About 200 cyclists met at former City Gate in Valletta this morning and walked down Republic Street carrying their bikes to St George’s Square in a bid to create awareness about the presence of cyclists on the road.

The walk was organised by the Bicycling Advocacy Group and other pro-cycling groups to raise the awareness among car drivers about the vulnerability of cyclists with whom they shared the road.

Rather than organising a ‘protest ride’ cyclists took a peaceful approach and used their walk to encourage drivers and the public to consider cyclists, particularly when overtaking or passing them.

Through the silent dismounted activity, participants drew attention to the past cycling fatalities and serious accidents which happened more recently without disrupting traffic.

Some of the participants wore t-shirts promoting the idea that motorists should adopt the best practise of aiming to give cyclists 1.5m clearance when passing them. This ‘best practise’ not only sought to protect the cyclist, but also the driver, upon whom the onus of responsibility lay, as the overtaking vehicle.

While various countries supported different passing distances, the principles were the same. The 1.5m rule followed best practice adopted in the UK where recommended passing distances were 1m for 32kph roads and 1.5m for 50kph roads.

Passing distances were useful to help drivers understand that while bicycles were expected to keep left, as with all vehicles, they were also advised by the same law to be watchful for road hazards that may cause them to have an accident.

The safe passing distance took the bicycles dynamic envelope and the need of cyclists to avoid pot holes, glass and road debris or the sudden appearance of pedestrians or car doors in their path, into account.