Cracking letter in today's IT

Keep_Her_Lit

Some real gems in this one.

http://www.irishtimes.com/debate/letters/cycling-safety-and-bus-lanes-1.1760667


It seems that cyclists out there are doing all sorts of horrid things, such as:

• Riding their bicycles with only one hand on the handlebars!!! :eek:
• Going in between lines of cars. [I ask you!]
• Shouting cheerily to their friends.
• Not paying road tax (Joe).
• Maintaining their bicycles free of charge. [The beleaguered tax payer is probably footing the bill for that too!]

Motorists, on the other hand, generally do not break red lights. But when they do, there should be no cause for concern because it is usually safe to do so. Please remember this the next time you are nearly wiped out at a junction ... it may seem like a close call to you but that's only because you lack the superior judgement and experience of the speeding RLJ'er. So relax folks, everything is under control!

buffalo

I've already sent in my riposte.

dreamerb

I read that with distinct irritation this morning, having had two southbound cars breaking the lights over the canal at Harold's Cross while I was waiting in the turning box to take a right down the canal. This meant that the eastbound traffic from Parnell Road had already started to move when I was finally able to make my turn. It was safe enough for them to break the lights - just put me in a more hazardous position. So I guess that's all right then.

I wonder if it occurred to the writer that the "it's safe" rationale is precisely the same rationale used by most cyclists who break lights.

But then motorists pay road tax so they're entitled. :rolleyes:

AGC

Wait till he meets these lads

http://www.stickybottle.com/latest-news/brazilian-rider-drafts-speeding-lorry-at-124km-per-hour-filming-himself-one-hand-on-bars/

Mousewar

"Motorists have more to lose than cyclists"

Yep, if a cyclist pulls out in front of a car which smashes into him, it's definitely the motorist that has more to lose.:rolleyes:

Morgase

It is amusing that the writers of such rants often assume that cyclists don't have a car or van as well as their bike, and thus because the venerated driver pays motor tax and insurance they are superior creatures.

CramCycle

Also impressed by his understanding of the reasons for bus lanes and public transport :rolleyes:

lennymc

in fairness, some (not all) of what he says is valid (although it's not conveyed particularly well).

Rew

dreamerb wrote: »

I read that with distinct irritation this morning, having had two southbound cars breaking the lights over the canal at Harold's Cross while I was waiting in the turning box to take a right down the canal.

Ahh sure its ok they only did it because it was safe to do so!

Its sad how often breaking reds is cited as a cyclist issue, sit at any junction in Dublin City centre and you see the light be broken every time it changes.

doozerie

"During the above instances the watching motorists were holding their breath ..."

Someone should tell the writer that he can stop holding his breath now, he has clearly cut off oxygen to his brain and is delirious.

...but, more seriously, he does have some valid points as lennymc says, he has just wrapped them up in such self-serving prejudiced nonsense that they get lost in all the noise. Much like they do when the same points are made by idiots in all forms of transport that try to justify their own existence by demeaning users of any other form of transport. Such people fail to see that they are part of the problem rather than just breathless spectators.

Iwannahurl

Keep_Her_Lit wrote: »

Some real gems in this one.

http://www.irishtimes.com/debate/letters/cycling-safety-and-bus-lanes-1.1760667

Forgot to mention the heinous crime exposed by Fintan O'Toole: cyclists freewheel down hills.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056969422

mcgratheoin

"Traffic other than buses and taxis are forced into a diversion which must cost them 10-15 minutes extra time at rush hour, thereby increasing pollution and expense for all concerned. "

Reads like a píss take - very strange editorial decision to publish such a badly written letter.

kenmc

AGC wrote: »

Wait till he meets these lads

http://www.stickybottle.com/latest-news/brazilian-rider-drafts-speeding-lorry-at-124km-per-hour-filming-himself-one-hand-on-bars/

Cracking choice of soundtrack tho.

lennymc

kenmc wrote: »

Cracking choice of soundtrack tho.

I'm currently sat here listening to the album....

