Near misses - mod warning 22/04 - see OP/post 822

AndrewJRenko

Duckjob wrote: »

I do actually agree with you I don't shy away from a discussion if its warranted. I just think things like slapping the roof are extremely unlikely to lead to any sort of a positive outcome.

Sure, I wouldn't recommend roof slapping or ranting and raving. In my experience, the best way to start the engagement is with a huge smile and a signal to wind down the window (even though they all have buttons, not winders).

Emme wrote: »

I would rather get into a pen with a mad bull than do that in Dublin traffic. Consider that the consumption of cocaine has gone way up in this country. I'm not suggesting people snort and drive but you don't know what you're dealing with on the roads. I have noticed a significant rise in aggression towards cyclists in the last year or so and I don't mean just calling cyclists names.

It's a personal choice of course, and there are times where I make a strategic decision to keep my big mouth shut, but most people are vaguely civil, if only because they know that they are traceable through a reg number and a camera.

coward

A runner ran out in front of me last week. I locked up both brakes and fell to the ground. Could have been worse. Both of us got a fright. I couldn't ask for a nicer person to bump into. Music at the end to block out her voice and apologies. She didn't consider the cycle path when crossing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OzhVW8Asu8

Seth Brundle

Sounds like the start of a Hollywood romance movie

magicbastarder

called 'falling down'.

RobertFoster

magicbastarder wrote: »

called 'falling down'.

The runner coming back to finish off coward:

Weepsie

Had a taxi pass me close enough for me to touch this morning. Pointed out to them that they were too close up at a set of lights. Immediately they went on the offensive so I took a picture of their reg and taxi plate which made him behave like a child and started ficking Vs at me.  He pointed at his dashcam, which I noted would just confirm his bad driving. All I wanted was an acknowledgement that he was too close.

His teenage passenger looked more mature.


I also saw another taxi nearly hit a car side on, but it was entirely the car driver's fault. It somehow cut across 2 lanes of traffic and emerged blindly to try and pull into an apartment complex at Collins Avenue/Ballymun Road Junction. They might have cut across from the opposite side of the road. It was some of the stupidest driving I've ever seen and the taxi driver looked properly shook.

magicbastarder

Weepsie wrote: »

I also saw another taxi nearly hit a car side on, but it was entirely the car driver's fault. It somehow cut across 2 lanes of traffic and emerged blindly to try and pull into an apartment complex at Collins Avenue/Ballymun Road Junction. They might have cut across from the opposite side of the road. It was some of the stupidest driving I've ever seen and the taxi driver looked properly shook.

i've heard a few complaints about the behaviour of residents of that apartment in relation to their driving - if they want to head north, they don't do a u-turn at the main junction, they cut slightly north across the southbound lanes to get to the gap in the median opposite the library.
plus, several people seem to regularly park completely on the footpath outside the apartments.

Boom_Bap

I haven't seen anyone do that, but it's an insane maneuver particular on that stretch of the road.

Weepsie

magicbastarder wrote: »

plus, several people seem to regularly park completely on the footpath outside the apartments.

There's a blue Citroen Berlingo blocking the cycle lane every morning.

VW 1

I've witnessed the behaviour to go northbound myself, obviously just trying to beat the queue to u-turn at the lights at the main junction.

Alek

A car overtook me yesterday afternoon, speeding up to get through the amber. I was almost in the middle of the lane, so the mirror hit my hand hard and I barely managed to stay on the bike.

"Sorry I didn't see you" she said.

Funny they give licenses to blind people these days.

Alek

Interesting, because there was physical contact, Traffic Watch will not take my report. They refer me to the local Garda station, I've called them and they told me they cannot take it over the phone, I have to do it in person.

Don't bother today, she added, we're really busy.

