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Half the wheels, twice the fun: tips from IAM RoadSmart

  • Leave enough room. When riding or driving leave enough room between you and the cyclist, you never know when you have to stop and you want to make sure there is enough space in the event of anything unexpected happening

     

  • Some police forces are enforcing 1.5 meters as the minimum passing width but the easiest way to remember is to treat the cyclist as you would a car. Give them space and treat the 1.5 m as a minimum

     

  • Follow the Highway Code. If you are unsure as to what to do around cyclists on the road. Having a a look at the Highway Code so you know what is expected of yourself and the cyclist will be of great benefit to you

     

  • Have a double look opening your car door after parking. This also goes for doing sharp turns around corners and in blind spots. Cyclists can sometimes be in unexpected places

 

  • Take your time. Don’t lose your hair and lose your temper waiting for a cyclist on the road. Acting irrationally leads to unnecessary road rage and accidents that could be easy avoided

     

  • Be careful when overtaking groups of cyclist and ensure you can see well ahead before attempting an overtake

Richard said: “Cycling has never been so popular and sharing the road safely is the key to ensuring we all get to enjoy what summer weather we get. Cyclists don’t have a safety cell of metal, seatbelts and airbags around them so the onus has to be on the driver to look out for the most vulnerable on our roads. Giving them a bit more time and a lot more space will make life easier for all of us.”

Notes to editors:

  1. Richard Gladman is IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards.
  2. IAM RoadSmart has a mission to make better drivers and riders in order to improve road safety, inspire confidence and make driving and riding enjoyable. It does this through a range of courses for all road users, from online assessments through to the advanced driving and riding tests. IAM RoadSmart is the trading name of all businesses operated by the UK’s largest road safety charity, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and was formed in April 2016 combining the IAM, IAM Drive & Survive, PDS and IAM Driver Retraining Academy. The organisation has 92,000 members and campaigns on road safety on their behalf. At any one time there are over 7,000 drivers and riders actively engaged with IAM RoadSmart’s courses, from members of the public to company drivers, while our Driver Retraining Academy has helped 2,500 drivers to shorten their bans through education and support programmes.

To find out more about IAM RoadSmart products and services visit the new website www.iamroadsmart.com

To find out the name of your own local IAM RoadSmart group please visit: https://wwwiamroadsmart.com/local-groups

Media contacts:

Further information from:

IAM RoadSmart press office – 020 8996 9777 

press.office@iam.org.uk / www.iamroadsmart.com

ISDN broadcast lines available

Follow us:

On Facebook: www.facebook.com/IAMRoadSmart

On Twitter: @IAMRoadSmart   

 

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