reohn2 wrote:Tonyf33 wrote:91.44cm is ample up to 40 zones, 50 & over only needs another 30.48cm. To expect cars to overtake giving 152.4cm to your elbow or bar end at all times is a nonsence. When overtaking in the car rarely if at all would I give that distance between my left wing mirror and another motorised vehicle's right wing mirror, on most single carriagway roads this is barely possible & for the most part just not necessary.
I can't see any practical way to enforce a given overtaking sideways gap (not sure how it would be possible in all but city centres?) I think we should concentrate on trying to get the powers that be educate & improve at source driving standards full stop. An example could be including cycling specific hazards in the theory & practical tests as a mandatory segment.
The point is we aren't talking here about motorvehicles overtaking motorvehicles,we are talking about motorvehicles overtaking
vulnerable road users who sometimes travel very slowly and sometimes wobble a little,or serve around broken bottles in the gutter,thorns from hedgecutting,broken branchess from overhanging trees,dead cats,badgers,squirrels,dogs,not seen a horse yet but give it time,and any number of other objects that a motorvehicle driver doesn't see whilst they're on the phone,things we swerve around but to a motorvehicle just make a little bumping sound as the wheels go over them,you know like cyclists!!!
See the quote in the 3rd post, Highway Code Rule 163: "You should give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car", you yourself mention the 163 again in the very next post so it is appropriate for me to talk about overtaking cars with cars with as much width as vunerable road users. The rule is worded rather poorly & should say to give these groups more room to emphasise their vunerability in relation to a car. By asking for a specified gap the same as cars overtaking each other then the rule is fundamentally flawed when compared to the reality.
I completely agree with your point re the hazards, personally I give as much as I feel is appropriate for the conditions; rider type, weather, road surface, mine & the riders speed, also taking into account junctions & hazards that either of us may encounter in the distance for the overtake BEFORE I reach the back of a cyclist. Those who don't plan an overtake & end up right behind a cyclist often try to be helpful & pull out far too far & by doing so actually create a further risk as you can easily lose visuals because of the angle needed to give a larger gap.
What I'm suggesting is to help motorists increase their overall awareness of the problems we encounter on a daily basis even on short rides, if they have better understanding from whence they first start to drive then maybe just maybe that might help us further down the line & they'll give us closer to 7
1/14chains as a norm (see I can do imperial) whilst understanding WHY we need it.
Petitions like this take far too long just to get a response, may as well approach your local MP for all it is worth and get them to bring it up in the next commons meeting...lol