December Road Rage season has begun

unionman

I don't know about you, but road rage seems to intensify at this time of year. Maybe it's the seasonal pressure, the grim economic outlook or people upset about pork and ham, but I have just survived an encounter with a motorist that reminded me that it is indeed that special time of year.

I was on my commute this morning, made the right turn from O'Connell Street onto Cathal Brugha St and crossed Marlborough St and went to go left onto Cumberland St north.

As I made the left turn, a car screeched up behind me, leaning on his horn. I stopped and looked around, I had no idea what was going on, but he was right up on my wheel. I made a gesture as if to say 'What's up?' (thankfully my tendency to instantly give the single finger salute has subsided. Took a lot of therapy I don't mind telling you). He's in the car pointing and screaming and generally making the kind of gestures common to angry motorists. I've been an angry motorist myself, I recognise the signs.

As a matter of habit, I try to memorise the registration number of cars that are driven by people behaving in an erratic matter. I see this as a civic duty, because while I have emerged from my encounter unscathed, the next person (be it motorist, cyclist or pedestrian) who encounters this guy may not be so lucky. I do this even before I've decided to report an incident.

So as he pulls away toward Gardiner St I'm looking at him drive away. Then he pulls in, jumps out of the car and comes charging at me waving his fist, in which I notice he has bunched his car keys. At the very least, this guy is going to land a punch on me if he gets a chance. Part of me wants to stand my ground and have it out with him, but self preservation takes a hold, and I am on my way up Cumberland street faster than a hot snot. He's barking at me 'You're a f***ing a**hole', so as I cycle away, my return bon mot is '99 D XXXXX'.

I know what you're thinking, Oscar Wilde would be proud of such a witty and effective riposte. I just wanted to let the guy know that while he was running after me, I decided that yes, I was definitely going to report it.

So, I make it into work a bit adrenalised and bit confused (as to how it all happened) and a bit annoyed that this guy behaved the way he did. So I rang TrafficWatch, gave the details, and said yes, happy to talk to Gards etc etc etc.

Maybe nothing will come of it, but at the very least I hope he gets a call from the Gards. On its own it might be enough to make him think twice about behaving the way he did this morning.

Maybe the guy is under a lot of pressure. Maybe he's bereaved or about to lose his job. He had, I think, a woman and a small child in the back of the car. Maybe he was driving them to the hospital. He wasn't a big ferocious animal who looked quick to anger, he looked like a guy whose normal disposition is that of a doormouse, but his rage was very real, and I think I feel a bit sorry for him.

Anyway, it's made me all very philosophical, and now that I'm feeling calmer, I hope he is too.

So, as we enter into this season of more frequent and random rage, I wish all of you a very safe and uneventful December. Stay safe out there.

Danbo!

Sounds like something happened with a cyclist maybe a bit earlier on on his journey and maybe he mistook you for that cyclist? Unless there's more to it that you left out? Go on unionman, give him back his wingmirror

Gavin

Well the good news is, you're back on the bike !

unionman

Verb wrote: »

Well the good news is, you're back on the bike !

Yeah, second week back, it feels good. Road rage notwithstanding!

@nobelstee - interesting theory about the other cyclist. And unless his wing mirror accidentally lodged itself in my a... hang on, no, definitley not there. Hand on heart, I gave you the full and unvarnished truth of every aspect of that incident from my own perspective. Obviously his is different.

Raam

I had a guy chase me down the road in his car recently. He had cut me up and missed me by inches. Definitely the closest I've ever been to being knocked off. Apart from that time when I actually was knocked off. Anyway, I banged on his window as he was passing and then started to take a photo of him later when I got past. This REALLY irked him so he chased me down the road and kept cutting in front of me telling me to stop as he was calling the guards. Bit funny really because the reason I took his photo was so I have a record for the guards myself.

TinyExplosions

Confrontations like that (keys in fist) are one of the reasons I tend to have my lock in my by back pocket.... queue 'that's not a weapon, THIS is a weapon'

Seriously though, stay safe folks!

