Andrew Nikolic (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The A Metre Matters Campaign calls for a minimum one-metre rule for motorists overtaking cyclists. There is a simple logic to this issue. The motorist in a car, travelling up to 120 kilometres an hour and protected by the vehicle's structure and airbags, owes a duty of care to the cyclist protected by nothing more than a helmet.

Last year 48 bike riders were killed in Australia, the highest number since 1997. One of those, sadly, was 21-year-old Lewis Hendy, who died on 29 December. He was struck from behind without warning on a straight stretch of road on a bright Sunday morning very close to my home in Riverside. No law will bring Lewis back, but shared respect between motorists and cyclists, increased awareness and a cooperative approach to road safety might just save other lives.

The A Metre Matters petition asks that drivers allow a minimum of one metre when overtaking cyclists when the speed limit is under 60 kilometres an hour and 1.5 metres when overtaking in speed limited areas above 60 kilometres an hour. I congratulate Cycling Tasmania's Chief Executive Colin Burns and Louise Padgett from the Amy Gillett Foundation for lobbying hard on this issue. I encourage all Australians to support the A Metre Matters Campaign and to download the petition from www.tas.cycling.org.au or from www.amygillett.org.au.