An Eventful Morning..... And You're a Pack of Liars (the NCD crowd)!

Kintarō Hattori

I had my first cycle into work this morning from Balbriggan (I've cycled from town to BB, just not the other way around). It didn't start off well as some dozy git hit me in Balbriggan. I was cycling on a main road and she was coming from a side road. It looked like she was slowing down but no she kept on coming and I slapped into her front wing and went face first into the bonnet. I was OK and the bike appears to be fine- I took her details just in case.

I carried on and made it to Santry where I got lost! I ended up going through Artane and was cycling along without a care in the world. A serious lack of any signage prompted me to ask someone if I was heading into town. He got a great laugh and told me I was heading away from the city centre. So I turned her around and eventually got into town.

Right, so why are you a pack of liars?! Not one single cyclist passed me nor did I pass anyone else all the way from Balbriggan to Santry. I was all on my lonesome! It would appear no-one else is silly enough to commute from there OR you just leave much earlier/later!

TinyExplosions

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Right, so why are you a pack of liars?! Not one single cyclist passed me nor did I pass anyone else all the way from Balbriggan to Santry. I was all on my lonesome! It would appear no-one else is silly enough to commute from there OR you just leave much earlier/later!

All the cyclists were taking the correct route is my guess

Kintarō Hattori

TinyExplosions wrote: »

All the cyclists were taking the correct route is my guess

Hmnn I took the R132 all the way as far as Santry........ what other way is there to cycle into town? I thought it was the most direct route?

TinyExplosions

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Hmnn I took the R132 all the way as far as Santry........ what other way is there to cycle into town? I thought it was the most direct route?

That would be the route I'd take if I lived that way, but all these commuters might lurk on the back roads or something

Jawgap

What time were you on the road at?

I came in that way (admittedly down the coast road to Rush then in to Blake's Cross) and I was talking to a guy from Swords CC. So there were at least two of us...........on the right road.

Glad you're ok after your accident - might be worth getting yourself checked out anyway, just to be sure.

spokeydokey

Sounds like you didn't take the slip road to the right immediately after crossing the flyover in santry. I think that's were you went wrong anyway...

Jawgap

....or turned left at Santry Demense

Beasty

I regularly commute from Skerries, and did this morning. It's very rare that you overtake anyone, or are overtaken, as most who come from that far afield are relatively fit, and hence the speed differential can be quite low. Indeed in the past couple of years or so, both Jawgap and I have been doing that stretch of the R132 very regularly, and our paths have only crossed on 2 or 3 occasions (and then only on the inward journey).

BTW, I hit the R132 at Blakes Cross at 7:33 this morning, which was quite late for me, but I was taking into account the later sunrise to make my entire journey in daylight

What time are you heading back tonight - I can help you avoid getting lost between Swords and Balbriggan if you like;)

Kintarō Hattori

spokeydokey wrote: »

Sounds like you didn't take the slip road to the right immediately after crossing the flyover in santry. I think that's were you went wrong anyway...

And that's where I went wrong.... I think.

Jawgap wrote: »

What time were you on the road at?

Glad you're ok after your accident - might be worth getting yourself checked out anyway, just to be sure.

I left Balbriggan at 7:30 with the aim of getting into town for 9am..... which didn't happen! I hit the car but it wasn't a fast impact and I don't think (can't remember) I hit the ground so reckon things should be OK.

Beasty wrote: »

BTW, I hit the R132 at Blakes Cross at 7:33 this morning, which was quite late for me, but I was taking into account the later sunrise to make my entire journey in daylight

What time are you heading back tonight - I can help you avoid getting lost between Swords and Balbriggan if you like;)

Feck that's early. I was only leaving the house at 7:30. I won't get out of the office until 6pm, so I suspect that'd be way to late for yourself. Heh heading out is grand but it was the junction at Santry that caught me out today.

Jawgap

I left at 6-04am and I think I might have got to Blake's Cross just a bit ahead of Beasty - think I rolled through there just before 7-30.

Started off in the dark and got to watch the sunrise over the sea!

petethedrummer

I would report that incident with the car.

Kintarō Hattori

petethedrummer wrote: »

I would report that incident with the car.

I don't mean to sound rude but why? I honestly don't know. Is it also not too late to do so now?

petethedrummer

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

I don't mean to sound rude but why? I honestly don't know. Is it also not too late to do so now?

If it was dangerous driving then the driver should at least get a stern word from a Gard.

You may suffer pains at a later date. If you report the incident now, you have a record with the gardai. I'm not suggesting you make a claim for phantom illnesses or sue for non-existant whiplash, but something genuine could crop up tonight or tomorrow.

Also sometimes its better to shout pre-emptively if you are unsure if someone is going to pull out or stop. I do it all the time.

