Road issues that irritate me.......

Patww79 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

In the Netherlands, which is a country that does cycling right, the car driver is ALWAYS legally responsible for any accident involving a bicycle.

The logic is that the car driver can always react to what a cyclist has done and should be aware of their surroundings.

murpho999 wrote: »

In the Netherlands, which is a country that does cycling right, the car driver is ALWAYS legally responsible for any accident involving a bicycle.

The logic is that the car driver can always react to what a cyclist has done and should be aware of their surroundings.

I hate to say it but that country is a sh1thole and the Irish shouldn't be looking up to them as a role model

Jep Gambardella wrote: »

What about the countless incidents where cyclists are killed or injured from going up the inside of left-turning vehicles?

I was going to mention that, and it is very reckless to go up the inside of HGVs and buses.

However it is not correct to assert 100% of the blame to cyclists in all those cases.

How many of those accidents and deaths occurred because a driver overtook the cyclist, misjudged their speed and then manoeuvred left?

How many occurred because of cyclists maintaining their position in the cycle lane, essentially funnelling them into a HGV's blind spot, instead of being assertive and taking a safer position on the road - one which undoubtedly would annoy many drivers on here?

Also it is 2017 and there are plenty of means to reduce the massive blind spots on HGVs - better designed cabs with less of an A-pillar or sensors and cameras retro-fitted. This should be mandatory for HGVs in urban areas but somehow I can't see the Road Haulage Association supporting it.

Finally it is not just cyclists who are at risk from vehicles which quite obviously are badly driven or poorly-equipped for urban traffic as this clip shows (some strong language)

murpho999 wrote: »

In the Netherlands, which is a country that does cycling right, the car driver is ALWAYS legally responsible for any accident involving a bicycle.

The logic is that the car driver can always react to what a cyclist has done and should be aware of their surroundings.

Patww79 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Not quite - to best of my knowledge, it is a case of 'presumed liability' where the driver is presumed to be at fault, unless they can prove otherwise.

Jep Gambardella wrote: »

What about the countless incidents where cyclists are killed or injured from going up the inside of left-turning vehicles?

Are there really countless such incidents? The number of cyclist deaths is fairly low, and the number killed by left-turning vehicles is even lower. And why do you assume that the cyclist is at fault if killed by a left turning vehicle? Where the vehicle has crap mirrors, who's fault it it? Where the vehicle has no banksman looking out, who's fault is it? If the truck driver is on his phone, who's fault is it?

If you're aware of 'countless' such incidents, you might want to point to some source for this.

Riva10 wrote: »

And the countless incidents where cyclists break red lights.

Could you point out one incident where a cyclist breaking red lights has resulted in killing someone?

pablo128 wrote: »

I find it mind boggling that cyclists would rather risk cycling alongside motorists, who apparently routinely kill and maim other road users, than cycle on a dirty cycle path.

Keep boggling so - it may seem counter-intuitive, but the safest place to cycle is generally well out on the road, being highly visible to other traffic and part of the traffic flow.

prinzeugen wrote: »

Freedom of Info request to the coroners court would be a start.

The "motorists kill and maim hundreds" line is getting a bit boring.

How do you know the motorist was to blame for a death and not some outside factor?

Only the coroner would have that info, not the RSA or the Garda.

For example, some old lad died of a heart attack at the wheel and hit the front of a pub.

The RSA and the Garda would record that as a road death while the coroner would call it natural causes....

"Hundreds are injured or killed in motor vehicle incidents each year" would be more correct.

A bit boring? I'd guess that the families and loved ones of those killed or maimed might have a different view. Perhaps they're not quite 'bored' with missing their parent, or child or brother.

And yes 'incidents' sounds so much cleaner and academic and just so much nicer. Hell, why not go all the way and call them 'accidents' so no-one is to blame at all. Anything to avoid motorists having to take responsibility for their actions, I guess.

The RSA analysis is based on the Garda reports, which they get full access to. They clearly indicate the causes - speeding, crap driving, crap cars - no case of a death of another road user caused by a cyclist.

the_pen_turner wrote: »

i wish i knew where to find such info.

prinzeugen wrote: »

Again a FOI to the HSE for hospital admissions etc might show something however the other person is always at fault so the figures would be worthless.

If someone is killed or seriously injured, there will be a hospital record. There have been various research papers on injuries to cyclists or pedestrians over the years based on hospital records

prinzeugen wrote: »

The fact is most cycle/pedestrian incidents go unreported.

There are no records of the number of people killed or maimed on the road by ladders either. That's probably because no-one gets killed or maimed on the road by ladders.

Geddit?

Jep Gambardella wrote: »

I didn't assume. I said the cyclist is at fault if they tried to overtake the vehicle on the left.

Again, big assumption - if a cyclist is filtering past a vehicle on the left that suddenly cuts into the cyclist, then I'm not sure why you automatically blame the cyclist. There may well be road and traffic conditions that would make the filtering a safe manoeuvre, provided the drivers keep their line.

But where are these 'countless incidents'?

mfceiling wrote: »

People who let "cutters" cut in.

Sitting in a queue of traffic on Thursday night. At least 40 cars in the queue to either go straight or turn left. Along comes a prick in a BMW 3 series who drives the entire way up the outside (lane to turn right), stops at the front of the queue and puts on his left indicator. I know he's a prick, he probably knows he's a prick. However the biggest prick was the person who let him cut in.

Must be great to be that generous...

I always thought cutters were people who self harmed .

It's nice to see the scooters packed full of people and a 10 year old driving it over in SE asia. Its a pity we don't have more motorbikes and scooters over here, great way of getting around without clogging up the roads but of course "people drive like lunatics" so it would be suicide over here. Even if you're just one person on a scooter with "all the gear" you are taking a big risk