Three things that made my day

FX Meister

All took place yesterday evening. I had to go over to Rathfarnham during rush hour so decided to save time and cycle. At a set of light on Dorset street I was waiting at a red light, as was another cyclist. As the light went green we took off and a driver who’s light had gone red decided to break it. As he flew past in front of us the cyclist spat a huge one right at the car and through the drivers open window and into his face. The driver just screeched to a halt and jumped out, the look on his face was priceless. He started to shout but the cyclist was long gone. I caught up with him at the lights and had a chat with him. He says he does it quite often to drivers breaking lights. Second thing was watching a mother in a 5 Series Touring accelerate to an amber light as I could see a motorbike cop at the other lights. Her light went red and she ripped through it and straight away the cop put on his siren. Now , the third thing I caused myself. All the way over to the southside I had to deal with drivers ignoring any cycling lanes on my route. On the return I came up to a junction where there was three lanes and a cycle lane but the far left lane they decided to split in two taking out the cycle lane. So I had to use the footpath to get past the cars. When I got to the front I waited for the light to turn green and then just waited when the light turned green, blocking the traffic as they all beeped like crazy. The lights went red again and I just crossed at the pedestrian lights. A little selfish I know but I felt it was time for some payback.

Rudolph Claus

Okkkkk!!!! :rolleyes:
Are you 12?

FX Meister

No, I'm a bit older. I just don't like bad driving. So are you a 12 year old looking for a friend or just a member of N.A.M.B.L.A?

pedro ferio-vti

LOL, don't mind Nuttzy. He probably just needs to get laid.

Nice one. Like the spitting into that dudes face, classic!!! I thought you were going to say the other cyclist went spit/splat across his bonnet but that was better Must give that a try sometime the next time i'm on a bike

*test spits on keyboard*

KeRbDoG

Wish I had of seen that Wonder what the woman with the 5 Series Touring said to the bike cop? heh

murphaph

kerbdog wrote:

Wonder what the woman with the 5 Series Touring said to the bike cop?

....probably something along the lines of "how dare you, you insulent little man, don't you know I'm from Castleknock*?"




*no offence to anyone from Castleknock, had to pick a suburb with a large per capita number of BMWs.

ds20prefecture

"Schadenfreude" - a malicious satisfaction in the misfortune of others. You must be very proud.

mike65

Fx you'd have felt differently if your actions had caused a driver to loose his bearings and crash I'm sure.

Mike.

shagman

I had a friend who had a neat trick for any tool who opened their car door on him / deliberately forced him off the road. He'd remove his quick release seat/seatpost and smash their mirror or lights as he rode past when they stopped in traffic further down the road. Having been hit by cars on my bike 4 times (including once while stationary on the side of the road waiting for the lights to change) I think this is a great idea.

pedro ferio-vti

Must be some sight watching your mate do that in such a short space of time. Does he have Jedi powers/p0w4h?

commited

The spitting thing isnt cool. Pretty frickin minging.
The second thing I love to see Doesnt happen enough though (the getting caught bit).
Third thing would just annoy me - as a cyclist and a driver, that's just a huge lack of respect.

69 mustang

Not that I'd do either thing to piss off other road users but if someone did either the mirror thing or the spitting on me I would of caught him.

Squirrel

If cars are parked in the cycle lane, give 'em a kick, that's always good fun. Always happens in Templeogue Village, just the other day there was a spotless E270 CDI parked in it, so me cycling by kinda drags my filthy runner along the wing, very lightly as to not cause damge, but enough to make it not spotless

Johnny Storm

ROFLAO

And some people say this country isn't going to the dogs!

Hagar

Always carry a jar of Vaseline with you if your'e going in for this sort of activity.

It'll make it a bit less painful when some motorist catches you and sticks your pump up your arse.

dahamsta

The pump is too conveniently shaped for a group as overtly homosexual (and devoid of humour) as cyclists. It's the bicycle itself that should be lodged up their arses.

Nuttzz

Squirrel wrote:

If cars are parked in the cycle lane, give 'em a kick, that's always good fun.

No it isnt, if someone is parking illegally you should ring the gardai not commit a crime yourself.

Spitting in someones face is just ignorance and lowered the cyclist to the level of the offending motorist.

