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

amcalester · 20-04-2018 11:39AM

I think the rule now is that if the light is red but vehicles in front are still clearing the junction then it’s ok to break the light.

site_owner · 20-04-2018 11:41AM

i think the obsession with cyclists supposedly jumping lights is just projection.
and it is getting to ridiculous proportions. even trying to get my kids to crosss the road, we have to be careful as the green man means nothing to some drivers

i stop at reds and i always feel vulnerable to getting rear ended to the extent that i plan out my stops as much as possible, what side of the lane, how far forward to go, etc. also, around the city center i just dismount and walk or jog once i stop at red as there is no way i am having a traffic light grand prix with some of the looneys in town trying to get 5 yards ahead.

cdaly_ · 20-04-2018 12:30PM

benjamin d wrote: »

What gets me is that it's not even close to just after it turns red. I've seen people breeze through 5 seconds or even longer after a red, almost to the point where traffic in the other directions is in full flow.

I was in a car being driven through the city centre and saw very little red light running by cars. Mostly because I was stuck in a tailback and was pretty much never near enough the traffic light to see it happening. Therefore it never happens...

OTOH, on the bike, I'm always at the traffic light so I get to see all of the red light running that goes on.

Moflojo · 20-04-2018 12:46PM

Irish Traffic Light Laws:

Green means "Why haven't you gone already?" *BEEP*

Amber means go faster.

Red means at least two more cars can go through.

The number of drivers running reds is rising all the time thought because there is no enforcement. The highest number I've witnessed personally is 6 cars going through the red - and that's not counting the 4 or 5 that ran the amber too.

Annie get your Run · 20-04-2018 12:48PM

Weepsie wrote: »

They're supposed to stop on Amber though unless it's unsafe to do so, not just red. I don't think I ever see this any more.

I always have to look in my rear view mirror to see how close the car behind is when I'm stopping on amber, the chances of someone running into the back of you are very high :rolleyes:. On the bike I've stopped just as lights are turning red only to have several cars then whizz past! On another note, I've noticed recently at some junctions, you could be going through on the bike when they're green, then they go to amber and have gone red before you're through... of course anyone watching that will assume I've broken them

(and I'm not that slow really, they're big junctions with a quick light change I swear

).

Moflojo · 20-04-2018 12:49PM

Just another additional behaviour that I've noticed is the attitude to emergency vehicles, specifically at junctions.

An ambulance or fire truck could have its full blues on and sirens blaring, and drivers are still blocking them or ignoring them or turning across them, either blissfully unaware or wilfully ignorant.

Then there are drivers who "miss" their green light due to an emergency vehicle who then feel they are entitled to break the red light because the emergency vehicle "inconvenienced" them.

It's a culture of selfish entitlement and it is only getting worse.

Is it a reflection of society in general? We're getting more self-centred generally, less empathetic to others. Is it due to the demise of the church? (Seriously!) Is there any moral authority anymore?

eeeee · 20-04-2018 12:49PM

cdaly_ wrote: »

I was in a car being driven through the city centre and saw very little red light running by cars. Mostly because I was stuck in a tailback and was pretty much never near enough the traffic light to see it happening. Therefore it never happens...

OTOH, on the bike, I'm always at the traffic light so I get to see all of the red light running that goes on.

I think this is a huge part of the 'all cyclist jump the lights' perception. They simply don't see the the amount of vehicles who do same.

RLJing has massively increased in the last few years amongst all forms of traffic IMO.

benjamin d · 20-04-2018 12:52PM

cdaly_ wrote: »

I was in a car being driven through the city centre and saw very little red light running by cars. Mostly because I was stuck in a tailback and was pretty much never near enough the traffic light to see it happening. Therefore it never happens...

OTOH, on the bike, I'm always at the traffic light so I get to see all of the red light running that goes on.

That is part of it alright but I know many people who will happily blast through a recent red or wait at their green light while the idiots abuse the opposite red and still complain about cyclists jumping lights. People are wilfully ignorant of drivers doing it when they're drivers themselves.

