Cycling and one way streets.

Jeapy

Apologies if this is the wrong place for this, but does anyone know if it's illegal to cycle the wrong way down a one way street? I know some might think it's morally wrong, but is there any law? Or does anybody know how I might find out?

Caroline_ie

... Not sure if it's illegal, but it's certainly dangerous....

snubbleste

Yes it is illegal.
Check out the various Road Traffic Acts for more info or ask the next Garda you see.

Jeapy

Caroline_ie wrote: »

... Not sure if it's illegal, but it's certainly dangerous....

I agree with you. A friend of mine is wondering. A guard swore at him and is charging him for it. Some people have said they don't think there's a law against it though. In his defense, it was a wide road that's quiet and only ablut 75m long and I'd probably have done the same myself.

Gavin

Definitely illegal if there is no contra flow cycle lane there. Tell your mate to go and apologise to the Gardai and see if he'll let it go.

Jeapy

snubbleste wrote: »

Yes it is illegal.
Check out the various Road Traffic Acts for more info or ask the next Garda you see.

Where would I get the acts do you know? is there anywhere online? Asked a Garda and he doesnt know but is going to check it out!

liamo

My first thought is that it would be illegal.

As far as I can remember from the Rules of the Road, a cyclist is classed as a "slow-moving vehicle". That, to me, means that a cyclist is subject to all the rules that motorised vehicles are subject to.

In other words, replace the word "cycle" in your question with "drive a car" and you will probably have your answer.

Regards,

Liam

Gavin

Verb wrote: »

Definitely illegal if there is no contra flow cycle lane there. Tell your mate to go and apologise to the Gardai and see if he'll let it go.

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/plweb-cgi/fastweb?TemplateName=hitlist.tmpl&view=ag-view&query_rule=%28%28%24query3%29%29%3Alegtitle&operator=and&numresults=25&sorting=none&query3=road%20traffic&dbname=Acts&dbname=SIs&simplesearch.x=0&simplesearch.y=0

blorg

It is illegal in Ireland. It is not illegal throughout the world.

Jeapy

liamo wrote: »

My first thought is that it would be illegal.

As far as I can remember from the Rules of the Road, a cyclist is classed as a "slow-moving vehicle". That, to me, means that a cyclist is subject to all the rules that motorised vehicles are subject to.

In other words, replace the word "cycle" in your question with "drive a car" and you will probably have your answer.

Regards,

Liam

Verb wrote: »

Definitely illegal if there is no contra flow cycle lane there. Tell your mate to go and apologise to the Gardai and see if he'll let it go.

blorg wrote: »

It is illegal in Ireland. It is not illegal throughout the world.

Thanks everyone for the replies!
J

This reminds me, I had to swerve to avoid a cyclist hitting me when I was going down Eglinton Road on Friday. The guy came from Clonskeagh Road and swerved into the wrong cycle lane.

fish-head

It's illegal but I do it sometimes if it's easier and I think it's safe. Doesn't stop motorists beeping and shouting like monkeys at you though!

Driver: "THIS IS A ONE WAY STREET!"

Me: "I'm only going one way.." and off I go..

I wouldn't go the wrong way up a one way st if it was more than 100 meters or so though.

John_C

Caroline_ie wrote: »

... Not sure if it's illegal, but it's certainly dangerous....

There was a talk on in trinity last week by a professor of cycling planning from England and he said that in a lot of quiet one way streets it's safer going the wrong way than but on busier roads it's not.

Gavin

Eh.. I don't think that was quite what he said. I thought he said that contra flow cycle lanes on quiet one way streets were a good idea.

Not just arbitrarily cycling up a one way street. It is dangerous if the oncoming cars don't know to look for cyclists. This also includes cars turning onto the street from private premises..

cantalach

Jeapy wrote: »

Apologies if this is the wrong place for this, but does anyone know if it's illegal to cycle the wrong way down a one way street? I know some might think it's morally wrong, but is there any law? Or does anybody know how I might find out?

