Cyclist on M8 this morning

AugustusMaximus · 12-12-2009 6:22pm #1

Just wondering did anyone else see the cyclist on the M8 this morning between Glanmire and Watergrasshill.

2nd time I've seen this person on the same stretch of road at the same time on a Saturday morning (around 9AM) within the last 3 weeks.

If this cyclist is a regular to cycling on this stretch of motorway, I might give a ring to Glanmire Garda station the next time I see him.

TimAllen · 12-12-2009 7:31pm

AugustusMaximus wrote: »

Just wondering did anyone else see the cyclist on the M8 this morning between Glanmire and Watergrasshill.

2nd time I've seen this person on the same stretch of road at the same time on a Saturday morning (around 9AM) within the last 3 weeks.

If this cyclist is a regular to cycling on this stretch of motorway, I might give a ring to Glanmire Garda station the next time I see him.

A rare enough sight thats for sure. Though I did see a cyclist on the M1 a while back. There's no justification or need for it - putting him/her self in harms way like that is pretty dumb!

AugustusMaximus · 12-12-2009 7:33pm

What was worse than him being on the motorway was the fact that he was practically cycling on the solid yellow line. Crazy stuff.

CianRyan · 12-12-2009 7:35pm

I know a lot of racers that use the motor way to train. Not saying it's ok to do but that's probably what he's doing.

The guards wont do much, they usually tell them they're not aloud on the motor way and ask them to leave, nothing more being said.

TimAllen · 12-12-2009 7:43pm

AugustusMaximus wrote: »

What was worse than him being on the motorway was the fact that he was practically cycling on the solid yellow line. Crazy stuff.

Never mind calling the gardai - the "men in white coats" would be more appropriate - thats suicidal!
The thing I cant understand about a cyclist engaging in this kind of behaviour, putting him/herself in mortal danger for nothing! A cycle on a regular road would I'm sure, offer far more in terms of scenery etc and would be legal and (relatively) safe.
I think there are some cyclists out there who feel aggrieved that they are not allowed to cycle on a motorway and choose to break the law as a form of protest. There's no accounting for the intellect of some of these tree hugging anarchist types!

AugustusMaximus · 12-12-2009 7:47pm

CianRyan wrote: »

I know a lot of racers that use the motor way to train. Not saying it's ok to do but that's probably what he's doing.

The guards wont do much, they usually tell them they're not aloud on the motor way and ask them to leave, nothing more being said.

Yep, the man looked like he was training.

What I don't understand is that there is the R639 (old N8) which has basically no traffic on it between Glanmire and Watergrasshill which would be far more suited to the cyclist.

TimAllen · 12-12-2009 7:48pm

CianRyan wrote: »

I know a lot of racers that use the motor way to train. Not saying it's ok to do but that's probably what he's doing.

The guards wont do much, they usually tell them they're not aloud on the motor way and ask them to leave, nothing more being said.

yeah, until there's a fatality, which is inevitable if the OP's description of the cyclist's behaviour is accurate:eek:

Rougies · 12-12-2009 7:48pm

To be honest, I'd feel safer cycling on a motorway than on most other roads in this country!

I'm not justifying his actions though, it is illegal after all.

TimAllen · 12-12-2009 7:50pm

AugustusMaximus wrote: »

Yep, the man looked like he was training.

What I don't understand is that there is the R639 (old N8) which has basically no traffic on it between Glanmire and Watergrasshill which would be far more suited to the cyclist.

a "serious" cyclist - they're the worst, knows all the rules of the road but decides which ones apply to him and which can be ignored.

Seth Brundle · 12-12-2009 7:51pm

Rougies wrote: »

I'm not justifying his actions though, it is illegal after all.

Is it an actual punishable offence?

Tigger · 12-12-2009 7:52pm

Rougies wrote: »

To be honest, I'd feel safer cycling on a motorway than on most other roads in this country!

I'm not justifying his actions though, it is illegal after all.

i agree

Rougies · 12-12-2009 7:55pm

kbannon wrote: »

Is it an actual punishable offence?

I'm not sure about that. I'd say it would take a LOT of getting caught by the same Garda for anything to happen, and then probably only a warning.

TimAllen · 12-12-2009 7:58pm

Tigger wrote: »

i agree

with feeling safer cycling on a motorway? With cars travelling at 120kmh and trucks at 80kmh within a couple of feet of you? With long gaps between exits?
With a collision being almost guaranteed to be fatal?:eek:

Rougies · 12-12-2009 8:01pm

The chances of getting hit on a motorway are far lower than on any other road with traffic. That counts for vehicle collisions too.

TimAllen · 12-12-2009 8:05pm

Rougies wrote: »

The chances of getting hit on a motorway are far lower than on any other road with traffic.

as cyclists have never been allowed onto motorways, any statistics relating to collisions involving other traffic types are meaningless in the context of cyclist safety. Maybe the low rate of collisions is partly down to the fact that cyclists, pedestrians and other slow moving traffic are not allowed on the motorway.

Rougies · 12-12-2009 8:07pm

TimAllen wrote: »

as cyclists have never been allowed onto motorways, any statistics relating to collisions involving other traffic types are meaningless in the context of cyclist safety. Maybe the low rate of collisions is partly down to the fact that cyclists, pedestrians and other slow moving traffic are not allowed on the motorway.

That's true, but I'm calculating the odds based on the statistics of accidents involving vehicles on motorways compared with other roads.