'68 Fastback

It might just be my own paranoia but I reckon the recent budget has had a detrimental effect on the already shakey motorist/cyclist relationship. I had the pleasure(?) of hearing Plank Kenny's pieces on cyclists the week before last and it seems that the levy on city parking coupled with the new cycle scheme has gotten the motorists backs up in a big way.

Vélo

I'd put it down to him just being an A hole.If he was in a rush to go to the hospital why did he get out of the car, then again if he was going to the hospital imagine the response when he got back in the car from his missus.

Morgan

unionman wrote: »

He's barking at me 'You're a f***ing a**hole'

Maybe it was the speech impediment guy, still stinging from your cruel jibes

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=58148462#post58148462

Alanstrainor

Had a similar insane road rage insident during the week. Was coming to the end of my commute, so was fairly wrecked at this stage, coming through a set of GREEN lights when some idiot, on my left, wanting to turn left decides to break his red light and come out infront of me, no i managed to miss him by inches, and show my disgust at his driving. Next thing i know this guy, driving a sl500 mercedes, guns it around infront of me, again missing me be mere inches and rams on the breaks, thanks only to the fact i was cycling my mountain bike and travelling resonably slow i "bounced" off hs rear bumper, ie rear wheel 45degrees in the air and managed to stay up right.

he steps out and starts to scream and shout like a mad man. Me there counting my lucky stars i hadn't flipped! After f'ing and blinding he claims " i'll finsh this " and heads back to his car, not wantin to hang around to see what he means by this, i had to scarper, didnt get his plates....well pissed off about that one.

SerialComplaint

unionman wrote: »

So, I make it into work a bit adrenalised and bit confused (as to how it all happened) and a bit annoyed that this guy behaved the way he did. So I rang TrafficWatch, gave the details, and said yes, happy to talk to Gards etc etc etc.

Maybe nothing will come of it, but at the very least I hope he gets a call from the Gards. On its own it might be enough to make him think twice about behaving the way he did this morning.

You're dead right to report this. Just to prepare you, the next step will be for the local Gardai to contact you and invite you to drop into the station to make a formal statement. They will then go to the other guy, have an initial chat, and may invite him to make a formal statement.

The report then goes to the local Garda Supt who decides whether to take a prosecution.

ROK ON

As an aside there has been a full moon for the past two nights. Culd be linked.

Danbo!

unionman wrote: »

@nobelstee - interesting theory about the other cyclist.

I learnt that the hard way. Got cut off by some young howiya in a black focus one day, who then gave me the finger and sped off, attempting to impress his mates in the car. Next set of lights I catch up and am about to knock on the window, "slightly" angrily, to find a nervous looking OAP in the driver's seat. Oops, wrong black focus. I suppose motorists could get confused in the same way.

rflynnr

SerialComplaint wrote: »

You're dead right to report this. Just to prepare you, the next step will be for the local Gardai to contact you and invite you to drop into the station to make a formal statement. They will then go to the other guy, have an initial chat, and may invite him to make a formal statement.

The report then goes to the local Garda Supt who decides whether to take a prosecution.

Actually, if you're really determined about this I wouldn't wait for the Guards to contact you. Having reported a couple of incidents to Trafficwatch, I've never had any follow-up from the Gardai. Just drop round to your local station, inform them that you've already contacted Trafficwatch and make your complaint.

Hungrycol

noblestee wrote: »

Got cut off by some young howiya ion a black focus one day, who then gave me the finger and sped off...

Tiny that must be you

Manone

Has anyone noticed cars going thru' red lights has increased. There have been 4 cars in the last 2 night at different junctions going thru' red lights cutting me off.

It really is the silly season with traffic, both pedestrians and motorists and cyclists )

Be safe and be seen.

blorg

@Manone- Personally, yes, I do think there has been a definate rise in cars doing stupid things, just the last few weeks. Driving in cycle lanes, overtaking and immediately turning left, pulling out across me, etc. I think the dark is related. I have started to leave my Fenix on turbo permanently now on my commute and this has most definately helped. I point it straight at any driver that looks like they are about to try something and it seems to halt them in their tracks.

