Ongoing: campaigns to raise awareness of the overtaking distance between motor vehicles and cyclists

Too little overtaking distance is one of the most common causes of accidents between cyclists and motor vehicles on the road. Overtaking too closely endangers both overtaking drivers and cyclists. Unlike drivers of motor vehicles, cyclists move on two wheels. They often start off swaying slightly until they have stabilized on the road. On the road, they have to be able to compensate for the suction and pressure generated by vehicles passing them at a faster speed and react to potholes and bumps. To do this, they need space that allows them to react.

Too close a distance when overtaking restricts this reaction space. This creates fear and discomfort. Hence the appeal: only overtake if you can maintain a distance of at least 1.50 m.

Reasons for insufficient overtaking distance include

• Lack of awareness: Many people are not aware of the importance of the overtaking distance. The campaign aims to raise awareness of this.
• Incorrect assessment: As the perspective from the car is difficult to assess, the distance is often misjudged. For this reason, the city of Aachen, with the kind support of cambio carsharing, invites people to get into real cars at its stand during campaign days and have the distance to adjacent bicycles estimated.

Overtaking distance is not a question of law.

The conflict between cars and cyclists all too often leads to a categorical and instructive "dead end". Motorists accuse cyclists of wanting to categorically assert their rights. Cyclists feel that their fears are not understood. What many people do not realize is that there are clear physical reasons why the overtaking distance should be at least 1.5 m.

Nevertheless: The legal situation

The issue of "overtaking distance" is not a "Lex-Aachen".

StVO § 5 Para. 4
"When overtaking, a sufficient distance to the side of other road users, in particular pedestrians and cyclists, must be maintained."

The law was introduced in 1975 to provide road users with comprehensive information on correct behavior when overtaking. The law does not specify a distance that can be measured in meters.

Accident experts can reconstruct the distance of the overtaking vehicle to the right-hand side of the road.

Conclusions for the road

If it is not possible to overtake with sufficient safety distance, motorized traffic is required to drive behind cyclists until it is possible to overtake with at least 1.5 m lateral distance. During the overtaking maneuver, it may also be necessary to briefly swerve into the oncoming lane, provided it is clear.

In the case of multi-lane carriageways in one direction, the use of the left-hand lane alone can create the necessary distance when overtaking cyclists on the right-hand lane.

In order to draw attention to this potential danger, the city of Aachen uses various campaigns and media to make road users aware of this issue.

Circulated media

• High visibility vests for cyclists, which are issued free of charge,
• 800 stickers applied to the rear of municipal vehicles, ASEAG cars and Velo City Aachen's public bikes,
• 800 stickers applied to the cockpits of municipal vehicles and ASEAG buses,
• Outdoor advertising on an ASEAG bus,
• 1,500 stickers for the cockpits of private cars, which were distributed to the citizens of Aachen by means of postcards with explanatory background information.
• Information and hands-on activities at campaign stands, e.g. FahrRadTag, EUREGIO-Wirtschaftsschau, as part of the European Mobility Week (EMW), anniversary of Verkehrswacht Aachen, open days at district offices, NRW police campaign days, etc.

The vests are available free of charge

• on request at department 68/210, Lagerhausstraße 20,
• during opening hours at the Aachen bike station https://www.wabe-aachen.de/de/wabe-ev/arbeit-und-soziale-integration/beschaeftigungsprojekte/radstation-radwerkstatt, Bahnhofstraße 22 (for a small donation)
• every year at the City of Aachen's Bicycle and Mobility Day stand or as part of the European Mobility Week (EMW),
• as part of the mobility test weeks, during which companies and employees are invited to test various mobility options free of charge,
• on the guided tours of the city's "FahrRad in Aachen" campaign https://www.aachen.de/de/stadt_buerger/verkehr_strasse/clevermobil/fahrrad_in_aachen/index.html
• 10/2020: Film "By bike in AC."
• The Transport Planning and Mobility department was happy to support Weishaupt Film in the creation of the image film "Mit dem Rad in AC.". At Pontwall, Aachen's first structurally protected bike lane (PBL), two planners together with active cyclists made themselves available for an approximately one-hour film shoot on 27.10.2020.
• The scene captured at Pontwall is a component of the image film "Mit dem Rad in AC." (Cycling in AC.), with which Bernd Weishaupt, as initiator and filmmaker, is committed to sustainable transportation development.
• Weishaupt himself says: "The idea for the film came to me at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. The pandemic has given mobility by bike a whole new significance. Therefore, it was and is important to me to show the positive approaches to promoting cycling that can be seen in the city of Aachen among citizens, companies and institutions and thus to promote the use of bicycles as a means of transport in everyday life and leisure."
• The movie is available online