Drivers: please don't get pissed off with cyclists in the middle of the road

Beasty

Thread over in After Hours if anyone's interested

Idleater

I just cycled in the left hand wheel track - just where I'm supposed to according to the RotR.

Lumen

First proper facepalm of 2010. 8 days, and it was going so well. Thanks Beasty.

Beasty

Lumen wrote: »

First proper facepalm of 2010. 8 days, and it was going so well. Thanks Beasty.

It's a pleasure

At least you don't have to worry abouit it if it stays in AH:)

blorg

It's the usual stuff, cyclists have no right to use the road but I in my car have an unlimited right no matter what the circumstances... oh and GET OUT OF MY DAMN WAY.

Cyclists should leave their bikes at home and find alternative transport, but no-one seems to think motorists should do the same? Which has the more potential to cause damage in these conditons?

I've been cycling well out, in the leftmost car track, I haven't had any instances of agression but I have had a fair few drivers pass closer than they should, especially given the conditions. In fairness they have all been going slowly but some passes have been too close considering that either they or I could slip.

Gavin

Christ, why even bother start that post, I haven't gotten any beef from any drivers and I've been cycling in the middle of the road the past few days, all the way up the canal, through the park and through D15. If a car is behind me, I usually pull in and let it past, there are so few cars out it doesn't make a difference.

mmclo

Gavin wrote: »

I usually pull in and let it past, there are so few cars out it doesn't make a difference.

I actually had to wave a few through in the park so ginger were they, could hear them of course grinding the frozen slush in the middle as they were behind me so did likewise...for good relations and all.

All in all motorists have been fine but their minds are elsewhere. I went around the outside of a line of traffic on wed. but was inside the lane only to have a guy coming the other way in a car roll down window and shout "that's illegal that is" needless to say I ignored him

buffalo

I got a beep after taking the left-hand turn lane coming across the top of a t-junction on Wednesday morning. Never mind the ice, it's my normal maneuver for going through the junction. And in a cowardly move, he waited until he had made his turn and we were both moving away from each other before beeping. Which was probably for the best, because I would've stopped had he beeped from behind me, and that's not wise in this weather.

SerialComplaint

Cyclists: Please don't get pissed off with pedestrians in the middle of the cycle path - this was the only safe (non-compacted) route for me walking up from the Luas station yesterday.

tunney

SerialComplaint wrote: »

Cyclists: Please don't get pissed off with pedestrians in the middle of the cycle path - this was the only safe (non-compacted) route for me walking up from the Luas station yesterday.

Aye - agressive of any sort towards anyone serves no purposes in any weather, particularly this weather.

projectmayhem

A bit counter-productive that the mod who closed the thread said:

TheZohan wrote:

Why should I? If the choice was between hitting a car full of kids or a cyclist why should I hit the car? Is the life of a cyclist worth more than the life of the occupants of a car?

I don't think so.

I know a large number of motorists that would agree that cyclists should not be out in this weather.


I would imagine that your joints would be killing you even more if you got hit by a hunk of steel.

Take [your mountain bike] out, if you get hit by a car or a bus or any other vehicle it's you that's going to get hurt. Make sure your VHI is up to date.

Seems to have a bee in his bonnet about cyclists despite the fact that our speed and tyres are generally far more equipped for the roads then the cars that are out there today. I see a load of youtube videos with cars unable to drive up hills, or even drive on flat lands because of the ice. No such videos with cyclists struggling in the conditions.

DirkVoodoo

Yeah I know, some of the "advice" being thrown around on that thread was laughable. I mean, saying that cycling in ice is dangerous is not quite the same as saying cycling in the ice is dangerous because I am a bad driver and might skid into you or onto a footpath. Which person should stay at home, the cyclist or the driver?

If people haven't cycled in ice then they really shouldn't be saying what is safe and what isn't. Having driven and cycled in the recent weather, I know which one I feel safer doing.

But the thread is now closed, arguing your case doesn't seem to go down well.

Alanstrainor

Gavin wrote: »

Christ, why even bother start that post, I haven't gotten any beef from any drivers and I've been cycling in the middle of the road the past few days, all the way up the canal, through the park and through D15. If a car is behind me, I usually pull in and let it past, there are so few cars out it doesn't make a difference.

