nmdhqbc wrote:1.5m - I just got a tape measure out and that is outrageous!! You're almost on the other side of the road if you take that advise. And someone mentioned 0.5m as being on a grid - Look at a tape measure please. Grids are not nearly that wide.
I also took a tape measure. On the road that my son was riding, the drain covers are 60cm wide from the kerb. At around the spot where my son was honked the 60cm drain cover is surrounded by a trench in the tarmac that extends a further 15cm into the road.
Let's give my son a leeway of say 15cm to avoid his tyres falling into that trench and the MINIUMUM distance he can safely ride from the kerb at that spot is 90cm.
If you imagine a plank laid out on the road along which you felt you could safely ride your bike in a straight line without slipping off the edge, how wide would that plank be...I'd suggest you would struggle with anything less than 30-40 cm. Try riding along a scaffold plank if you think that is easy.
So it would seem on the road in question that he probably needs to be 1.3 metres from the kerb for his safe passage.
The police recommend 1.5 metres as the minimum safe passing distance from a cyclist, so a car must be 2.8 metres from the kerb at this point to complete a safe overtake. This distance would require the car to cross the centre line of the road and therefore a pass should not be attempted unless the opposite carriageway is clear. If it is clear, then the pass is simple and the cyclist does not impede the car, if the carriageway is not clear the pass, according to the police is unsafe and could result in a ticket.
Hopefully this narrative takes away any assumption of motive from the cyclist except a desire for personal safety.
John