It's like people whinging about traffic backing up at a junction then gleefully take their turn sitting in the yellow box.

droidus · 20-04-2018 02:10PM

There's a set of pedestrian lights at a crossroad near the end of my road. The cycle is fairly crap for pedestrians as both sets of lights go green for peds once every 2 changes for traffic.

This is a busy junction right beside three schools and there are always kids crossing or waiting to cross. Without fail, every morning, up to three cars take the right turn through the ped lights. It's only a matter of time before a child is hit.

marvin80 · 20-04-2018 02:50PM

Not a near miss, more of an observation/rant!!

Out cycling during the week, in the hard-shoulder of a long straight stretch on a National road. Long queue of cars driving against me and one guy decides to overtake them.
Car going the same direction as me is forced into the hard shoulder (luckily just up ahead of me) - it's stupid sh*t like this that annoys me and puts cyclists in massive danger.

CramCycle · 20-04-2018 02:59PM

Seen a bus last night overtake a group of cyclists. Cyclists were probably doing 40km an hour but the bus did not have the acceleration to do it. On a road where the visibility was not good enough to clear them. Driver got lucky, pure stupidity.

What Username Guidelines · 20-04-2018 03:12PM

benjamin d wrote: »

The red light jumping has just gone off the charts recently in my view. Literally every set of lights I approach has a number of cars going through the red, often several seconds after the change and commonly making vehicles with right of way brake hard to avoid a crash.

Completely agree, mobile phone use is ridiculous these days too. Definitely lack of enforcement. Its getting to the stage where I'm completely fed up obeying the rules, sure why should I stop at red lights when a lot of ignorant motorists seem to think all cyclists go through them. It's not like seeing me stopped will ever change their mind, and it's not as if I'll get caught. Sick of seeing Gardai ignoring blatant law-breaking around them. Saw a traffic corps car in the bus lane in harolds cross last week surrounded by private cars. It's like nobody cares any more.

On the mobile phone thing too, I had an incident a few months back where a guy tailgated me up a hard shoulder, revving his engine and beeping, then overtook with inches to spare, only to get stuck in traffic 50ft up the road. When I passed he called me a spanner and spat at me. Anyway, I reported to traffic watch, but couldnt pursue it, long story. Now every single day, I see the same car (reg burnt into my eyes from the rage of being spat at) with a woman driving it. Every day she's texting. Because of traffic, we'd overtake each other back and forth 4 or 5 times on the cycle home and she's 100% of the time head-in-lap texting. Like every time I pass. As if her commute is her texting time. What could I possibly do about this? Gardai wont care. No point in saying anything I presume? It wrecks my head how she's just blatantly disregarding others' safety through pure selfishness.

marvin80 wrote: »

Not a near miss, more of an observation/rant!!

Out cycling during the week, in the hard-shoulder of a long straight stretch on a National road. Long queue of cars driving against me and one guy decides to overtake them.
Car going the same direction as me is forced into the hard shoulder (luckily just up ahead of me) - it's stupid sh*t like this that annoys me and puts cyclists in massive danger.

Similar-ish one this morning. A very "patient" Shred-it truck driver behind me from Sundrive cross decided to hang back and wait behind me and another cyclist, we were doing >30km/h anyway, but thats usually too slow for most. The whole way down past Mount Argus he's dawdling along behind us with nothing oncoming. I've already drafted the complimenting tweet to his company in my head, when just before the left curve and narrowing over the road, he overtakes. Of course an oncoming car appears in view as soon as he's committed, they have to lean on the horn and bail left into the cycle track on their side. Bizarre.

DaveyDave · 20-04-2018 04:01PM

The worst thing about motorists running red lights is how dangerous it is for a cyclist. I was cycling from the N4 towards the SCR, stopping at the lights opposite the Hilton, in the bike lane with an advance stop box. A van ploughs through narrowly missing me while I'm stopped. What if I had of moved over into the bike box to give myself some space? I would have been hit at 50kph+ by some bellend.

I've been driving full time since last February, it's not difficult...

TallGlass · 20-04-2018 04:48PM

I'll hold my hand up and say I have gone past a red on the push bike, but only and only if I was to literally step off the bike, I could walk across and I wouldn't be breaking any red light.

