There are two new safe passing distances for Irish roads; one where the speed limit is over 50km and one for roads with a lower speed limit.
Motorists caught passing cyclists too closely will be fined €80 and incur penalty points on their driver’s licence under new plans being put forward by main government party Fine Gael.
Galway East TD Ciaran Cannon and Government chief whip Regina Doherty are publishing a Bill that will see motorists forced to obey a minimum passing distance of 1.5 metres - and one metre in zones with speed limits of under 50 km per hour- when overtaking cyclists.
Drivers who do not comply with the new rules will face an €80 fine and three penalty points, as proposed in the Bill.
The penalty would increase to €1,500 and five penalty points for cases that go to court.
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It is hoped that the Bill will be passed before the Dáil rises for its summer break.
“A worrying amount of drivers seem to have a ‘no contact, no harm’ attitude,” said Mr Cannon, a keen cyclist himself.
“Over the last 24 months 20 cyclists have been killed on Irish roads. It is no longer acceptable to expose our cyclists to huge risks on our roads and this law sets out to significantly reduce those risks.”
He added that creating a “minimum passing distance law” was about creating a safe space on our roads for cyclists, a space where they feel protected.”
“A number of drivers already give this space when overtaking but sadly many more don’t,” he said.
“This is about effecting a cultural change in Ireland so that every driver is aware of the vulnerability of cyclists, young and old, and drive accordingly.”
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The Road Traffic (Minimum Passing Distance of Cyclists) Bill 2017 is also being supported by Ms Doherty.
Deputy Doherty, who represents Meath East, said: “We all need to share the roads and to do that they must be made safer.”
“The only way to do this is to introduce a minimum passing distance law. Once a safe passing distance is legislated for, we need to significantly raise awareness of this law by amending the rules of the road and funding new public awareness campaigns.
“More and more people of all ages are cycling as a hobby, as a way to commute to work or school or as part of a healthy lifestyle.”
The introduction of the new measures is being supported by the Stayin’ Alive at 1.5 campaign, which has been to the fore in advocating the change of rules.
Head of that campaign Phil Skelton said similar measures had been introduced in other countries including France, Belgium, Portugal and Australia, 26 US states and several provinces in Canada.
Research by the American League of Cyclists in 2014 found up to 40 per cent of cyclist fatalities are caused by cyclists being hit from behind by a motor vehicle travelling in the same direction.
Mr Skelton said he had begun his campaign after two cyclists he knew were killed in Wexford.
“I was hit on the elbow by an overtaking car in between these two tragic events and rather than give up an activity I had grown to love,” he said.
“I did some research to see what other jurisdictions had done about this particular problem and subsequently set up the Stayin’ Alive at 1.5 campaign with the help of Australian advocates who were campaigning for Minimum Passing Distance Law (MPDL) in Queensland at the time.
“If you are not a cyclist it can be very difficult to imagine just how intimidating it is to be overtaken by a vehicle too closely.”
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