Journalism and cycling

P_1 · 23-12-2018 11:27AM

wheelo01 wrote: »

The AA have only ever offered to act as a broker to me! They offer to sell Aviva, etc products, not their own.
This is for car, not sure for home or holiday insurance.

Used to work for them. They don't sell their own insurance products for both home or motor. They're a brokerage

AndrewJRenko · 23-12-2018 11:33AM

Indirectly related to cycling, but WTF is happening with half of towed cars going unclaimed?

https://www.thejournal.ie/dublin-city-council-car-impounded-2018-4379001-Dec2018/

magicbastarder · 23-12-2018 11:47AM

a lot of them were probably abandoned. and based on my experience of being clamped once, they will not tow you all the way to the pound if they can drop you in a parking space.

the context of what happened me - i was parked on shelbourne road many years ago doing a job in iona technologies which took far longer than i expected - but i hadn't realised that it was a clearway after 4, and when i came out my car had been lifted and placed in a parking space nearby, and clamped.
the clamper told me that if there had not been an available parking space visible from where i'd parked, the car would have been towed to the pound.

on the other hand, i did once get an abandoned car lifted for a neighbour, when it was parked beside her house.

magicbastarder · 29-12-2018 09:58AM

Cycling 5,678 km in 70 days through 11 European countries
https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/abroad/cycling-5-678-km-in-70-days-through-11-european-countries-1.3738500?

it's a weirdly unimaginative article title. it's written by a dubliner who cycled to budapest and back.

Wishbone Ash · 29-12-2018 10:27AM

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Indirectly related to cycling, but WTF is happening with half of towed cars going unclaimed?

https://www.thejournal.ie/dublin-city-council-car-impounded-2018-4379001-Dec2018/

A lot of people leave their vehicles out hoping they'll be towed away so they don't have to get rid of them.

Take the breakers yard on the R132 just south of Swords. There's always a line of cars parked on the cycle track and has been for years. I was was passing a Garda car stopped in a queue one day with the windows open. I asked them why nothing ever seem to be done about the blocked track and they said that the owner wants them to tow away the cars but they are not going to give in to him.

Fighting Tao · 29-12-2018 10:57AM

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

A lot of people leave their vehicles out hoping they'll be towed away so they don't have to get rid of them.

Take the breakers yard on the R132 just south of Swords. There's always a line of cars parked on the cycle track and has been for years. I was was passing a Garda car stopped in a queue one day with the windows open. I asked them why nothing ever seem to be done about the blocked track and they said that the owner wants them to tow away the cars but they are not going to give in to him.

Surely in that case it’s simple. Fines for illegal parking. Surely as they rack up his attitude will change.

magicbastarder · 29-12-2018 11:10AM

There was a place on Dorset street doing the same thing. Not so much leaving the cars in cycle lanes, but just leaving them in paid parking spaces in the hope the council would lift them.

Wishbone Ash · 29-12-2018 11:12AM

Fighting Tao wrote: »

Surely in that case it’s simple. Fines for illegal parking. Surely as they rack up his attitude will change.

It's not that simple. Usually the reg plates are removed so the vehicles could probably be described as 'abandoned' rather than illegally parked. Also, there's a 20 years old dispute going on regarding the road widening there.

tomasrojo · 29-12-2018 11:45AM

magicbastarder wrote: »

Cycling 5,678 km in 70 days through 11 European countries
https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/abroad/cycling-5-678-km-in-70-days-through-11-european-countries-1.3738500?

it's a weirdly unimaginative article title. it's written by a dubliner who cycled to budapest and back.

Also weirdly, they deviated from the IT style guide, and didn't prepend "On yer bike!" to the title.

Fighting Tao · 29-12-2018 12:19PM

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

It's not that simple. Usually the reg plates are removed so the vehicles could probably be described as 'abandoned' rather than illegally parked. Also, there's a 20 years old dispute going on regarding the road widening there.

Surely the VIN could be used to identify the owner unless he has them removed.

hesker · 29-12-2018 12:38PM

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/cyclists-label-cork-transport-corridor-plan-glorified-road-re-surfacing-894461.html

Have seen this first hand and as reported in the article it is shockingly bad.

zell12 · 02-01-2019 11:22AM

Cyclist bashing on PatKenny NT at the minute
paint bikes in luminous paint
no flashing white front lights
overtaking 2 abreast versus 10 in a single file
microchip all bicycles
...

Seweryn · 02-01-2019 11:38AM

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/new-law-on-drivers-overtaking-cyclists-abandoned-1.3745451

"Mr Ross said it had proved exceptionally difficult to draft legislation on a minimum passing distance that was constitutional and that could be enforced, and as a result the Bill would not proceed."

Tell me how · 02-01-2019 12:02PM

https://twitter.com/FineGael/status/1080373132630708225?s=19

Interesting that the video is tweeted out by the FG party. No hiding that they are unaware of cycling issues in future so hopefully.

magicbastarder · 02-01-2019 12:12PM

the first few responses are not positive - for FG: "You're in government, do something about it. Jesus Wept."
or "Hard to believe you’ve made this video. You’ve been the Gov since 2011. FG have done practically nothing to make cycling safer."

