Fine Gael posted this video on its social media channels, highlighting the dangers facing cyclists on Irish roads, on the same day the Government it leads confirmed the cycling close pass laws are now officially ditched.
Fine Gael has published a video showing the dangers for cyclists in Dublin on the same day the Government it leads confirmed its U-turn on the cycling safe pass law.
It emerged in the first half of last year that the attorney general was advising Government against the safe-pass legislation.
Minister for Transport Shane Ross had made a public commitment to introduce the new legislation. But several months later it became clear the advice he was receiving was against the measure.
And yesterday in The Irish Times Ross confirmed the law would not be implemented. Instead, a statutory instrument was being drafted which would make a new offence of dangerous overtaking.
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Shane Ross said this would especially apply to motorists overtaking cyclists. However, he did not elaborate any further.
And it is now clear there will be no set distance that drivers must allow cyclists when passing them.
Under the previously proposed law, which is now being shelved, drivers would have been obliged to leave a gap of 1 metre.
And on roads with a speed limit higher than 50km per hour, that would have increased to 1.5 metres. Those in breach of the law would have faced penalty points and fines.
As well as stating the close-pass legislation as originally envisaged would not be going ahead, Ross also confirmed he had no plans to make helmets and hi-vis compulsory for cyclists.
“I deplore the fact that some people refuse to wear cycling helmets. It is a great pity. It is irresponsible but it is their own choice,” he said.
“So I am not going to introduce measures, certainly not in the immediate future, to compel people to wear hi visibility jackets or helmets.
“But I am going to try everything short of that to try and encourage them to do that.”
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On the same day Ross, a Cabinet minister in the Fine Gael-led Government, was publicly abandoning the safe-pass law, the same party was seeking to highlight the dangers faced by cyclists on the roads.
Cllr Deirdre Duffy recorded her cycling trip across Dublin to show all the obstacles and dangers cyclists faced.
The irony was clearly wasted on the party that it was publishing the video on the same day its government was abandoning legislation that could help make cycling safer.
Join Dublin Central candidate @DeirdreDuffyDC on her cycle from Cabra to Leinster House to highlight the obstacles and hazards faced by cyclists pic.twitter.com/iLQEnjpHWp
— Fine Gael (@FineGael) January 2, 2019
For its part, the Green Party said it was dismayed at the dropping of the close-pass laws, when countries like Australia had been operating them.
Its transport spokesman Cllr Ciarán Cuffe said the “U-turn is bitterly disappointing and is hard to understand”.
“It seems that the Attorney General has adopted a somewhat cautious approach to these much-needed changes," Cuffe added.
"Over fifty cyclists have died on Irish roads in the last five years and we desperately need to improve their safety.
“In the absence of a minimum passing law Minister Ross should proceed with the improvements recommended by the Road Safety Authority in their recent review of minimum passing distances.
“They proposed that An Garda Síochána place a greater emphasis on enforcing unsafe motorist-cyclist interactions, and Minister Ross should sit down with the Minister for Justice to make this happen.
“In addition, Ross should instruct the National Transport Authority to fast-track infrastructural solutions to segregate cyclist and motorised traffic, particularly in higher speed, congested locations.
“Other changes such as implementing segregated contra-flow cycle lanes are also needed in many locations.”
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