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

CramCycle

Danjamin1 wrote: »

Does anyone else find it's consistently the slower and less aware cyclists who feel the need to move to the very front of the queue at every set of traffic lights (if they feel the need to stop)? I find myself repeatedly overtaking the same people after every light change on my commute, they just seem oblivious or indifferent to the fact they're pushing to the front. Have never said anything to anyone about it but it really irks me!

I don't think it is less aware cyclists, just d1cks. Typically they think they are faster so manners are not important. It's when they get overtaken and they do it again I start to lose the will to remain civil.

Kaisr Sose

It's their version of 'marginal gains'...I have had one squeeze past me along the kerb, asking me to move out a bit so they can pass !!

Vel

Danjamin1 wrote: »

Does anyone else find it's consistently the slower and less aware cyclists who feel the need to move to the very front of the queue at every set of traffic lights (if they feel the need to stop)? I find myself repeatedly overtaking the same people after every light change on my commute, they just seem oblivious or indifferent to the fact they're pushing to the front. Have never said anything to anyone about it but it really irks me!

As this is posted in the near misses thread and isn't about a near miss, can I assume it might be directed at me in relation to my post about another cyclist trying to take me out?

If so then I can assure you that I didn't filter up to the front of a queue of cyclists at the lights. At these particular lights there are two lanes and you either stay to the side if going towards SCR or place yourself in front of the traffic in the other lane in order to get around before the cars start to bully you out of the way. I placed myself behind, so my front wheel would have been level with his back wheel, and to the right of the guy. Apart from another girl who was staying left there were no other cyclists for me to filter past. And not right beside him either, lots of room as its a wide junction. I took off a split second before him keeping well right and he had plenty of room to overtake me/undertake me, whatever he felt the need to do if he felt I was slower or less aware, although bearing in mind the lights further ahead are never green when you get to them it would have been a pointless exercise.

Anyway, whatever anyone's interpretation is of my cycling and I maintain I did nothing wrong, his actions are indefensible

Danjamin1

Vel wrote: »

As this is posted in the near misses thread and isn't about a near miss, can I assume it might be directed at me in relation to my post about another cyclist trying to take me out?

If so then I can assure you that I didn't filter up to the front of a queue of cyclists at the lights. At these particular lights there are two lanes and you either stay to the side if going towards SCR or place yourself in front of the traffic in the other lane in order to get around before the cars start to bully you out of the way. I placed myself behind, so my front wheel would have been level with his back wheel, and to the right of the guy. Apart from another girl who was staying left there were no other cyclists for me to filter past. And not right beside him either, lots of room as its a wide junction. I took off a split second before him keeping well right and he had plenty of room to overtake me/undertake me, whatever he felt the need to do if he felt I was slower or less aware, although bearing in mind the lights further ahead are never green when you get to them it would have been a pointless exercise.

Anyway, whatever anyone's interpretation is of my cycling and I maintain I did nothing wrong, his actions are indefensible

Ha you know what just before I posted I thought to myself "I wonder should I put a disclaimer directed at Vel to say this has nothing to do with their encounter?". You mentioned you were beside the other cyclists, not that you went to the front so I didn't want to be oversensitive and assume you'd think I was directing it at you. I posted in here because it's an active thread around road behaviour, wasn't trying to derail.

Effects

Just a couple of spas cycling fast, against the flow of traffic in the Coombe. High enough chance of someone exiting Francis St. hitting them as cars will generally only look right for moving traffic.

AndrewJRenko

Danjamin1 wrote: »

Does anyone else find it's consistently the slower and less aware cyclists who feel the need to move to the very front of the queue at every set of traffic lights (if they feel the need to stop)? I find myself repeatedly overtaking the same people after every light change on my commute, they just seem oblivious or indifferent to the fact they're pushing to the front. Have never said anything to anyone about it but it really irks me!

Say it. Ask them if they really want you to have to overtake them for a third time? Or ask them if they normally skip to the top of a queue of cars at traffic lights when they are driving.

