11 must-know road safety rules for drivers and cyclists

As petrol prices and obesity rates continue to soar, more and more Australians are taking up road cycling as a way to get from A to B and as a recreational activity.

Queensland roads are constantly being upgraded to include cycle lanes, but sharing the road is about more than distance and it’s important to know your rules and responsibilities on the road. Here are some rules you may not know and others you may just need to be refreshed on:

1. Motorists must stay 1m wide of cyclists in a zone 60km/h or less and 1.5m when it is over 60km/h
2. Cyclists must obey the same road rules as cars, such as stopping at red lights and stop signs, observing posted speed limits and obeying ‘no U-turn’ signs
3. If you break a road rule as a cyclist, you receive the same monetary fine as a motorist would, but you won’t accumulate demerit points
4. When riding on shared path cyclists must give way to all pedestrians
5. Drivers must indicate when passing a cyclist – first when veering right to pass the cyclist and again when veering left to come back to the original position on the road
6. When riding behind a vehicle for over 200m cyclists must leave 2m between the vehicle and themselves
7. If cyclists are travelling side by side there must be no more than two riders and they must ride within 1.5m of each other
8. If you are turning left behind a cyclist, wait for the cyclist to cross. Don’t try to overtake or cut them off as this commonly ends in serious injury and death
9. Cyclists must use hand signals when turning right
10. Cyclists must display a white or red light or reflector at night and in bad weather conditions
11. Cyclists are responsible for the functionality and safety of their bikes and must get regular services and tune-ups, just as car owners do

Do you have any other obscure or unknown road rules? Enlighten us in the comment section below…

Categories: All