Close overtakes and two-letter registrations

Dermot Illogical

Apologies for a Dublin-centric thread, but here goes...
I've been doing a fair amount of commuting over the last year, mostly North County Dublin and Dublin City Centre. I've noticed that there's something of a pattern when it comes to being overtaken too closely.
It's been my experience that almost always the offending vehicle will have either a taxi plate, or a registration with two letters in it. It's gotten to the point where I play a game in my mind trying to guess which it's going to be as they come alongside.
The taxis tend to be quite deliberate and predictable. I don't really have a problem with them, although they do pass closer than most.
The two letter registered cars are a menace though. There seem to be more of them around than in previous times, and they're driven like bumper cars from what I can see.
Has there been an invasion of boggers, or have rural people been offloading cars to Dubs on production of evidence they've failed a driving test?

Anyone else notice anything similar? Or perhaps someone can shed some light on the reasons for this phenomenon?

Mycroft H

I'll agree with the taxi plate.

But I'm a bogger with a D plate car? What does that make me?

Dermot Illogical

BX 19 wrote: »

I'll agree with the taxi plate.

But I'm a bogger with a D plate car? What does that make me?

Upwardly mobile?

mel.b

Hmmm, i live in one of those 'two letter' county and all the dangerous driving maneuvers i've experienced come predominately from D reg plates:p

Mycroft H

RT66 wrote: »

Upwardly mobile?

As soon as I posted that, I knew a smart arse comment was coming my way

victorcarrera

Don't be intimidated by them. Black is beautiful. Especially on Fridays.

Mycroft H

Ohh yea, I forgot it was friday

Darkglasses

I find commuting on the north side alot more difficult full stop. Even when dealing with buses, the location of which shouldn't matter. I particularly find the road up to Clontarf/Fairview Park a nightmare. Have had no trouble on the quays so far though.

Postit

RT66 wrote: »

The two letter registered cars are a menace though. There seem to be more of them around than in previous times, and they're driven like bumper cars from what I can see.
Has there been an invasion of boggers, or have rural people been offloading cars to Dubs on production of evidence they've failed a driving test?
Anyone else notice anything similar? Or perhaps someone can shed some light on the reasons for this phenomenon?

I don't think I've ever heard such utter b*llocks in all my life! :rolleyes:

Jawgap

I've been doing a fair bit of cycling across the border in the Mournes and I play a similar game - only it's not that difficult.

If you hear a truck, car or van come up behind you and it sounds like they are going to go for a close pass, it's invariably a 'southern' reg - if you hear it slow and wait patiently to pass at a safe distance - it's nearly always a 'nothern' reg.

If while over-taking the driver is texting, talking on the phone or sorting documents, it's not only nearly always a southern reg, but it's a southern reg with DL, MN, CN or LH on the plate.

mkdon05

Its all to do with driver training I think.
There is very little of it in Ireland. My favourite bit of this is, when your a learner, you cant drive on the motorway but when you get your pink slip, you can drive on it without ever having been taught how to drive on it.

petethedrummer

RT66 wrote: »

Has there been an invasion of boggers, or have rural people been offloading cars to Dubs on production of evidence they've failed a driving test?

You're only a proper Dub if you're third generation, born within a 1 mile radius of Connolly Station.

Joxer_S

When cycling along one particular stretch of very busy road in France, two cars out of a huge number were the only ones not to give us space when overtaking, they happened to be the only two british reg cars that passed

Jawgap

mkdon05 wrote: »

Its all to do with driver training I think.
There is very little of it in Ireland. My favourite bit of this is, when your a learner, you cant drive on the motorway but when you get your pink slip, you can drive on it without ever having been taught how to drive on it.

Even worse - you can learn on a 1.1 fiesta, get your licence and jump into a souped up beamer with no extra training. I think there was an accident in Santry a few years back where a girl was bought a high powered beamer by her daddy when she passed her test and she lost control of it coming out of the Omni and killed a little boy.

Postit

Well I heard that people with two or more vowels in their first-name, who enjoy a chicken dinner at least once a week and have more than three green items in their wardrobe are 3.86 times more likely to kill a cyclist if its a Tuesday and a flock of exactly seven birds, each weighting 24 grams fly overhead by exactly 103.28 feet, 4 seconds before-hand!