But say something.
.

magicbastarder

the funny thing is that this is the hardest thing to rationalise to a non-cyclist, as to why it's irritating. they generally look at you as if you have two heads. it's a little irritating, but has never bothered me to the point where i'd say anything to someone doing it.

Lemming

Vel wrote: »

He also had no qualms about placing his hand on my arm to try to stop me from taking the photo.

That act alone (by him) is classed as an assault as far as I am aware; 'Simple' assault, but assault nonetheless. And that's ignoring the deliberate attempts to knock you off your bike. The problem is getting the Gardai to bother chasing up without a decent facial picture and knowledge of him being on a particular commute regularly.

Shameful behaviour all the same, and clearly someone in dire need of a chill pill.

Edit: I'd still report the guy to Traffic Watch.

magicbastarder

is traffic watch the right place to report it? i would assume you report violations of traffic law to them, and assault to a 'normal' garda station.

Vel

Danjamin1 wrote: »

Ha you know what just before I posted I thought to myself "I wonder should I put a disclaimer directed at Vel to say this has nothing to do with their encounter?". You mentioned you were beside the other cyclists, not that you went to the front so I didn't want to be oversensitive and assume you'd think I was directing it at you. I posted in here because it's an active thread around road behaviour, wasn't trying to derail.

Cool! I'm a bit sensitive as have already had one div in work tell me that I had probably annoyed this guy because I should have let him go first as he was always going to be faster than me! :rolleyes:

buffalo

magicbastarder wrote: »

is traffic watch the right place to report it? i would assume you report violations of traffic law to them, and assault to a 'normal' garda station.

Aye, I reported threatening behaviour to TrafficWatch, and they told me to report that directly to the Gardaí.

Vel

Would a bike with a red frame be unusual? My picture is terrible but the bike appears to have a bright red frame which might help distinguish him a bit. Really not sure what to do in this case now as I can just imagine the reception I'll get from the Guards with my blurry photo from behind! If anyone regularly cycles that route (Ranelagh to Georges Street) early in the mornings who thinks they might have seen a tall, totally bald guy on a red bike at any stage pm me and I can send on pic! I got the impression he was commuting to work so he might be a regular.

Danjamin1

Vel wrote: »

Cool! I'm a bit sensitive as have already had one div in work tell me that I had probably annoyed this guy because I should have let him go first as he was always going to be faster than me! :rolleyes:

Victim blaming at its finest! The guy sounds like a d1ck.

With regard to moving to the front, I'll happily move into the bike box myself, as it sounds like you did, but I won't force my way past people to get there. If someone has already passed me I would never put myself in front of them cos I know they'd only have to overtake me again. If I've moved in to the bike box and someone beside me is faster I'll give way.

It's a funny one cos on the one hand it's a behaviour that really annoys me by some cyclists, but if I was to think of it with cars in mind I'll happily filter past cars which have overtaken me in their rush to the lights even if it means they'll have to overtake again. Is this a d1ck move? I'm at odds with it. Usually you end up leaving them in a line of traffic at some point anyway so it all evens out but I can only imagine some headcases going nuts about having to overtake me twice, maybe even 3 times because my average speed is more consistent than theirs.

I haven't had anything I'd consider a near miss in a while so this is what's on my mind on the bike!

Weepsie

magicbastarder wrote: »

the funny thing is that this is the hardest thing to rationalise to a non-cyclist, as to why it's irritating. they generally look at you as if you have two heads. it's a little irritating, but has never bothered me to the point where i'd say anything to someone doing it.

I said it to someone once, but only after he did it I think 4 days in a row. He'd mount a kerb, roll by anything between 6-12 people at the lights and plonk himself at front. He'd then go at a walking pace nearly and on a stretch where there are limited overtaking chances.

Said man got pissy when I said it to him, I had a rare opportunity to overtake him. He was still muttering away and nearly got himself T-boned. Never saw him again, or at least never saw him skip again.

That only other time I said anything, I got a reaction like vels and watched as some twunt worked himself into a rate like I'd never quite seen before as he attempted to make me crash a couple of time.i passed on the chance to clip his wheel and send him to the deck and made my way home.

