This is what gets cyclists a bad name

neris · 02-09-2014 11:41am #1

Was coming through Sutton Cross on Sunday morning in the car heading towards the Dart station when these 3 muppets appear in the middle of the road. I know Sutton cross is a mess at the best of times and most cyclists will try get a bit of the junction to be in front of the cars when pulling off but blocking the middle of the road is asking for a Darwin award.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5fD94zUPHA

Raam · 02-09-2014 11:52am

Numpties.

endacl · 02-09-2014 11:54am

Interesting topic, OP. I don't believe its been covered before. I predict reasoned and balanced debate...

Brian? · 02-09-2014 11:59am

Raam wrote: »

Numpties.

Interesting I always thought it was numptys.

Timberrrrrrrr · 02-09-2014 12:00pm

neris wrote: »

Was coming through Sutton Cross on Sunday morning in the car heading towards the Dart station when these 3 muppets appear in the middle of the road. I know Sutton cross is a mess at the best of times and most cyclists will try get a bit of the junction to be in front of the cars when pulling off but blocking the middle of the road is asking for a Darwin award.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5fD94zUPHA

You then continue on and break a red light!

Tenzor07 · 02-09-2014 12:01pm

That's an awful junction at every direction for cyclists and drivers!

From the way the light sequence goes is traffic going straight at Sutton X get's the green whereas the right turn remains red for the ped crossing..maybe they got confused and moved forward before stopping and realising there mistake.

Fair play to you for not blasting the horn at them(?) like a lot of cars would do..

There should really be an advance stop box for cyclists there due to the large numbers of cyclists on that very popular route..

Tenzor07 · 02-09-2014 12:03pm

Timberrrrrrrr wrote: »

You then continue on and break a red light!

In all fairness, the driver had proceeded legally through the green, slowed down for the bicyclists, then moved around them, during that time he was in the middle of the road when the light flicked from amber to red...

So what would you have him do, stop dangerously in the middle of a busy junction to face traffic from both sides??

There could also have been a following car behind him which may have meant the junction is now blocked for other traffic.

Chips Lovell · 02-09-2014 12:06pm

OP had a green light. Cyclists forced him to stop in the junction, when lights turned. He was correct to proceed when the way was clear.

neris · 02-09-2014 12:07pm

If you at 10 seconds theres a guy in white which is where most cyclists stop. It is a nightmare of a place to be stopped and trying to push off from especially at busy times.

If i didnt go through the red light I would then have been blocking the traffic and the other cyclist in the Howth lane and there were no pedestrians waiting to cross either

Chips Lovell · 02-09-2014 12:07pm

Tenzor07 wrote: »

That's an awful junction at every direction for cyclists and drivers!

I've never had any problem with this junction.

Chips Lovell · 02-09-2014 12:09pm

No doubt the clowns out in the junction are the type who proclaim it's "safer" to break the lights and stop out beyond the stop line.

Raam · 02-09-2014 12:10pm

I have negotiated that junction a billion times at least. Never had a single problem with it.

OldNotWIse · 02-09-2014 12:12pm

Did the driver break a red at 0:10?

Raam · 02-09-2014 12:13pm

OldNotWIse wrote: »

Did the driver break a red at 0:10?

No, he was already in the middle of the junction. He has to proceed to clear it.

Germancarfan · 02-09-2014 12:17pm

OldNotWIse wrote: »

Did the driver break a red at 0:10?

no - he was all ready through the line for the junction so safe to proceed. stopping would have created an obstructon

OldNotWIse · 02-09-2014 12:18pm

Raam wrote: »

No, he was already in the middle of the junction. He has to proceed to clear it.

Germancarfan wrote: »

no - he was all ready through the line for the junction so safe to proceed. stopping would have created an obstructon

Ah. It's a little confusing the way they have the lights positioned (to me anyway)

iwillhtfu · 02-09-2014 12:18pm

Cyclists were in the wrong. Unfortunately these kind of gob****es result in most cyclists being tainted with the same brush. At the end of the day nothing is to be gained by knocking down a cyclist it's just a shame so many have no care for their own safety.

The driver didn't break the red light he had to clear the junction or become a hazard himself unnecessarily.

End of debate.

dragratchet · 02-09-2014 12:18pm

same here, negotiate that junction regularly on the bike without a problem.

was driving back from howth a couple weekends ago and a cyclist infront of me was performing a trackstand at that junction hoping the light would change.. which it didnt for what seemed like 3-4 minutes. my girfriend had never seen a trackstand before and was in hystrerics as this lad found it increasingly harder to stay upright. he did it in the end, really impressive. we were cheering him on from the car

Raam · 02-09-2014 12:19pm

OldNotWIse wrote: »

Ah. It's a little confusing the way they have the lights positioned (to me anyway)

The first set of lights for the junction is behind the driver, so we can't see them in the vid.

Tenzor07 · 02-09-2014 12:20pm

Oscar Gateaux wrote: »

I've never had any problem with this junction.

Ok, I will be more specific so..

