how many times per month do you avoid a potentially serious accident with a car?

kumate_champ07

tonite I was going up by the central bank towards trinity college and a security mini van pulls up along me and then turns across to make a sharp left turn, the idiot wastalking on his phone and stopped just in time, I hit my brakes.

I went on and looked back and he looked shocked, he then procedes to complete his left turn down a narrow street. I then stopped my bike and went back to follow him down the street, just as I was making my way after him a foreign pedestrian stops and makes a gesture with his hand of someone talking on the phone, he saw the guy too.

the van stopped halfway down the street and I knocked on his window and he rolled it down, I was relatively calm but shocked to see him still talking on his phone. I told him off in a non aggressive manner and and he was lucky I didnt report him. we shook hands and he promised to be more careful.


now Im wondering am is it just me or do all city cyclists experience this regular danger? Ive been knocked down alot the past year and had some lucky escapes, is it a matter of time before I get seriously injured or even killed through no faut of my own??!

for the record I had front and rear lights, high vis jacket and 1 week old tyres with high vis strip that makes them very visible.

Roadtoad

I roar at them about once every 200km of urban/suburban trips, usually to stop an incident becoming serious, or to make them aware of my dissatisfaction. Perhaps I'm occasionally heard, perhaps sometimes the driver realises its not bike-rage, that I might have a point.

Truck and busses get the roar too, with less expectation of being heard.

kumate_champ07

today was the first time I actually went after an offender. what about when cars are stopped in traffic and taking over the cycle lane, I normally go around them to the right, does anyway knock on their window to point out they are obstructing the cyclists lane? some drivers do it out of spite I think

kumate_champ07

Im not sure which direction this thread wil go but but I just want to see how many other cyclists out there are escaping death on a regular basis. I think once a year is too many(thats if you are a safe cyclist obeying the rules of the road and being aware of traffic around you), whats it like in other citys around the world?

greener greene

A taxi turned left across me on Aungier street today, I hit the breaks and pulled left just enough to avoid him. He then rolled down the window and said "no harm done!". Was too startled to tell the f***er off.

Edit: However it's fairly rare I encounter anything seriously dangerous. Usually just pedestrians stepping out without looking.

tomasrojo

If I were close to having a potentially serious accident once a month, (or more!) I'd either change my routes comprehensively or give up cycling.

kumate_champ07

tomasrojo wrote: »

If I were close to having a potentially serious accident once a month, (or more!) I'd either change my routes comprehensively or give up cycling.

It mostly happens in the city centre, actually 99% of my problems are there!
and it doesnt matter if you are doing everything right because someone else can be doing everything wrong.


the only thing I could try to avoid is rush hour traffic

kumate_champ07

a question for those that picked seldom.

do you cycle in the city often? what kind of routes do you use and what times are you on the road?


I would cycle in the city centre every day, maybe other people who ride the same areas and times as me have similar stats?

thebullkf

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

tonite I was going up by the central bank towards trinity college and a security mini van pulls up along me and then turns across to make a sharp left turn, the idiot wastalking on his phone and stopped just in time, I hit my brakes.

I went on and looked back and he looked shocked, he then procedes to complete his left turn down a narrow street. I then stopped my bike and went back to follow him down the street, just as I was making my way after him a foreign pedestrian stops and makes a gesture with his hand of someone talking on the phone, he saw the guy too.

the van stopped halfway down the street and I knocked on his window and he rolled it down, I was relatively calm but shocked to see him still talking on his phone. I told him off in a non aggressive manner and and he was lucky I didnt report him. we shook hands and he promised to be more careful.


now Im wondering am is it just me or do all city cyclists experience this regular danger? Ive been knocked down alot the past year and had some lucky escapes, is it a matter of time before I get seriously injured or even killed through no faut of my own??!

for the record I had front and rear lights, high vis jacket and 1 week old tyres with high vis strip that makes them very visible.

i know its slightly different,but as a cyclist i don't cheat death often.

As a motorcyclist though its every. single. day.

seriouly and i have Sam brown belt.arm hi vis bands.hi vis leg clips.
reflective PPE. An actual headlight!!

and yet motorists/pedestrians seem oblivious.