Tigger · 12-12-2009 8:07pm

TimAllen wrote: »

as cyclists have never been allowed onto motorways, any statistics relating to collisions involving other traffic types are meaningless in the context of cyclist safety. Maybe the low rate of collisions is partly down to the fact that cyclists, pedestrians and other slow moving traffic are not allowed on the motorway.

that made me giggle

stastical analysis at its best

very few bikes on motorways = very few hit

Tigger · 12-12-2009 8:09pm

TimAllen wrote: »

with feeling safer cycling on a motorway? With cars travelling at 120kmh and trucks at 80kmh within a couple of feet of you? With long gaps between exits?
With a collision being almost guaranteed to be fatal?:eek:

if you cycle on a n rioad cars are doing 120 (rightly or wrongly) and trucks are douing 80 anyway
motorways are wider and straighter

definatly safer

Rougies · 12-12-2009 8:13pm

Tigger wrote: »

if you cycle on a n rioad cars are doing 120 (rightly or wrongly) and trucks are douing 80 anyway
motorways are wider and straighter

definatly safer

Yep, and I'd much rather cycle on a straight road with a lane completely to myself, thus eliminating the need for cars/trucks to overtake me, especially on bends.

AugustusMaximus · 12-12-2009 8:14pm

Rougies wrote: »

Yep, and I'd much rather cycle on a straight road with a lane completely to myself, thus eliminating the need for cars/trucks to overtake me, especially on bends.

If only this particular cyclist used the lane. He was practically on the yellow line.

Tigger · 12-12-2009 8:16pm

i've noticed that my self
i think the edge is full of stuff that'llo hurt thier tyres

Rougies · 12-12-2009 8:16pm

AugustusMaximus wrote: »

If only this particular cyclist used the lane. He was practically on the yellow line.

Well you can cycle faster on the line

peasant · 12-12-2009 8:20pm

Tigger wrote: »

if you cycle on a n rioad cars are doing 120 (rightly or wrongly) and trucks are douing 80 anyway
motorways are wider and straighter

definatly safer

Rougies wrote: »

Yep, and I'd much rather cycle on a straight road with a lane completely to myself, thus eliminating the need for cars/trucks to overtake me, especially on bends.

sometimes I just despair :rolleyes:

TimAllen · 12-12-2009 8:35pm

Rougies wrote: »

That's true, but I'm calculating the odds based on the statistics of accidents involving vehicles on motorways compared with other roads.

yes and the problem with that is, the statistics are meaningless. I mean, you could say the same for pedestrians, horse riding, or any other roaduser and arrive at the same conclusion, using stats in such a flawed fashion - do you really think the motorway would be as safe if such users were allowed to use them?

Tigger · 12-12-2009 8:36pm

@ peasent
whadda you mean

its definatly safey to cycle on the hard shoulder of a motor way then on the n17 between sligo and tubbercurry true or false

TimAllen · 12-12-2009 8:42pm

Tigger wrote: »

@ peasent
whadda you mean

its definatly safey to cycle on the hard shoulder of a motor way then on the n17 between sligo and tubbercurry true or false

I see some of that sentence is in english - what other language are you using? E,g "whadda" "definatly" and "safey":D
Is there a motorway alternative from Sligo to Tubbercurry?

Victor · 12-12-2009 11:17pm

TimAllen wrote: »

Never mind calling the gardai - the "men in white coats" would be more appropriate - thats suicidal!
The thing I cant understand about a cyclist engaging in this kind of behaviour, putting him/herself in mortal danger for nothing! A cycle on a regular road would I'm sure, offer far more in terms of scenery etc and would be legal and (relatively) safe.
I think there are some cyclists out there who feel aggrieved that they are not allowed to cycle on a motorway and choose to break the law as a form of protest. There's no accounting for the intellect of some of these tree hugging anarchist types!

So, what is your diagnosis for drivers that park on the footpath?

ytareh · 12-12-2009 11:27pm

Chill out lads ,while Im not saying I APPROVE of this ,far worse things happen on our roads...It clearly states at motorway entry points "No vehicles under 30mph "(or did, pre metric)...A good 'racer' should be able to do that with a decent tailwind...No motorway could be as 'cyclist lethal' as the N4 westbound just before Liffey Valley...or 25-50% of the national road network come to think of it ...

Eoin · 12-12-2009 11:33pm

Victor wrote: »

So, what is your diagnosis for drivers that park on the footpath?

Are there footpaths on the motorway? Because that's what this thread is about.

TimAllen wrote: »

I see some of that sentence is in english - what other language are you using? E,g "whadda" "definatly" and "safey":D

This is not the English forum.

Mr.Boots · 12-12-2009 11:41pm

i used to cycle the arklow gorey bypass till they made it a motorway.
It was great for training if a little boring.
I would still cycle it iif allowed...there isnt any real greater danger involved.
20kmh higher speed...but lets face it...if your hit at 100kmh your f$*ked anyway....so 20kmh extra dont make a hoot of a difference.(everyone was speeding on it before anyway)
I actually dont realy have any good roads to train on anymore since the n11 was made a motorway on that section.....secondry roads are lethal on the dark evenings...motorway is definetly safer.
To anyone who cant get thier head around it....go out cycling for a few weeks and youl understand.

Mr.Boots · 12-12-2009 11:43pm

TimAllen wrote: »

I see some of that sentence is in english - what other language are you using? E,g "whadda" "definatly" and "safey":D
Is there a motorway alternative from Sligo to Tubbercurry?

Get a life dude

Cyclist on M8 this morning

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