Source: Radio New Zealand
One proposal is to require drivers travelling under 60km/h to give way to buses pulling out from bus stops. RNZ / Emma Hatton
The Automobile Association says the government’s proposal to bring in a number of new road rules will clarify the situation for road users to make sure that everyone is on the same page.
AA chief policy and advocacy officer Simon Douglas told Checkpoint the government was trying to address the fact that there were now more drivers, more cyclists, more scooter riders and cities were increasingly more densely packed.
“So just a bit of a reset of the rules of the game so that everyone’s on the same page around some of these points of rub is a really good idea.”
One of the rules proposed by the government was to introduce a mandatory passing gap of between one and 1.5 metres, depending on the speed limit, to give motorists clearer guidance when passing cyclists and horse riders.
It is already recommended that motorists do not pass a cyclist closer than 1m, but Douglas said currently there was no enforceable rule around the correct distance for a driver to pass a cyclist.
“So what this gives us the opportunity to do is to say very very early in teaching young drivers to drive, there’s a rule that says that there’s a passing distance, a minimum passing distance.
“Setting that up as a rule, as an enforceable rule, really just says ‘you know we’re serious about this, this is one of those things that you need to learn to put into practice as a courteous driver’.”
It would be useful for everyone to know there was no equivocation about this in terms of whether it was a rule or a recommendation, he said.
“So we see it as a way of clarifying, removing doubt and just a way to help enforce good etiquette from a very early age.”
Another proposal is to require drivers travelling under 60km/h to give way to buses pulling out from bus stops.
Douglas said a recent AA survey found that about half of respondents thought you had to give way to a bus that was pulling out but the other half either thought you did not have to give way or didn’t know.
“At the moment the law isn’t, doesn’t say that a bus has right of way,” he said.
Driving was a complex task, he said.
“You’re in that moment where you’re think ‘well the bus is pulling out, does he or she have the right of way, do I scamper in front of them, do I wait behind them?’”
Currently some of the time there was a lack of certainty around what the rule was, he said.
Douglas acknowledged that sometimes people were just not driving courteously.
“One of the things about this set of rules is that it will give the opportunity for enforcement behaviour.
“So if you’re not giving a cyclist the right distance or you’re not letting the bus go past and there’s a police officer nearby, it gives them a tool and they will undoubtedly be able to levy a fine.”
That way drivers do not need to make a decision about how to act, he said.
“You just know, the bus has right of way, I will let the bus in.”
The government is consulting on two packages for rule changes, the first focuses on lane use and everyday road rules, while the second focuses on heavy vehicles.
Other proposed changes in its first package include allowing e-scooters to use cycle lanes, allowing children up to age 12 to ride their bikes on footpaths and clarifying signage rules so councils can better manage berm parking.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
