Road Safety Minister Michelle Roberts has defended the meagre number of fines — just 10 — slapped on drivers for endangering cyclists since new laws came into force more than 18 months ago, saying the move is working via education rather than the big stick approach.

The news laws, which came into effect in November 2017, require motorists to keep a 1m distance from cyclists. It stipulates drivers must pass a bicycle travelling in the same direction no closer than 1m on roads where the speed limit is 60km/h or less, or 1.5m on roads where the speed limit is more than 60km/h.

The penalty is $400 and four demerit points.

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But Mrs Roberts said the point of the new laws was not to raise revenue from fines but to “encourage people to do the right thing, and the feedback I’ve had has been overwhelmingly positive”.

“I said when I launched this new rule that I was not expecting there to be a large number of prosecutions, this is largely about common sense and mutual respect between motorists and cyclists,” she said.

“Cyclists have reported that motorists are giving them more space when overtaking, so that is a good thing.

“It has always been a requirement under the law to allow a safe distance when passing a cyclist. Without a specified distance, this law was almost impossible to enforce. What this new rule does is prescribe a minimum safe distance which we believe greatly improves safety.”

The small number of fines handed out has prompted a protest from the State’s peak cycling group, WestCycle, of an “apparent lack of proactive policing of the minimum passing distance laws”.

But Mrs Roberts said police would only issue a fine where there was “clear and legally admissible evidence of a breach”, meaning it was often difficult for police to be in the right place at the right moment to catch drivers passing too close to cyclists or to accurately measure a 1m passing distance.

A WA Police spokesman said in some cases police also pulled over drivers to “engage with them to educate on the need for greater awareness and respect to all road users”.

Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT also have a 1m passing law, but few fines have been handed out.

Across Queensland in 2017, 39 infringements were issued to motorists for failing to leave a safe distance when passing cyclists, while in NSW 65 fines were issued in just over two years to May 2018.

That’s despite research from Queensland’s Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety which found nearly one in four drivers broke the safe pass law.

Victoria resisted a push to introduce a specific law, but it has a 1m guideline.