Close Pass

New laws now mean that motorists face a fixed penalty fine and points on their driving license if they pass a motorcyclist, cyclist or other road user too closely and these can increase if they are taken to the magistrate's court.  Body or bike cameras are becoming more common and are resulting in prosecution.

For motorists, the advice is to slow down and only overtake if the road is wide enough for you to do so safely and you can see far ahead enough to know that there are no oncoming vehicles which may force you back onto the left side of the road before you have completely overtaken. Leave at least 1.5 metres when overtaking cyclists at speeds of up to 30mph, and give them more space when overtaking at higher speeds.

For cyclists, ride at least 60 cm out from the edge of the road to ensure that you are clearly visible to traffic approaching from behind.  While it is legal to cycle two abreast (and quicker to overtake when you are riding next to each other), if there is a bend in the road or it is narrow, it is safer to ride in single file.

Captured an incident on your dash cam?

Send the footage directly to your local police force or report it on the National Dash-cam Safety Portal.

 Passing others when cycling

• Pass horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles at speeds under 10 mph and allow at least two metres of space.
• Allow at least two metres of space and keep to a low speed when passing a pedestrian who is walking in the road (for example, where there is no pavement).

It is vitally important that all other road users understand and acknowledge their needs in the same way that we ask people driving to do for cyclists.

Further up to date information is available at:

https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/using-the-road-overtaking.html

https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/motorcyclists-and-cyclists.html

https://www.think.gov.uk/road-safety-laws/