Roads Minister Duncan Gay held roundtable discussions last week regarding cycling safety issues exploring the idea of trailing some new laws.

One of these would be to increase the penalty (of $69) for motorists who don’t keep a safe distance from cyclists as well as introducing licensing legislation that would mean cyclists were required to carry photo identification.

This would make it compulsory that cyclists above 18-years-old carry any existing photo ID, such as a driver’s license.

Oak Flats cyclist Werner Steyer who is the chairman of the Illawarra Bicycle User Group iBUG and a member of the Kiama BUG said while he supported the idea that cyclists carry with ID it shouldn’t be mandatory.

“It just adds aggression to the situation,” Mr Steyer said.

“Every time somebody makes a law you get people thinking it’s an invasion of privacy.

“As soon as they turn around and say you have to have it (photo ID) and pay a fee, people will start to get their back up.

“Why not just have a good campaign that explains the importance of carrying ID and leave it to the community.

“Police have enough on their hands, monitoring helmets and drivers on their mobile phones.”