Minister for Transport Shane Ross has said the new offence of dangerously overtaking a cyclist coming into effect at midnight would target drivers who had no regard for cyclist safety.
Cyclists will watch with interest to
see how often drivers are penalised for dangerous overtaking in coming weeks
and months.
The new offence is also likely to
spark more cases in which cyclists present self-recorded video evidence to the
Garda to ensure close-passes are penalised.
While dangerous overtaking is
already an offence in Ireland penalised with a fine and penalty points,
dangerously overtaking a cyclist becomes a specific new offence from midnight
tonight.
Any motorist caught committing the
offence will face a fine of €120 and three penalty points.
“The law that we are commencing at
midnight will target and punish drivers who are guilty of such deadly,
dangerous behavior,” Shane Ross said today at the launch of the new offence.
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“Equally important is the impact I
hope it will have on driver behavior, providing a heightened awareness of the
importance of sharing road space in a respectful and safe manner.”
“Too many cyclists have frankly
terrifying tales to tell of intimidatingly close passes and near misses.
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“And we are all sadly aware of the
worrying numbers of cyclists being killed and injured on our roads, despite a
downward trend in road fatalities more generally.”
Ross added that his Department, the
Road Safety Authority, An Garda Síochána and the Office of the Attorney General
had worked closely together to develop a robust, legal mechanism to target
drivers who put cyclists at risk.
Road Safety Authority chief executive
Moyagh Murdock said drivers should always allow safe passing distances for
cyclists and should “adjust” their behaviour to suit the road environment.
“This includes slowing down and
ensuring you pass cyclists when it’s safe to do so, and critically, giving them
the space to ride safe,” she said.
“Drivers need to remember that in
the event of a collision a cyclist will always come off worse.
“The introduction of this new law
with tough penalties for drivers who flout it is very timely given that we have
tragically lost 9 cyclists in fatal crashes to fate in 2019.”
To highlight the new offence, new
signage warning motorists to provide for adequate overtaking space for cyclists
is planned.
Shane Ross added a Public Appointments
Service competition would shortly be commenced to appoint four people to the
Board of Transport Infrastructure Ireland. He intends reserving one of the
posts for a person with cycling expertise.
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