Queensland cyclist Dave Sharp set up SafeCyclingAustralia nearly 2 years ago. His main aim is to achieve a minimum safe passing distance between cyclists and motorists of 1 metre and get this enshrined in law.

“Any Aussie cyclist will be able to tell you a story or two when it comes to close calls,” Dave writes on the SafeCyclingAustralia website. “This project would like to see the cyclists of the future with less stories to tell rather than more. But I need your help for that to happen. SafeCyclingAustralia is all about us reclaiming space on Australia’s roads.”

With the death of cyclist John Cornish on Beach Road here in Melbourne in July, for many of us ways of improving and clarifying car-cyclist interactions are again front of mind.

To that end in late July he set up a petition – the Minimum safe passing distance between cyclists and motorists petition – for people to add their names to in support of the rule being enshrined in law. This petition is the second he’s run, the first being for his home state of Queensland.

Currently (17 August 2011) there are 2593 signatories to this new petition, which aims to indicate support for “lobbying the State and Federal governments for a minimum safe passing distance rule of at least one (1) metre to be enshrined in law”.

In Dave’s blog he says the 1m rule has been adopted by 17 states in the US and enforced in New Zealand for 4 years – which is where he got the idea that it was sensible and feasible.

You can also read about Bicycle Victoria describing the rule as “ill conceived” in an ABC Victoria report and ending up being described by the ABC reporter as “on the same side of the debate as the motoring lobby”. Hmmm.

Also on the website are a series of letters on the issue, one for each state, that you can download and send to the relevant MP.

When Dave first ran the petition in Queensland, he gained the support of some of Brisbane’s biggest bike retailers as well as professional cyclists Robbie McEwen and Rachel Neylan (winner of the 2010 Amy Gillett Foundation Scholarship).

Dave started his campaign without realising that the 1m rule had been a long-term goal of the Amy Gillett Foundation, but says AGF have been generous in their support of his efforts.

Bicycle Victoria’s plan is to change car drivers’ attitudes, but Dave cites research that shows these haven’t changed in 10 years … so will they ever, without the help of legislation.

Dave quotes AAMI’s Corporate Affairs Manager Yves Noldus as saying earlier this year:

“Our research indicates that the interaction between cars and bicycles, particularly in urban areas, continues to be a source of conflict for riders and drivers alike. Many of the responses we received highlight that motorists tend to see cyclists as a nuisance and are not always willing to share the road. Two in three drivers (66%) say they find cyclists hard to see and a similar proportion (65%) qualify them as a road hazard outright. One in four (26%) say they have had an accident or a near miss with a cyclist.”

Dave’s response: “We believe that with driver attitudes not changing in the last decade, and in many parts of the country, actually deteriorating, the cycling community needs to do all it can in order to increase our legal rights and maintain our presence on Australian roads.”

SafeCyclingAustralia wants not just a minimum safe passing distance rule of 1m to be introduced into the Australian road rules, but also the national introduction of ‘share the road’ signage to illustrate and underline the existence of the rule and remind motorists of their responsibility.

Add your name to the online petition.

You can also get a ‘A metre matters’ sticker from the Amy Gillett Foundation by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to them.

Also … while you’re there, writing down their address, just note that their white, orange and pink kit, liberally splashed with the 1m message, is very cute – see the front cover of The Wheeler 04 featuring current AGF Scholarship Winner Jo Hogan – and the current design is on special!!!