Would you drive to/in Dublin?*

Wishbone Ash

I find that the biggest problem with rural drivers in Dublin is that they are not accustomed to sharing the road with bicycles especially at junctions. Bicycle commuters tend to be a lot rarer in smaller towns and villages.

MugMugs

I enjoy driving in cork. My Garda look a like D reg makes me laugh as people become very well behaved around me.

alias no.9

robbie_998 wrote: »

the one great thing i love doing if im driving in dublin city is that the bus lanes - not all are 24hour or all day.

some are open to all traffic between 12 AND 2 so i use them and skip traffic as during those times it not actually a bus lane.

that's all well and good but just don't go telling everyone else :rolleyes:

I bet you tell everyone about places close to the city centre that you can park for free too

robbie_998

alias no.9 wrote: »

that's all well and good but just don't go telling everyone else :rolleyes:

I bet you tell everyone about places close to the city centre that you can park for free too

dont know any

Fiona

Cant see the fuss about driving into Dublin myself. Follow the signs its rocket science. If you cant think fast and follow directions then you should not be driving! And sat nav. Lazy people read a bloody map!

maidhc

I have lived in Cork all my life and I find it harder to drive around there than Dublin. More weird junctions, no right turns and one way traffic in Cork. Not to mentions the confusing rivers, lack of signage and narrow two way street.

Dublin is grand. I have driven Paris, Berlin, London and loads more in the Uk and Europe, but Cork is the worst.

puppetmaster

Dublin Is one of the easiest European citys ive driven in.
The only reason i could see that people wouldn't drive in it is fear of the unknown living quiet ruraly. But realistically Dublin roads and setup have come a long long way since the "Was that my exit" while holdin onto the door handle on the redcow rdbt moments.

bladebrew

i remember the first time i drove in dublin city centre, i was coming from galway and forgot to take the m50:o, it wasnt as bad as i thought it would be, basically no signage though,
saab ed and maidhc have a very good point cork it way worse for driving, the city centre in cork is tiny but very confusing if your not used to it,
and the standard of driving from most people is terrible! only the greeks are worse:)

fasttalkerchat

I drove in dublin for a year just after getting my license. If you can remember how to get around the one way streets along the quays its fine. The big problem for me is that you don't know what other drivers will do at roundabouts. I think that's the major difference between the UK and RoI driver testing. And obviously with more traffic on a roundabout its a bigger problem that people dont know when to signal and change lanes.

fasttalkerchat

mrs crilly wrote: »

Cant see the fuss about driving into Dublin myself. Follow the signs its rocket science. If you cant think fast and follow directions then you should not be driving! And sat nav. Lazy people read a bloody map!

The problem is that on the M50 you get a sign miles before your exit telling you that its coming up and you think you missed it. Or, you get a sign to late and you have to squeeze through 3 or 4 lanes to get to the exit.

whydoibother?

I think it's fine. I don't think anywhere in Ireland has the volume of traffic to make driving truly "stressful" - of course exceptions for the elderly, learners, previously traumatised etc.

Voodoomelon

Funnily enough, I love driving in Dublin and only get to do it maybe 10 times a year max. Driving the same roads every day is boring, mixing it up with city centre driving keeps you on your toes. You also have more interaction with other drivers in a city which I enjoy. I don't even mind sitting in traffic in Dublin, for some reason I like it!

whydoibother?

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Funnily enough, I love driving in Dublin and only get to do it maybe 10 times a year max. Driving the same roads every day is boring, mixing it up with city centre driving keeps you on your toes. You also have more interaction with other drivers in a city which I enjoy. I don't even mind sitting in traffic in Dublin, for some reason I like it!

I don't know if I'd go as far as love personally, but I totally take your point that driving round a city is a lot more interesting.

Voodoomelon

See I don't get down enough to make it the daily annoyance that others have to endure.

Ardennes1944

corktina wrote: »

.the harder it is, the more I like it.

:pac:

Ryath

I find Dublin one of the easiest places to drive in yes signage is crap and you really do need to know your way around but drivers in Dublin are generally much better I think. They behave predictably are generally in the correct lanes and use roundabouts and indicators correctly.

I live down the country now and it is definitively much worse for drivers doing stupid things, farmers who will just stop in the middle of the road to look at cattle in the field, indicators what are they for why would I be letting anyone know my business? Roundabouts sure any lane will do. Even a simple thing like a separate lane for turning right in my local town I am constantly behind people who don't go into it then at the last second go to make the turn straddling the two lanes blocking traffic coming behind. This is a bloody cul de sac that only leads to houses and a golf club so it's not like these people don't know where they're going. Sorry rant over

I definitely think I'm a better driver for having learned in Dublin and also worked my way up the food chain with 6 years cycling and then 5 years on motorbikes before I ever drove a car in Dublin.

An Ri rua

maidhc wrote: »

I have lived in Cork all my life and I find it harder to drive around there than Dublin. More weird junctions, no right turns and one way traffic in Cork. Not to mentions the confusing rivers, lack of signage and narrow two way street.

