September 12, 2026: the deadline that the MIT (Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport) had indicated to us at ZERO DEATHS 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 even this year, too many and constantly increasing, and how today the culture is far from that of other European countries, but that there is urgency is now a known 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 are on the road, cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists, 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.

4) OVERTAKING ONLY IN SAFETY

The maneuver that has the greatest critical issue is the one that regulates overtaking. The current code would impose a minimum distance from the cyclist of at least 1.5 meters, but with a condition: "where road conditions permit".

No mention of speed and caution and how this maneuver should be performed. The condition renders the provision ineffective and no one, among motorists, respects it and the consequences in case of collision at high speed are always serious or very serious or fatal.

The safety of this maneuver does not depend solely on lateral distance, but also on the speed of the overtaking vehicle and the difference with that of the cyclist, visibility, available width and the possibility of completing the overtake entirely without returning early, taking into account precisely the vulnerability of the cyclist, the possible swerves to which he is subject, the air vacuum that is created when a vehicle overtakes at high speed.

It is necessary to clarify and impose on motorists that, if it is not possible to guarantee the prescribed safety distance, and if there are no conditions to guarantee a safe overtake, the overtake must not be performed.

The regulation should be worded as follows: «The driver of a motor vehicle who must overtake one or more cyclists must initiate the maneuver only when he has sufficient visibility and space to perform it entirely in conditions of total safety. Before and during the overtaking maneuver, the driver of the motor vehicle must adapt the speed to the concrete situation, reducing the speed differential with respect to the cyclist by a maximum of 10 km per hour more, maintaining throughout the maneuver a lateral distance of not less than 1.5 meters.

If the width of the roadway, the presence of traffic from the opposite direction, visibility, road markings or any other condition do not allow compliance with the prescribed lateral distance of at least 1.5 meters and completion of the maneuver in safety, overtaking is prohibited and the driver must wait until suitable conditions exist.

When road markings and traffic regulations permit, the driver may use in whole or in part the portion of roadway beyond the center line exclusively to the extent necessary for overtaking and after verifying the absence of danger for vehicles coming from the opposite direction and for any other road user.

The return to the lane at the end of overtaking must occur leaving the cyclist sufficient space margin for his safety, without forcing him to slow down, brake, swerve or modify his trajectory.»

The lateral distance of at least 1.5 meters is considered by law an imperative condition to perform the maneuver: if it cannot be respected due to road conditions, the driver of the motor vehicle must wait until the conditions stated here exist.

The driver of the motor vehicle about to overtake one or more cyclists must take into account their vulnerability, the fact that they are subject to swerves and oscillations, their precarious balance and therefore must exercise the greatest possible caution in performing this maneuver to ensure they pass unharmed».

The modification aims to transform the lateral safety distance from a mere indication to an actual and essential requirement to perform the maneuver, together with speed and caution towards the vulnerable party.

THE SPEED OF OTHERS: ENEMY OF CYCLISTS

One certain fact emerges from our experience and especially from the case studies collected from 2017 to today: excessive speed is the cause or contributing cause of most accidents, not only as a direct cause but also because it often does not even allow a minimal reaction to normal trajectory oscillations of the cyclist, road surface irregularities, obstacles, lateral wind or other circumstances not attributable to the cyclist.

Motorists are not accustomed to taking into account the vulnerability and instability of the cyclist, so a regulation that imposes cautious conduct on them would help raise the level of caution and attention.

The law, in this case the Traffic Code, must therefore call motorists to attention when they encounter cyclists on their path, and adapt their speed, increase their level of alertness and caution.

The motorist must be made responsible for preventing dangerous situations arising also from possible variations in the cyclist's trajectory. In particular, when approaching one or more cyclists and during any overtaking maneuver, the driver must reduce speed appropriately to the concrete situation and maintain conduct that allows stopping or other emergency maneuvers in safe conditions.»

In this way, form would be given to the qualification of the cyclist as a vulnerable road user, translating the definition into a specific behavioral obligation.

INADEQUATE SPEED LIMITS

Safety in coexistence between motor vehicles and bicycles does not depend exclusively on compliance with the maximum speed limit, but above all on speed adapted to the concrete situation, and when there are cyclists, the law must impose greater caution on stronger users also in terms of speed.

The bicycle can be physiologically subject to trajectory variations determined by potholes, road damage, debris, lateral wind or normal balance requirements.