IT MAY take a cyclist dying on Coastal roads before attitudes are changed, says an injured Macey Stewart.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The world champion cyclist spoke yesterday morning after arriving in Adelaide for a training camp.
Stewart was involved in a hit-and-run accident on Thursday in East Devonport.
The motorist only stopped to pick up his broken rear view mirror before driving off again, leaving the 18-year-old injured on the ground.
"I'm fairly sore and I haven't had much sleep but I've made it to Adelaide OK and I'm sure I'll be fine in the next couple of days," Stewart said.
Bruised but smiling, the Devonport resident said the number of incidents between cyclists and motorists on Tasmanian roads was "pretty scary at the moment".
"I was talking to the police officer at the scene and he said there were four people hit by cars in the last two weeks," she said.
"It's a really scary thought to think the next time I'm out on the road I might not be so lucky.
"It's something as a community we really need to work on.
"It's understandable things like that might be happening in busy cities like Melbourne, Sydney or even a place like London, but for Tasmania where we don't have that much traffic these things shouldn't be happening and it's just through stupidity and impatience."
Stewart said more education and awareness on cyclists "wouldn't hurt", but said greater law enforcement wouldn't stop some people.
"It's a matter of impatience and I feel like there is always going to be those people who are dangerous on the roads and no matter how much knowledge they have about cyclists I don't think it's going to stop them," she said.
"There have been a few people (cyclists) who have died on the road already, but I feel like it's getting to that point, the life of someone is going to be lost so people can realise how dangerous it is out there.
"A little bit of patience can be the difference between someone going home to their family or never seeing their family again.
"If I was injured that could change my whole life and it's pretty scary that someone could take my dreams and aspirations away in a split second."