Drivers
- Be patient and keep your distance from cyclists, at least one metre on roads with speed limits up to 60km/h, and at least 1.5 metres if you’re travelling over 60km/h.
- Leave plenty of room when overtaking and make sure you are well clear of the cyclist before moving back.
- Watch out for cyclists at intersections and roundabouts.
- Drive cautiously and reduce your speed in residential streets.
- Use your mirrors and check behind you before opening your car door. Make sure your passengers are careful when opening their car doors too.
- Do not drive in bicycle lanes, and give way to cyclists if you are turning across a bicycle lane.
- Indicate when pulling out, changing lanes, or turning, so cyclists know your intentions. Large vehicles pose a very high risk to cyclists when they turn left at junctions.
- Drivers must give way to cyclists when pulling out of a driveway onto the road, but cyclists should slow down to make sure they have been seen.
- Cyclists can legally ride two abreast on the road, with up to 1.5m between riders.
Remember
- Cyclists are not deliberately trying to get in your way and slow you down!
- They need to ride in the middle of a lane sometimes to keep away from potholes and debris.
Cyclists
- Obey road rules and stop at red lights and stop signs (no sneaking through when no one is looking!).
- Make sure you use hand signals to let drivers know when you are going to change direction.
- When approaching a corner, give way to vehicles already indicating and turning left (they may be about to stop to give way to a pedestrian, or be a long vehicle that needs time to turn).
- Ride in bike lanes where they are provided unless it’s impractical to do so.
- Lights and reflectors on your bike are mandatory if you ride at night or in any weather conditions that reduce visibility.
This includes:
- A flashing or steady white light on the front of the bicycle and a flashing or steady red light on the rear of the bicycle that needs to be clearly visible for at least 200 metres.
- A red reflector is required on the rear of the bicycle that is visible for at least 50m when light is projected onto it by a vehicle’s headlight on low beam.
- You need two yellow side reflectors on each wheel and yellow pedal reflectors on both sides of each pedal.
Also:
- Use your lights during the day for extra safety.
- Although it’s not mandatory, consider wearing brightly coloured or reflective clothing to increase visibility.
- Make sure you don’t dazzle drivers with very bright cycle lights that aren’t adjusted correctly.
- It is illegal to ride less than 2m behind a vehicle.
- Cyclists cannot pass on the left of a vehicle that is turning left.
- Cyclists can use the left lane of a roundabout when turning right but must give way to vehicles exiting a roundabout.
Source: wa.gov.au