Bizarre/Illegal things on motorways

zuroph

Mc Love wrote: »

Passed my M7/M20 sliproad today and some eejit had pulled in at the side of the sliproad!!

think i passed same guy.. flat tyre.

Mc Love

He could have pulled up a tiny bit further!

JupiterKid

zuroph wrote: »

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?threadid=2056066133 the OP claims to have pulled off the motorway to take the photo. I can see the motorway in his sideview mirror. He's in the hard shoulder. Its pointed out that its illegal, and someone claims we only have rules to copy the brits (:rolleyes:) and that we want a nanny state...

I hate this country sometimes.

Ditto - I also posted on that thread and we were screamed at by other posters to get off the Laois forum as we weren't "locals" and weren't welcome to post.

God this country is so, so backward and gombeen it makes me cry.:(

sesna

JupiterKid wrote: »

Ditto - I also posted on that thread and we were screamed at by other posters to get off the Laois forum as we weren't "locals" and weren't welcome to post.

God this country is so, so backward and gombeen it makes me cry.:(

Unbelievable - what a complete bunch of rednecks... "Sure tis Ireland boyo, we're not meant to follow dat ting da british brot, da law"

fergalr

nordydan wrote: »

Not a motorway, but on the topic of cyclist behaviour, I saw a cyclist cycling through the M50/N4 interchange towards Liffey Vallet. While not restricted he was negotiating weaving traffic from the M50 N/B.
A brave man

BigMoose wrote: »

I could never understand why cyclists use the N11 in such numbers at the weekends. From what I can tell they even run organised races on sections between Bray and Rathnew (before green bits turned blue - I'd like to hope that organised races no longer happen on the blue bits!). The road is no different, it's not safe now and it wasn't when the signs were green! Driving at 100/120 onto an off ramp is a nightmare when trying to avoid the extremely slow cyclist making their way cross the bottom of the slip.

Uh, there's nothing bizarre or illegal about cyclists on N roads, which aren't motorways.
Cyclists have a right to use national roads.

I had to cycle briefly on the N4 yesterday and the level of disrespect from some drivers is shocking. If you are driving so fast that you have difficulty avoiding cyclists (law abiding, well lit, using the road correctly), then you are driving too fast, and ought to be ashamed of the danger you pose to others.

paddymacsporran

I drive primarily but ride a bike for fitness too. The N11 is fine on a bike as long as you stay on the hard shoulder, where the exits are it's safer for a cyclist to go up the slip road and down the other side, but not always practical on the N11. I would say the onus is on the cyclist to make sure it's safe and clear of cars turning off before crossing the slip road exit. However, not all drivers indicate their intentions.

Re danger to road users, some cyclists are pretty arrogant. Riding on a motorway or jumping a red light is just plain crazy, and gives a bad name to all cyclists. However when on the bike I'm amazed by the amount of times someone passes me then cuts across me immediately turning left, forcing me to brake/swerve/avoid them. Drivers like that should try riding a bike for a while.

BigMoose

Uh, there's nothing bizarre or illegal about cyclists on N roads, which aren't motorways. Cyclists have a right to use national roads.

My point was that while it isn't illegal it is dangerous. The N11 has a 100km/h speed limit, where it turns to M11 it's 120. It's illegal to cycle in one place and not the other, however in my view equally dangerous. What makes it safe to cycle in the hard shoulder on the N part and not the M? It's the exact same road that was N one day and M the next...

paddymacsporran

The M11 is not the same road as the N11 - You head south of wicklow and it goes single-carraigeway. The slips and joining lanes are all flyover on the M roads, N roads have junctions like Kilmacanogue....(!!)

The thing about infrastructure is it needs to provide for all types of road user, N roads are there to do that and M roads don't. The hard shoulders on N roads in Ireland are generally great for cycling, and the dual sections with hard shoulder are way better than the UK for example.

As you seem to think both are just the same, do you therefore give due consideration to cyclists, tractors and other road users on the N11?

BigMoose

I'm not talking about the single carriageway bits of the N11. The bit round rathnew IS the exact same road, that one day was an N road, the next day was reclassified an M road. The only change being green signs turned blue. What made it safe for cyclists to be on that very bit of road one day and not the next? I am saying that on those high quality dual carriageway sections of the N11 it is not safe.

BigMoose

BigMoose wrote: »

My point was that while it isn't illegal it is dangerous. The N11 has a 100km/h speed limit, where it turns to M11 it's 120. It's illegal to cycle in one place and not the other, however in my view equally dangerous. What makes it safe to cycle in the hard shoulder on the N part and not the M? It's the exact same road that was N one day and M the next...

Strictly speaking, no road is "safe" for cyclists, on all you are dependant on the vigilance of motorists not to run them over.

Motorways are not called motorways for nothing! also there are no motorways that do not have an existing N or R road to take non-motorway traffic.

paddymacsporran

We are going slightly off topic here, but that section of road was built to motorway standards - That made it legal for other road users, not just cyclists in the past. The reason as far as I understand why that and the Gorey bypass were done that way was to secure EU funding and accelerate the approval process for M status, avoiding long drawn out consultation processes.

It was legal, now it's not, so non-qualifying road users should not use M roads. You say you consider it dangerous - have you ridden a bike on it? I do that regularly between Coynes Cross and Newtonmountkennedy, and I don't think it's any more dangerous than any other road.

fergalr

BigMoose wrote: »

My point was that while it isn't illegal it is dangerous. The N11 has a 100km/h speed limit, where it turns to M11 it's 120. It's illegal to cycle in one place and not the other, however in my view equally dangerous. What makes it safe to cycle in the hard shoulder on the N part and not the M? It's the exact same road that was N one day and M the next...

