If you've done a speed awareness course you may know this but do you know the correct clearance to give a cyclist when passing one.   Warning. the answer may spark debate.                                                                                                                                                                              

I would give as much as it is safe to, so if the other lane is free I would go over quite a way and if there was oncoming traffic I would prob hold back,but is there a set distance? isnt it one of those things that varies depending on the situation?                                                                                                                                                                             

bloody cyclists ! just run em off the road!                                                                                                                                                                             

Just use then for cleaning between drive axle tyres                                                                                                                                                                              

highway code says "as much room as you would give a car"   In the USA you are legally required to give them 3 feet!   I give them as much room as possible depending on circumstances like where they are on the road and how many of them                                                                                                                                                                             

Could be wrong as i'm a slacker when it comes to educating myself to the laws of the land...

But i don't think there is a set distance, in terms of the law, the highway codes simply states to give plenty of room when overtaking.

In the States i believe the law is 3ft.


                                                                                                                                                                             

The answer apparently is that it all depends on the hight of the cyclist.                                                                                                                                                                               

I have no idea where they get their info or who makes it up. Was told this today by someone who did a course.                                                                                                                                                                              

Sounds a bit like some instructor is confusing his own common sense with the law...

All we can do is apply our own common sense and the highway code, which does not state any set distance.                                                                                                                                                                             

Knowing me, i'll get the kamikazi cyclist who throws himself from his bike as its going over just so i'll get the blame.                                                                                                                                                                             

I thought you were supposed to give them room in case they fall off.  Personally I don't think they are entitled to any room on the road as they don't pay for it, don't hold insurance to cover them scratching down the inside of your car as your waiting at lights or when you swerve to avoid them shooting the lights, which obviously don't apply to them because they shouldn't be on the road, and you crash into oncoming /crossing traffic because of them so they don't have to pay for the damage.

Do you want to hear something related and yet just as daft .. do you know what the minimum legal width is for an advisory cycle lane?

0.5m!  Half a metre!  My mountain bike's handlebars are wider than that!  Hell, I'm wider than that!                                                                                                                                                                             

I was told when I was learning .. you give em enough room so that when they fall off in front of you ... you are not gonna squish any part of them em 

So yeah it would depend on their height                                                                                                                                                                              

so does that mean the highway code is wrong then or is it as usual open to interpretation ? probably so the revenue raisers can dream up a new fixed penalty at some point!                                                                                                                                                                              

So does that mean when the lycra lot are hunched up over the handlebars going hell for leather & six foot loon only looks 3' 6" I don,t have to give him as much room??                                                                                                                                                                             

Rule of thumb is an arm's length.

So next time you see a cyclist, stick your left arm out as far as you can. If you gently tickle them up their side as you ride past then that's fine, but if you give them a solid smack on their a*se then you're too close.

It's true honest.                                                                                                                                                                             

 If I'm passing one of them pot hole dodgers I might take up as much room as a car, maybe over to where the car would have his off-side mirror, but not too close to the oncoming stuff, depending on the full road width.  Or alternately, if the pedal pusher has just pissed me off further back down the road, he might just get an Alpinestar up his ring piece to assist him on his way,.. so that would make the passing distance somewhere about a couple of foot!                                                                                                                                                                             

if this is height dependant, what are we supposed to do if there is no suitable ramp available to clear their full height? bunny hoping my mountainbike on the flat is one thing, but the multi weighs over 240kg wet, and with me on must be (aahem) at least 320kg. (well maybe a little holiday weight still)                                                                                                                                                                             

If the gap is dependant on a body measurement, considering how differently men and women perceive size to be, I would guess that men will only be able to overtake a cyclist on a dual carriageway, whereas women will be ok overtaking on a farm track                                                                                                                                                                              

pmsl