+1, when i was cycling through town last week i got zero grief from anyone when i needed to cycle in the middle of the road. In most cases i was keeping up with traffic, and even over taking it.

ednwireland

j got 2 miles of this before i hit a main road

Idleater

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

I mean, saying that cycling in ice is dangerous is not quite the same as saying cycling in the ice is dangerous because I am a bad driver and might skid into you or onto a footpath. Which person should stay at home, the cyclist or the driver?

It's worse than that though: "it's the council's fault for not gritting the roads that meant that I couldn't stop without skidding because I was going the speed I would normally do on that road".

The unwillingness of drivers (or anyone for that matter) to accept responsibility for their actions while being unwilling to change their actions on the roads to suit the conditions is laughable.

short circuit

In some cases I can sympathise with the drivers and why they would get irritated.

I was last Wednesday ... stuck in town in the car, it took me 2 hours to get down from Harolds cross to the quays ... I was already worked up at this stage ... But on the run in along the quays to Heuston station ... I see this girl cycling between 2 lanes of traffic. At this point, the road has 3 lanes .. 2 for cars and 1 bus lane ... All 3 lates were gritted and clear of snow, slush, ice ... the preferred area to cycle would either be middle of bus lane (buses had been cancelled by then and none were around). What she did was cycle between the 2 lanes of cars where the road markings were holding back traffic.

I didn't do anything harsh .. waited for space and crossed her by a safe margin ... but a few drivers were honking and I can understand why.

Then again, I saw a guy cycling on the road today in Dublin 15 in the middle of the road ... and was behind him for about half a mile ... but I could see why he was doing it and understood that he wouldn't be there if he could help it ... and was not too bothered myself.

Bunnyhopper

Sure cars are grand on ice...:rolleyes:

(skip in to 1:50 and wait for the fun to start)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3PwQG-lLVw

Then of course there's the North American variant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWT1pY1mVlY

kenmc

Took the car for it's NCT there this evening, first time driving in this weather this time around - felt much less secure than on the bike all week - hard to tell what's ice and what's clear. Glad to get home, and the roads weren't even freezing from what I could tell.

But yeah it's really funny- I don't recall seeing any bikes abandoned in the middle of the road, or parked up on the path. Nor do I recall having seen any cyclists sitting there spinning their wheels for minutes trying to get moving up a gentle incline. Nor have i seen a single article on aaroadwatch saying "Cyclist stuck on <insert bridge|road|hill>, traffic at a standstill, avoid the area".
Cars, SUVs, buses, vans and lorrys yes, but not bikes.
Now remind me which mode of transport the motorists reckon is more suitable to snow and ice again? Morons.

Raam

kenmc wrote: »

Now remind me which mode of transport the motorists reckon is more suitable to snow and ice again? Morons.

Tanks!

Tawfee

Bunnyhopper wrote: »

Sure cars are grand on ice...:rolleyes:

(skip in to 1:50 and wait for the fun to start)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3PwQG-lLVw

Then of course there's the North American variant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWT1pY1mVlY

Here's the UK version...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAKeGr5dv0A&annotation_id=annotation_626070&feature=iv

monument

Raam wrote: »

Tanks!

They can also be fun on ice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y48vct6JTlU

And this was in posted as a reply to one of the videos above, going down Infirmary Road onto Parkgate Street... poor quality video but you get to see how cars can slide on ice... and tbh I don't think bikes would be much better here:

IM0

that blanc video shows what Ive suspected, that its just the crap drivers (and thats a fair few) who spin their wheels going nowhere, as can be seen in the vid its the drivers who use the high revs and brute force rather than low revs and higher gears to get over the incline who make the others look like prats.

I've taken to watching a bit of the news lately (weather stuff) and every road shot is of some muppet going nowhere spinning their wheels, the population must be looking at that and thinking "oh yeah Ill try that next time" :rolleyes:

RoundTower

projectmayhem wrote: »

A bit counter-productive that the mod who closed the thread said:



Seems to have a bee in his bonnet about cyclists despite the fact that our speed and tyres are generally far more equipped for the roads then the cars that are out there today. I see a load of youtube videos with cars unable to drive up hills, or even drive on flat lands because of the ice. No such videos with cyclists struggling in the conditions.

yeah this guy seems to have a major stick up his arse about cyclists.

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Lumen

Feel free to re-start this discussion in Motors.