Abolition of the mandatory driving distance? Cyclists will be at risk again, experts warn
In July, the police also recorded a similar case in Českolipsk. However, there may be more precipitation. Some cyclists who get away “only” with light abrasions do not resolve the accident through official means. “Even if those concerned should call the police, it happens that they solve everything on the spot. It is also for the reason that, for example, the cyclist consumed alcohol and preferred to sacrifice the few scratches,” says the policeman, who wished to remain anonymous.
Will cyclists have to use their lights even during the day? The explosive topic is already being dealt with by experts
In the year alone, there were 416 traffic accidents involving cyclists. “In these cases, we register 1,160 light injuries, 72 serious and 16 deaths,” adds Jan Chalas from the company DataFriends, which is for the operator of the Accident Portal.
That’s why the police are going to get tougher. As part of preventive actions, drivers want to remind them to follow the rules on the roads, but at the same time appeal to the cyclists themselves. The law enforcement officers go directly to the field in larger numbers several times during the summer months. The event is mainly produced in cycling paradises – in addition to southern Bohemia, for example in southern Moravia around Pálav, Mikulov.
A safe distance war
Drivers must keep a distance of at least one and a half meters from cyclists since the beginning of this year. However, after a few months of the new law being in force, the Ministry of Transport Martin Kupka (ODS) plans to soften the law. It mainly responds to complaints from forest owners. According to them, the regulations cannot be followed on forest roads.
“We have no intention of changing the one and a half meter distance when overtaking cyclists. We come up with a proposal that at lower speeds, when the risk of dangerous behavior remains, basic overtaking does not occur as safely as it remains,” Kupka. In practice, when overtaking a cyclist at a lower speed (below 30 kilometers per hour, editor’s note), the driver would not have to maintain almost any distance. The proposal is now heading for the interdepartmental comment procedure.
Opponents criticize the proposed amendment to the law. I will not only have an impact on the forest road, but also all roads and local roads. “According to the ministry, there should be no distance at all at low speed. This is dangerous and unacceptable. Even at low speed, according to forensic experts, at least one meter is needed as it is in the current law,” argues Tomáš Kindl, a lawyer and initiator of the law on mandatory minimum distance when overtaking cyclists.
The upcoming change in overtaking cyclists will bring chaos, say experts
In addition, the enforceability of the law is close to an imaginary zero. The minimum distance will be conditioned by the current speed of the vehicle. “Visual documentation of the offense will no longer be sufficient, and there is a real danger that the police will postpone all initiatives. It is already today to reduce some authorities by quite obviously violating the lateral distance by video recording. As a result, the amendment of the law will lead to the fact that this law will cease to be only symbolic, to help, and therefore to comply with it,” writes the executive director of the AutoMat association, Martin Šotola, in an open letter to the Ministry of Transport.
The representative of the association reminds that in none of the countries where a similar law has been introduced (Germany, France, Portugal or Belgium), the lateral distance is not conditioned by the current speed of the car. “The only visit is to Austria, where, of course, there is a broad debate, or criticism of transport experts about the form of the law being prepared there,” points out Šotola.
Irrelevant data
Prepare for Change is based on the fact that improper overtaking is a marginal cause of accidents in which only cyclists die or are seriously injured. From 2011 to 2020, 28 cyclists died from this cause. But in total, over five hundred of them died on the roads. “It is often due to failure to give way, excessive speed or inattention,” said Besip department head Tomáš Neřold earlier.
We keep making the same mistakes. There is no point in rushing behind the wheel, says the instructor
However, I do not agree with such an argument of the critics. According to Tomáš Kindl, these are only collisions where failure to keep the distance is listed as the main cause. “Rear-collision safety distance has often been the cause of accidents that have something else listed as the main cause, such as inattention, failure to control, excessive speed, improper driving. We will learn the specific circumstances only if we click on each accident separately,” says the lawyer.
He also mentions Australia’s position. She decided to introduce the 1.5 meter distance rule based on reports from the Australian Transport Safety Authority. He states that the most common cause of fatal cyclist accidents was rear-end collisions.