Tenzor07

Bottom line for Mr. Cooke of Coolock is remove the "Two wheel menace" from the roads, take up bus-lanes so he can knock a few mins off the oul spin home in his 98 Micra.... :rolleyes:

kenmc

lennymc wrote: »

I'm currently sat here listening to the album....

Was I the only one watching that thinking "if he punctures out now he'll never get his camera/phone back"

RobertFoster

AGC wrote: »

Wait till he meets these lads

http://www.stickybottle.com/latest-news/brazilian-rider-drafts-speeding-lorry-at-124km-per-hour-filming-himself-one-hand-on-bars/

I like how a lot of the YouTube comments are along the lines of "OMG no helmet!", as if one would help at that speed.

As for the IT letter... are there such things as newspaper trolls?

Pinch Flat

That must have been stuck in the editors in tray from 31st march for publishing the next day.....

At least we're all cheery....

Lumen

Morgase wrote: »

It is amusing that the writers of such rants often assume that cyclists don't have a car or van as well as their bike, and thus because the venerated driver pays motor tax and insurance they are superior creatures.

Whether they do or don't is completely irrelevant and self-defeating.

I don't pay motor tax to give me the right to cycle, I pay it to give me the right to drive.

Equally, another cyclist who chooses not to own a car has no less right to cycle on the road than I do.

buffalo

RobertFoster wrote: »

As for the IT letter... are there such things as newspaper trolls?

The letters page is just like a non-anonymous Internet forum with strict moderation. But I guess the occasional bad post gets through the filters.

petethedrummer

mcgratheoin wrote: »

very strange editorial decision to publish such a badly written letter.

It generates page views. If I owned a newspaper I'd have a never ending cyclists Vs motorist debate.

Vizzy

RobertFoster wrote: »

I like how a lot of the YouTube comments are along the lines of "OMG no helmet!", as if one would help at that speed.

As for the IT letter... are there such things as newspaper trolls?

Good point because I don't think that Mr Cooke lives in Greencastle Avenue,Coolock.

droidus

petethedrummer wrote: »

It generates page views. If I owned a newspaper I'd have a never ending cyclists Vs motorist debate.

Absolutely. Ian O'Doherty, John Waters, Brenda Powers & Kevin Myers would make up the editorial team.

manafana

so true on the light debates, cyclists break lights in different ways but so many motorists go through red lights too. I really think once the luas is connected we have bring in congestion these one people cars driving in and out of town is beyond a joke.

Cycling in Dublin is in better shape than its been which shows you how bad it was and how bad it is elsewere, haven travelled to the UK a bit I always am amazed anyone could commute in London by bike. Every road could nearly have a bike lane painted out as it seems to cool drivers down even if road is still the same size )

Lusk_Doyle

Mass "Dear Liam" letter drop to Greencastle Avenue on its way...

manafana

the other note, build a nice road and only let cyclists go on it and it will last for decades unlike the awful roads we get from too many trucks and large mpv

buffalo

Lusk_Doyle wrote: »

Mass "Dear Liam" letter drop to Greencastle Avenue on its way...

No need for a mass drop. The Internet scares me sometimes.

Link deleted - no need to give out Dear Liams full address here

Lusk_Doyle

buffalo wrote: »

No need for a mass drop. The Internet scares me sometimes.

Link deleted

He likes writing letters! You two should hook up!

bambergbike

manafana wrote: »

the other note, take a bunch of existing roads and only let cyclists go on them and they will last for decades

FYP

manafana

Lusk_Doyle wrote: »

He likes writing letters! You two should hook up!

probably writes his letters while driving home since he can't use the bus lanes to drive thru the heart of the city

Pinch Flat

buffalo wrote: »

No need for a mass drop. The Internet scares me sometimes.

https://www.google.ie/search?q=Liam+Cooke+Greencastle+Avenue+Coolock

Man with a lot of time on his hands....

eyescreamcone

Seagulling

Inquitus

eyescreamcone wrote: »

Post deleted

CramCycle

MOD VOICE: alot of posts deleted, none were bad but it was dragging the thread off topic,

eyescreamcone

MOD VOICE: On holiday

manafana

one side note, i really believe attitudes to other road users need to be thought as part of the testing process.

