The main components of the new road rules that concern us are that vehicles must keep one metre away from cyclists in 60kph zones and 1.5 metres in zones over 60kph.
To achieve this separation, motorists are permitted (required) to cross double white lines if the road is clear.
When towing, this requirement can be very difficult to achieve on very narrow roads.
Driving from Townsville to Mackay recently we were very surprised to see a cyclist approaching from the opposite direction with a pole with a red flag on the end protruding horizontally from his bike into the traffic lane beside him.
A bit further down the road, we came upon a group of four cyclists going our way, two of whom had similar poles, but with a number of flags spread along the pole.
We thought this would create an unbalancing effect on the bike and extra wind drag and, in our mind, it seems to be a risky practice when most drivers do try to give cyclists as much clearance as possible.
Many caravanners carry bikes: would you carry a pole and flag? Is it legal, and do you think it is works?