Squirrel

Nuttzz wrote:

No it isnt, if someone is parking illegally you should ring the gardai not commit a crime yourself.

Spitting in someones face is just ignorance and lowered the cyclist to the level of the offending motorist.

I don't actually mean damge the car, leave a muck mark. And what are the Guards gonna do, tell you to piss off

Edit: @Ken Shabby: I only cycle because I'm not old enough to drive, and I take offence at being called homosexual for cycling

69 mustang

If motorists were to take up that sort of action we could,
spit or kick cyclists for having no helmet no lights no bell no high vis vest using pedestrian lights cycling on the footpath holding on to the side of moving vehicles weaving no hand signals.;)

Anyone got any more:)

Squirrel

69 mustang wrote:

If motorists were to take up that sort of action we could,
spit or kick cyclists for having no helmet no lights no bell no high vis vest using pedestrian lights cycling on the footpath holding on to the side of moving vehicles weaving no hand signals.;)

Anyone got any more:)

So that means that cyclists with helmets, lights, high - vis vests, using cycle lanes, using hand signals will be left alone? Then why have I been punched while cycling, smacked with car doors, badly concussed because of this and the person still trying too press charges against me for damaging her door?

In an ideal world there'd be no problems, but it's not ideal and because of this small discretions are made, big ones with damage should be clamped down on, but no-one will

69 mustang

69 mustang wrote:

cyclists having no helmet no lights no bell no high vis vest, using pedestrian lights cycling on the footpath holding on to the side of moving vehicles weaving no hand signals.;)

True Squirrel but I've seen more of the above than not. The Guards need to crack down on the stealth cyclist as its not safe.
As I know us motorists are easier to get money out of,
I think unseen unsafe cyclists should have there bike taken from them till they get the proper equipment and or pay the fine.

saobh_ie

Stealth cyclists.

Yeah, Right they're hardly inconspicuous, if you can't see them what hope has a kid got.

I'm not a cyclist, thank god, and they have on occasion pissed me off. And some of them are up their own hole (as if evident here). But they haven't really put my life in danger, so I'm generally nice to them while in the car or on the motorbike, give them loads of room, use a bit of caution. If they do something stupid/ignorant I don't punish them, I don't drive the car within inches of them, I don't creep up beside them and then pin the throttle to 12000 revs. I just avoid the stupid feckers and get on with it.

I do the same with car drivers, somebody’s done something to me that could have taken my life away, its a monthly occurrence. I don't flip out and do u-turns and chase them down dual carriageways and force them off the road with the intentions of pulling them from their car for a chat... anymore.

Life sucks, then you die. There is no point in running around avenging evils and dispensing justice. Never hear the whole "Eye for an eye and the whole world goes blind?"

You mess up the side of a fancy Merc, a couple of days later a cyclist gets run off the road into a ditch. Somebody takes a mirror off a car, somebody gets run over. Then you start burning out cars in cycle lanes, then people start shoving cyclists into burning cars in cycle lanes.

Also spitting on people is not good, that kind of crap pisses people off. That guy is driving around in three tonnes of cyclist crushing machinery with a chip on his shoulder. You guys are damned vunerable and if people wanted to they could start picking you off and getting away with it without much difficulty. "Irisih Times - Gardaí are appealing for witnesses, body of a cyclist found on the side of the road, minutes after apparently being stuck by a vechile." Or just nudge them off the road into a street sign so it looks like they just crashed all by themselves.

Your soft and squishy and can't change speed or direction very quickly, have very little grip and don't leave big dents. You'd better remember it.

Quarter tonne motorcycles don't leave especially big dents, you need to have the patience of a saint to survive out there. I'm getting there.

By all means when you get a car turn into an absolute bastard but for the time being remember your life is not precious.


Squishy's Nil.
Solids 382,749,698,382 and counting.

Also, Mustang, if unsafe cyclists should have thier bicycles taken away should that apply to all road users. I would be in favour. =] Although the Gardaí would need to doulbe thier numbers just to have enough personnel to drive all of the confiscated vechiles to... where... Louth I guess.

