Buffalo & Doozerie - The mild musings of two grumpy old men!

BoardsMember · 24-05-2017 10:16pm

magicbastarder wrote: »

had a not-quite-interaction with a driver today - beeping at me and gesturing angrily that i should get onto the cycle path (on leopardstown road). when i stopped to try to - politely - debate the finer points of the issue with her, she unsurprisingly didn't wind down the window. it was only a few hundred metres later that the lightbulb went off over my head about the fact she was driving with an L plate, and on her own in the car.

anyway, i will freely admit that i was quite annoyed about being lectured (well, lectured might be the wrong word) on road usage by someone who probably hasn't passed their test.

Could be the car is used by someone else that is a Learner driver, and she jas a full licence.

Weepsie · 24-05-2017 10:25pm

Similar to drivers who give out about you being on the road while they're in the bus lane. Numpties.

CramCycle · 25-05-2017 3:33am

BoardsMember wrote: »

Could be the car is used by someone else that is a Learner driver, and she jas a full licence.

Could be, doesn't excuse their behaviour in any way though, poor driving and lack of knowledge of the law is not a skillset saved for the newbies

BoardsMember · 25-05-2017 7:58am

CramCycle wrote: »

BoardsMember wrote: »

Could be the car is used by someone else that is a Learner driver, and she jas a full licence.

Could be, doesn't excuse their behaviour in any way though, poor driving and lack of knowledge of the law is not a skillset saved for the newbies

Agreed, in fact there are a lot more fully licenced numpty drivers on the road than there are learners.

magicbastarder · 25-05-2017 8:02am

Chuchote wrote: »

Probably but not necessarily. It's possible that her brother or sister or husband or wife had the L up and she'd left it in while using the car.

yep, i did use 'probably' deliberately because of that.

cjt156 · 25-05-2017 10:09am

If that is the case then the L plate should be removed when the learner is not driving. I've even seen some geniuses with both L and N plates displayed; well - which is it!?!

BoardsMember · 25-05-2017 10:11am

cjt156 wrote: »

If that is the case then the L plate should be removed when the learner is not driving. I've even seen some geniuses with both L and N plates displayed; well - which is it!?!

Is that the case? Must they be removed when a fully licensed driver is at the wheel?

cjt156 · 25-05-2017 10:15am

Absolutely, it's the law*.

*I base this, like most legal declarations made online, on supposition and conjecture.

RayCun · 25-05-2017 10:41am

cjt156 wrote: »

Absolutely, it's the law*.

*I base this, like most legal declarations made online, on supposition and conjecture.

You'll be pleased to hear that it was just as accurate as most legal declarations made online

magicbastarder · 25-05-2017 10:42am

i have occasionally driven a car with L plates accidentally left up. it causes a probable twofold or threefold increase in idiotic overtaking manouevres (not by me!); cyclists will be familiar with the effect - an 'i simply *must* get past this lesser road user' attitude.

HivemindXX · 25-05-2017 1:25pm

RayCun wrote: »

You'll be pleased to hear that it was just as accurate as most legal declarations made online

Damn. I really wish that was the law. How are the guards expected to enforce the loooong overdue laws on learner drivers when apparently so many people driving on L plates are actually fully qualified.

How hard would it be to have L and N plates that would easily be taken up and down? I've been told that's not really possible any time I've suggested this but for some reason I think people just don't want to do this and it IS possible.

If it was illegal to use L or N plates when not a learner or novice then every time a guard seems a car with an L plate and a solo driver they could pull them over and potentially catch some idiot who thinks they are fine to drive on their own as a learner or at least give a ticket to someone who failed to take down the L plate. Learners or novices wouldn't risk using the motorways on the assumption they won't get caught because now the L or N plates can be trusted to identify them as such.

magicbastarder · 25-05-2017 1:40pm

it's not exactly the biggest issue facing road safety now, is it?

cjt156 · 25-05-2017 2:36pm

It's not, but it does make a mockery of the requirement for L and N plates if literally every car and driver on the road can legally display them.

magicbastarder · 25-05-2017 5:29pm

magicbastarder wrote: »

had a not-quite-interaction with a driver today - beeping at me and gesturing angrily that i should get onto the cycle path (on leopardstown road). when i stopped to try to - politely - debate the finer points of the issue with her, she unsurprisingly didn't wind down the window. it was only a few hundred metres later that the lightbulb went off over my head about the fact she was driving with an L plate, and on her own in the car.

anyway, i will freely admit that i was quite annoyed about being lectured (well, lectured might be the wrong word) on road usage by someone who probably hasn't passed their test.

two days in a row! almost the exact same spot, but this time it was a driver in an open top BMW so we were able to engage in a very short, but functionally polite, exchange.