Some people are just arses, some are highly strung for all sorts of reasons and take it out all wrong

AndrewJRenko

Vel wrote: »

Would a bike with a red frame be unusual? My picture is terrible but the bike appears to have a bright red frame which might help distinguish him a bit. Really not sure what to do in this case now as I can just imagine the reception I'll get from the Guards with my blurry photo from behind! If anyone regularly cycles that route (Ranelagh to Georges Street) early in the mornings who thinks they might have seen a tall, totally bald guy on a red bike at any stage pm me and I can send on pic! I got the impression he was commuting to work so he might be a regular.

There is nothing to stop you publishing the pic on your own social media, if you're on Twitter or Facebook. It wouldn't be wise to allege a specific offence ("this guy assaulted me"), but you could say something generic.

Annie get your Run

Danjamin1 wrote: »

With regard to moving to the front, I'll happily move into the bike box myself, as it sounds like you did, but I won't force my way past people to get there. If someone has already passed me I would never put myself in front of them cos I know they'd only have to overtake me again. If I've moved in to the bike box and someone beside me is faster I'll give way.

It's a funny one cos on the one hand it's a behaviour that really annoys me by some cyclists, but if I was to think of it with cars in mind I'll happily filter past cars which have overtaken me in their rush to the lights even if it means they'll have to overtake again. Is this a d1ck move? I'm at odds with it. Usually you end up leaving them in a line of traffic at some point anyway so it all evens out but I can only imagine some headcases going nuts about having to overtake me twice, maybe even 3 times because my average speed is more consistent than theirs.

Agreed it's a funny one, it's something that occurs on the quays in the mornings big time but here's (sort of ) the conundrum. You've been overtaken by faster cyclists between lights, you reach the next set of red lights and the faster guys are not in the bike box, they're possibly along the kerb but they may not be right up top. There are buses and vans etc. etc., rather than stay behind a bus (I'd never stay stopped along the inside of one) I'll filter right up to the bike box and when the lights go green I'll be overtaken again. Now there are are usually cyclists much slower than me in the bike box too and I'll always try and stay out of everyone's way knowing they'll be coming past me but there's one reason why someone might do that. Maybe I should just stay behind the bus but then he'd hold me up!!

Just so as not to be too OT I had a doozer of a near miss yesterday morning, on the quays a car pulled into the bus lane just in front of me and was almost trying to pull into the kerb on top of me, no indication nothing, no left turn at the lights we were coming up to (which were red). I managed to bang my fist on his passenger door and he stopped and put his hands up in apology. Not pleasant in the rain and I learned a major lesson re brakes on wet days .

LpPepper

A short clip of a fairly eventful commute last week, with a few close passes involved. In fairness the majority of other road users are courteous but it's the odd few that can easily put you in a bad mood....

Corca Baiscinn

CramCycle wrote: »

I read the replies on twitter. Social media is where civilisation went to die.

Amen to that! Started reading the comments a while ago on the Independent article re the IBike cycle lane protection demo at St Andrew St this morning, but I gave up! At one level I used to think you have to know what the opposition thinks and where it's coming from if you're to counter the propaganda but then I realise it's pointless

AndrewJRenko

Corca Baiscinn wrote: »

Amen to that! Started reading the comments a while ago on the Independent article re the IBike cycle lane protection demo at St Andrew St this morning, but I gave up! At one level I used to think you have to know what the opposition thinks and where it's coming from if you're to counter the propaganda but then I realise it's pointless

Amazingly, the fast majority of the publicity around IBikeDublin has been very positive, and even a fair amount of the commentary has been positive. Pat Kenny managed to cover the topic this morning without one of his omni-present 'but I saw a cyclist break the lights this morning' smart-ass remarks.

papu

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Amazingly, the fast majority of the publicity around IBikeDublin has been very positive, and even a fair amount of the commentary has been positive. Pat Kenny managed to cover the topic this morning without one of his omni-present 'but I saw a cyclist break the lights this morning' smart-ass remarks.

That's exactly what the truck driver at the beginning of the segment said. The person talking to him dealt with it very well.