As for cyclists crossing with pedestrians. In certain circumstances it is safer for them to break red lights and I am fully supportive of them doing this. Its safer for them and it means us in cars get to get off the line when the lights go green and not minutes later, also it means if you want to turn left your not going to have to stay put until all the cyclists have come up your inside to go straight on as forced by cycle lanes.

Some rules are made to be bent or ignored complelty depending on the circumstances. I tend to observe the spirit of them all while in the car but the bikes a different animal so different rules, even if I had to write and enforce them myself. =]

stevenmu

FX Meister wrote:

Now , the third thing I caused myself. All the way over to the southside I had to deal with drivers ignoring any cycling lanes on my route. On the return I came up to a junction where there was three lanes and a cycle lane but the far left lane they decided to split in two taking out the cycle lane. So I had to use the footpath to get past the cars. When I got to the front I waited for the light to turn green and then just waited when the light turned green, blocking the traffic as they all beeped like crazy. The lights went red again and I just crossed at the pedestrian lights. A little selfish I know but I felt it was time for some payback.

By your own logic then it would have been perfectly acceptable for one of the drivers stuck behind you to get out of the car, go up to you, and spit in your face, and maybe give your bike a kick too. If that had of happened would you have accepted that it was fair and justified ?

69 mustang

saobh_ie wrote:

Stealth cyclists.
Yeah, Right they're hardly inconspicuous, if you can't see them what hope has a kid got.

I just avoid the stupid feckers and get on with it.

Also, Mustang, if unsafe cyclists should have thier bicycles taken away should that apply to all road users. I would be in favour. =] Although the Gardaí would need to doulbe thier numbers just to have enough personnel to drive all of the confiscated vechiles to... where... Louth I guess.
=]

Shortened this down a bit as I wasn't too sure who you agreed with.
On the first bit kids don't cycle on unlit narrow roads every dark &or wet eve or morning with no lights or hi vis gear ADULTS do.

Secondly you can only avoid what you can see. Cars have lights motorbikes have lights and often high vis.{picture this} On a wet dark road not too narrow but with no path or lay by {Celbridge road for one} car with full beams on coming one way man in black on bike on your side you can't see him even if your going 20mph less than the sign says SPLAT CRUNCH, your life ruined his life gone for the sake of a FIVE EURO hi vis vest,and a 30 euro lid to stop his head becoming a fur covered mush:)

And third taking the bike of the offenders is, as they have no reg plate for fines and maybe no ID:D

FX Meister

mike65 wrote:

Fx you'd have felt differently if your actions had caused a driver to loose his bearings and crash I'm sure.

Mike.

I doubt stopping a car from moving off from a standing position would cause any sort of a crash. If someone loses thire bearings while stopped at a red light and crashes I would laugh at them, nothing else. Think about it before you reply to a post.

I'm a motorist, cyclist and I've been a biker in the past. All the above break the rules. That doesn't mean you have to put up with it. If I take a stand it makes me feel better and I don't really care what others think. I know that I take more consideration for cyclists when driving. I can't stand cyclists who don't use lights when it's dark and don't use hand signals. I give cyclists **** for not having lights and the Gardaí should too.
Today I was nearly run over by a 206 at O'Connell bridge speading through a red light. Luckily I jumped back out of the way but I also had enough time to put a serious boot into her rear door leaving a pretty heafty dent. Maybe next time she will think twice about running red lights at speed, maybe she won't. I feel better for getting one over on a prick of a motorist. I've been criticised in the past here for the way I drive but I've never put someone else life in danger or caused a nusiance to general traffic.

dahamsta

FX Meister wrote:

If I take a stand it makes me feel better and I don't really care what others think.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisocial_personality_disorder#A_Three-Factor_Model_of_Psychopathy

(I'm aware of the irony.)

FX Meister

Yeah, wow that's me down to a T Ken Shabby, it really is.

impr0v

Are you going to sort out the country's bad drivers, one door dent at a time? That's mindless vandalism, despite how it makes you feel. For all you know she could have been held up by a pedestrian bent on petty revenge a few sets of lights before that and, though she knew it was selfish, felt like it was time for a little payback.

Do you think she'll be more or less considerate of pedestrians now that you, in your one man fight for the forces of good, have kicked a dent in her bodywork? Likewise with the cars parked on the cycle lane, can't you just see them thinking today how they must leave more room for cyclists to get ahead of them at the lights and hold them up?