PaulieC · 25-05-2017 10:29pm

That cycle path is literally a pain in the hole. It's the reason I use Brewery Road instead.

magicbastarder · 25-05-2017 10:33pm

i head down newtownpark avenue and swing left for blackrock. have tried a few minor variations of my route on the northside, not so on the southside as i don't know the other options so well. but newtownpark avenue to ringsend is not a bad old spin.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1005183797

PaulieC · 25-05-2017 10:48pm

I go down brewery road, down N11 to Booterstown road. With the sequence of the lights at the top of mount Merrion avenue, you always get an easy way to cross the carriageway without having to interact with traffic. I go leopardstown to ringsend.

magicbastarder · 25-05-2017 11:03pm

cheers, will try that.

CramCycle · 30-05-2017 4:09pm

Sweet christmas,

Coming down the N11 this morning, a guy cycling away in front of me with his hands off the bars, listening to music. He seems well balanced and I go around giving space, only to see him texting away on his mobile as I go past. He doesn't even notice me. Come to the next junction and he blasts through, with a poor mans Danny Askil impression by going up on the pavement and bunny hopping off in front of everyone. No stopping to look, that is for certain. I overtake again to see him finishing his Whats app or FB conversation. I get to UCD and he does it again but at a decent clip, up on the pavement , around everyone, nearly hits two pedestrians but nothing phases this guy and off he goes on his merry way. I was turning off so alas missed the opportunity to call hum a twat as I passed by again, such is life.

CramCycle · 02-06-2017 7:06am

Well damn it, if I am not the person who got it wrong last night. Waiting at a set of lights crossing the LUAS line, heading for the N4, the road beside me has a guy who has crossed the white line but is just sitting there patiently. I don't pay much attention until the car behind him loses his sh1t and starts blasting the horn, then tries to come around him into oncoming traffic. Now the guy in front does not react, does not move just sit there. The guy behind eventually overtakes. Now I look around at why he was beeping. There are two sets of lights there, and where the driver of the first car was, he could well be looking at the wrong lights. His eyes haven't moved, and it seems reasonable that he has actually been focusing on the wrong lights.

I call to get his attention but to no avail, another cyclist joins in and so does a motorcyclist.

He winds down his window and calmly points at the road ahead and says, I can't get through the yellow box. Because of the driver before I never really paid enough attention, presumed that he was turning and thats why the other lad lifted him out of it. Turns out that while the other lad was a prick, he was also a daft prick as well. Then he lights up, and the tirade of abuse begins.

Me and the other cyclists apologised, I even called over and said sorry, completely my fault, completely misread the situation.

Well I will be damned if apologising was not like a red rag to this guy, he went off on one. None of you f*ckers look where you are going, pay attention to yourselves and not other people, a few other generalisations filled with Fs and other letters of the alphabet. I called over again and said sorry, completely my fault. He gave out again and started turning red like he was about to pop from overheating. The other cyclist facepalmed, he had been apologised to by two people who made a mistake and had just tried to be helpful. The other cyclist just looked at him, and said if you were that worried about the yellow box you would not have broken the solid white line at the junction there, where you are parked is illegal.

He lost it, our light went green, we both laughed that if apologising meets that kind of response, there is no hope for any of us.

Fian · 02-06-2017 1:41pm

CramCycle wrote: »

Well damn it, if I am not the person who got it wrong last night. Waiting at a set of lights crossing the LUAS line, heading for the N4, the road beside me has a guy who has crossed the white line but is just sitting there patiently. I don't pay much attention until the car behind him loses his sh1t and starts blasting the horn, then tries to come around him into oncoming traffic. Now the guy in front does not react, does not move just sit there. The guy behind eventually overtakes. Now I look around at why he was beeping. There are two sets of lights there, and where the driver of the first car was, he could well be looking at the wrong lights. His eyes haven't moved, and it seems reasonable that he has actually been focusing on the wrong lights.

I call to get his attention but to no avail, another cyclist joins in and so does a motorcyclist.

He winds down his window and calmly points at the road ahead and says, I can't get through the yellow box. Because of the driver before I never really paid enough attention, presumed that he was turning and thats why the other lad lifted him out of it. Turns out that while the other lad was a prick, he was also a daft prick as well. Then he lights up, and the tirade of abuse begins.

Me and the other cyclists apologised, I even called over and said sorry, completely my fault, completely misread the situation.

Well I will be damned if apologising was not like a red rag to this guy, he went off on one. None of you f*ckers look where you are going, pay attention to yourselves and not other people, a few other generalisations filled with Fs and other letters of the alphabet. I called over again and said sorry, completely my fault. He gave out again and started turning red like he was about to pop from overheating. The other cyclist facepalmed, he had been apologised to by two people who made a mistake and had just tried to be helpful. The other cyclist just looked at him, and said if you were that worried about the yellow box you would not have broken the solid white line at the junction there, where you are parked is illegal.

He lost it, our light went green, we both laughed that if apologising meets that kind of response, there is no hope for any of us.

I think i would need a diagram to understand this, tbh i am lost. Anyway the reaction seems ridiculous.