D'oh.

ganmo

Translation - wait till I'm off shift

tnegun

Almost had a head on with a scrambler on the Grand Canal today I was crossing the red bridge near Adamstown and had slowed to a stop when I heard it coming. They came round the bend on the bridge and would of flattened me if I hadn't stopped. They almost came off themselves when they saw me I gave up reporting these guys as the guards aren't interested and want you to do all the work.

site_owner

tnegun wrote: »

Almost had a head on with a scrambler on the Grand Canal today I was crossing the red bridge near Adamstown and had slowed to a stop when I heard it coming. They came round the bend on the bridge and would of flattened me if I hadn't stopped. They almost came off themselves when they saw me I gave up reporting these guys as the guards aren't interested and want you to do all the work.

(Not excusing this crap)

Gardai don't have the resources to provide decent response times to catch scramblers, and even if they can get someone there quick, kissing gates mean they are wasting their time. I learned that from AGS responses to scramblers in my local, kissing gate "protected" park.

All they want to know, is a possible address for the bike, so they can try track it down

Mickiemcfist

I thought the other issue was that they weren't allowed to chase them due to health & safety of said scrambler rider?

magicbastarder

i think that's general issues of danger, not just to the rider, but also to anyone the rider might collide with while being chased (or that said, anyone the gardai might collide with)

Hurrache

site_owner wrote: »

(Not excusing this crap)

Gardai don't have the resources to provide decent response times to catch scramblers, and even if they can get someone there quick, kissing gates mean they are wasting their time. I learned that from AGS responses to scramblers in my local, kissing gate "protected" park.

All they want to know, is a possible address for the bike, so they can try track it down

All they need to do is set up a team and do a week of stings. It's not that difficult a concept for someone in the gardai to organise. In the UK they permanently have such teams with police on unmarked bikes and scramblers themselves.

Weepsie

Alek wrote: »

Interesting, because there was physical contact, Traffic Watch will not take my report. They refer me to the local Garda station, I've called them and they told me they cannot take it over the phone, I have to do it in person.

Don't bother today, she added, we're really busy.

D'oh.

And then they give out if you don't report it sooner as happened to me. Sorry I was concussed for the guts of 3 weeks officer.

Last garda I dealt with was great. But he was new, young and probably very eager to get on with work. Other times I've had miserable ones who couldn't have cared less.

Rechuchote

Hurrache wrote: »

All they need to do is set up a team and do a week of stings. It's not that difficult a concept for someone in the gardai to organise. In the UK they permanently have such teams with police on unmarked bikes and scramblers themselves.

Plainclothes team on bikes, with the power to confiscate and dispose of the scrambler, as they can with cars driven by unaccompanied L drivers. That would stop it in its tracks. And get them off the tracks.

CramCycle

Weepsie wrote: »

Last garda I dealt with was great. But he was new, young and probably very eager to get on with work. Other times I've had miserable ones who couldn't have cared less.

A few years of the paperwork will sort that out, I think it is typically about 18 months before most new recruits break and start thinking, every one of these I do is more time I cannot be on the street doing my actual job. Gardai really need to update their ticketing and processing, or go back to the knocking on doors and giving a b*llicking, otherwise I fully understand why they don't follow up on such things.

check_six

CramCycle wrote: »

A few years of the paperwork will sort that out, I think it is typically about 18 months before most new recruits break and start thinking, every one of these I do is more time I cannot be on the street doing my actual job. Gardai really need to update their ticketing and processing, or go back to the knocking on doors and giving a b*llicking, otherwise I fully understand why they don't follow up on such things.

I wonder if there is a resistance to updating the systems. The pulse system seems to have been around nearly 20 years, and I don't believe they have changed it in that time. Is it just the cost of a new system? Or is there something else?

mr spuckler

CramCycle wrote: »

A few years of the paperwork will sort that out, I think it is typically about 18 months before most new recruits break and start thinking, every one of these I do is more time I cannot be on the street doing my actual job. Gardai really need to update their ticketing and processing, or go back to the knocking on doors and giving a b*llicking, otherwise I fully understand why they don't follow up on such things.

From having reported a collision and seen how much of the Garda's time it took, including 1 1/2 hours to take a statement to reflect what was in the video from my bike camera, to then see the amount of time he'd to spend in court to finally see an admitted careless driving charge result in no penalty points, fine or endorsement - I can very much understand why they'd lose heart.