Now the situation with driving of cars in general seems to have taken a turn for the worst, there is just no policing of any type of rules.

I was walking along earlier and was looking at this yellow box, like a massive massive yellow box I mean you could see this thing from space, and I counted not 1 or 2 but 5 cars in the thing.

But what really really really gets me is two things, people breaking red/yellow lights only to go and block up the fúcking junction for everyone else, and then the knob heads who start bullying other road users following the rules of road by blowing the **** out of there horn.

The situation is this, either the Garda get off there arses and start to sort this **** out, or hand over the power to someone else who will sort it out.

As for Bus Lanes, waste of paint on the ground, majority of people don't go into them, others use them as personal lanes and not only that, they absolutely floor it in them and because they are breaking the law by been in the bus lane, there attention is not on anyone that might be in it, like a cyclist, they are too busy looking to see if there is a Garda waiting to nab them (which in the very rare case there might actually be a Garda there!).

DaveyDave · 20-04-2018 06:59PM

TallGlass wrote: »

I'll hold my hand up and say I have gone past a red on the push bike, but only and only if I was to literally step off the bike, I could walk across and I wouldn't be breaking any red light.

Now the situation with driving of cars in general seems to have taken a turn for the worst, there is just no policing of any type of rules.

I was walking along earlier and was looking at this yellow box, like a massive massive yellow box I mean you could see this thing from space, and I counted not 1 or 2 but 5 cars in the thing.

But what really really really gets me is two things, people breaking red/yellow lights only to go and block up the fúcking junction for everyone else, and then the knob heads who start bullying other road users following the rules of road by blowing the **** out of there horn.

The situation is this, either the Garda get off there arses and start to sort this **** out, or hand over the power to someone else who will sort it out.

As for Bus Lanes, waste of paint on the ground, majority of people don't go into them, others use them as personal lanes and not only that, they absolutely floor it in them and because they are breaking the law by been in the bus lane, there attention is not on anyone that might be in it, like a cyclist, they are too busy looking to see if there is a Garda waiting to nab them (which in the very rare case there might actually be a Garda there!).

I've noticed in the last 6 months to a year everyone just stopped caring. They really just stopped giving a crap. Driving into town the other month passing Heuston, stopped just after the Luas tracks a car behind me beeped to move up because he was stopped on the yellow box blocking the tracks. I couldn't move an inch because I was close to the car in front meanwhile my rear sensors are beeping because he's inches away. He's the one who drove into a yellow box not me!

Anytime there's a red light someone absolutely will break it and if there's a yellow box or roundabout it will almost always be blocked. There's times where 4-5 cars will go through the red. We desperately need red light cameras.

This then messes up the flow of traffic, especially if 2-3 cars squeeze into a junction, people get impatient and the end result is swerving into the bus lane without checking the mirror or indicating and flooring it down the road. Not good for cyclists.

It's getting to the stage where it's not even because heavy traffic. I've noticed more and more on normal days, outside of rush hour people doing this crap.

20-04-2018 07:20PM

Theres no limit to it in terms of people over or under certain ages. If it was all young people you could call into question the quality of their driving instruction or if they'd had any to begin with. Not limited to vans for example. It quite literally is as said a free for all.

TallGlass · 20-04-2018 07:34PM

DaveyDave wrote: »

Driving into town the other month passing Heuston, stopped just after the Luas tracks a car behind me beeped to move up because he was stopped on the yellow box blocking the tracks.

This is what I am talking about. Bullying of other roads user who go by the rules.

**** him as far as I am concerned. He made his bed and he can slept in it. A Luas blasting him out of it and he won't be as quick to make that mistake again.

That's the type of driving I am talking about. Absolutely no consideration for anyone else but themselves. Everyone else's fault but there own. Same when your on the push bike, no it's not there fault it's yours. Argue with them and your fair game for a round of intimidation and bullying with a car/bus/truck.

Panjandrums · 20-04-2018 08:12PM

This post has been deleted.

Breezer · 20-04-2018 08:53PM

Weepsie wrote: »

They're supposed to stop on Amber though unless it's unsafe to do so, not just red. I don't think I ever see this any more.

