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Thursday May 24, 2012

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Shane Warne incident sparks debate

Posted by: 3AW Radio | 17 January, 2012 - 11:28 PM
Shane Warne in the studio with Neil Mitchell

LATEST: A man purporting to be the cyclist involved in the altercation with Shane Warne on Tuesday night has denied that he 'whacked' the cricket legend's car.

In a Twitter barrage on Tuesday evening, Warne said, in part "...he pulls out in front of me whacks my bonnet with his hand and pulls out in front of all the traffic..." (unedited Twitter rant below).

However, in an email to a cycling blog, the man purporting to be the one involved made the following counter-claims:

- At no point did I 'thump' or 'whack' your car

- At no point did I hold on to your car or use it 'pull myself through traffic'

- I wouldn't describe your behaviour as 'polite' nor 'careful'

- If you were aware that you had 'clipped' me then why didn't you stop to exchange details or see if I had been hurt?

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- I think the pictures show that my wheel is more damaged than a clipping (image on the right)

- I did not 'ride away'. I had to carry my bike after you'd bent the wheel (image below right), lock it up and come back and get it in my car later

The man said he agreed with Warne the government could do more about the way motorists and cyclists share Melbourne's roads but also laid down the gauntlet to the leg-spinner by saying:

"Shane, please acknowledge that you made a mistake and pay for my bike. I'll be donating yesterday's pay to the Amy Gillett Foundation to do my bit – it would be great if you did the same."

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READ THE MAN'S EMAIL IN FULL, ALSO THE SOURCE OF IMAGES:

http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2012/01/cyclist-versus-warnie-the-cyclists-story/

3AW Radio is working to confirm if this man was, in fact, the one involved in the incident.

3AW NEWS: VicRoads has dismissed call from Shane Warne to register bike riders after he was involved in a road rage incident overnight.

The cricketer was returning from training at the MCG and claims a cyclist slapped the bonnet of his car in St Kilda Road.

A witness says a standoff ensued, before Warne clipped the bicycle and drove off.

Warne says if the rider had registration plates he could be identified but Director of Road Safety at Vicroads, James Holgate, says it's been looked at and wouldn't work.

BEN WISE: Shane Warne has been involved in an incident with a cyclist while the cricket legend was behind the wheel of his car on Tuesday evening.

Warne drove home after the incident and posted his version of events on Twitter (see below) from his computer, prompting 3AW Radio's Neil Mitchell to invite him onto the program to discuss an apparent gulf opening up between Melbourne's pro and anti cycling factions.

The police were notified of the incident by Warne, who says he wishes bike-riders needed to be registered so he could have been able to identify the cyclist.

UNEDITED: Shane Warne's Tweets

@warne888 guys stay with me here its important... so there i was driving home after a training session at the mcg.. pulled up at the lights, felt a..

@warne888 thump on my boot, looked in mirror a bike rider hit my car then held onto my car to pull himself through the traffic, lights change.....

@warne888 he pulls out in front of me whacks my bonnet with his hand and pulls out in front of all the traffic, i yell out hey buddy what the hell ...

@warne888 are you doing he abuses me i say get off the road, he stops in front of me and holds up traffic and just stays on his bike ! so, now i.....

@warne888 can't move nor anyone else, i go to slowly move around him and he just moves with me, yep clipped his tyre and he then abuses me some more.

@warne888 anyway, i drive off he rides off and everyone was shaking their head at this bike rider as he was being very dangerous. he was very lucky

@warne888 that i was being polite and careful and the drivers around him otherwise if anyone decided to be an idiot then he was in real trouble.

@warne888 its amazing how things pan out, i have only been saying recently please bike riders obey the road rules and keep it safe for everyone ...

@warne888 it is a serious issue , please govt cn you do something about this situation, surely we can all get along unfortunately its 1 or 2 ...

@warne888 bike riders out there that are ruining it for everyone, can we crack down on them and change the law please its to dangerous...

