Sean Kelly has added his signature to the Stayin’ Alive at 1.5 petition. The aim of the campaign is to amend overtaking laws, making it safer for cyclists on the roads. Their request to the Irish Government is as follows:
We ask the department and minister for Transport, tourism and sport to amend current overtaking laws and persue the adoption of a law that requires motorists to give cyclists 1.5metres clearance when passing from the rear.
At the time of writing, the campaign needs another 935 signatures so they would appreciate your help. You can sign the petition at the link below:
The reason for the 1.5m rule is expalined in further detail on this page, whereby it outlines the following:
This 1.5 metre rule would help to create an environment of safer cycling across the board giving cyclists a 1.5 metre cushion when being passed by a motorist. It is also a great piece of legislation to educate the public about how much space to leave when safely passing a cyclist. Put simply government and the Gardaí would have a standard to measure what is a safe overtake in relation to cyclists.
Furthermore the passing of the safe overtaking law would acknowledge cyclists as legitimate road users, a point not shared by some motorists.
Enacting the 1.5 metre safe overtaking law would also serve back up the Road Safety Authority’s recommendation.
