Irish drivers will soon have to obey a minimum passing distance when overtaking cyclists.
In a victory for cyclists in Ireland, a new law is to be introduced which will require drivers to allow one metre of space when passing cyclists on roads with a speed limit of under 50 km/h and 1.5 metres on roads with a limit of 50km/h or above.
The news is most welcome as cycling fatalities are at an all-time high, in 2017 the number of cyclists killed on the roads increased by 50% from 2016. Minister for Transport Shane Ross made a statement saying, “Clearly this is an intolerable situation which has to change. Every life lost on our roads is a tragedy and as Minister for Transport, I am committed to doing everything within my power to prevent preventable road deaths. We need more cyclists, we need less cars. If we make the roads a safer place there are likely to be more people getting out of their cars”.
But already there are concerns among the cycling community of the issue of enforcing a law like this. We will just have to wait and see. The regulations will be introduced once the legislation is approved by the Office of the Attorney General.
Watch the full statement below:
Take a look at the links below:
