THE SAFEST WAY TO SHARE THE ROAD WITH CYCLISTS

So in the light of this, what is the safest way for considerate motorists to share the roads with cyclists? Here are some top tips.

1. Leave plenty of room

A new rule in The Highway Code instructs all drivers and riders travelling at speeds of up to 30mph should leave at least 1.5m, or 5ft, when overtaking cyclists, and they should leave more space at higher speeds. It's always worth leaving more room than necessary between you and the cyclist as you never know when you'll have to stop. Give them space and treat 1.5 metres as a minimum.

2. Look above and beyond

If you need to overtake a cyclist, always look beyond them to develop your ability to get past. Keeping a distance of at least 1.5 metres width and two or three car lengths behind them means an overtake must be well judged. Remember, the closer you are, the more nervous the cyclist(s) will be which may result in them becoming unbalanced.

3. Groups of cyclists

Cyclists are perfectly legal to cycle side by side on most roads in the UK, obviously some common sense needs to be used to work out if and when cyclists need to single out to let cars overtake but on the majority of UK roads cycling 2 abreast is allowed. Usually, a group of cyclists will shout forward that a car is waiting ("Car Up") and if the ...