The Hume Police District is becoming a primary destination for bicycle rider events and long distance rider cycling.
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It is timely therefore to recap some of the road rules and information available via other websites to keep you up to date on what is current and expected of you as a road user.
On average, nine bicycle riders are killed and more than 1900 seriously injured in NSW each year. Bicycle riders represent about 2.5 per cent of total road fatalities and about 16 per cent of serious injuries.
The minimum passing distance rule helps ensure that bicycle riders and motorists remain safe when sharing our roads. Drivers who pass a bicycle rider must allow a distance of at least one meter when the speed limit is 60km/h or less, and 1.5 metres when the speed limit is more than 60km/h.
The minimum passing distance rule was trialled in NSW for two years from March 1, 2016. In May 2018, it was retained as a permanent NSW Road Rule.
If drivers cannot pass a bicycle rider safely, they should slow down and wait until it is safe to pass the rider, leaving the minimum distance. To help drivers provide the minimum distance, some exemptions to the road rules apply.
Drivers will be exempt from the following rules, as long as it is safe to pass the bicycle rider with at least a metre of space and they have a clear view of approaching traffic:
- Keep to the left of the centre of the road (two-way road with no dividing line)
- Keep to the left of the centre of a dividing line - broken and unbroken lines
- Keep off a flat dividing strip
- Keep off a flat painted island
- Driving within a single marked lane or line of traffic
- Moving from one marked lane to another across a continuous line separating the lanes
Drivers caught not allowing the minimum distance face a $344 fine and a penalty of two demerit points.