@warne888 and for that matter can we please all get along on the road its everyones, just be sensible and not stupid bike riders, your going to cause

@warne888 a riot soon, please lets not wait till something serious happens, do something now. I waited till i got home and used my computer to tweet

@warne888 i have rung the police and lodged a report on the matter.. PLEASE bike riders stop being so rude on the road, as i have said im all for..

@warne888 fitness, bike riding etc, but im seriously worried about what is going to happen as there as i said are 1 or 2 that are spoiling it for all

@warne888 feeling very cross now and the bike rider was so lucky that all the drivers around him were being polite and not nasty... so close .....

@warne888 Apologies for rant but believe it's very important.. Wish bike riders paid rego then I would have his number plate, anyway apologies again

Mitchell, also using Twitter, posted this message to Warne after reading the latter's tweets: "Let's discuss on air tomorrow. Couldn't agree more. I'll get bike groups to support you, common sense."

Channel Nine's Tracy Grimshaw posted this tweet: "I have to say @warne888 is making some serious sense about bike riders. Read his tweets. Drivers must respect bikes. Cyclists MUST respect law."

After posting his tweets to his army of Twitter followers (in excess of 600,000), debate raged as to whether Warne was inciting anti-cyclist rage or sparking a meaningful discussion about how bike-riders and motorists share Melbourne's roads.

Actor Daniel MacPherson was upset Warne chose to redistribute tweets posted by those agreeing with him but not of those who didn't.

MacPherson said: "So @warne888 will retweet some poorly informed and uneducated viewpoints, but won't retweet the link to the laws to help BOTH parties..."

The actor then posted this link: http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/SafetyAndRules/RoadRules/Bicycles.htm

One of the more pertinent of the hundreds of tweets posted was from Rhys Amos, who said: "...idiots do not have a preferred mode of transport. Trucks, cars, bikes, trains are all fair game."

Do you have a stance on the issues Warne raised so publicly?

RELATED WEBSITE: http://www.amygillett.org.au/

PLAY: VicRoads' James Holgate rejects Shane Warne's idea

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Blog comments Your Say

  • Hmmmm the real story is coming out with independent witnesses now coming forward. This just confirmed you're a goose Shane. The fumes of the nail salon have taken their toll by the look of it.

    jason Friday 20 January, 2012 - 9:24 AM

  • Josh, I am a "motorist" at least 5 days a week. I don't have a problem with about 99% of other road users. Your posts here, especially the last one, just demonstrate the lack of intellect shared by that remaining 1%

    Brian Thursday 19 January, 2012 - 9:09 PM

  • So lets see - Warnie says the cyclist hit his car twice with his hand, and hangs on to it. So in fear of a cyclist damaging his expensive car he.... ran into the cyclist hard enough to damage the bike!!! I am sure a bike does more damage to a car than a hand. That is the most irrational thing I have ever heard of. Just confirms my long held opinion - Warnie you are a tool!

    Andrew Thursday 19 January, 2012 - 8:09 PM

  • Josh, bikes are as entitled to use the roads as cars.

    Lukew Thursday 19 January, 2012 - 1:07 PM

  • @Brian. It is actually moronic cyclists probably like yourself that have such a bad attitude towards motorists which create so much of a feral element to the argument. Im just suggesting that no matter what is done to try and encourage motorists and cyclists to co-exist there will be problems. These problems are exacerbated by the fact that the road space does not get cyclists out of the way of cars. Cars are more entitled to the space as they pay registration which includes insurance. I also hate the licra they wear. I think the cyclist thing has become a cult. They all wear the same thing and act the same way. At least motorists are individual. lol

    Josh Thursday 19 January, 2012 - 9:56 AM

  • Bike registration and operator licencing for adults has to come, it's just a matter of timing. No one should be on our roads unless they have a responsibility for their actions and a means of paying for injury / damage inflicted on other road users. Licensing and registration is the only way of enforcing that responsibility. There are too many 'Raddo Clowns' out there now and something has to be done. After covering a compulsary third party insurance scheme, any remaining funds should be used to fund rider awareness and skills training.

    Allan Lewis Thursday 19 January, 2012 - 7:35 AM

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