Well, I would hope that the answer to your question is that when it was an N road, drivers drove with appropriate care and speed control to make sure they would be able to avoid cyclists - because they expected that there might be cyclists on the road.

Generally, roads like the N11 don't make things dangerous for cyclists - drivers treating them like motorways, which they are not, do.

I really hate the attitude that 'Oh, well, its only an N road, but its like a motorway, so its the cyclists fault for taking a risk and being on it'.
The drivers should be driving at a speed which does not make it dangerous for cyclists, because it is not a motorway, and if they are doing otherwise, its not the fault of the road, or the cyclist - its the fault of the drivers.

paddymacsporran

On the M11 just after Bray this afternoon heading north, traffic was tailing back....

Guy in an Astra, no roof-rack, with a matress on the roof. Still in packing, must have just bought it. Him and a mate had the windows open, holding it in place. One hand on yer mattress, one controlling the car.....

Bizzare!

paddymacsporran

paddymacsporran wrote: »

On the M11 just after Bray this afternoon heading north, traffic was tailing back....

Guy in an Astra, no roof-rack, with a matress on the roof. Still in packing, must have just bought it. Him and a mate had the windows open, holding it in place. One hand on yer mattress, one controlling the car.....

Bizzare!

Either the pair were extermly strong, or it was going very slowly.

paddymacsporran

About 40/50kph, assume they had a rope over it and through the windows surely, but didn't see that.

Truckers weren't happy with them, they were causing a lot of hassle due to the low speed.

meglome

On the M1 this afternoon there was a guy bonnet up on side of the motorway, obviously broken down. Just off the end of one of the slip roads. When I passed there was another car parked nose to nose with him with jump leads. This car was obviously pointing the wrong way up the motorway and I shudder to think how he got into position.

Jennyfer

On M7 last week or week before, and coming off exit 10 Newbridge, tailbacks for the left turn at top of the sliproad just tipping onto the hardshoulder and IDIOTS who are either too impatient to take their place in the Q or feel they're too superior for that kind of nonsense (:p) were actually stopped in slow lane, indicating to pull in tryin to skip up a few spots. Fine if your in a carpark or something and just being a bit cheeky but on a fooking motorway with cars and trucks coming flying up behind you?? Plain stupid.

KevR

Saw a car reversing along the emergency lane of the M6 on the westbound carriageway at J16 (Loughrea). I presume he/she missed the exit and was trying to get off. God forbid this person would drive the few mins to J17 and double back.

Aidan1

Saw a guy in a jeep reversing back down the slip road from the East bound carraigeway of that same junction on the M6 on Sunday afternoon at about 15:30 (White LWB Mitsubishi Pajero). The fact that he could have just rejoined the road by going straight ahead and using the other slip road seems to have passed him by.

Robbo

I saw some gentleman pulled over by the traffic corps on the Limerick bypass, Northbound just past the Ballysimon exit, last weekend.

They were involved in an animated discussion as to why they couldn't use their horse and trap on that particular stretch of road.

Stinicker

Robbo wrote: »

I saw some gentleman pulled over by the traffic corps on the Limerick bypass, Northbound just past the Ballysimon exit, last weekend.

They were involved in an animated discussion as to why they couldn't use their horse and trap on that particular stretch of road.

Sure she was only out for a little trot boss!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qaiIxo3qf8

rameire

Today roughly 5.25pm
Northbound on the M50
coming up to junction 9 the Mad cow, I was in lane 1, about to merge off into the auxilary lane to bypass all the cars waiting to exit outbound on the N7 and I notice a nice shiny black merc slowing down in front of me.
I merge over into the auxilary, and notive the merc driven by a middle ages Woman come to a complete stop in lane 1, just before its too late to merge off.
she then leans forward and checks out the road signs a few hundred meters down the road and then decides to come off.
if only there was a truck coming up behind her to take her out.

Meteoric

Couple of months ago, driving on the M50 heading towards the M11 there was a car ahead of me with a child, probably about 6 or 7 hanging out the window. The child had her entire torso out of the window, car was doing about 110 kph and passed by an off ramp with the child still out the window. Driver did not seem to be slowing down or attempting to stop the child at all :eek: I overtook but could still see the child in the rear view mirror for an age after.

Irish and Proud

Stinicker wrote: »

Sure she was only out for a little trot boss!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qaiIxo3qf8

I know it wasn't a motorway in the video, but OMG! :eek::eek::eek:

A horse and cart race with vans at least 3 abreast - I saw at least one car going the other way and also saw a van travelling in the opposite hard shoulder following the race.

Unbelievable - someone is going to get killed someday! :eek:

JohnC.

It's not that uncommon either.

betistuc

You think we're bad here. Not sure which country this is but check this out!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE8K4Yg07x8&feature=related

betistuc

betistuc wrote: »

You think we're bad here. Not sure which country this is but check this out!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE8K4Yg07x8&feature=related

According to the texts on the screen it's a case of the tunnel being too low and there are no advance warning signs!

Dublin port tunnel anyone for those superhigh lorries.

corktina

serbia

betistuc

Deleted User wrote: »

According to the texts on the screen it's a case of the tunnel being too low and there are no advance warning signs!

Dublin port tunnel anyone for those superhigh lorries.

Thanks corktina. New about tunnels dolan but it was these guys reversing up slip roads and doing u turns across the carriageways that took my breath away.

betistuc

betistuc wrote: »

Thanks corktina. New about tunnels dolan but it was these guys reversing up slip roads and doing u turns across the carriageways that took my breath away.

True, how they didn't cause a pile up is incredible!