Plan to get some more firepower from Deal Extreme, maybe something with a 900 lumen strobe I was concerned with blinding drivers but TBH am now leaning more towards a "feck 'em, I'll make sure they can't say they didn't see me" approach. In any case I don't think the light is blinding when combined with the street lighting, etc (I have never been flashed with it on turbo in the city, only down dark country roads.)

72hundred

blorg wrote: »

Plan to get some more firepower from Deal Extreme, maybe something with a 900 lumen strobe I was concerned with blinding drivers but TBH am now leaning more towards a "feck 'em, I'll make sure they can't say they didn't see me" approach. In any case I don't think the light is blinding when combined with the street lighting, etc (I have never been flashed with it on turbo in the city, only down dark country roads.)

Yeah I was thinking similar in regards getting a diffusing and cheap 18650 torch from DX. (BTW I finally got the charger working - the adaptor was faulty)

The TK11, is excellent. But has a very narrow beam, as do most lights on DX it seems, going by the pic's.

blorg

blorg wrote: »

I point it straight at any driver that looks like they are about to try something and it seems to halt them in their tracks.

Plan to get some more firepower...

This is what went through my head when reading the above.

kenmc

blorg wrote: »

I have started to leave my Fenix on turbo permanently now on my commute and this has most definately helped. I point it straight at any driver that looks like they are about to try something and it seems to halt them in their tracks.

Same. Helmet-mounted fenix means I can point it at drivers coming out from side roads, and can aim it at inside wing mirrors, to hopefully illuminate their left peripheral vision and alert them to my presence, if think they're going to cut left. Also can aim at the backs of other cyclists in hi-vis to really light them up, giving them an extra bit of visibility - it's really quite impressive. Bar mounted 3.7v ultrafire on blinky too, alerting my presence as much as I can

Húrin

Raam wrote: »

This REALLY irked him so he chased me down the road and kept cutting in front of me telling me to stop as he was calling the guards. Bit funny really because the reason I took his photo was so I have a record for the guards myself.

I think a few drivers suspect there is something vaguely criminal about cyclists. Either that or they assume that driving a car confers more respectability upon them when it's their word against yours.

A year ago I was cycling home with the bits of an broken umbrella hanging out my back pannier - fair enough, not perfectly responsible, but nothing dangerous. I passed by an enormous sandy coloured Hyundai SUV on a very small road near my home, and this caused said umbrella's handle to knock on the side of the car.

Suddenly this caused a conflagration of beeping, which I ignored as I turned on my usual right turn. I then noticed yer man going into super pursuit mode, so I entered a laneway shortcut to my house that I don't normally use, thinking that his car would be too big to sensibly fit. But no, he followed in, but shortly after the entrance said lane turns right too tightly for a car.

I had cycled some way up but I noticed he had rolled down the window, so feeling youthful and defensive I went back, eager to shout him down. He was ranting about calling the Gardai and demanded my name and address. I just had to laugh him off and escape... I mean the thought of the gardai taking seriously someone who merely got a knock on his car.

So many people just think the gardai are a replacement mammy, someone who you can have a tantrum at!

'68 wrote:

It might just be my own paranoia but I reckon the recent budget has had a detrimental effect on the already shakey motorist/cyclist relationship.

I don't think there is a shakey motorist/cyclist relationship in Dublin. It's just a few bad apples you hear about, them and taxi drivers*.

Most drivers here are courteous I find, not quite as much as French motorists but not bad by any means. I think most also recognise that some of the near misses and delays caused when our two vehicles are on the road together, are caused by poor road planning and design rather than being the cyclist's fault.

Manone wrote: »

Has anyone noticed cars going thru' red lights has increased. There have been 4 cars in the last 2 night at different junctions going thru' red lights cutting me off.

