3ft minimum passing distance.......

mr.crud
mr.crud Posts: 49
edited October 2009 in Road beginners
Very important to try and get this one on the statute books......


http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/3feet2Pass/

Comments

  • Though I'm in favour and have already signed it, it has already been discussed quite extensively - with quite a few naysayers - here:

    http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12658165
  • Having the heart stopping moment of watching a people carrier miss wing clipping my wife by a matter of millimeters, I have to agree that something needs doing.

    Some Motorists are great when it comes to cyclists.

    Some are going to kill people..
    exercise.png
  • Joe86
    Joe86 Posts: 180
    Having the heart stopping moment of watching a people carrier miss wing clipping my wife by a matter of millimeters, I have to agree that something needs doing.

    Some Motorists are great when it comes to cyclists.

    Some are going to kill people..

    I generally find people do give decent room, some will even take it to the extreme and go too far out :lol: That being said, the other day I had someone brush past me and I had my heart race high because I thought they were going to go into me. The fool had the right lane completely free, yet he brushed against me on the left hand lane. I wonder if those people are trying to make a point, that they don't like cyclists being on the road, or they are just careless.
  • Slow Downcp
    Slow Downcp Posts: 3,041
    What's the point? It's against the law to throw things from cars at cyclists, but knobheads still do it. Who's going to enforce it?
    Carlsberg don't make cycle clothing, but if they did it would probably still not be as good as Assos
  • There is a sort of law against this - not directly, but you are required to give the same distance to pass a stationary car as you are to pass a cyclist - fail to do this on your test and you will fail. I don;t know exactly what the letter of the law says though.

    As a cyclist the easiest way I find to force this is to cycle further out into the road - force people to overtake you and they have to think more about it and tend to give more distance. If they don't, you have a buffer zone now on your left to go into.
  • There is a sort of law against this - not directly, but you are required to give the same distance to pass a stationary car as you are to pass a cyclist - fail to do this on your test and you will fail. I don;t know exactly what the letter of the law says though.

    As a cyclist the easiest way I find to force this is to cycle further out into the road - force people to overtake you and they have to think more about it and tend to give more distance. If they don't, you have a buffer zone now on your left to go into.

    I believe its all covered under "driving with due care and attention to other road users" already

    Completely agree with the sentiment though - just not a lot that anyone can do if people decide to pass with minimum space
  • soveda
    soveda Posts: 306
    There is a sort of law against this - not directly, but you are required to give the same distance to pass a stationary car as you are to pass a cyclist - fail to do this on your test and you will fail. I don;t know exactly what the letter of the law says though.

    As a cyclist the easiest way I find to force this is to cycle further out into the road - force people to overtake you and they have to think more about it and tend to give more distance. If they don't, you have a buffer zone now on your left to go into.

    I'm pretty sure you are supposed to give as much room when you pass a cyclist as when you pass a moving car.
  • sicknote
    sicknote Posts: 901
    soveda wrote:
    There is a sort of law against this - not directly, but you are required to give the same distance to pass a stationary car as you are to pass a cyclist - fail to do this on your test and you will fail. I don;t know exactly what the letter of the law says though.

    As a cyclist the easiest way I find to force this is to cycle further out into the road - force people to overtake you and they have to think more about it and tend to give more distance. If they don't, you have a buffer zone now on your left to go into.

    I'm pretty sure you are supposed to give as much room when you pass a cyclist as when you pass a moving car.

    keyser soze

    If they drive like they do around here then the distance will be about the same and no were near 3ft when passing a moving car. :shock:
  • soveda
    soveda Posts: 306
    Sicknote wrote:
    soveda wrote:
    There is a sort of law against this - not directly, but you are required to give the same distance to pass a stationary car as you are to pass a cyclist - fail to do this on your test and you will fail. I don;t know exactly what the letter of the law says though.

    As a cyclist the easiest way I find to force this is to cycle further out into the road - force people to overtake you and they have to think more about it and tend to give more distance. If they don't, you have a buffer zone now on your left to go into.

    I'm pretty sure you are supposed to give as much room when you pass a cyclist as when you pass a moving car.

    keyser soze

    If they drive like they do around here then the distance will be about the same and no were near 3ft when passing a moving car. :shock:

    This is why I feel safer being overtaken by cars doing 50-60mph on the roads around here than when I used to ride in Islington/Hackney/Tower Hamlets!
  • sicknote
    sicknote Posts: 901
    soveda wrote:
    Sicknote wrote:
    soveda wrote:
    There is a sort of law against this - not directly, but you are required to give the same distance to pass a stationary car as you are to pass a cyclist - fail to do this on your test and you will fail. I don;t know exactly what the letter of the law says though.

    As a cyclist the easiest way I find to force this is to cycle further out into the road - force people to overtake you and they have to think more about it and tend to give more distance. If they don't, you have a buffer zone now on your left to go into.

    I'm pretty sure you are supposed to give as much room when you pass a cyclist as when you pass a moving car.

    keyser soze

    If they drive like they do around here then the distance will be about the same and no were near 3ft when passing a moving car. :shock:

    Where are you now?

    This is why I feel safer being overtaken by cars doing 50-60mph on the roads around here than when I used to ride in Islington/Hackney/Tower Hamlets!
  • soveda
    soveda Posts: 306
    Herefordshire (greatest number of RTAs in the country around here apparently!)
  • sicknote
    sicknote Posts: 901
    Should be riding up that way next week so will see for myself.
  • soveda
    soveda Posts: 306
    Sicknote wrote:
    Should be riding up that way next week so will see for myself.

    Very muddy at the mo, enjoy the lanes though they're great fun!
  • owenlars
    owenlars Posts: 719
    As I've said before it is unenforceable, therefore it would be bad law.
  • sicknote
    sicknote Posts: 901
    owenlars wrote:
    As I've said before it is unenforceable, therefore it would be bad law.

    Its like the no phone in cars law, that is working well from what I have seen today :roll:
  • fatgit
    fatgit Posts: 166
    Unfortunately I can't see it making any difference whatsoever. I had a near miss the other day when someone was passing me, only thing was they were going the other way overtaking a lorry and I had to squeeze as far to the side as I could to avoid them, it's not as it I wasn't visible either, I was wearing my hi viz jacket!
  • Velonutter
    Velonutter Posts: 2,437
    This has changed the way I ride: -

    http://www.tibsnjoan.co.uk/Big.html
  • fatgit wrote:
    Unfortunately I can't see it making any difference whatsoever. I had a near miss the other day when someone was passing me, only thing was they were going the other way overtaking a lorry and I had to squeeze as far to the side as I could to avoid them, it's not as it I wasn't visible either, I was wearing my hi viz jacket!

    Yeah, this is why I think that cycling out in the road is the way forwards - put yourself out there and people have to really think about an overtaking manouver rather than just slipping by - I do know what you mean about hi-vis - I was wearing high vis with exceptionally bright flashing front and rear lights and a bus driver apparently didn't see me and it resulted in me breaking a collarbone and some ribs. This stuff happens so in my opinion you have to force people to manouver.