On the tests I did very little on cyclists or pedestrians ever came and nothing aside from sign posts.

Pinch Flat

manafana wrote: »

one side note, i really believe attitudes to other road users need to be thought as part of the testing process.

On the tests I did very little on cyclists or pedestrians ever came and nothing aside from sign posts.

Starting cycle craft in school might be one way of getting an appreciation into people that there's more to life than the car. It would mean everyone starts at a common base and that cyclists as the most vulnerable road users are to respected and not seen as a non 'road tax' paying annoyance.

We've become one of the most car dependent societies on the planet over these past 15 - 20 years, so it's hard for someone brought up in the psyche that the only way to get from A - B is by car, even if the journey can be walked or cycled.

BrianHenryIE

Googling his name shows him up as a taxi driver who was fined for not filing his income tax return.

4umbrellas

Odd. Most taxi drivers love cyclists.

buffalo

eyescreamcone wrote: »

Seagulling

Is that this definition?

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=seagulling

Lumen

buffalo wrote: »

Is that this definition?

You used to be such a nice boy. What have we done to you?

monument

This is just the latest of a set of anti-bus lane letters to the Irish Times.

Thread on this over in C&T: http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057185725/1

Lusk_Doyle

Lumen wrote: »

You used to be such a nice boy. What have we done to you?

That fall off the bike has dislodged or re-lodged something in his head!

porsche959

lennymc wrote: »

in fairness, some (not all) of what he says is valid (although it's not conveyed particularly well).

The dangerous, inconsiderate and reckless behaviour of many of the "bike-to-work" cyclist brigade certainly needs to be challenged - not least, in their own interests. The specific wording and points raised in that letter probably not the way I would have gone about it though.

Lusk_Doyle

porsche959 wrote: »

The dangerous, inconsiderate and reckless behaviour of many of the "bike-to-work" cyclist brigade certainly needs to be challenged - not least, in their own interests. The specific wording and points raised in that letter probably not the way I would have gone about it though.

Couldn't stretch to a 911, no?

Lumen

Lusk_Doyle wrote: »

Couldn't stretch to a 911, no?

I think you'd better stick to bikes where you can at least feign expertise. The 959 is one of the greatest cars ever made.

No Pants

buffalo wrote: »

Is that this definition?

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=seagulling

That first example was bad, but the second one was horrible, yet funny. What is wrong with some people?

lennymc

Lumen wrote: »

I think you'd better stick to bikes where you can at least feign expertise. The 959 is one of the greatest cars ever made.

959. Drool. I used to have a poster of that on my wall. I think in many ways it contributed to my seagulling.

bambergbike

Pinch Flat wrote: »

Starting cycle craft in school might be one way of getting an appreciation into people that there's more to life than the car.

It would help, I think, but part of the problem is that bikes are sometimes seen as toys for childen and adult cyclists are regarded as a bit self-indulgent. It's hard to stress cycle training for kids without reinforcing the silly stereotype that cycling is just for kids.

I would also like to see more mobility training in addition to cycle training. Kids (from pre-schoolers through to Leaving Cert and beyond) need to get the basic concept that journeys can be made by different modes to suit different circumstances and that choosing a mode (or combination of modes) is about making rational choices and capitalizing on the advantages offered by one mode or trying to avoid the disadvantages of another. Planes are handy for very long journeys, trains and cars for medium-length journeys, cycling and buses for shorter journeys (that are still a bit far to walk) and walking for very short journeys.

By the time kids are six or seven, they should have several solid years of intensive mobility and safety training under their belts and be ready to strike out on their own (for very short, basic journeys initially, like walking,biking or getting the bus to school).

Mobility planning is very relevant for adults as well - workplace travel plans and so on - employees should get the chance to sit down with a mobility consultant who does a proper SWOT analysis of their different travel options with them and suggests possible changes.

buffalo

Well, this is a first.

Kav0777

buffalo wrote: »

Well, this is a first.

Didn't make the cut?