It certainly is illegal. And that's a terrible pity in Cork because the infamous Patrick's Hill is one-way downhill, which means you have to cop some abuse and horn-blowing as you slowly make your way up!

blorg

Germany allows cyclists cycle the wrong way up one way streets. They do have to be marked with the "bike frei" sign I pasted above. No dedicated contra-flow lane, the cyclist just has to keep right (e.g. would be left here.)

It works there and the safety record is impressive. I believe this is largely due to low speed limits.

John_C

Verb wrote: »

Eh.. I don't think that was quite what he said. I thought he said that contra flow cycle lanes on quiet one way streets were a good idea.

Not just arbitrarily cycling up a one way street. It is dangerous if the oncoming cars don't know to look for cyclists. This also includes cars turning onto the street from private premises..

Your memory might be better than mine but what I remember him saying is that he often meets resistance when proposing to allow cyclists go the wrong way down one way streets because people assume that it's dangerous. But that on a lot of quiet narrow streets people are driving slowly by sight and a cyclist coming towards you is quite visible. While saying this he had up a picture of a narrow lane, just wide enough for a car, the type of thing you'd ofter find in an old city centre.

stevenmu

On a similar line, does anyone know is it legal/illegal for cyclists to use contra-flow bus lanes? I'd have thought not but I see a lot of people doing it around Stephens Green.

I don't know if anyone knows where Hume Street connects on to the road around the green, but I've seen a few very close calls there with cars pulling out, and in fairness when your pulling out there and watching a lot of traffic coming from the left and only expecting buses to be coming from the right it can be very easily to not spot a cyclist and pull out in front of them.

markpb

stevenmu wrote: »

On a similar line, does anyone know is it legal/illegal for cyclists to use contra-flow bus lanes? I'd have thought not but I see a lot of people doing it around Stephens Green.

Yes it's illegal but I suspect it's like jaywalking, i.e. never enforced. Plenty of cyclists use the contra-flow cycle lane you're talking about, it's hard enough getting around the city centre without all the daft one way systems in place.

There was an interesting (albeit slightly piss-take) article about this in one of the free rags this morning.

seamus

stevenmu wrote: »

On a similar line, does anyone know is it legal/illegal for cyclists to use contra-flow bus lanes? I'd have thought not but I see a lot of people doing it around Stephens Green.

It's only legal if bikes are specified on the sign afaik:
Normal flow sign with bike:


Contra-flow without bike


However, since the latter sign is an informational sign for people *not* using the bus lane, and the former is a sign for everyone, I don't know what the law is. Is there anything in the statutes which states that bikes are permitted to use bus lanes?

blorg

stevenmu wrote: »

On a similar line, does anyone know is it legal/illegal for cyclists to use contra-flow bus lanes? I'd have thought not but I see a lot of people doing it around Stephens Green.

By default bikes are allowed use all with-flow bus lanes and prohibited from contra-flows.

Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations, 1997 wrote:

(2) A person shall not enter a bus lane with a vehicle other than an omnibus or a pedal cycle during the period of operation of the bus lane which shall be indicated on an information plate.

(3) A person shall not enter a contra flow bus lane with a vehicle other than an omnibus.

This is the default situation. There are exceptions; e.g. a specific contra-flow bike lane is provided with the bus lane on Leeson Street. Similarly some with-flow bus lanes are bus only where an off-road cycle track is provided.

John_C

blorg wrote: »

This is the default situation. There are exceptions; e.g. a specific contra-flow bike lane is provided with the bus lane on Leeson Street.

I wonder how someone's supposed to get into this lane without coming from the lane leading up to it.

Gavin

John_C wrote: »

I wonder how someone's supposed to get into this lane without coming from the lane leading up to it.

hah yeah I was just wondering the same. I often cycle up that contra flow bus lane by Stephens Green.

rp

Verb wrote: »

hah yeah I was just wondering the same. I often cycle up that contra flow bus lane by Stephens Green.

The same way as you cross bus-stops, house entrances, etc., when riding a cycle lane: dismount & push, of course! (hence the term "push-bike")

John_C

Verb wrote: »

hah yeah I was just wondering the same. I often cycle up that contra flow bus lane by Stephens Green.

