There was an incident involving a motor vehicle and several cyclists on Sunday. It happened around 10 am on Granite Belt Drive. The vehicle passed the group of riders without leaving a sufficient distance between himself and the cyclists. I would like to remind motorists that the road rules state they MUST allow at least 1m when passing a bicycle rider in a 60km/h or less speed zone, or 1.5m where the speed limit is over 60km/h. When approaching cyclists from behind you are legally allowed to cross a double white line if it is safe to do so. If it is not safe the motorist should slow down and pass the cyclist(s) when it is safe. It is legal for cyclists to ride two abreast, providing they are not more than 1.5 m apart. We, as members of the Stanthorpe Cycling Club, generally ride single file if we know a car is approaching from behind, but often, due to wind noise we do not hear them. A polite toot of the horn from a couple of hundred metres back is all that is needed to alert us of their presence.
This incident has been reported to the police in the hope that they will at least talk to the driver concerned.
Keith Barnett, Stanthorpe