Coming from Howth road South bound the 2 lanes narrow at the lights so no cycle lane on the left to move up to the top of the que at the lights. Any filtering has to be done between the two lanes of traffic which is far from ideal due to the traffic coming right out of the Supervalu.

From Greenfield road direction... The left of the road is quite broken up on the approach to the lights, and there is no advance stop box for cyclists.
Same on the other side coming from Sutton station direction.
Also turning left from Greenfield road there is occasion where cars coming from the Marine hotel drive straight out as the bicyclist may not be seen making the left turn.

The sequence is quite slow for Howth bound traffic, especially going right and i've noticed a lot of bicyclists staying on the path after the coast road cycle lane runs out.

So my point is it's fine for most experienced cyclists, but is not easy to negotiate for novices as this video seems to highlight..

07Lapierre · 02-09-2014 12:21pm

Tenzor07 wrote: »

That's an awful junction at every direction for cyclists and drivers!

From the way the light sequence goes is traffic going straight at Sutton X get's the green whereas the right turn remains red for the ped crossing..maybe they got confused and moved forward before stopping and realising there mistake.

Fair play to you for not blasting the horn at them(?) like a lot of cars would do..

There should really be an advance stop box for cyclists there due to the large numbers of cyclists on that very popular route..

Agree its a crap junction but why the special treatment for cyclists? its crap for both cars and motorists..if the cyclists had obeyed the ROTR there wouldn't have been a problem?

desertcircus · 02-09-2014 12:21pm

I know it's a quibble, but it does my head in to read or hear phrases like "this is what gives cyclists a bad name". A cyclist or group of cyclists doing something idiotic give themselves a bad name; people who lean towards cheap stereotyping extend the blame to cyclists as a group.

Tenzor07 · 02-09-2014 12:24pm

07Lapierre wrote: »

Agree its a crap junction but why the special treatment for cyclists? its crap for both cars and motorists..if the cyclists had obeyed the ROTR there wouldn't have been a problem?

Not asking for special treatment, ideally I would like to see some improvements to the junction for cyclists, just as a continuous cycle lane from the coast road lane to this junction at least, and some advance cycle lights and stop boxes.
I think you will agree that this is one of the busiest junctions for cyclists in north Dublin, especially at evenings and weekends..

Tenzor07 · 02-09-2014 12:24pm

desertcircus wrote: »

I know it's a quibble, but it does my head in to read or hear phrases like "this is what gives cyclists a bad name". A cyclist or group of cyclists doing something idiotic give themselves a bad name; people who lean towards cheap stereotyping extend the blame to cyclists as a group.

Good point, cyclists are not a homogenous group...

07Lapierre · 02-09-2014 12:27pm

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Not asking for special treatment, ideally I would like to see some improvements to the junction for cyclists, just as a continuous cycle lane from the coast road lane to this junction at least, and some advance cycle lights and stop boxes.
I think you will agree that this is one of the busiest junctions for cyclists in north Dublin, especially at evenings and weekends..

Be careful what you ask for..we don't have a good track record for building good quality bike lanes!

Kav0777 · 02-09-2014 12:30pm

Raam wrote: »

I have negotiated that junction a billion times at least. Never had a single problem with it.

Literally?...:eek:;)

I agree with you, I've cycled it many times and never had a problem.

cdaly_ · 02-09-2014 12:34pm

Tenzor07 wrote: »

That's an awful junction at every direction for cyclists and drivers!

From the way the light sequence goes is traffic going straight at Sutton X get's the green whereas the right turn remains red for the ped crossing..maybe they got confused and moved forward before stopping and realising there mistake.

Quite aside from the hotel carpark exit which lands directly into the middle of the junction without the benefit of any traffic light...

Ole Rodrigo · 02-09-2014 12:35pm

He could have just offered a wave of apology. Unless he felt it was his right to break a red light.

Chips Lovell · 02-09-2014 12:37pm

desertcircus wrote: »

I know it's a quibble, but it does my head in to read or hear phrases like "this is what gives cyclists a bad name". A cyclist or group of cyclists doing something idiotic give themselves a bad name; people who lean towards cheap stereotyping extend the blame to cyclists as a group.

It's illogical. But that's how a lot of people think. And it's why plenty of innocent cyclists get dogs abuse because of antics like this.

cdaly_ · 02-09-2014 12:38pm

Kav0777 wrote: »

Raam wrote: »

I have negotiated that junction a billion times at least. Never had a single problem with it.

Literally?...:eek:;)

Oh, I'd say so. He's very quick you know. You never see him passing you out unless there's a shocking strong headwind slowing him down to below the speed of light...

iwillhtfu · 02-09-2014 12:41pm

desertcircus wrote: »

I know it's a quibble, but it does my head in to read or hear phrases like "this is what gives cyclists a bad name". A cyclist or group of cyclists doing something idiotic give themselves a bad name; people who lean towards cheap stereotyping extend the blame to cyclists as a group.

As much as it might annoy you this is the view of most people. They don't see a father of 3 on a bike or a much loved daughter they see a cyclist and people cycling like gob****es don't help the opinion a lot of road users have of us.

This is what gets cyclists a bad name

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