You are as at least as bad as any of the motorists in your examples as you are serving to perpetuate the lack of courtesy for other roads users, and in some ways you are worse; they aren't in here complaining about behaviour such as this, whereas you are, while simultaneously boasting about the vandalism and downright ignorant behaviour you engage in yourself.

iregk

Well I have a solution to this argument of bikes -v- cars. Combine the two (no not motor bike...


Yes that is a V8 Hemi engine on that thing. For the full story go below...
http://www.topgear.com/content/features/stories/2005/10/stories/15/1.html

mike65

FX Meister wrote:

I doubt stopping a car from moving off from a standing position would cause any sort of a crash. If someone loses thire bearings while stopped at a red light and crashes I would laugh at them, nothing else. Think about it before you reply to a post.

Okay consider this in your self-rightous anger, when stopped at lights many ppl have a habit of sitting with first engaged and the foot on the clutch pedal
suppose a gobby cylcists actions caused the foot to slip (its a bit of a shock to have some scum bag spew in your face) and the cars lurches forwards into either the guy in front, or if the first car into the path of crossing pedestrians or car going crossways? Actiosn have conseqences - sometimes for the totally innocent.

Mike.

Squirrel

Just ignore it, sorry

ds20prefecture

Squirrel wrote:

Get on a bike and get knocked down by a truck driving on the path and then say in some ways you're worse for dirtying a car, and I'm not complaining, tbh I couldn't really give a ****, if I wasn't forced to cycle on the road around cars parked on the cycle lane, where there's double yellows on the road right beside them.

So what are you saying? Because a truck knocked you down you are in some way justified to damage/deface any vehicle that isn't a bike?

Also, if you're forced to drive around parked on the cycle lanes or double yellow lines GET OVER IT!! You are in charge of your bike, the responsibility for your safety is yours alone. There are hazards everywhere. Take the reg and report them, go home and have a lie down, whatever. But stop devolving responsibility for your frankly appalling behaviour onto everyone else. "Yeah I dragged mud down the side of a car, but I couldn't give a **** because it was illegally parked and a truck once hit me".

Unbelievable.

Squirrel

ds20prefecture wrote:

So what are you saying? Because a truck knocked you down you are in some way justified to damage/deface any vehicle that isn't a bike?

Also, if you're forced to drive around parked on the cycle lanes or double yellow lines GET OVER IT!! You are in charge of your bike, the responsibility for your safety is yours alone. There are hazards everywhere. Take the reg and report them, go home and have a lie down, whatever. But stop devolving responsibility for your frankly appalling behaviour onto everyone else. "Yeah I dragged mud down the side of a car, but I couldn't give a **** because it was illegally parked and a truck once hit me".

Unbelievable.

Everyone gets pissed off once in a while, ask any driver, so why can't a cyclist so the same?

I know I was wrong, I admitted that.

And I'll also admit that my previous post came out entirely wrong, I didn't mean to sound so much up my own ass. I can't think of a way to phrase it properly so I'll just leave it.

Tbh I believe this is going to happen day in day out until something is done about it, be that punishing both drivers and cyclists, for what they've been doing, myself included

FX Meister

I hear your point but that wasn't the situation. A driver running a red light and nearly killing other road users is very different to a driver stopped at his red with his foot on the clutch.

mike65 wrote:

Okay consider this in your self-rightous anger, when stopped at lights many ppl have a habit of sitting with first engaged and the foot on the clutch pedal
suppose a gobby cylcists actions caused the foot to slip (its a bit of a shock to have some scum bag spew in your face) and the cars lurches forwards into either the guy in front, or if the first car into the path of crossing pedestrians or car going crossways? Actiosn have conseqences - sometimes for the totally innocent.

Mike.

Victor

69 mustang wrote:

Not that I'd do either thing to piss off other road users but if someone did either the mirror thing or the spitting on me I would of caught him.

Hang on you're minding your on business, you spit out some phlegm on the road and some guy races along, runs a red light and steals it for no good reason .... :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

mike65

Like the sig Victor.

Mike.

