Extra traffic = feeling less safe

Jabel

Anyone feeling that bit less safe since the kids returned to school?
In the last week it's been a bit hairy travelling through Dublin city centre, everyone rushing to be somewhere and taking a few risks with less traffic they wouldn't otherwise need to. In the last two days I've seen a fellow cyclist clipped by a taxi at speed downhill at Home Farm, guy fell hard and got a couple of nasty grazes (I stopped to offer assistance) taxi guy was apologetic but thought he could squeeze by - lucky it was only a few grazes. Then this morning while passing through Smithfield a woman is rubbernecking at Mrs Brown doing a bit of filming as she's gently easing me into the kerb, proceeds to pull in at next corner to have a 'proper look' where I let her know she almost hit me, her reaction? sorry.. sorry I didn't see you! Of course you didn't, you were looking the other way...

Take care out there

J

Skrynesaver

Strangely I find the heavier traffic helpful. When there's more of them they move about less and it's easier to pick a path through them

ghogie91

You are right I have had a couple of close calls the last week, cant say that it has anything got to do with the schools in particular but definately has gotten a bit harder to stay alive

I used to never have people walk out in front of me and has happened twice in a week, one was very close, could have kissed the fine young wan it was that close

and two days ago there was an extremely elderly woman who came from a side street out onto the road right in front of me, i had to swerve into the other lane to avoid her, i was lucky there were no other cars coming, I had a nano shot plus on pulse mode, im sorry now but if you cant see that coming well you shouldnt be behind the wheel of a car

rollingscone

I'd say I'm making less progress rather than being less safe.

Mostly because of the need to go a bit slower to weigh off for motorists, ped and POB antics.

Outkast_IRE

It does feel a bit less safe, I notice an increase in drivers whose concentration and awareness is lacking.

That being said there are roadworks on my route so lane merges are one of the dodgier aspects, the only thing is im cycling quick enough through the roadworks to take up a good position on the road without anyone needing to overtake

LennoxR

Jabel wrote: »

Anyone feeling that bit less safe since the kids returned to school?
In the last week it's been a bit hairy travelling through Dublin city centre, everyone rushing to be somewhere and taking a few risks with less traffic they wouldn't otherwise need to. In the last two days I've seen a fellow cyclist clipped by a taxi at speed downhill at Home Farm, guy fell hard and got a couple of nasty grazes (I stopped to offer assistance) taxi guy was apologetic but thought he could squeeze by - lucky it was only a few grazes. Then this morning while passing through Smithfield a woman is rubbernecking at Mrs Brown doing a bit of filming as she's gently easing me into the kerb, proceeds to pull in at next corner to have a 'proper look' where I let her know she almost hit me, her reaction? sorry.. sorry I didn't see you! Of course you didn't, you were looking the other way...

Take care out there

J

Yes of course, but it's always the same this time of year. Just makes me appreciate the summer more! Definitely a lot more dangerous in the mornings during term time.

Ray Palmer

Yesterday I saw a cyclist just go straight into the back of a car. They were expecting the car to move but it was stopped due to the traffic. Completely the cyclists fault trying to wind through heavy traffic.

What I have noticed is many more drivers fiddling with their phones in slow moving traffic. A taxi driver on the way in was weaving in and out of the cycle lane. I beep at him and he suddenly started driving straight. When I cycled by he was fiddling with his phone and not looking at the road as he moved on.

jaqian

Finding it crazier this year, taxi drivers are really agressive and have too many close calls the scariest was the JCB that decided to over take a car on the left and came into the cycle lane oblivious to me. I come to the conclusion that Gardner St and Donnybrook/Clonskegh are some of the most dangerous place to cycle. Had to pull up a garda car this morning in DB who was drifting into the cyclelane ffs.

jimmycrackcorm

jive wrote: »

Seems to be even more of those aggro headcam cyclists too. As a cyclist myself I don't understand their attitude.

I was driving for work today and turned right on a green filter light only to get stuck at about 20 yards across the road when traffic stopped (entirely my own fault but was not familiar with the area and traffic was moving quite freely at the time until I reached the other side). I had to pull in to the left of the car in front as to not block anything but I couldn't get out of the cycle lane; a minor inconvenience to cyclists. I held my hand up to apologise to a cyclist, who came along a few seconds after I had stopped, admitting my mistake; he then proceeded to club the roof of my car with his fist :S

The above is a large part of the reason why people hate cyclists. It's rare a driver would give more than a beep of the horn and yet many headcam clad cyclists think it's ok to hit people's cars for the most minor of incidences which happens to everyone, drivers and cyclists alike. Arseholes like that looking for incidents make life harder on other cyclists; like that boards user who posts up a video on youtube every few days where he is hassling drivers (honestly who gets into confrontations with drivers almost daily without looking for problems). Like I said it was entirely my fault but people make mistakes, particularly in Dublin when traffic is heavy. I've also noticed that this breed of aggro cyclist appears to be confined to Dublin in my experience. If a driver did what I did I would simply go around and maybe point at the cycle lane so that the driver was made aware of his mistake, hitting someones car is not on and only makes drivers hold an even greater dislike for cyclists.

