Motorists in Victoria would be required to give cyclists more space when overtaking them under proposed road rule changes that have already gained support in other Australian states and territories.
The Victorian Greens have tabled a bill in state parliament that would require drivers to give cyclists at least one metre of space when overtaking them.
The bill comes amid renewed focus on the safety of cyclists in Victoria. Italian chef Alberto Paulon was killed in a car-dooring accident on Melbourne’s Sydney Road last month, prompting calls for greater protections for cyclists.
A nationwide push for the one-metre overtaking law has already seen Queensland start a trial of the measure in April 2014. The Australian Capital Territory also announced a trial, in May last year, while South Australia fully adopted the measure in January without a trial.
Meanwhile, Tasmania amended its road rules in February to allow motorists to cross a solid white line, when safe to do so, in order to overtake cyclists.
Samantha Dunn, the Victorian Greens MP who has introduced the bill on Wednesday, said she will be working hard to gain support from other parties for the measure.
“The Queensland experience shows this works very well and the upshot is positive for motorists and cyclists,” she said. “The current law talks about giving a sufficient distance to pass cyclists but it doesn’t define what the distance is.
“At the moment it’s subjective, there is no consistency. Cyclists are incredibly vulnerable on our roads and we need rules in place to keep them safe.”
The bill, which the Greens attempted to introduce in almost exactly the same format last year without success, is not assured support from the Labor government.
Currently, the road rules provide guidance that cyclists should be given one metre of leeway when overtaking, although this is not required by law.
Luke Donnellan, Victoria’s roads minister, said the proposed legislation will be considered “on its merits”, although he said there are doubts over its effectiveness.
“It is important to give bicycle riders space when sharing the road, as sometimes they need to ride out of their path of travel to avoid a hazard or obstacle,” he said.
“Sufficient distance provides greater flexibility for circumstances such as speed where there may be cases when a distance greater than one metre may be appropriate.
“It also allows for motor vehicles to take into account the individual circumstances of the road where the road may narrow or a cyclist may need to merge closer to other vehicles without forcing motor vehicles into oncoming traffic.”
The Amy Gillett Foundation, which campaigns for greater safety for cyclists, said that 45 people were killed on Australia’s roads last year while riding their bikes. So far in 2015, two cyclists have been killed in Victoria.
Tracey Gaudry, chief executive of the foundation, said Australia’s road rules are currently “very arbitrary” when it comes to overtaking space.
“This legislation would actually improve the road rules and help educate drivers that the safe passing distance is one metre,” she said. “At the moment it’s left to the driver’s discretion, which could mean 30cm or two metres.
“We are working with every state government to improve bike rider safety and this is the leading initiative we are working on at the moment. This requires work from state and federal governments as well as education.”
