Government response to 3Feet2Pass epetition

[the reluctant cyclist]

I don't think anybody has passed me leaving a three feet gap for months! It is normally a lot closer than that.

I find that people will pass me well if, and only if, it doesn't slow them down. If there are no cars oncoming they will pass wide and that's fine .... but if there are cars coming the other way they will squeeze me in so that they can get past without stopping - there is no way they would wait until "safe" to do so.

I don't know how you are going to re-educate drivers unless you literally show them - perhaps the sort of advertising campaign that we saw for wearing your seatbelt in the back seat?

... and as for the highway code..

I've said it before and I've said it again the wording for advice on overtaking cyclists is terrible - give as much room as you would a car? What do you mean - pretend the bike is a car? 4/5 feet room as that is about width of a car? overtake as close as you would overtake another car - which would be 6/12 inches? Terrible wording!

 

[Cab]

I don't think anybody has passed me leaving a three feet gap for months! It is normally a lot closer than that.

The vast bulk of overtakes I get are better than three feet. The vast bulk of overtakes I see other cyclists get are less than three feet. But then the vast bulk of other cyclists I see are the classic Cambridge gutter huggers

 

[the reluctant cyclist]

The vast bulk of overtakes I get are better than three feet. The vast bulk of overtakes I see other cyclists get are less than three feet. But then the vast bulk of other cyclists I see are the classic Cambridge gutter huggers

Yeah - you could be right - I am a bit guilty of gutter hugging

 

[Alien8]

Good god, common sense from the Government - I'm off for a lie down in a darkened room.

 

[jimboalee]

The vast bulk of overtakes I get are better than three feet. The vast bulk of overtakes I see other cyclists get are less than three feet. But then the vast bulk of other cyclists I see are the classic Cambridge gutter huggers

An enquiry, not a criticism.

Do you ride on 50 mph and Nat Spd Limit single carriageway roads with a 3.5m lane width on busy afternoons?

It's bloody difficult to ride in secondary without getting cars pass closer than 2ft. Look at Cycling England's Drawing No. 2.

To get some elbow room, the rider needs to be 2ft from the curb.
Is this gutter hugging or a survival tactic?

 

[Cab]

An enquiry, not a criticism.

Do you ride on 50 mph and Nat Spd Limit single carriageway roads with a 3.5m lane width on busy afternoons?

Sometimes. If its on my route.

It's bloody difficult to ride in secondary without getting cars pass closer than 2ft. Look at Cycling England's Drawing No. 2.

To get some elbow room, the rider needs to be 2ft from the curb.
Is this gutter hugging or a survival tactic?

You're just flat out wrong. 60cm from the edge of the road is too close; its appropriate to ride for the most part in secondary on such a road of course, 60cm is closer to the edge than secondary. There are times when you may need to go that close, or closer, but its not the position I'd choose to cruise in.

 

[marinyork]

I've said it before and I've said it again the wording for advice on overtaking cyclists is terrible - give as much room as you would a car? What do you mean - pretend the bike is a car? 4/5 feet room as that is about width of a car? overtake as close as you would overtake another car - which would be 6/12 inches? Terrible wording!

I disagree. As much as is a concept that is easy to understand and apply, the highway code does not say leave as little room as if you were passing a parked car in a residential area does it? The problem is not the highway code it is people.

 

[thomas]

I disagree. As much as is a concept that is easy to understand and apply, the highway code does not say leave as little room as if you were passing a parked car in a residential area does it? The problem is not the highway code it is people.

There's even a helpful photo/diagram in the highway code of the rule in action.

There is no way anyone could be confused by this.

It pays to mention that 'give the same space as a car' isn't the only rule which could be used in how to overtake a cyclist.

Rule 163 has quite a lot to it:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070314

And rules 212 and 213 are sensible too. It puts an onus on a driver not to overtake if a cyclist may need to change direction, or if their body language even hints that they might.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_069858

I think more needs to be done to combat close overtakes, but a three feet rule isn't that. The highway code is pretty good....

Introduce and enforce FPN and points for anyone who overtakes a cyclist badly. Allow helmet camera footage for that. That would be a start.

 

[Cab]

The problem isn't that its easy to interpret the highway code badly, its that its easy to use its wafflyness as an excuse not to do anything about bad overtaking. Police won't do anyone even for persistent close overtaking because the guidance they have isn't simple and clear cut. Hence bad overtaking is, effectively, something a motorist can get away with.

 

[MacB]

I do think some people have a poor perception of distances, drivers and cyclists alike. I'd not be surprised if some of the close overtakes people talk about are actually a bigger gap than they think. Anything inside 3 feet and I could easily touch the vehicle as it passes.

 

[jimboalee]

There's even a helpful photo/diagram in the highway code of the rule in action.

There is no way anyone could be confused by this.

It pays to mention that 'give the same space as a car' isn't the only rule which could be used in how to overtake a cyclist.

Rule 163 has quite a lot to it:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070314

And rules 212 and 213 are sensible too. It puts an onus on a driver not to overtake if a cyclist may need to change direction, or if their body language even hints that they might.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_069858

I think more needs to be done to combat close overtakes, but a three feet rule isn't that. The highway code is pretty good....

Introduce and enforce FPN and points for anyone who overtakes a cyclist badly. Allow helmet camera footage for that. That would be a start.

Not even an Audi driver.

 

[the reluctant cyclist]

I disagree. As much as is a concept that is easy to understand and apply, the highway code does not say leave as little room as if you were passing a parked car in a residential area does it? The problem is not the highway code it is people.

There's even a helpful photo/diagram in the highway code of the rule in action.

There is no way anyone could be confused by this.

It pays to mention that 'give the same space as a car' isn't the only rule which could be used in how to overtake a cyclist.

Rule 163 has quite a lot to it:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070314

And rules 212 and 213 are sensible too. It puts an onus on a driver not to overtake if a cyclist may need to change direction, or if their body language even hints that they might.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_069858

I think more needs to be done to combat close overtakes, but a three feet rule isn't that. The highway code is pretty good....

Introduce and enforce FPN and points for anyone who overtakes a cyclist badly. Allow helmet camera footage for that. That would be a start.

Whilst what you say here makes perfect sense what I see out on the road leads me to believe that either nobody bothers to read the highway code or that people just don't care!

 

[thomas]

Whilst what you say here makes perfect sense what I see out on the road leads me to believe that either nobody bothers to read the highway code or that people just don't care!

Yep, that's why it's an education issue IMO, as well as by having proper penalties for people who ignore these rules.

 

[marinyork]

Whilst what you say here makes perfect sense what I see out on the road leads me to believe that either nobody bothers to read the highway code or that people just don't care!

They don't read the highway code or care. All the arguing about position on the other thread was basically about the fact that drivers take no notice of white lines (or the lack of them).