So basically this happened because you pulled in to the left so as to not block anything? Because blocking the cycle lane doesn't count. I think you just demonstrated the key issue where drivers don't consider cyclists to be 'proper' traffic. Surprising for someone who also cycles.

rab!dmonkey

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

So basically this happened because you pulled in to the left so as to not block anything? Because blocking the cycle lane doesn't count. I think you just demonstrated the key issue where drivers don't consider cyclists to be 'proper' traffic. Surprising for someone who also cycles.

It's much safer for the motorist to turn left from the left-most position on the road. The attached picture is from a US cyclists' organisation and illustrates why this is. It's nonsensical to expect motorists to turn left from the middle of the road with traffic coming up on the inside. Moving to the far left works in much the same way as a cyclist taking the lane to discourage unsafe overtaking manoeuvres.

ezra_pound

Don't know if related to back to school or not but nearly knocked from the side three times this week commuting. All three times driver just didn't look.

First

Woman yawning as she edged from left into cycle lane. Then stopped. Yawned. Saw gap in motor traffic and went. I had to break and swerve.

Second




Basically the same only she wasn't yawning. I was a tiny bit behind bunch of cars passing the junction she was at. She let them go, waited for a gap in the traffic coming the opposite way to me then started off straight into me. Very lucky I didn't get hit! The car beside her turning left in to my direction were horrified because for a second there it looked like I was definitely going to get hit.

Thank God ib have disc breaks and there were no other cars coming behind me because I had to break hard fast and swerve wide.

Thirdly

Male driver. Leaving his house driveway in a huge big SUV Jeep thing started to move out without looking properlyt as I was passing. Again pretty scary.


In all cases I was in cycle lane.

Bad week.

EazyD

Just today on my way into town on Fortfield Road, I was filling up in the Topaz when I saw a cyclist down at the entrance, another driver had pulled in to help him as he looked very pale and shaken. A mid-aged woman in a 12 white BMW had taken him out pulling into the station, and walked in, seemingly oblivious to what she had just done. The attendants must have notified her, as she sauntered over to offer a feeble apology and of course "I didn't see you, etc". Thankfully the young lad was ok, just scrapes but it scares me to think these incompetent fools are allowed anywhere near heavy machinery.

monument

rab!dmonkey wrote: »

It's much safer for the motorist to turn left from the left-most position on the road. The attached picture is from a US cyclists' organisation and illustrates why this is. It's nonsensical to expect motorists to turn left from the middle of the road with traffic coming up on the inside. Moving to the far left works in much the same way as a cyclist taking the lane to discourage unsafe overtaking manoeuvres.

If there's a cycle lane or track, motorists turning left should do so from the next lane, never from the cycle lane or track --and this is even clearer again where there's a solid white line making the lane.

It is indeed nonsensical to expect motorists to turn left from "the middle of the road" but not from their own lane and "the middle of the road" is at best a very poor discription of most traffic lanes.

Spook_ie

monument wrote: »

If there's a cycle lane or track, motorists turning left should do so from the next lane, never from the cycle lane or track --and this is even clear again where there's a solid white line making the lane.

It is indeed nonsensical to expect motorists to turn left from "the middle of the road" but not from their own lane and "the middle of the road" is at best a very poor discription of most traffic lanes.

AFAIK
Other than a solid white lane marking a dedicated cycle track a broken line denotes a shared lane

A cycle track or lane
is a reserved part of a roadway for bicycles (not
motorcycles).
Some cycle tracks are bordered by a continuous white line on the right-hand
side. These are only for bicycles and motorised wheelchairs, so no other drivers may use them or park in them.
Other cycle tracks have a broken white line on the right-hand side. Other drivers may make temporary use of this type of track if it is not occupied.
Cycle tracks are reserved 24 hours a day, unless an upright information sign at
the start of and/or the side of the track shows another period of time

I don't have time to look for the actual SI's at the moment, so I'll utilise the RotR ( they may be wrong sometimes they are )

So a car would be perfectly entitled to use the section of road marked by a broken line to turn left

tomasrojo

I recall reading somewhere that drivers are encouraged to carefully occupy the cycle lane before a right turn on some faciities in the Netherlands.

I wish I'd kept a reference so that I knew it for sure.

monument

tomasrojo wrote: »

I recall reading somewhere that drivers are encouraged to carefully occupy the cycle lane before a right turn on some faciities in the Netherlands.

I wish I'd kept a reference so that I knew it for sure.

In my (recent but limited) experience of cycling there: of the fewer cycle lanes compared to cycle paths: most cycle lanes became cycle paths at larger junctions and at minor junctions where motorists were turning into the minor road, even a bit ahead of the cyclist, they stopped and waited in their lane until the cyclists traveling straight on had passed.

When we slowed down while cycling to allow the motorists to make the turn it resulted in confusion, followed by the motorists directing us to go ahead.

tomasrojo

Yes, that sounds like my limited and not recent experience of cycling in and around Leiden. I don't recall any contention at junctions. I was cycling with locals, so I guess they knew what was expected of them.

seamus

This is all academic though because it's not the situation described. jive turned right, but then found himself stuck in the middle of the junction, so decided to move left and block up the cycle lane so as "not to block anything". Which, as said, is surprising that jive doesn't consider cyclists to be part of that "anything" even though he claims to be one himself.

Yes, I would say the standard of driving is worse when the traffic is heavy, because people in a rush often turn into morons and would rather take serious risks than be five minutes late. Cycle slower and it becomes less of an issue. I do find it's worse in the first few months of the school year. By December it settles down as people get into their routines and figure out how not to be late.