I had the driver behind me lean on a horn when I did this recently (in a car). At first I thought it was a taxi driver beeping me because I'd gone into the College Green bus lane on a Bank Holiday Monday (mea culpa, I had it in my head it was Sunday). But no, it was an ordinary car doing the same thing, who appeared to object to me stopping on amber in a controlled manner to allow a crowd of pedestrians cross at a crossing.

amcalester · 20-04-2018 08:59PM

Panjandrums wrote: »

Why would you want to argue with someone at the roadside?
It's not your role to tell other road users how you think the road should be used and let's face it, there's very few people that know every law governing the road.

If someone did something that risked your life then in any other situation you’d have words, no reason why the roadside should any different.

You don’t need to know the ins and outs of every piece of road traffic legislation to know when someone is driving dangerously.

What Username Guidelines · 20-04-2018 09:35PM

amcalester wrote: »

If someone did something that risked your life then in any other situation you’d have words, no reason why the roadside should any different.

You don’t need to know the ins and outs of every piece of road traffic legislation to know when someone is driving dangerously.

I’m not disagreeing with you, because by god I’ve gotten into shouting matches, but have you ever had any success, or at least perceived success, with a “chat”? I just don’t bother any more because I find it causes more stress for me.

I do remember once about 4 years ago I motioned at a guy driving at night with no lights on, he took it the wrong way (in fairness, it was a very vague motion) and he started with the usual “you ****ing cyclists are all the same, think you own the road” spiel, proper raging, and I interrupted with “your lights aren’t on”. To my surprise he instantly changed his tune and was full of apologies. That was once, I’ve never seen it again.

amcalester · 20-04-2018 09:57PM

What Username Guidelines wrote: »

I’m not disagreeing with you, because by god I’ve gotten into shouting matches, but have you ever had any success, or at least perceived success, with a “chat”? I just don’t bother any more because I find it causes more stress for me.

I do remember once about 4 years ago I motioned at a guy driving at night with no lights on, he took it the wrong way (in fairness, it was a very vague motion) and he started with the usual “you ****ing cyclists are all the same, think you own the road” spiel, proper raging, and I interrupted with “your lights aren’t on”. To my surprise he instantly changed his tune and was full of apologies. That was once, I’ve never seen it again.

I have had a few positive interactions, mostly negative ones though.

I normally wouldn’t bother and the few times I have in the last year or so have been because I was angry and wanted to vent/ruin the other persons day.

It’s vindictive and I know I shouldn’t but screw it, sometimes it needs to be done.

John_Rambo · 20-04-2018 10:05PM

RacoonQueen wrote: »

This is exactly why it annoys me when they bring up cyclists breaking lights. I think because they break it just after it goes red, they don't see it as a problem whereas a cyclist might rock up 20 seconds later and cycle through while they're sitting there

I'd a van behind me lean on the horn, I turned around with a "whatsup" shrug, he pointed at an elderly cyclist going through a pedestrian crossing red light at walking pace. He in a rage, beeping at the cyclist! Lights went red and on he went. Caught up with him later blocking the cycle lane as he picked up a workmate.

It's ok though. Hazard lights were on.

What Username Guidelines · 20-04-2018 10:20PM

amcalester wrote: »

It’s vindictive and I know I shouldn’t but screw it, sometimes it needs to be done.

Yeah I know exactly what you mean by that unfortunately. The incident I mentioned a few posts back about getting spat at still gets me far too riled up, even months later. Mostly that it was a well-to-do looking bloke that really encompassed the whole idea that some people really just see cyclists as a hindrance rather than a person.

sy_flembeck · 20-04-2018 11:04PM

Southbound on the coast road just south of Newcastle, Co. Wicklow this morning. Very close pass by a 06G VW Toureg/Touran. Totally unnecessary and on a blind bend. It would have been one thing if he's sped off into the distance but he didn't. About 100m further on I spot a man in hi-viz walking his 2 dogs (anyone familiar with this road will know him I'd say-he's thereabouts every day) coming towards me. The VW approaches him and gives him the complete lane. He actually drove on the other side of the road to avoid 2 dogs yet close passed me on the bike on a blind bend just before this. Bizarre way of thinking really

Kaisr Sose · 20-04-2018 11:05PM

Not a near miss but tonight when stopped at lights, I seen a guy driving a small van or people carrier with a phone plonked to the right of the steering wheel on the dash. Real line of sight stuff. He had what looked like maps/gps, or maybe messaginf on 2/3 of the screen, but was streaming video on the top third. He copped me staring at him and he just smiled, gave a thumbs up and drove on like it was the most normal thing in the world.