Ray Palmer

check_six wrote: »

CramCycle wrote: »

A few years of the paperwork will sort that out, I think it is typically about 18 months before most new recruits break and start thinking, every one of these I do is more time I cannot be on the street doing my actual job. Gardai really need to update their ticketing and processing, or go back to the knocking on doors and giving a b*llicking, otherwise I fully understand why they don't follow up on such things.

I wonder if there is a resistance to updating the systems. The pulse system seems to have been around nearly 20 years, and I don't believe they have changed it in that time. Is it just the cost of a new system? Or is there something else?

Have you any idea of the cost and time to replace a system? They don't just keep the system with no changes being made. There is constant maintenance and upgrades to such systems.
The system cost over €60 million to develop, so maybe that is why they don't just replace it. It probably has another 10 years of use easy assuming they did very little to it but after that there is no reason it doesn't remain indefinitely once kept up to date.

check_six

Ray Palmer wrote: »

Have you any idea of the cost and time to replace a system? They don't just keep the system with no changes being made. There is constant maintenance and upgrades to such systems.
The system cost over €60 million to develop, so maybe that is why they don't just replace it. It probably has another 10 years of use easy assuming they did very little to it but after that there is no reason it doesn't remain indefinitely once kept up to date.

That's good that it's been getting updates. I'd somehow got the impression the system was archaic and not up to the job any more. Don't know where I got that idea from now to be honest.

Ray Palmer

Oh don't get me wrong all signs point to it being a terrible development project and handled badly. Given it was Accenture working with people who never worked on such a huge development project meant it would be a mess. One reason why you need to pay for consultants and should hire independent contractors to do governance.
Way more expensive to start from scratch now.

tnegun

The scrotes in actions

Breezer

Not a near miss for me, but for a driver in front of me this morning. I'm turning down Bridge St from High St (beside Christchurch) and a Range Rover roars past me, giving me room in fairness. Up ahead there's a woman in a rented i10 who clearly doesn't know where she's going and is driving a bit slowly trying to figure it out. Range Rover tries to undertake her, can't fit, tries to overtake her on the right. The poor woman is clearly terrified and slows right down at this stage and swings from side to side a bit. Range Rover leans on the horn.

Eventually he flies past her and I watch him fly over the Liffey bridge, and then up the cycle lane to overtake the queue of cars, before getting stuck trying to merge with the traffic again. He continues this type of thing the whole way up the road.

We spent the next 15 minutes swapping places on the road until he finally managed to drive on at the Circle K on the Ballymun Road.

I was expecting it was either a red faced middle aged businessman in a suit, or some young fella in daddy's jeep. I had a gawk at a set of lights. It was a man in his late 30s, sporting hipster glasses and beard, cool as you like, with a freshly groomed Yorkshire terrier in his lap!

AndrewJRenko

Ray Palmer wrote: »

Oh don't get me wrong all signs point to it being a terrible development project and handled badly. Given it was Accenture working with people who never worked on such a huge development project meant it would be a mess. One reason why you need to pay for consultants and should hire independent contractors to do governance.
Way more expensive to start from scratch now.

There are some very interesting developments with use of technology in the Gardai;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twY2Jqpdpog

Breezer

Oh and a pedestrian with massive headphones on decided to walk out in front of me going up Constitution Hill, oblivious to me white knuckling the brakes. Thankfully Range Rover had gone on ahead at this point or she might have been in trouble.

And then coming home in the evening there's a queue of traffic in the right lane on Church St before the North King St junction. I'm in the left lane, taking the lane because it's one of those ones where they've painted on a cycle lane that takes up half the width of the driving lane. There's also a crater of a manhole in middle of the road, and then a left filter arrow where I'd rather not be left hooked. Anyway, one of the lads heretofore queuing happy in his car suddenly decides he doesn't want to queue anymore and pulls into the left lane as I'm passing by, indicating as he starts the manoeuvre. I had enough speed to make it past without any issue but he clearly hadn't a clue I was there.

I haven't had a near miss in ages, there must've been something in the water today.