QUEENSLAND motorists could be forced to give cyclists a one metre berth in urban areas and more in high-speed or country areas.

The parliamentary transport committee is reviewing cycling laws after a string of deaths.

Moggill MP Bruce Flegg, who is a keen rider, says too many cyclists are dying on Australian roads.

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He says Australia's fatality rates compare poorly with those in Britain and in the US where helmets are not compulsory in most states.

Dr Flegg supports a proposal to introduce laws stipulating safe passing distances.

``It's a war zone out there,'' he told the committee in Brisbane on Wednesday.

``We see motorists virtually every day sticking their finger up at you, cutting you off or tailgating you, and deliberately brushing against you.''

Cyclists accounted for 4.9 per cent of road fatalities and hospitalisations between 2008 and 2012 in Queensland, and there were 11 bicycle fatalities last year, up from nine in 2011.

Last Saturday, Les Karayan was killed in Brisbane when a truck clipped a rail bridge and crushed him.

Cycling advocates told the committee they supported the one-metre rule, but questioned whether it could be enforced.

They also questioned how practical it was on narrow city roads.

Paul French, from the Brisbane CBD Bicycle User Group, recommended reducing speed limits to 30kph in urban areas, and called for more dedicated bike paths.

He said 500,000 people weren't getting on their bikes because they were scared.

``The obstacle to making progress to getting more people cycling is the lack of genuine political will,'' he said.

The committee also heard from Philip Pollett, whose 25-year-old son Richard died when he was hit by a cement truck in Brisbane in 2011.

He wants a coronial inquest to help prevent similar incidents, saying his son had an unsafe 90 centimetres between the truck and the curb.

``Had the driver of the cement truck applied his brakes, recognising that there was not sufficient clearance to pass lawfully, Richard would still be with us,'' he said.

The committee will also hold hearings on the Sunshine Coast and in Townsville and Cairns.