Perhaps you are or have been a cyclist on a public road, where cars or buses have driven to closely past you, almost knocking you off your bicycle. It’s not widely known about the 1.5-metre distance you should give a cyclist when overtaking. Let’s find out more.1
Why should you overtake a cyclist with caution?1
A cyclist is not like a motorcyclist who can travel along a straight trajectory owing to the faster speed. Instead, a cyclist travels more slowly, particularly when going uphill. To maintain speed, the cyclist often must stand up to provide more power, and in the process, wobbles from side to side. For this reason, drivers should give a cyclist a wider berth. One hears of a cyclist being knocked off his bicycle when the overtaking car clips the end of the handlebar with its side mirror.
Are there any laws or regulations in place? 1
In overseas countries such as France, Belgium, Spain and Australia, certain laws and regulations specify the distance between the car and cyclist during overtaking.
Impatience can be most dangerous1
Some drivers are too impatient to slow down when it is unsafe to overtake a cyclist in a corner or some bottleneck. Instead, they continue with possibly disastrous results. Cyclists can avoid this danger by cycling in the middle of such places. The problem is also the disconnect between motorists and cyclists, as many motorists have no idea what it is like to be a cyclist. The behaviour of such motorists may be taken up as being disrespectful towards the cyclist, but this may be partly due to ignorance.
Research shows that both motorist and cyclist are to blame1
Research conducted on bicycle/vehicle accidents in 2010 in Queensland, Australia, showed that it was the cyclist’s fault in 44.4% of accidents with cars. Research done by the University of Adelaide indicated that 79% of bicycle accidents were due to motorists. The British Department for Transport provides a similar figure of 60 – 75%.
Why an overtaking distance of 1.5 metres? 1
An overtaking distance of 1.5 metres is recommended as the legal standard so that motorists realise that a cyclist on the road needs to be respected. The law would also make them aware of their position when seeing a cyclist on the road and should reduce motorist/cyclist accidents. Most traffic lanes are about 3 metres wide, so the 1.5 metres used for giving space to a cyclist equals half a lane’s width. The problem is that if a car is 2 metres wide, the car would have to go out of its lane to overtake.
Beware of trailers1
A trailer wider than the car towing it can be dangerous for the cyclist. In addition, the trailer could be swinging from side to side. Concerning the latter, a distance exceeding 1.5 metres between a cyclist and a trailer would be safer.
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This article was prepared by Eric Sandmann in his personal capacity. The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own. The views and opinions in the article should not be attributed to anyone but the author unless expressly stated. Nothing in this article should be relied upon as advice, this publication is presented for informational purposes only. No person should act or refrain from acting in reliance on any information found in this article, without first obtaining proper financial advice from the appropriate professional. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, or completeness, of any information linked from, referred to, or contained in this article. The author reserves the right, to edit and change the content of this article.