“Houston, we have a major problem”

RacoonQueen · 20-04-2018 11:12PM

Annie get your Run wrote: »

I always have to look in my rear view mirror to see how close the car behind is when I'm stopping on amber, the chances of someone running into the back of you are very high :rolleyes:.

I do this too. My folks always tell me not to be worrying about whats behind me but I'd rather not have someone going full speed into the back of me.
I almost always stop on amber. I usually find it entertaining too looking in my rearview as I slow and stop and seeing people go crazy behind me.

Going up Harolds Cross a few weeks ago. I was waiting at the front of traffic at THIS junction. As the car coming from the direction rolled to a stop, also correctly on their amber. A white van man swerved out from behind them and took the right turn up Leinster road. Nearly crashing into the traffic on Leinster Road who were just about to start moving. Crazy manoeuvre.

Annie get your Run wrote: »

On the bike I've stopped just as lights are turning red only to have several cars then whizz past!

Happens all the time in the car too. You stop at a amber/red. A few seconds later a car comes up the other lane beside you and goes through the lights as if you're the idiot for sitting there and not moving.

Annie get your Run wrote: »

IOn another note, I've noticed recently at some junctions, you could be going through on the bike when they're green, then they go to amber and have gone red before you're through... of course anyone watching that will assume I've broken them (and I'm not that slow really, they're big junctions with a quick light change I swear ).

Used to happen to me all the time crossing the Naas Road coming from Walkinstown. Junction is huge and by the time you get going as you almost always hit it on a red and then start to get a across it had pretty much always gone red by the time you cleared it. Actually quite dangerous for cyclists. Always bothered me that that happened.

There is another junction in Terenure, where the light is before you hit the junction so if you cycle through it and then hit the junction the light can have gone red by the time you are barely crossing the junction. Traffic coming from other direction get a right filter light. I was actually knocked down by a car in this exact spot by this happening. The light changed to amber/red after I had passed the stop line. The right filter came on and the car in other direction was just watching that rather than the road, didn't see me and came right across me. Still have a scar above my lip from that one.

This one happened here Crazy distance even for a car to clear after the stop line if lights go amber as you hit it or just after.

AndrewJRenko · 20-04-2018 11:19PM

What Username Guidelines wrote: »

On the mobile phone thing too, I had an incident a few months back where a guy tailgated me up a hard shoulder, revving his engine and beeping, then overtook with inches to spare, only to get stuck in traffic 50ft up the road. When I passed he called me a spanner and spat at me. Anyway, I reported to traffic watch, but couldnt pursue it, long story. Now every single day, I see the same car (reg burnt into my eyes from the rage of being spat at) with a woman driving it. Every day she's texting. Because of traffic, we'd overtake each other back and forth 4 or 5 times on the cycle home and she's 100% of the time head-in-lap texting. Like every time I pass. As if her commute is her texting time. What could I possibly do about this? Gardai wont care. No point in saying anything I presume? It wrecks my head how she's just blatantly disregarding others' safety through pure selfishness.

Every point in saying something. Either say it to her when you catch up at the lights. Or get a helmetcam and report her to TrafficWatch.

Panjandrums · 21-04-2018 01:13AM

This post has been deleted.

Kaisr Sose · 21-04-2018 08:28AM

Panjandrums wrote: »

I doubt she will listen. There's no need to go to such hassle.

She's a liability and needs to be given a wake up call. Call the local station and explain that you see this particular car with its driver on the phone daily and request that the guard gives the person a call to inform them of their actions.

It's as simple as that.

It’s a good suggestion but the Garda have to observe this before they can or will do anything. Some video of the behaviour may lead to a different reaction.

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

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