ED E

Idiot OAP decided to pull out and drive and then start removing items of clothing (thus weaving all over and entwining her arms) and when I asked her to pay attention to the road while passing she decided to chase me down.

If only common sense was actually common.

AndrewJRenko

ED E wrote: »

Idiot OAP decided to pull out and drive and then start removing items of clothing (thus weaving all over and entwining her arms) and when I asked her to pay attention to the road while passing she decided to chase me down.

Some kind of granny strippergram running late for a performance?

Danjamin1

Well, for all my talk of not having had a near miss in a while I had a bad one on the cycle home today.

Cycling outbound on Wainsfort Road in Terenure, I was cycling the last stretch of road before coming to the roundabout when a van on the right hand side of the road pulled out to join the traffic. The only problem was they weren't turning sharp enough to get in to the lane of traffic, they drove perpendicular to the lane directly at me. I nearly came off the bike slamming on the brakes but managed to stop & unclip in time. When i went to the passenger side window the passenger at the very least was laughing. I didn't look to see if the driver or middle passenger were as well, but i did notice the middle passenger was drinking a beer. I called Trafficwatch to report it but i must've taken the reg down wrong, think I may have transposed a digit. The Garda was helpful but without a reg that returns a result there's nothing much they can do.

I called the company and spoke to someone there. They spoke to the driver and the reason the driver gave was that a car gave them space to pull out and so they pulled in to the lane of traffic. They've blamed me for cycling too fast of course. I guess that means they saw me & pulled out anyway. Not sure why they drove in to the cycle lane at the angle they did but this is the excuse they've given. The guy I spoke to said they'll be working there again tomorrow if I want to go by for an apology, think I might just do that, at the very least to get the reg. What can the Gardai do with a company registered car come to think of it? Who can be held responsible in that case?

CramCycle

Danjamin1 wrote: »

What can the Gardai do with a company registered car come to think of it? Who can be held responsible in that case?

If they are behaving responsibly they will have a log of what driver had the car at the time of the incident. My partners old company would make sure a photocopy of their license was on record and if any penalties were handed in they would track down the log and pass it on

I suspect smaller companies might not be so diligent though,unsure of who would be responsible but I imagine the registered owner would have some explaining to do.

Kaisr Sose

Close one with a Mortons Double Decker today. Driver was a total dick. Acted like he did not care that he did a close pass at speed, for no major reason, and then ducks into the kerb shortly afterwards so that I have to slam on with no road left ahead of me. 200m later he is stuck at a red light. He could not care less, like I am a fly that can be swatted away without a thought. Such selfish and dangerous stupidity really pisses me off.

John_Rambo

CramCycle wrote: »

If they are behaving responsibly they will have a log of what driver had the car at the time of the incident. My partners old company would make sure a photocopy of their license was on record and if any penalties were handed in they would track down the log and pass it on

I suspect smaller companies might not be so diligent though,unsure of who would be responsible but I imagine the registered owner would have some explaining to do.

Instead of calling the Gardai I called the company (of the van that was aggressive and dangerous) a few years ago. The fleet manager called me back and before I finished explaining he said "I know who it is, this isn't the first time, but it will be the last".

The driver was a dick. The fleet manager knew it. Not sure what happened, but the manager was not one bit happy. I reckon he was in more trouble with his employer than he would have been if it was the Gardai.

Hrududu

This evening I was in a lane for a right hand turn. Another cyclist was over on the left in the straight ahead lane. A driver went to overtake that cyclist and drove into my lane without looking. Luckily I had taken that lane but any closer to the left and I would have been clipped before he'd even spotted me

papu

Two near misses, considering reporting the second to traffic watch.

The camera has a 170* wide angle lens so it doesn't look as close.

mr spuckler

in the second one it looks like you even got a bonus tight squeeze from the avensis driver that sees indicators as superfluous :mad:

Weepsie

papu wrote: »

Two near misses, considering reporting the second to traffic watch.

The camera has a 170* wide angle lens so it doesn't look as close.

I like that the second car in the second clip is basically in the lane before they indicate.