Dermot Illogical

Postit wrote: »

Well I heard that people with two or more vowels in their first-name, who enjoy a chicken dinner at least once a week and have more than three green items in their wardrobe are 3.86 times more likely to kill a cyclist if its a Tuesday and a flock of exactly seven birds, each weighting 24 grams fly overhead by exactly 103.28 feet, 4 seconds before-hand!

Depends on the direction the birds are flying, how long the cyclist has been a vegan and only applies in the Southern hemisphere.

rich.d.berry

I cycle in both Kildare and Dublin. I have not observed any noticeable difference between the standard of driving. I have encountered careless, distracted, dangerous and aggressive drivers in both counties.

The number though, is amazingly small. I would estimate that less than 1 in 1000 drivers place me in a situation where I am endangered. I see a fair amount of law-breaking, such as speeding, mobile phone use or breaking red lights, but the majority of law-breaking does not impact on my safety.

I have far more close shaves in Dublin with pedestrians than with motorists.

Lumen

There's one incontrovertible fact here: regardless of location or reg plate, people drive like total numpties on Friday evenings and/or when it's raining.

So wet Friday evenings are bad, m'kay.

deandean

I cycle in Dublin a lot and very very rarely do I get cut up by a motorist; any time it's happened it has been inattention on the drivers part, not malice. There's give and take in city cycling. OP maybe you're taking too much and not giving any?

Kav0777

Lumen wrote: »

So wet Friday evenings are bad, m'kay.

Particularly if you are a 24 gram vegan bird flying at a 103 feet in the southern hemisphere

AltAccount

I've recently changed from a D reg to a KE reg, do I need to take any special lessons or should I just start buzzing cyclists based on my own judgement?

nomdeboardie

Postit wrote: »

Well I heard that people with two or more vowels in their first-name, who enjoy a chicken dinner at least once a week and have more than three green items in their wardrobe are 3.86 times more likely to kill a cyclist if its a Tuesday and a flock of exactly seven birds, each weighting 24 grams fly overhead by exactly 103.28 feet, 4 seconds before-hand!

This sounds plausible, and I'm sure the original report emphasised that "further research" was needed (for the atention of grant awarding bodies).

Redjeep!

Ah, isn't it cute.

Another Dub who thinks they're so sophisticated and different from the rest of the country because Dublin is such a big city....

feck sake lads

BX 19 wrote: »

As soon as I posted that, I knew a smart arse comment was coming my way

he's a bleeding dub expect nothing less

John_Rambo

I find the same. Nothing malicious, I'd say it's down to Dublin drivers being more used to cyclists and maybe cycling themselves. I also think it's down to a lot of non D reg cars driving in the bus lane.

Mycroft H

No ones mentioned the taxi drivers again...

I still have tar on my brush!!!

moggs1972

BX 19 wrote: »

I'll agree with the taxi plate.

But I'm a bogger with a D plate car? What does that make me?

A Dogger?

Wishbone Ash

John_Rambo wrote: »

I'd say it's down to Dublin drivers being more used to cyclists

I've heard drivers from rural areas say this several times - not used to sharing roads and particularly junctions with cyclists.

monument

deandean wrote: »

I cycle in Dublin a lot and very very rarely do I get cut up by a motorist; any time it's happened it has been inattention on the drivers part, not malice. There's give and take in city cycling. OP maybe you're taking too much and not giving any?

Behaviour of motorists varies widely depending on time of day, weather, road types, different areas etc.

For example, north Dublin seems a lot worse than a lot of the south of the county. In the city centre it self, there's far more cyclists on the southside, and safety in numbers likely comes into play. On the northside the roads are a little less favourable to cyclists -- for example, long stretches of shared bus lanes with no overtaking space on the N1, N2, R105, and soon also to be on the N3.

humbert

I've lived in Dublin and now I'm living in Louth. Dublin drivers are much much better.

They are more used to city driving where you can't simple do what you like and then react if there's an obstacle, you have to follow rules. They also have more experience driving around cyclists.

I would say that, in general, rural(anywhere outside Dublin) drivers being more dangerous is not subjective but inevitable.

Dubba

I've never cycled in Dublin (I'm from Cork like) but I have noticed a lot of D reg cars passing me on my spin with what I find an uncomfortably close distance.
I put it down to all the cycle lanes in Dublin, from what I've noticed leave very little room for bike and car traveling along side, just my 2 cent.