerate of cyclists on the road. My belief is that responsible cycling is to use bike paths where possible and if it?s not possible, to be extra careful on the roads.

We all make mistakes and the point is that hopefully we learn from them. Clearly my joke was stupid and insensitive but perhaps it has brought to light that there are frustrations amongst cyclists and motorists.

Hopefully some good will come of this and it will help promote useful dialogue between the two groups where some of these frustrations can be worked through in a productive way.

I am a bike rider from way back and in fact have been planning to buy a new bike. As a gesture of solidarity I have offered to participate in the National Ride to Work Day on 14th October. Apologies again. And, yes, I will be wearing lycra.” ends Magda Szubanski

Whilst I’m not the biggest fan of ‘ride to work day’ (like Earth Hour, it tends to be forgotten the day after till next year), it’s good to see that Szubanski at least acknowledges why her comments caused such a reaction.

As mentioned previously, it wasn’t so much the bulk of the rant that got up people’s backs but rather the last few seconds of the rant where Szubanski and Julia Morris encouraged drivers to run over and door cyclists who ‘got in their way’.

The Australian media has also finally dipped it’s toes into the matter with Natalie Puchalski publishing an article in the Age.

I think if there’s anything to take away from this all it’s that no matter how much we dress it up, apologise or make gestures of solidarity, the fact that in 2009 comments advocating running over and dooring cyclists can elicit a cheering response from a crowd is a worrying sign.

I’d encourage Magda to definitely participate in Ride to Work Day but also perhaps to consider going one step further and relying on a bicycle as transport for a fortnight. Leave the car at home and cycle around to experience first hand what happens on Australian roads.

The following video shot in New South Wales by Australian Cycling Forums user Nate just a few days ago showcases a perfect example of a riders life being put at risk due to impatient drivers.

Note the fact that after endangering the life of the cyclist, literally 50m up the road the impatient driver has to come to a stop to wait for the lights.

Thankfully for me personally this isn't a daily occurrence. Infact here in Melbourne I feel somewhat lucky that I can go weeks at a time riding around on my bicycle without such incident.

Whilst 99% of drivers are courteous and share the road, when these near misses do happen though it's an eye opening reminder of just how vulnerable cyclists can be on the roads when stupidity takes over.

Whether it's a cyclist or a driver at fault, at the end of the day shaving a few minutes off a trip isn't worth killing somebody over.

Be safe out there people.

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10 Comments on “Magda Szubanski apologises, will join Ride to work day”

motiv8dan
October 1st, 2009 at 10:11 am motiv8dan(Quote)

i agree with you there, did that driver cross into a bike lane without looking? Idiot. You should feel safe at least in a bike lane.

I cant believe the magda had to apologize, omg what is this world coming too, to many loud minorities is our problem.

ChrisS
October 1st, 2009 at 12:19 pm ChrisS(Quote)

Great precis there Oz, really enjoyed your discussion on this issue. BTW can you do something about spambots leaving auto comments? A simple captcha app can usually weed them out.

Ta.

James
October 1st, 2009 at 12:41 pm James(Quote)

I received an email from Enviroweek after sending them a message on their website, you’d think they’d care that one of their ambassadors is discouraging people from leading an environmentally friendly life and choosing low impact transport, but no… this is all I got

Thank you for taking the time to write to us. Like you we were pretty cranky at Magda’s performance on Monday night. She made a blue and has issued a public apology below.
……..

followed by a copy of Magdas non public apology.

This is pathetic. You cannot have someone working as an ambassador for you if she does nothing but discourage one of THE BEST things people can do to help the environment in their everyday life.

ozsoapbox
October 1st, 2009 at 1:46 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)

BTW can you do something about spambots leaving auto comments?

Uh… what auto comments?

James
October 1st, 2009 at 1:57 pm James(Quote)

Must be the second paragraph of the first comment, it surely can not be typed by someone with a human brain? Or maybe sadly it was?

Surely the “omg what is this world coming too” is a pretty clear indicator of a spam bot?

motiv8dan
October 1st, 2009 at 3:41 pm motiv8dan(Quote)

James: Surely the “omg what is this world coming too” is a pretty clear indicator of a spam bot?

yeah spam bots leave opinions differing from the minority, i see where its going, its not childish at all..

john
October 2nd, 2009 at 6:59 pm john(Quote)

that clip of the near miss is missing the next 30 seconds where the cylist rolls up to the driver and bangs on his window. yells at him, then spits in his face.

nice.

btw. I say this as a cyclist myself – I have seen this happen before.

Matt
October 5th, 2009 at 12:36 pm Matt(Quote)

I would disagree that events such as Enviro week and Ride to Work Day don’t to anything for promoting sustainable behaviour change.

The follow up results from Ride to Work Day 2008 prove that 39% of first time commuters were still riding to work at least once per month 5 months after the event and 55% of survey participants are riding more often than the same time last year.

Read for yourself at: http://www.bv.com.au/ride-to-work/30057/

Mike
October 6th, 2009 at 10:54 am Mike(Quote)

Matt: I would disagree that events such as Enviro week and Ride to Work Day don’t to anything for promoting sustainable behaviour change.The follow up results from Ride to Work Day 2008 prove that 39% of first time commuters were still riding to work at least once per month 5 months after the event and 55% of survey participants are riding more often than the same time lastyear.Read for yourself at: http://www.bv.com.au/ride-to-work/30057/

That doesn’t really show any sort of conclusive proof though. Given that only 800 first time riders responded to the survey. So that’s only 359 that are riding to work at least once a month (so the day had no effect on over half of the first time riders). Only 13% (90) rode on more than one day of the survey week. This doesn’t take into account that some of the first time riders already rode a bike to work (pg 21)

I find that these days are good at raising awareness of issues, and if people want to cycle to work already then it could be a motivator. But I don’t think they have any big effect on making people into communter cyclists (as the survey shows)

James D
October 12th, 2009 at 1:34 pm James D(Quote)

john: that clip of the near miss is missing the next 30 seconds where the cylist rolls up to the driver and bangs on his window. yells at him, then spits in his face.nice.btw. I say this as a cyclist myself – I have seen this happen before.

If the police, dont do anything about such behaviour what do you expect, sure spitting is an over reaction, but driving like this which occurs all to often deserves at least a verbal rebuke. This driver deserves a massive fine, or to lose their licence, only when police take action against such drivers will the road be safe. There was no excuse to go into the cycle lane to overtake someone, none.