Truck drivers are worried about a proposed law change that could see them being fined hundreds of dollars for not giving cyclists 1.5 metres of space when overtaking.
The proposed law could create a situation where truck drivers and other motorists are forced to slow down and stay behind cyclists until it is safe to pass reports The Dominion Post.
This proposal has come from a panel of cycling experts, including Olympic gold medalist Sara Ulmer, which was formed last year after a coronial inquiry in 2013 into the deaths of 13 cyclists.
The panel has released a report containing 13 recommendations to make cycling safer, one being to mandate minimum passing distances for vehicles overtaking people on bicycles, one metre where speeds are 60km/h or less and 1.5 metres for higher speed zones.
Queensland is trialling such a system where drivers are penalised three demerit points and fined A$341 for an offence. Should the matter proceed to court a maximum fine of A$4554 may apply.
AA spokesman Simon Douglas told The Dominion Post that such prosecutions should be a last resort, but he says the AA believes there is merit in trialling the law.
In Queensland, rules have been changed to allow motorists to cross centre line, straddle lanes, or drive across painted flush median strips to make it easier and safer for them to overtake cyclists.
Douglas says he would welcome such areas of law being cleared up in New Zealand.
Road Transport Forum chief executive Ken Shirley says that a compulsory clearance zone would not be accommodated by many New Zealand roads as they weren’t wide enough. Trucks would be stuck behind slow-moving cyclists and the gearing required to do so would damage engines.
He also says that he felt the panel’s report did not put enough emphasis on changing the behaviour of cyclists on the road.
“Too many cyclist don’t appreciate how vulnerable they really are,” says Shirley.
