Cyclist's Safety Gap

[lescargo]

Can anyone help with the relevant "chapter and verse" of Highway code specifying 5 feet (1.5metre) overtaking gap.
I need to enlighten driver, presumed instructor, of "Teendrive" school car who gave me about 5" CLEARANCE RECENTLY.

No doubt many of his clients/pupils will, themselves, have no cycling experience because patents have decided its too dangerous on
today's roads.

[Paulatic]

Rule 163
http://www.croydoncyclist.co.uk/highway-code-rule-163/

[gaz]

Rule 163 is your starting point but you won't find any specified measure of overtaking distance.

[NUKe]

As I posted on the other thread on this topic, it looks like the next edition of the Highway Code, may change to give a distance.of 1.5 m based on the success of the West kids police campaign, but these things do take time.

[Vorpal]

Several police forces have 'close pass' campaigns, now like https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... ing-police

There's a whole thread on the forum about this campaign viewtopic.php?f=6&t=112889

There are a few other threads about close passes, but probably not much more that is relevant.

[Cunobelin]

Are you "sure" that it was TeenDrive?

I had a video of a driving instructor berating me about how cycle paths were compulsory and I had no "right" to be on the road


I "forgot" the name of the driving school and sent it to every local School that had an email. Several pointed out the School, and others forwarded it to the guilty one

The instructor was "re-educated" and the pupil given a free lesson that covered what should actually happen around cyclists

[Audax67]

My own observation is that motorists are perfectly willing to give cyclists all the clearance the law allows and then some, just as long as doing so doesn't cause them the slightest inconvenience, such as a speed reduction of 0.5 kph.

[FasterFerret]

Perhaps point them to this, which is from a post discussing the Dorset police's advice that leaving 'a car door width' is enough (viewtopic.php?f=6&t=124852):

There is a really good video on YouTube aimed at educating driving instructors:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJHXzt7TC2k

1min 45s

"As instructors it is really important that we make pupils aware" Amen to that!

The video is made for consumption by driving instructors and in IMHO should be included in compulsory annual training for any driving instructor.

[FasterFerret]

Rule 163 is your starting point but you won't find any specified measure of overtaking distance.

But at least we get an indicative picture . Not super helpful, but for those that bother to read/look at it helps with the interpretation of 'as much room as you would give a car' i.e. just because you pass a car leaving a wing mirror's width you should not do the same to a cyclist, pedestrian, horse and rider.