September 12, 2026: the deadline that the MIT (Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport) had indicated to us at ZEROSBATTI and to other involved associations, to send the response to the request for consultations for drafting the new traffic code. No more than five points, with identified critical issues and solutions, these were the rules to be able to contribute to the formation of the reform.

We will not repeat here the number of accidents, cyclists killed, assaults that we have recorded this year as well, too many and in constant increase, and how today the culture is far from that of other European countries, but that there is urgency is now an established fact.

The regulatory and cultural gaps would be far more than five, starting from the obligation to wear a helmet, from the commitment that local territorial authorities should make in cultural change, but also on a practical level, acting on dangerous situations that repeat themselves, such as for example at roundabouts, at turns or during overtaking…

One rule, however, should always apply in every situation: CAUTION, which must be doubled and tripled when vulnerable road users, cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists are on the road, avoiding any maneuver that could even hypothetically endanger someone's life.

Among all of them we had to choose 5: we propose them to you in a series of articles to facilitate reading, understanding and, if you wish, also debate.

3) THE TURN

The turning maneuver constitutes a situation of particular risk for cyclists, as the motorist does not see them or when they notice them have already completed the maneuver and the damage as well.

Right turn
In a right turn, the danger mainly concerns the cyclist proceeding in the same direction as the motor vehicle, and the main cases are two:
1) The driver does not detect the presence of the cyclist laterally and turns blocking their path
2) The driver of the vehicle overtakes the cyclist and immediately after turns right hitting them. The same risk exists when the cyclist travels on a cycle path or lane affected by the turn.

Left turn
In a left turn, the main danger instead concerns the cyclist coming from the opposite direction, whose direction of travel is crossed by the vehicle making the turn.

The line of cars leaves a passage for the car coming in the opposite direction, or there are no cars and the cyclist proceeds on their right. In both cases the motorist does not see them and turning hits them head-on.

Or the cyclist is overtaking on the left the line of queued cars and the motorist suddenly decides to turn left, hitting the cyclist.

The regulation should therefore expressly identify both situations, imposing on the driver a specific obligation of prior verification, speed moderation and respect for the cyclist's right of way whose trajectory is intersected.

MODIFICATION of the Traffic Code
“The driver who intends to make a right or left turn maneuver must first ensure that the maneuver can be performed without creating danger for cyclists whose trajectory is affected or intersected by the maneuver itself”

Right Turn: the driver must pay particular attention to cyclists proceeding in the same direction of travel, even when they are laterally to the vehicle or circulating on a cycle path or lane. When the turning maneuver intersects the cyclist's trajectory, the driver must give them right of way and, if necessary, stop. It is forbidden to overtake a cyclist immediately before a right turn when, to execute the turn, the driver must subsequently cross or engage the trajectory of the overtaken cyclist.

Left Turn: In case of a left turn, the driver must give right of way to cyclists coming from the opposite direction whose trajectory is crossed by the maneuver, as well as to cyclists circulating on cycle paths or lanes affected by the crossing.

In both cases the driver must reduce speed beforehand, verify the position and direction of travel of the cyclists present and, if necessary, stop, starting or continuing the turn only when it can be completed safely”.

In the right turn it is necessary to protect the cyclist proceeding in the same direction as the vehicle, preventing them from being pulled alongside or overtaken immediately before the turn and subsequently cut off by the vehicle's trajectory.

In the left turn it is instead necessary to ensure that the driver considers and respects the trajectory of the cyclist coming from the opposite direction, which is directly intercepted by the maneuver.

The purpose is to translate the qualification of the cyclist as a vulnerable road user into specific rules of caution in maneuvers that involve the intersection of their trajectory.

The same principle is applicable to roundabouts, where motorists should be required to exercise greater caution on entry if cyclists are present (for example by prohibiting an overtake at the roundabout entrance, often the cause of accidents).

3 - to be continued