One thing i notice every time though is the amount of cyclists who ignore traffic lights.....seriously i dunno how there's not more deaths.

and idiots without a light:rolleyes::rolleyes::mad:

anyhows,sorry. rant over:)

Beasty

thebullkf wrote: »

i know its slightly different,but as a cyclist i don't cheat death often.

As a motorcyclist though its every. single. day.

seriouly and i have Sam brown belt.arm hi vis bands.hi vis leg clips.
reflective PPE. An actual headlight!!

and yet motorists/pedestrians seem oblivious.

One thing i notice every time though is the amount of cyclists who ignore traffic lights.....seriously i dunno how there's not more deaths.

and idiots without a light:rolleyes::rolleyes::mad:

anyhows,sorry. rant over:)

Back on topic please

Beasty

thebullkf

Beasty wrote: »

Back on topic please

Beasty

i did answer it in my first line.

Beasty

thebullkf wrote: »

i did answer it in my first line.

I know - that's why I said "Back on topic";)

thebouldwhacker

I nearly hit a dog the other week, other than that I wouldnt say I have come home saying I was lucky to have made it in many years, on the other hand I have nearly knocked down stupid cyclists, hell today I was cycling through a green light and a rlj cyclist nearly hit me, I think people are dangerous not the mode of transport.

Civilian_Target

I would say about once every two months or so. Basically, once every 1000km. But I guess that makes it nearly 20,000km since the last time I've actually had an accident with a car, so the conversion rate from nearly is low

Most recent, I was being overtaken by a bus, at a junction, and someone swerved in front of the bus... so he swerved on top of me! I saw the front of the bus pointing in and took a flying leap out of my saddle onto the pavement! Both myself and the bike survived, and the bus driver apologised and gave me his details.

ED E

Depends on how you class this, but I have infuriating incidents on a weekly basis.

For example on my way into TCD(:D) on the 19th of October(Thank you facebook) I was rolling down past Tesco Rathmines when some idiot dove in front of me to enter the car park. Slammed on the brakes and slowed enough for him to pass instead of going over the roof of his little sh1tbox. That afternoon an idiot on the phone on the east side of The Green came straight out into the yellow box in the bus lane as I was passing. The path was clear and I was sure he would have seen me. Just missed him by diving right, him slamming on his brakes to leave him covering 3/4 of the box. He just drove off while being saluted by middle finger.

Commuting to Rathgar and commuting to D2 are two very different things:mad:

phlegms

Constantly getting boxed off by buses pulling in at bus-stops, you'd think they'd slow down ever so slightly to let me get a bit of head room..

themandan6611

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

a question for those that picked seldom.

do you cycle in the city often? what kind of routes do you use and what times are you on the road?


I would cycle in the city centre every day, maybe other people who ride the same areas and times as me have similar stats?

i'm a seldom

cycle into dublin city centre 6 times a week, from drumcondra to st stephens green (either by ballybough, parnell st, eden quay or north strand, pearse st)- go in at 7.30am and home at 5.15.

go slow as hell and never daydream:)

Barrya

i am a seldom, but i live and work in the south Dublin suburbs so the likelihood might be less. My saving graces are that I assume I am invisible, meaning I don't even get close enough to that potential left turner the OP spoke of, and I assume that if for some reason I have become visible, that motorists want to kill me, and i can expect the most reckless behavior conceivable.

I am seldom surprised by driver/pedestrian behavior, and I rarely have run-ins.

Harrybelafonte

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

a question for those that picked seldom.

do you cycle in the city often? what kind of routes do you use and what times are you on the road?


I would cycle in the city centre every day, maybe other people who ride the same areas and times as me have similar stats?

I try and avoid the city centre these days. I used to go through on ways to and from work, but had a few close ones in the evenings, then had a few in the morning so just skip it completely now. But as someone said earlier, it was mostly pedestrians.

sumone

I've found that riding assertively, getting well into the lane to stop left turns across me etc, and keeping my eyes on the drivers around me helps keep me out of potentially serious areas. There are still stupid drivers (and cyclists) to watch out for but keeping a watch on the driver rather than the car helps.

