A Metre Matters: where experts say fault lies in roads sharing

The successful A Metre Matters campaign that began with the death of Buninyong cyclist Amy Gillett has friends, family and advocates hoping for a new era in road sharing.

This is part one in a three-part online series.

Read part one here: That 'roar' feeling for cyclists in road sharing

THIS IS not a black-and-white driver versus cyclist battle for road use supremacy.

The fault lies with neither, according to Monash University transport researcher Marilyn Johnson.

Dr Johnson finds the fault in Australia, on Victorian roads, is in the infrastructure.

This is a complex problem that could take generations to change but Dr Johnson said the new passing rule, bringing Victoria in line with other states next year, was a vital step for safety improvement.

Dr Johnson, as Amy Gillett Foundation's research and policy manager, has worked closely with AGF founder Simon Gillett in lobbying for road rule changes among the foundation's other road safety work for more than a decade.

"Fundamentally this is about clarity," Dr Johnson said. "The original rule said for a motorist to allow 'sufficient' space when passing a cyclist. The question we originally asked, if the mission of the Amy Gillett Foundation is about safe cycling, then how do we measure separation on roads.

"This can take a long time for change, even in cycling countries like the Netherlands, where it has taken generations to change infrastructure.

"Drivers need to understand what is required."

Victoria will enact a rule change dictating motorists to allow one-metre for passing a cyclist, and 1.5m clearance on roads where speed limits exceed 60kmh.

Dr Johnson said bringing in this rule also requires a string of complementary road law tweaks, such as allowing people to cross the centre line when safe to do so, ensuring support and space for drivers.

Space is a major factor to combat shared road issues Dr Johnson said most drivers would not even realise were hazards.

One example Dr Johnson highlighted was bike lanes with cars parked on the left and cyclists having to negotiate potential car doors opening on one side with moving vehicles on the other.

Other issues in road design are uneven and slippery manhole platforms or roadwork joins between new and old tarmac tending to always be in the spot you need to ride.

In Ballarat, there are the notorious ends to bike lanes when entering roundabouts.

"For drivers, cyclists might often look unpredictable but often they are just responding to road conditions in the space they are given to ride," Dr Johnson said.

"Even if they're cycling in the bike lane, they might ride out to the far right or over because it is dangerous and we really need drivers to give space to get around that...We need to think of all different people on the road to give space or lower speed limits if it makes it easier to manage around each other."

Dr Johnson has been part of a research team fitting cyclists with custom sensors to measure passing distances on Victorian roads. Cyclists were instructed to go about their usual rides and she said overwhelmingly this showed up flaws in bad road design.

There was a willingness to trial new infrastructure in Europe, Dr Johnson said, and gradually Australia was changing. The Victorian government announced a $13 million investment in October for temporary bike lanes in Melbourne. This could include basic poles or curbing to better delineate cycling lanes.

An Amy Gillett Foundation survey in May found 75 per cent of drivers would feel safer with temporarily separated bike lanes. Eighty-nine per cent of Australians supported temporary infrastructure in their local area to promote safer cycling for transport, such as teenagers riding to high school.

Dr Johnson said another fundamental element to safer roads was in driver education: how learner drivers were taught and tested; and, equipping those teaching learner drivers with information so they feel comfortable in lessons. She said this goes for sharing the road with cyclists and trucks.

"It's not just being aware of it but knowing what it looks like in practice with cyclists - slow down and get around," Dr Johnson said. "There's an idea to wait for people to work it out, but especially when we're coming across people cycling more frequently, drivers need the tools for when it happens."

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