Cyclist in near-miss with car on Main North Rd was told new one-metre overtaking laws will be scrapped

A CYCLIST who cheated death in a near-miss on a main Adelaide road says police told him the new one-metre overtaking laws are not working and are set to be scrapped. WATCH THE CLOSE CALL

• Drivers failing to keep 1m from cyclists
• ‘Honeymoon period’ for cyclists as new laws come in
• How the new cyclist overtaking laws affect all road users
• Why the one-metre rule is dangerous

A CYCLIST who cheated death in a near-miss on a main Adelaide road says police told him new one-metre overtaking laws are not working and are set to be scrapped.

The State Government, however, denies there are any plans to drop the laws, which it says have been a success.

Johan, who did not want to use his last name, said he had been riding for 50 years and had covered more than 100,000km around Adelaide roads since 2001.

The 56-year old made a report to police after a speeding white sedan went within 50cm of his bike on Main North Rd at Pooraka last week.

“I haven’t had a car passing this close ever before, it’s interesting that it happened when this law had just been brought in,” he said.

Johan said he was happy with the response to his initial report at Holden Hill police station but said he was unimpressed by a phone call from an investigating officer several days later.

He claims the officer told him he should not have been riding on such a busy road and that he was exposing himself to “intoxicated, unfocused and angry” drivers.

Johan said after telling the officer he wanted the driver fined, the policeman replied: “You should know that this law will be scrapped in three months’ time since it’s not working ... they are working on it right now”.

A government spokeswoman said that there were “no plans to change the cycling laws because all the evidence suggests that the laws are working”.

“I wasn’t too impressed to be honest because he wanted to brush it away more or less,” Johan said.

“If drivers would see that they can escape fines and there are no penalties involved then of course they would go back to their old ways.”

Johan said police told him the driver had been fined, but was disappointed he had to argue with the officer to have it issued.

A three-month period in which cautions were issued ended late last month, and a spokesman for SA Police said only 10 cautions were issued but were unable to provide numbers of how many expiation notices had been issued since.

Under the laws, motorists must give cyclists at least a 1m berth on suburban roads and stay 1.5m from riders on roads with a speed limit above 60km/h.

“In the same three month period police received 56 complaints via the Traffic Watch system reporting motorists for failing to keep a safe lateral distance,” the spokesman said.

“Police will enforce these laws in an appropriate manner in all the circumstance and continue to encourage all road users to obey the law and share the roads.”

The expiation fee for the offence is $287, plus a $60 victims of crime and two demerit points.

Johan said he had come forward in the hope police would take the offence more seriously.

“It’s enough really for them to know the law and apply the law, I don’t ask anything more than that really,” he said.

“Now that the law is enforceable and the caution period is over, the information should have got out by now.”