69 mustang

FX Meister wrote:

I hear your point but that wasn't the situation. A driver running a red light and nearly killing other road users is very different to a driver stopped at his red with his foot on the clutch.

This one just reminded me to point out.If your light goes green your still meant to look before you move as as stopping if safe to do so (red) or proceed if safe to do so (green) are not something I'd balance my life on.
Rather be right and in one piece, than right and in two.:)

t5pwr

I am a cyclist and a driver.

I cycle to work everyday as I don't want to be sitting in hours of traffic. I see stupid things that drivers and cyclists do.
I have been hit by people in cars that just aren't looking. It doesn't piss me off... Accidents happen and you just have to accept that. Some people don't use good judgement and sometimes drivers just don't see cyclists as they are concentrating on something else or we just come out of a blind spot. I have had pedestrians walk out in front of me while cycling inside traffic.

I have never hit anyone when I have been driving, but there will always be a time when you are driving and you lose a bit of concentration and it only takes a second for something to happen.

There are ignorant people in the world who are easily aggrevated and you can only make them worse by giving them a reason to be ignorant. I see people break red lights everyday, especially in Dublin, and would love to do something to them to teach them a lesson but I know that someday a guard will be sitting on the corner waiting for them

Cyclists hate drivers and pedestrians, drivers hate cyclists and pedestrians. But to be honest most of use do a good job of it and it is the few of us that are giving all of the rest a bad name.

Some people like to take things into their own hands which is where road rage comes from...

So as was said take their reg and report them if you feel that stongly about it as you don't know the kind of person you are getting involved with. And doing something to another person only pisses them off even more and then it becomes pay back time

It's one big vicious circle really...

Squirrel

t5pwr wrote:

I am a cyclist and a driver.

I cycle to work everyday as I don't want to be sitting in hours of traffic. I see stupid things that drivers and cyclists do.
I have been hit by people in cars that just aren't looking. It doesn't piss me off... Accidents happen and you just have to accept that. Some people don't use good judgement and sometimes drivers just don't see cyclists as they are concentrating on something else or we just come out of a blind spot. I have had pedestrians walk out in front of me while cycling inside traffic.

I have never hit anyone when I have been driving, but there will always be a time when you are driving and you lose a bit of concentration and it only takes a second for something to happen.

There are ignorant people in the world who are easily aggrevated and you can only make them worse by giving them a reason to be ignorant. I see people break red lights everyday, especially in Dublin, and would love to do something to them to teach them a lesson but I know that someday a guard will be sitting on the corner waiting for them

Cyclists hate drivers and pedestrians, drivers hate cyclists and pedestrians. But to be honest most of use do a good job of it and it is the few of us that are giving all of the rest a bad name.

Some people like to take things into their own hands which is where road rage comes from...

So as was said take their reg and report them if you feel that stongly about it as you don't know the kind of person you are getting involved with. And doing something to another person only pisses them off even more and then it becomes pay back time

It's one big vicious circle really...

That has been the best reply so far, and the roads would be much safer for everyone if people paid attention, and no-one takes things into their own hands(myself included)

Victor

Ken Shabby wrote:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisocial_personality_disorder#A_Three-Factor_Model_of_Psychopathy (I'm aware of the irony.)

I read that and all I could think of were silver BMW / Mercedes drivers.

t5pwr wrote:

Accidents happen and you just have to accept that.

But, let us say you are on you bike, left hand side of right-turn lane, inching forward waiting a break in opposing traffic for the turn and a car pulls up beside you. And the car is **under** you leg and arm? :eek: :eek: :eek:

stratos

well said saobh couldn't agree more, Ya gotta learn to chill out, give people space, and remember we all make mistakes.
I also think the spitting at someone is absolutly horrible, and I am sure would cause upscale violence.

dahamsta

I meant to comment on this btw: The spitting is disgusting, and I honestly believe that any adult that finds it acceptable, nay funny, should seriously consider consulting a psychiatrist. It's not normal.

FX Meister

Ok, I'll go see a psychiatrist if you want to pay for it and we can see what they think.

mike65

Spitting is a miserable and dangerous 'habit', its one reason the 1918/19 Spanish flu killed so many.

And on that educational note thread closed.

Mike.