From 25 February new road rules will be introduced on Tasmanian roads for when passing or overtaking cyclists.
It will become allowable for a motorist to straddle or cross a continuous centre line in order to leave a safe space between their vehicle and the cyclist, but only when there is no oncoming traffic and it is safe to do so.
A safe space is considered to be one metre between the motorist and the cyclist, on roads up to and including 60km/h and 1.5 metres on roads above 60km/h.
Currently it is illegal to cross a continuous centre line at any time. The rule change is designed to increase the safety of bike riders.