Chuchote · 02-06-2017 11:11pm

CramCycle wrote: »

Well I will be damned if apologising was not like a red rag to this guy, he went off on one.

Imagine being married to this guy:

"Where's me dinner?"
"It's on the table, but - "
"SHOUT SHOUT SHOUT SHOUT"
"I'm so-"
"SHOUT SHOUT SHOUT SHOUT SHOUT…"

check_six · 19-06-2017 12:46pm

Saw some interesting manoeuvres over the last couple of days on my commute.

Saw lads salmoning down the wrong side of the road on three occasions. Twice on Haddington Road where there is a right turn onto Northumberland Road. The lane splits into two at the junction, but these fellas decided to get there by rolling down the wrong side of the road into oncoming traffic from about 70 yards out from the split. Another lad swung right off St Stephen's Green into Hume St against the flow of the one way street having to dodge a number of oncoming cars.

One man got tired waiting at a red light that was on a pedestrian sequence at a big five way junction, had a look around and just zipped through the red skimming the crossing pedestrians.

My last spot was a lady who stopped at the red light on the bridge at Bath Avenue/Londonbridge Road. This bridge only allows traffic in one direction at a time. This lady must have been in a hurry as she waited for a gap in the oncoming traffic and then pushed on through the red.

All of them cyclists behaving disgracefully. Well, I say 'cyclist' in the sense that we've all been on a bike at some point in our lives. These particular 'cyclists' were all driving a mix of large saloon cars and people carriers as they carried out their manoeuvres.

Naturally, I will be writing a strongly worded letter to whoever has the angriest comments section. Bloody cyclists! *shakes fist emoji* *buys daily ma*l every day emoji*

Thud · 19-06-2017 3:30pm

Yesterday, idiot taxi driver on finding no parking spaces at the concrete bridge area at bottom of the Luggala descent, decides it would be a good idea to reverse a few hundred meters back up the hill to the small layby (which was also full) into oncoming bicycle and car traffic, fortunately I was expecting tourists to be wandering around there so had scrubbed of speed but car behind me wasn't expecting him either and had to stop abruptly behind me.

buffalo · 20-06-2017 8:47am

Blatant RLJ this morning, as I'm waiting to cross the road. Light goes red, car at head of traffic comes to a stop. Driver behind them swerves out into the bus lane, around that car, and through the red light. At this point I'm on the road, and raise my arm in protest. All I caught of his response was "F**k ...".

"F**k me" ?

Chips Lovell · 20-06-2017 9:08am

buffalo wrote: »

All I caught of his response was "F**k ...".

"F**k me" ?

Weepsie · 20-06-2017 9:28am

DPD van taking the bus lane from well just after Mobhi Road into Phibsboro while squeezing by cyclists this morn. Being a general asshat.

Cyclist tearing through a pedestrian light at Mobhi Road junction as loads of kids were about to cross. He then struggled up the little incline as I breezed by him having waited at the lights.

Moron Taxi driver who stopped dead in the middle of Whitworth road to pick up a passenger who was further up the road. He easily could've indicated, pulled in and not caused any issue.

I was on my best good bike this morn. I think when I am on it, I become hypersensitive to bad road behaviour.

HivemindXX · 20-06-2017 10:39am

buffalo wrote: »

Blatant RLJ this morning, as I'm waiting to cross the road. Light goes red, car at head of traffic comes to a stop. Driver behind them swerves out into the bus lane, around that car, and through the red light.

I see this sort of thing the odd time and I think it is caused by a sense of entitlement. The asshat thinks the driver in front of them should have gone through the "sure it's hardly red at all" light that just changed and then they could go through on the "I was right behind him" principle.

The car in front of them unfairly stopped which robs them of their right to get through this junction without stopping so they take action to ensure they get what they are entitled to, even if it means using the bus lane and going through a light that it well red now. It is only fair.

I see the same thing when people miss lights due to ambulances with sirens crossing the junction. They do the proper thing and wait until the ambulance crosses but then the light has changed. No matter, they should have gotten through this junction so it is only fair that they go through the red while all the other traffic is still stopped.

Kav0777 · 20-06-2017 11:36am

Weepsie wrote: »

DPD van taking the bus lane from well just after Mobhi Road into Phibsboro while squeezing by cyclists this morn. Being a general asshat.

Cyclist tearing through a pedestrian light at Mobhi Road junction as loads of kids were about to cross. He then struggled up the little incline as I breezed by him having waited at the lights.

Moron Taxi driver who stopped dead in the middle of Whitworth road to pick up a passenger who was further up the road. He easily could've indicated, pulled in and not caused any issue.

I was on my best good bike this morn. I think when I am on it, I become hypersensitive to bad road behaviour.

:cool:

Weepsie · 20-06-2017 12:46pm

Over on the Garda Twitter Page. Wow just wow

https://twitter.com/GardaTraffic/status/876466292076707843

Yet it's cyclists that are the issue every weekend

Buffalo & Doozerie - The mild musings of two grumpy old men!

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