Yes, I've seen dramatic increases in cars driving through red lights, driving the wrong way down one-way streets, and even driving at dusk/night without the lights on! I also notice that these cars are almost universally registered in counties outside Dublin's commuter belt, so I blame the culchies coming in for the shopping.


*I have actually come across some especially considerate taxi drivers, but they're swimming against the tide unfortunately.

Dolani

Cyclist, the other evening, was pulled in in Castleknock by what appeared to be an irate motorist holding a wing mirror. The driver was holding firmly to the bicycle and the cyclist's female companion had stopped for moral support. Am still trying to put together, in my mind's eye, the sequence of events which would lead to this situation when it's required for drivers to give cyclists about 5 Ft when passing. Anyone know the couple? Driver had gathered a number of local teenagers atthe time. Cyclist seemed unperturbed!

BostonB

Dolani wrote: »

Cyclist, the other evening, was pulled in in Castleknock by what appeared to be an irate motorist holding a wing mirror. The driver was holding firmly to the bicycle and the cyclist's female companion had stopped for moral support. Am still trying to put together, in my mind's eye, the sequence of events which would lead to this situation when it's required for drivers to give cyclists about 5 Ft when passing. Anyone know the couple? Driver had gathered a number of local teenagers atthe time. Cyclist seemed unperturbed!

Could be the cyclist went past the motorist too close either. I've seen that a lot, and brushed a few wing mirrors myself. Considering castleknock is usually a slow moving queue most of them time and its narrow in spots with two lanes being squeezed in.

rflynnr

rflynnr wrote: »

Having reported a couple of incidents to Trafficwatch, I've never had any follow-up from the Gardai.

I know quoting oneself is bad form but still... having dissed Trafficwatch above I must record that when I came home tonight I was in fact called by our local station in regard to an incident that occurred on November 24. So although not exactly lightning-swift, they did respond.

BostonB

blorg wrote: »

...Plan to get some more firepower from Deal Extreme, maybe something with a 900 lumen strobe I was concerned with blinding drivers but TBH am now leaning more towards a "feck 'em, I'll make sure they can't say they didn't see me" approach. In any case I don't think the light is blinding when combined with the street lighting, etc (I have never been flashed with it on turbo in the city, only down dark country roads.)

How do you compare lumen with candlepower? I've a 5 led strobe which seems bright enough but it wasn't enough to light the path in the phoenix park. So I got one of these. http://www.cateye.com/en/product_detail/345 which is a big improvement. But I've noticed that a lot of single lights, front or rear on other cyclists are often obscured, so its good to have a couple in different locations.

Niallface

travelling north along O'Connell street in the cycle lane, a dublin bus in the bus lane starts to pull in with me still in the gap so i start to hammer as hard as i can on the side of the bus and then he starts beeping me as if saying what right do you have to use the cycle lane you ... cyclist

blorg

@BostonB- some information here and here - they are not necessarily directly comparable as far as I can make out as one is a measurement at source at one at the object being illuminated.

As a general rule bike lights quoted in Candlepower are substantially dimmer than the torches where lumens seems to have been standardised on. In terms of that Cateye, there is really no comparison, a TK11 would be maybe 4-5 times as bright while a "900 lumen" (really around 450 lumen) from DX would probably be in the range of 10 times as bright. I had the Cateye HL-EL520 and that was dimmer than the TK11 on low mode (60 lumens.)

One thing to consider though with these torches is that the light tends to be quite directional, out the front, there wouldn't be much in the way of side visibility. I think they make up for that though simply by being so damn bright!

cyclopath2001

Niallface wrote: »

travelling north along O'Connell street in the cycle lane, a dublin bus in the bus lane starts to pull in with me still in the gap so i start to hammer as hard as i can on the side of the bus and then he starts beeping me as if saying what right do you have to use the cycle lane you ... cyclist

Well, the RoTR says a driver must give way to people in a lane that he's moving into.

We don't have cycle lanes, we have cycle 'tracks'...now you know why.

Blame the PDs.