#AMETREMATTERS EVERYWHERE
A METRE MATTERS IN VICTORIA: ROAD RULE UPDATED TO MAKE CYCLING SAFER FOR VICTORIANS
National cycling safety charity, the Amy Gillett Foundation (AGF) celebrates the Victorian Government’s amendment to road rules to specify the minimum safe space to give when driving passed a cyclist.
Today, the Hon Ben Carroll MP, Minister for Roads and Road Safety is joined by AGF CEO, Dan Kneipp, RACV Senior Manager of Transport, Planning and Infrastructure, Peter Kartsidimas and Bicycle Network CEO, Craig Richards at Fitzroy High, Melbourne Victoria, to announce the change to Victorian road rules effective Monday 26 April, 2021.
The updated road rule will require Victorians leave a minimum of 1 metre distance when passing a cyclist in speed zones 60km/h or lower, and 1.5 metres when passing in speed limits over 60km/h.
This update follows a two-year public education campaign in Victoria, ‘Give Cyclists the Space to Ride Safe’. Every other State and Territory in Australia has previously updated this road rule, with Queensland first introducing a trial of A Metre Matters in 2014.
Victoria is the final State to update this road rule after a national 10-year campaign launched by the Amy Gillett Foundation (AGF) in 2009. The A Metre Matters road rule clarifies the minimum space to give when driving passed a person cycling.
A Metre Matters has broad community support, 9 out of 10 Victorians support the introduction of AMM (AGF Community Attitudes Research, 2016).
The Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) worked closely with the Amy Gillett Foundation on the consultation surrounding the introduction of the rule.
From Monday 26 April, the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) will commence a public education campaign to educate Victorians about the change to the road rules. This campaign includes helpful reminders, ‘if it’s not safe to pass, wait’, and ‘drivers, give the space to ride safe’.