I've been going along the N11 for the last few weeks since changing job locations and I've noticed a vast improvement in Dublin Bus drivers since I was on this route before. Quite a number of times drivers have slowed down to allow me get past a stop before they pull in and passengers come piling off without looking.

alentejo

I have really noticed the city center during the evening rush being dangerous! Mixture of dark nights, bad weather, leaves, poor road surfaces and really heavy traffic.

If cycling you need to assume that every driver is an idiot and expect that they will do exactly what you dont want them to do!

Need to be careful out there.

Lumen

It's a bit of an odd question, since whatever your mode of transport you are constantly "avoiding potentially serious accidents". The issue is perhaps whether that process is particularly more challenging on a bike compared to, say, a car. It is, but that's to be expected since you're slower and less visible than other vehicles, and the idiocy of others is more irritating when you aren't protected by a metal cage.

FWIW I have found commuting by bike in Dublin is much less scary than commuting by scooter in London. Six months of that and I couldn't take it any more - the novelty of the adrenalin rush was eventually replaced with a sort of grinding fear of imminent death. By contrast, cycling in Dublin is merely "stimulating".

In any case we can't change the world, we can only change ourselves.

xoxyx

I was only thinking this the other day. I reckon I'm going to die in a bicycle accident. The number of times I've come across drivers going the wrong way on a one way street near where I live is insane. And cycle lanes? What's cycle lane? In the city centre, cycle lanes are for taxis to squeeze in to let their passengers out. And please... Bus drivers... Don't squidge me onto the footpath when you're turning a corner beside me. Twice I've had to hop off the bike and pull it onto the path to avoid being tipped over!!! I love cycling around and it's so handy, but it's a deathwatch sport in Dublin city anymore.

Idleater

My answer to the topic is either seldom say 1 time per month where a truck or bus misjudges the overtake and pulls into the side (genuinely beyond my control) and up to say 10 potentially life endangering per journey but are somewhat within your control.
Obviously how you deal and learn after every incident improves you ability to foresee these in future. Similarly, what I now class as say annoyance, may scare someone so much to dump the bike in the shed.

rp

As the poll so far shows, cycling is far from dangerous. There were stats posted somewhere on this forum indicating that on average, you'll be involved in a serious accident once every 97 years (depending on distance) - and if you're are above average (not hard to be), even less.
Ways to be above average include:

• Be visible (lights, hi-viz/reflecto)
• Be where motorists are looking (not hugging the kerb)
• Anticipate what others will do (cars, bikes, peds)
• Position for turns well in advance, don't compromise your road position
• Do not rely on others obeying the rules of the road for your survival
• Don't break the rules of the road yourself, except:
• Avoid (most) cycle tracks like death himself is stalking them
• Don't feel you have to correct others, just take avoiding action and continue on your way with a smile
• Think back over a trip or a weeks commute, figure out how to do it safer, focus on any near misses - what could you have done different?

seamus

Lumen wrote: »

FWIW I have found commuting by bike in Dublin is much less scary than commuting by scooter in London. Six months of that and I couldn't take it any more - the novelty of the adrenalin rush was eventually replaced with a sort of grinding fear of imminent death. By contrast, cycling in Dublin is merely "stimulating".

+1
I gave up riding a motorbike in Dublin because I no longer needed it to commute, but I was relieved at the time because I had developed this ominous certainty of my impending death. I reckoned that (going by past experience), some mong was going to cut across me while I was doing 100kph on an N road, and it would be game over.
I do miss it now, but I also remember that smoldering fear underpinning every journey, which sucked the fun out of it.

I've had more accidents on the bicycle, but that same fear isn't there, probably due to the speeds involved.

I think the problem here is categorising your near misses. As Lumen says, every incident is potentially serious. But there's a fine line between an annoying/frustrating incident and one which was a geehair away from putting you under the wheels of the vehicle.