I think everyone does. The funny thing is, my rules of the road book has a picture of the bus lane on Leeson Street as its example of a contra flow lane that cyclists are banned from.

stevenmu

I do see a lot of people doing it, I don't have any real problem with it, but it is very easy to not notice cyclists coming up that way when you're watching the traffic for a gap, especially on the dark winter evenings. But I'll be cycling more than driving for the next while so I'm sure i'll do it myself the odd time.

PeadarofAodh

There's a one-way road I often use running from the nine arches bridge to milltown luas station - a fairly steep one, if anyone knows it. It's very rarely used as only one of the lanes of traffic at the bottom have access but as it's so steep and pretty narrow I have a feeling I'm going to come off pretty badly with a car one of these days...

LoanShark

fish-head wrote: »

It's illegal but I do it sometimes if it's easier and I think it's safe. Doesn't stop motorists beeping and shouting like monkeys at you though!

Driver: "THIS IS A ONE WAY STREET!"

Me: "I'm only going one way.." and off I go..

I wouldn't go the wrong way up a one way st if it was more than 100 meters or so though.

And I'm Guessing this Makes you Immune to becomming a Garfield Look-a-Like on the outside of someones car?


That bit of street from Camden Street that goes straight up towards Rathmines I Think it is Sth Great Richmond Street is a bugger of road for Cyclists to go against the traffic... SOMEDAY A cyclist will be Snookered.

SerialComplaint

PeadarofAodh wrote: »

There's a one-way road I often use running from the nine arches bridge to milltown luas station - a fairly steep one, if anyone knows it. It's very rarely used as only one of the lanes of traffic at the bottom have access but as it's so steep and pretty narrow I have a feeling I'm going to come off pretty badly with a car one of these days...

It's called Richmond Ave South, and I cycle up the hill most mornings. You may have noticed that Dublin City Council have added a 2nd no-entry sign at the top of the hill, following my reporting of 10+ cars that I've met breaking the 1-way system over the past year or so.

Cyclists coming down against the 1 way are more of an inconvenience than a risk. THe greatest risk of collision is the bottom of the hill, where it exits out onto Milltown Road. I've had a few close shaves as I pull around that corner, to meet a cyclist coming the wrong way down the hill sitting over on the right-hand side of the road (from their POV). The good news for you if you continue to break the 1-way system in the mornings is that car traffic should not be going up the hill between 7am and 10 am, as there is a 'no left turn' sign with a 'except for cyclists' addendum.

Victor

Myth wrote: »

This reminds me, I had to swerve to avoid a cyclist hitting me when I was going down Eglinton Road on Friday. The guy came from Clonskeagh Road and swerved into the wrong cycle lane.

That would also be breaking a "no right turn" sign.

stooge

SerialComplaint wrote: »

It's called Richmond Ave South, and I cycle up the hill most mornings. You may have noticed that Dublin City Council have added a 2nd no-entry sign at the top of the hill, following my reporting of 10+ cars that I've met breaking the 1-way system over the past year or so.

Cyclists coming down against the 1 way are more of an inconvenience than a risk. THe greatest risk of collision is the bottom of the hill, where it exits out onto Milltown Road. I've had a few close shaves as I pull around that corner, to meet a cyclist coming the wrong way down the hill sitting over on the right-hand side of the road (from their POV). The good news for you if you continue to break the 1-way system in the mornings is that car traffic should not be going up the hill between 7am and 10 am, as there is a 'no left turn' sign with a 'except for cyclists' addendum.

I cycle down it every morning on my way to work between 9-9.30. The last few metres at the bottom are always pretty scary even though no cars should be comng up at that time.

Theres been a few close shaves in my car as well. Last Friday I was about to turn the corner to drive up and a girl in a silver car was just at the bottom. slammed the brakes on and came to a stop about 6 inches from her bumper. Lucky for me there were no cars behind me otherwise I would have been rearended. Made the silly girl reverse back up the hill:mad: