{"id":956620,"date":"2026-11-08T03:32:15","date_gmt":"2026-11-08T03:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/956620\/"},"modified":"2026-11-08T03:32:15","modified_gmt":"2026-11-08T03:32:15","slug":"cyclist-calls-for-police-to-fine-drivers-who-flout-one-metre-passing-rule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/956620\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyclist calls for police to fine drivers who flout one-metre passing rule"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since installing front and rear cameras on his bicycle last year, Peter Hatton has made four reports of dangerously close calls with drivers who were flouting the safe passing law.<\/p>\n

Since 2017, drivers have been required to leave a one-metre gap when passing a cyclist at 60 kilometres an hour or less and 1.5m when overtaking at a higher speed.<\/p>\n

Drivers who fail to do so incur four demerit points and a $400 fine.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Peter Hatton has documented his close calls with motorists.\u00a0 (Supplied)<\/p>\n

Mr Hatton said police were unable to identify the driver in the first incident he reported and that the other three resulted in cautions with driver education.<\/p>\n

“[In one instance] in the debrief I had with the investigating officer, they mentioned that this gentleman had thought we were riding three abreast and he should perhaps teach us a lesson,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Why issue a caution when there’s a fine and penalties associated with that?”\"Peter<\/p>\n

Peter Hatton has purchased cameras for his bike.\u00a0 (ABC News: Samantha Goerling)<\/p>\n

Six cyclists have died on Western Australia’s roads so far this year and Mr Hatton says he has become increasingly concerned about his safety.<\/p>\n

“I have a high-vis helmet, high-vis shirts, reflectors on my ankles, I have three flashing red lights on the back of my bike, one flashing white light on the front,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Getting home safely is everything.”Under-reporting of close passes<\/p>\n

Police say the safety of all road users is taken seriously and that every report is assessed on individual circumstances and the evidence available.<\/p>\n

“Depending on those circumstances, the appropriate response may include education, a caution, an infringement or other enforcement action,” WA Police said in a statement.<\/p>\n

“A caution is a formal warning which is recorded and is visible to officers who may encounter the recipient in the future.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Cyclists say it’s time to move past cautions and fine drivers who get too close when overtaking.\u00a0 (ABC News: James Carmody)<\/p>\n

Amy’s Foundation, formed in honour of Amy Gillet<\/a>, a top cyclist killed in a bicycle accident in Germany, campaigned for the safe passing laws now in place nationwide.<\/p>\n

Managing director Katherine Bates said the foundation’s surveys of riders indicated the issue was under-reported.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Katherine Bates says only one in five cyclists report close passes in WA. (ABC News: Dean Caton)<\/p>\n

“We know that, from Western Australia, only about 20 per cent of people who experience close passes on their bikes even bother to report it,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Of that 20 per cent, only 30 per cent then proceed to even hear back from the police.<\/p>\n

“It keeps people off bikes and the power imbalance firmly in the hands of drivers.<\/p>\n

“It’s only consistent enforcement that will make a difference.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

WA Police say each incident is assessed on an individual basis.\u00a0 (ABC News: James Carmody)<\/p>\n

The WA Road Safety Commission said it was working with peak body WestCycle to make roads safer.<\/p>\n

“Real change is possible when we have a shift in culture that recognises that every person sharing the road deserves to get home safely,” the commission said in a statement.<\/p>\n

“The key focus of the partnership includes an engaging Ride Safely Together social media campaign promoting mutual respect between cyclists and drivers, with a particular focus on compliance with the safe minimum passing distance.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Since installing front and rear cameras on his bicycle last year, Peter Hatton has made four reports of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":956621,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[523941,64,63,523942,207381,784,523940,18183,44,86,523939,45],"class_list":["post-956620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-amys-foundation","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bike-paths-perth","tag-bike-safety","tag-cycling","tag-cycling-rules","tag-cycling-safety","tag-news","tag-perth-news","tag-peter-hatton","tag-wa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/956620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=956620"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/956620\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/956621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=956620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=956620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=956620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}