I probably have 3 or 4 annoying incidents per day, but very few pant-stainers. One month I did manage to have to two collisions and one very close call, but I hadn't had anything serious for months before that. And I haven't had anything serious since.

If you watch out for the key conflict points and be prepared for everyone else - drivers, cyclists and pedestrians - to do the most utterly moronic things you can imagine, you'll rarely come a cropper

techieelectric

About once a day there's an incident where a car does something silly or I can see is about to and it's up to me to avoid the accident.

I had an interesting incident with a bus the other day, not in what happened but in that the driver and guards maintained he was right cutting me off and grinding me into the footpath cos the bike lane had a dotted line. According to the driver that meant he had right of way cutting me off and a passing guard who saw the argument said I should have used 'common sense' to stop as the bus pulled in, not really an option cos the bus had overtaken me on the outside and was pulling in on top. Bit of a difference between their perception of the law and mine, mine being that the dotted line meant the bus could pull into the cycle lane as long as it wasn't cutting off/nearly killing someone who was already in the bike lane. Anyway more my fault for using the cycle lane, I usually try and stay a few feet out of it so no one can pull left across me.

Idleater

techieelectric wrote: »

a passing guard who saw the argument said I should have used 'common sense' to stop as the bus pulled in...

Exactly the same thing happened to me yesterday, but the bus wasn't pulling into a stop, he was just annoyed at me being in front of him and he not able to pass due to the queue of cars in the "normal" driving lane.

In the heat of the moment I considered the usual of telephoning traffic watch for a hit n run but by the time I passed him trying to merge 100 m up the road I figured I had made my point with a thankful (:rolleyes:) wave that inferred that I knew what he did, he knew what he did, I was passed, and well, he wasn't

To quantify my previous post above, In the 15 years of commuting (first into Dublin and now to Swords), I have been T-Boned once by a Jeep coming out of a side road, and I T-Boned a Junkie that walked out from infront of a vehicle (blind to me) at Heuston Station.

Both instances required new front wheels. After that, it's all shouting at myself and others.

rp

techieelectric wrote: »

I had an interesting incident with a bus the other day, not in what happened but in that the driver and guards maintained he was right cutting me off and grinding me into the footpath cos the bike lane had a dotted line. According to the driver that meant he had right of way cutting me off

My understanding was the dotted line makes the cycle track non-mandatory for the cyclist, but for motorists does not (legally) change the status of the track in any way: they may not drive on it, even if their left indication *is* on...
Do you have the guard's name/station? It would be worth dropping by with a copy of the ROTR and asking for clarification, as the his/her interpretation seems incorrect.

tomasrojo

z_topaz wrote: »

And please... Bus drivers... Don't squidge me onto the footpath when you're turning a corner beside me. Twice I've had to hop off the bike and pull it onto the path to avoid being tipped over!!! I love cycling around and it's so handy, but it's a deathwatch sport in Dublin city anymore.

You should, if at all possible, not let bus drivers pull alongside you at corners. The choices are to take the lane (carefully move out to near the centre of the lane) as you approach the corner, or to stop and let the bus go round the corner before proceeding. Same goes for trucks.

Or pick quieter roads. This is a very good option, I find.

As for cycle lanes, they are, whatever the law says, not going to be for the exclusive use of cyclists any time soon. Treat them as you would the side of the road, except that you're more likely to find a taxi driver driving up them the wrong way trying to pick up a fare, or park outside a building.

tomasrojo

rp wrote: »

My understanding was the dotted line makes the cycle track non-mandatory for the cyclist, but for motorists does not (legally) change the status of the track in any way: they may not drive on it, even if their left indication *is* on...
Do you have the guard's name/station? It would be worth dropping by with a copy of the ROTR and asking for clarification, as the his/her interpretation seems incorrect.

"Mandatory" cycle lanes are exclusivey for the use of cyclists. "Non-mandatory" can be driven in by motorised vehicles.

Strictly speaking, all cycle lanes are mandatory (in the usual meaning of the word) for cyclists in that you have to use them in preference to the main road where they're provided.

Bizarre vocabulary, but there you go.