Petition for New Law – Minimum Passing Distance

As a cyclist to Harwell on a near daily basis (I’ll take the car if its horizontal rain or snowing!), I must admit I struggle with the viability of this proposed law. A law is only of value if its enforceable. Dy definition most commuting cyclists will be alone and thus will need to rely on a witness. Head-cam footage appears to be frequently dismissed by the police on the grounds of optically inaccurate and thus misleading evidence. Obviously in extreme cases one would hope that a head-cam would be admissible in court.

With most car driving commuters in a rush to get to work or home, I question just how many will willingly take the initiative to pull over and give their details as a witness. Also “too close” even when defined as (say) at least one half of the passing vehicle’s width, relies on the subjective interpretation of multiple parties: vehicle driver, cyclist and witnesses. No one can physically measure “too close” in the real world, as its a transient event that will certainly be argued, post event.

Still, if a law at least makes folks think twice about their road positions (cyclists and vehicle drivers) and it saves a few accidents then of course it makes sense. But I won’t hold my breath for an increase in successful prosecutions.

I would like to share my view why I supported this petition. I am regularly cycling to work for half a year. I was surprised to read that in the UK Highway Code there is no fixed distance for overtaking the cyclists. I passed my driving licence in France where the Highway Code says 1 meter for speed below 50 km/h and 1.5 meter when overtaking with higher speed. It’s easy to remember (it stuck in my memory at least;) and though I do not believe that current experienced drivers are keeping updated and following all the Highway Code changes, I do believe that such law will help to make cycling in UK safer with the new generation of drivers who will need to pass their exams.

Neither cyclist nor motorists have the means to abide by such strict limits.