The e-petition, set up after their fiancés were killed while out cycling on February 14 this year, is clocking up 150 signatures every hour.

Last Wednesday, Hayley Lindsay and Tracey Fidler counted 8,782 signatures, but only a week later that figure had gone up to 14,128 and it now stands at more than 16,500.

The cyclists, Kris Jarvis, 39, and John Morland, 30, were killed after Alexander Walter ploughed into them in a BMW convertible travelling at nearly 70mph.

The pair were pronounced dead at the scene.

Walter, 31 of Beech Road in Purley was jailed for 10 years and three months in April. He has since launched an appeal against his conviction.

Mother-of-two Hayley, said: “We are doing it for Kris and John, but it is also for people in the future. I think John and Kris would be overwhelmed by the response we are getting.”

Last Wednesday, Hayley and Tracey marked the six-month anniversary of the accident with an emotional ceremony at the spot where they died.

Around 50 friends and family returned to Purley Rise to lay flowers and release balloons for Kris and John.

Silence fell as the mourners lay bouquets of flowers and stood in silence remembering the two friends.

Tracey and Hayley released balloons with their partners’ names on them — a green one for Kris, and a blue one for John — their favourite colours.

The others wrote tributes in marker pen on their balloons before releasing them en masse at 9.26pm, the moment at which the men were pronounced dead. Mother-of-five Tracey, 38, said: “The whole day was very emotional. We knew it was going to be hard. But it was more emotional than I expected.

“I spent the whole day crying.” Hayley, 27 from Tilehurst, added: “Every day is hard but significant days like birthdays and that day are harder. But we were standing there, looking at where they landed, and everything rewound back in your head.”

The women thanked all those who had signed the petition and urged others to join in the campaign.

Altogether, 100,000 signatures are needed to spark a parliamentary debate on the issue, and the deadline is March 30, 2015.

To sign, visit http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/67911