A NEW report shows most Canberra drivers give cyclists enough space when passing them.

The study, which was conducted by the University of Adelaide, was released today (May 6) to coincide with National Road Safety Week, and looked into how drivers comply with the ACT’s minimum passing laws.

As part of the research, GPS-enabled devices were fitted on twenty-three bicycles, recording the distance between the bicycle and passing vehicles during August and September last year.

A total of 6531 kilometres and 272 hours of riding was undertaken by the volunteer cyclists in the four week period, and 16,476 passing events were detected.

The study found that when the speed limit was 60km/h or below, 97.3 per cent of motorists were compliant, compared to 88.8 per cent of drivers on roads with a speed limit above 60km/h.

“The results from this study proves the value in ACT’s minimum passing rules, with the majority of motorists providing safe overtaking space to cyclists sharing our roads,” says Road Safety Minister Shane Rattenbury.

“However, there were occasions where passing events were detected at very close distances, of less than half a metre, which is incredibly dangerous.”

Minimum passing laws were introduced in the ACT in 2015 on a trial basis, and were permanently implemented last year. The law states that drivers are required to provide a minimum passing distance of one metre when overtaking cyclists in speed zones at or below 60km/h, and 1.5 metres in speed zones above 60km/h.