Dublin is grand. I have driven Paris, Berlin, London and loads more in the Uk and Europe, but Cork is the worst.

Dublin's a piece of cake. Cork can be a bitch. I had the misfortune few years ago to hit Cork on a day when almost every one-way system was going the other way. About 2001. Water or gas or something. Jesus was that confusing and I knew Cork fairly well. I was a seasoned sales rep doing 1500 miles a week some weeks.

Off-thread, but on the way home that night to the Midlands, after being in Ballincollig, Youghal, Trabolgan then back over to Bantry, I got LOST in Mallow and did THREE circuits of the ****ing town before I could find my way out. Blind tired. Strangely, the same happened to me in Boyle a few months ago! Always better to be driving alone when you have **** for brains moments....

Dublin's mainly a breeze; the drivers have a good common sense- about them. I learnt to drive in Dublin in the 90s on an L-plate 205 XRAD. Fun days! But i'd been driving tractors since a kid and motorbikes in between.

Del2005

draffodx wrote: »

Another way to highlight the incompetency of Irish drivers, especially with Sat Navs anyone who has a licence should be capable of driving anywhere in Ireland.

It would help if the roads had names on them and/or a direction sign on the next junction, which is usually within sight of the junction with a monstrous sign telling you go this way to x.

Every other country I've driven in has names on the roads and proper sign age at junctions.

Why does it have to be so bad and worst accepted here.

Ninap wrote: »

A three lane motorway usually has 6 lanes of traffic....

It's better than here where 3+ lane roads only use 2 lanes.

biko

Sure, I'd drive in Paris or even Rome (with a sat nav). Major cities are easier in the sense that traffic is slower generally and as long as you know where you're going it's a piece of cake.

Fiona

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

The problem is that on the M50 you get a sign miles before your exit telling you that its coming up and you think you missed it. Or, you get a sign to late and you have to squeeze through 3 or 4 lanes to get to the exit.

Nah mate thats bollix im sorry! If you missed your turn off you werent concentrating and reading the road ahead you need to brush up on your observation skills. If you need to cross 3 or 4 lanes to get to your exit that means that your driving in the overtaking lane when you shouldnt be! Next excuse

no1beemerfan

I've drive to and through London twice or three times and been driven all around Paris and I can say in and around Dublin is a piece of pi$$ compared to these two cities.

h3000

I'd drive anywhere really and it wouldn't bother me. I would agree with the other posters on driving in Cork though, pain in the asrse to get around.

The most challenging place I've ever driven was in Sicily the cities and towns Taormina, Catania and Palermo in paticular. Great crack though.

Where To

Maybe it's just me getting older but I find Dublin a lot easier to drive in now than it was 10-15 years ago.

Still only drive to/in it when I'm getting paid for it though.

Honey-ec

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

The problem is that on the M50 you get a sign miles before your exit telling you that its coming up and you think you missed it. Or, you get a sign to late and you have to squeeze through 3 or 4 lanes to get to the exit.

This drives me fcuking BATSH*T! Just take the next exit and loop back. It'll add 10 scabby minutes to your journey and save a potentially massive accident.

dudara

My mother and my parents-in-law don't like to drive in Dublin, they find it intimidating and try to avoid it. And I've found this attitude common in lots of older drivers. They have this mindset that Dublin is to be avoided.

TBH, as a Corkonian living in Dublin, I much prefer Dublin to Cork. The M50, Red Cow etc are all fine. Cork can be a nightmare at times, and I think driving standards are worse there.

John_Rambo

mrs crilly wrote: »

And sat nav. Lazy people read a bloody map!

Are they not just (highly evolved) digital maps? Is that not like telling people to use a pen and paper instead of a computer? I have one I use the odd time, dead handy when driving alone instead of the folded map on the steering wheel!

bbam

I drive in Dublin a few times a year... It doesn't phase me but I think the signage and general lane layout is much worse than comparable European cities..

I think the key is to become familiar with two/three routes and then anywhere can be easily got to...

I'd also say that with the exception of Paris the traffic in Dublin is the least forgiving I've driven in... Some idiots seem to revel in keeping you stuck in the wrong lane if you're unfortunate enough to make a mistake :mad:

John_Rambo

bbam wrote: »

I'd also say that with the exception of Paris the traffic in Dublin is the least forgiving I've driven in... Some idiots seem to revel in keeping you stuck in the wrong lane if you're unfortunate enough to make a mistake :mad:

This isn't the case really. If you indicate, someone will inevitably let you out in front of you in Dublin, much more so than in the rest of Ireland.

Fiona

Are they not just (highly evolved) digital maps?

Technically speaking yes.

Is that not like telling people to use a pen and paper instead of a computer?

To me half the fun of a roadtrip is planning your journey, old school style!!! :cool::cool:

John_Rambo

mrs crilly wrote: »

To me half the fun of a roadtrip is planning your journey, old school style!!! :cool::cool:

Ah, fair enough, but to a van driver or someone trying to get around the country for work I'd say a sat nav can be a gift send.