Kintarō Hattori

petethedrummer wrote: »

If it was dangerous driving then the driver should at least get a stern word from a Gard.

You may suffer pains at a later date. If you report the incident now, you have a record with the gardai. I'm not suggesting you make a claim for phantom illnesses or sue for non-existant whiplash, but something genuine could crop up tonight or tomorrow.

Also sometimes its better to shout pre-emptively if you are unsure if someone is going to pull out or stop. I do it all the time.

Well I'm not a motorist so I can't say if it was dangerous driving or not. However she was coming from a sideroad and I can only presume she was looking to see if a car was coming and just didn't see the cyclist- as is all too often the case in something like this.

I certainly would never look to claim for something that I wasn't entitled too and I'm not the type to experience 'phantom pains'. I've taken on what you've said Pete but I would like to hear what others have to say on the matter.

Should I notify the Garda on my way home this evening? Would they consider it a waste of their time?

I hear you on the shouting but it happened fairly quickly and I wasn't expecting her to pull out in front of me.

Jawgap

It's up to you, but I'd be inclined towards reporting it.

I reported an SUV driver last year for forcing me into a ditch near Gormanstown and the Guards in Balbriggan were excellent. I felt I should report it because the driver was driving like a right nob-head, and I figured the next guy along might not be as lucky as me.

Your incident sounds a bit more like a lapse in attention rather than idiocy.

The Guards won't see it as a waste of time.

petethedrummer

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Well I'm not a motorist so I can't say if it was dangerous driving or not. However she was coming from a sideroad and I can only presume she was looking to see if a car was coming and just didn't see the cyclist- as is all too often the case in something like this.

The driver hit you because they are
a). thick,
b). careless,
c). in need of an eye sight re-evaluation.

There is no excuse for not seeing a perfectly visible cyclist in broad daylight. If it was dark and you had no lights...then that's another matter.

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Should I notify the Garda on my way home this evening? Would they consider it a waste of their time?

They shouldn't see it as a waste of time. If you pass a bike Garda on the way home ask them what they think. I've asked them before and they always say to report these things. The guy on the desk in the station might not be as enthusiastic but should take the details.

Kintarō Hattori

Well I dropped into the Garda station on the way home. The Garda on call said that unless I wanted to make a complaint against the woman then they can't record it on the books. He asked where it happened, who was at fault and if I was OK. I said I thought I was and he mentioned that was the main thing.

I don't think there's much point in taking any further.

Kintarō Hattori

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Well I dropped into the Garda station on the way home. The Garda on call said that unless I wanted to make a complaint against the woman then they can't record it on the books. He asked where it happened, who was at fault and if I was OK. I said I thought I was and he mentioned that was the main thing.

I don't think there's much point in taking any further.

Does anyone have any opinions?

My back has been a little sore since the accident on Monday but nothing major, just slight discomfort- I still have full movement with it. Perhaps it would be a wise thing to make a complaint (it seems a shame though that I have to make a complaint aginst her) just to have it on the books should anything happen with my back.

What happens? Do they call around, ring her and ask for her side of the story?

Canis Lupus

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Does anyone have any opinions?

My back has been a little sore since the accident on Monday but nothing major, just slight discomfort- I still have full movement with it. Perhaps it would be a wise thing to make a complaint (it seems a shame though that I have to make a complaint aginst her) just to have it on the books should anything happen with my back.

What happens? Do they call around, ring her and ask for her side of the story?

IMO, if you honestly feel fine and your bike is 100% sound I'd leave it slide. WE ALL make mistakes and I'd say she's creeping out of those side roads now.

Jawgap

At the risk of sounding like a callous selfish tw@t, you have to consider number 1 - yourself.

Hopefully, your back is just a bit stiff from the wrench you probably gave it in the accident, but what if it's not?

Secondly, maybe it was just a moment of carelessness on her part, or maybe she's a routinely careless driver and the next time someone won't be as "lucky" as you?

Complaining now covers any future potential problems - if you're back goes chronically wrong, going back to lodge a complain a month or a few weeks from now will probably be extremely difficult.

In my own case I complained, BUT, the driver was a first class, Grade A idiot and I had a witness (who was even more angry at the driver's behaviour than I was!!) - even then I spent all day brooding over whether to complain or not and decided only to do so because I rationalised that the driver behaved like that all the time and the next time someone might be seriously hurt.

I think the Irish don't like "grassing" people up and even when I was explaining to the Guards I found myself offering mitigation for the driver!! Anyway the Guards promised to investigate and talk to my witness (which they did) and concluded that a prosecution would be unlikely, but they still went and paid the guy a visit to, hopefully, put the frighteners on him.