Close shave - Pedestrians @ Merrion Shopping Center this morning

robindch

Merrion Shopping Center, bus lane, quarter past nine this morning, heading into town:

To the driver of the black and white Mini who slammed into a lower gear, revved up massively just as he shot past me in the bus lane, then noticed that the pedestrian lights were red and skidded, tyre smoke billowing into the air, while the car rotated gently to the right and stopped slightly skewways to the crossing and just in time to avoid mowing down two of the six pedestrians walking across the road at the time, then revved up and shot off before I could record the details -- you've just convinced me to buy an HD dashcam for my bike or helmet or maybe both.

Any recommendations?



(oops, just noticed another current thread on helmet cams -- mods, please move this post if you want)

531

Did you get the reg number of the idiot? Report it to the Gardai. Even if they cannot take action with lack of evidence, they will have a word with him/her. It might make him/her be more careful in future.

Doctor Bob

robindch wrote: »

Any recommendations?

Most trips at that hour of the day are habitual. If you missed the details today, chances are the car will be along tomorrow around the same time, though I suspect it might not be in the bus lane.

I've had similar experiences elsewhere, including at the ped crossing in Ranelagh outside Cinnamon cafe- I wonder if it has something to do with the crossings being mid-block rather than at a junction. Although in your case, maybe the driver was just a tool...

Lumen

I used to own a Mini (BMW one) and it was simply impossible to produce tyre smoke and sideways skids due to the dead hand of electronic intervention. And I really did try.

tomasrojo

Doctor Bob wrote: »

I've had similar experiences elsewhere, including at the ped crossing in Ranelagh outside Cinnamon cafe- I wonder if it has something to do with the crossings being mid-block rather than at a junction. Although in your case, maybe the driver was just a tool...

I'm very wary of pedestrian-only crossings, as I've mentioned here before.

I've changed my walking routes to try to exclude pedestrian-only lights (I mean lights whose only purpose is to allow pedestrians to cross, rather than also to let cross-way traffic proceed).

They seem to be quite dangerous places to cross, since inconsiderate motorists know they can proceed through the red light with no danger to them or their cars, and that nearly every time the pedestrians will leap out of the way.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=80877253&postcount=4404

buffalo

Doctor Bob wrote: »

I've had similar experiences elsewhere, including at the ped crossing in Ranelagh outside Cinnamon cafe- I wonder if it has something to do with the crossings being mid-block rather than at a junction. Although in your case, maybe the driver was just a tool...

I've seen cars go through that one before, though it seems mostly due to obliviousness rather than deliberate RLJing. It might at least partially due to all the extra lighting of neon signs and shopfronts (and other headlights) distracting from the traffic lights, though mostly I think it's down to absent mindedness.

Harrybelafonte

tomasrojo wrote: »

I'm very wary of pedestrian-only crossings, as I've mentioned here before.


http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=80877253&postcount=4404

I remember that thread, I've since witnessed a number of other cars break those same lights, completely oblivious to them. Maybe they should all be put together with massive flashing lights?

robindch

531 wrote: »

Did you get the reg number of the idiot? Report it to the Gardai. Even if they cannot take action with lack of evidence, they will have a word with him/her. It might make him/her be more careful in future.

I carry my phone in the front pocket of my reflective jacket for incidents like this. I did whip it out immediately, but wasn't quite close enough to take a clear photo of his plate and anyhow, I thought I'd catch him before the lights turned green. Unfortunately, as I said above, he shot off at high speed as soon as they did turn, so I didn't get any picture. I did cycle as fast as I could up to the British Embassy hoping to catch him stuck in traffic or at some set of lights, then ask the garda who's on duty at the Embassy to bollock him out of it, but he must have peeled off along the way and I couldn't find him up as far as Holles Street.

Anyhow, any suggestions for an HD helmet-cam?

Gillo

Report it to the Gardai anyway, chances are they might pick something up on CCTV.

robindch

Lumen wrote: »

I used to own a Mini (BMW one) and it was simply impossible to produce tyre smoke and sideways skids due to the dead hand of electronic intervention. And I really did try.

Go look at the skid marks yourself -- they should still be there just before the pedestrian crossing at the Merrion Shopping Center, on the Dun Laoghaire side. The driver skidded for about half of the stopping process, then the tyres stopped skidding and he ground to a rapid halt just before the pedestrian crossing. Had it not been raining this morning, I'd have cycled in and taken a photo of them. He ended up perhaps 10-20 degrees off straight-on. Not a massive amount, but enough to scare the living bejesus out of the me who was behind him and saw it all happen. No idea what went through the minds of the pedestrians. And yes, there was tyre smoke.

FWIW, it was a Dublin-registered Mini, the number plate had five digits (I seem to remember 27xxx), it was fairly new and had a roof painted black-white-black from front to back in equal widths.

cdaly_

robindch wrote: »

FWIW, it was a Dublin-registered Mini, the number plate had five digits (I seem to remember 27xxx), it was fairly new and had a roof painted black-white-black from front to back in equal widths.

There's a fair chance the Gardai could get an ID on the car from that info. Worth a visit...