Tell me how · 02-01-2019 12:17PM

magicbastarder wrote: »

the first few responses are not positive - for FG: "You're in government, do something about it. Jesus Wept."
or "Hard to believe you’ve made this video. You’ve been the Gov since 2011. FG have done practically nothing to make cycling safer."

That's why I found it interesting.

It's giving people a stick to beat them with. Now, and in future.
Hopefully this will impact their cycling policy as this is retweeted at them.

tomasrojo · 02-01-2019 12:58PM

Seweryn wrote: »

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/new-law-on-drivers-overtaking-cyclists-abandoned-1.3745451

"Mr Ross said it had proved exceptionally difficult required some work other than having a press release to draft legislation on a minimum passing distance that was constitutional and that could be enforced, and as a result the Bill would not proceed."

.

tomasrojo · 02-01-2019 01:15PM

zell12 wrote: »

Cyclist bashing on PatKenny NT at the minute
paint bikes in luminous paint
no flashing white front lights
overtaking 2 abreast versus 10 in a single file
microchip all bicycles
...

I actually do dislike very bright flashing front lights myself. But I'm not really a ban-things-I-don't-like sort of person.

Was Pat Kenny's neighbour a cyclist?

02-01-2019 01:27PM

I got a laugh from the twitter video. Builder vest on over what was already a nicely hi-vis orange jacket

tomasrojo · 02-01-2019 01:50PM

"Her hi-viz jacket didn't have a hi-viz jacket, Joe!"

mr spuckler · 02-01-2019 02:58PM

Cyclists will not be compelled to wear safety equipment, says Ross

so Shane wants to compel us to wear hi-vis & helmets but feels it would also be unenforceable...

Mr Ross said while he would love to make the wearing of such equipment mandatory, some of those in the cycling lobby do no want it and viewed it as “nanny statism”.

“So I am not going to introduce measures, certainly not in the immediate future, to compel people to wear hi visibility jackets or helmets but I am going to try everything short of that to try and encourage them to do that.”

tomasrojo · 02-01-2019 03:03PM

I really doubt Ross has more than an "immediate future" in Transport. Though I'm surprised this coalition has lasted as long as it has.

Chips Lovell · 02-01-2019 03:05PM

mr spuckler wrote: »

Cyclists will not be compelled to wear safety equipment, says Ross

so Shane wants to compel us to wear hi-vis & helmets but feels it would also be unenforceable...

Minister for Transport Shane Ross has ruled out making it mandatory for cyclists to wear safety equipment, such as helmets, lights and reflective clothing.

Ummm, lights are already mandatory.

Chips Lovell · 02-01-2019 03:06PM

He said the Department of Transport was investing in up to 200km of cycle lanes and said this would reduce friction between these two groups of road users.

“That should give them the kind of protection they need and reduce some of the hostility between cyclists and drivers,” he said.

Jesus wept.

magicbastarder · 02-01-2019 03:14PM

mr spuckler wrote: »

so Shane wants to compel us to wear hi-vis & helmets but feels it would also be unenforceable...

he's - quite possibly successfully - running with the hare and hunting with the hounds. announces he'd like to do what many non-cyclists want (yay! go rossie!) but can't (so doesn't actually have to do something that's not going to work).

however, how i'd read it is that the mighty minister has admitted that despite being minister for transport, he is defeated by the sheer might of the cycling lobby.

tomasrojo · 02-01-2019 03:15PM

The argument against compulsion is also a lot more than a dislike of "nanny statism".

rubadub · 02-01-2019 03:20PM

The Minister told The Irish Times: “I deplore the fact that some people refuse to wear cycling helmets. It is a great pity. It is irresponsible but it is their own choice.

deplorable!

Baron de Charlus wrote: »

Ummm, lights are already mandatory.

the problem with them saying things like this is that some idiots will then think lights are not legally required. I remember when the fines for cyclists came in none was brought in for cycling on footpaths -(which like that article mentions I think was about the worry of criminalizing children). My friend and his wife were adamant that they thought cycling on footpaths was legal due to this.

Ray Bloody Purchase · 02-01-2019 03:21PM

rubadub wrote: »

[IMG]https://cdn-02.independent.ie/regionals/braypeople/news/article34800904.ece/1541b/AUTOCROP/w620/2016-06-15_bra_21916650_I1.JPG/IMG] deplorable![/img]

He's not a fan of helmet hair.

tomasrojo · 02-01-2019 03:23PM

I will be making a careful note of the number of candidates in my constituency (let us call it N) and making sure I mark the number N beside Ross' name.

Tell me how · 02-01-2019 03:28PM

tomasrojo wrote: »

I will be making a careful note of the number of candidates in my constituency (let us call it N) and making sure I mark the number N beside Ross' name.

Politics are fascinating. I remember when Ross was more a columnist than a politician and frequently appeared on The Last Word. He always spoke about the need for transparency in government and called out bad practise and spoke of the need for poor politicians to be held accountable.

And then, he went straight in and is, to my mind, one of the weakest ministers in years because he actually doesn't seem to care what people think.

I read an article over the Christmas about all the foot in mouth mistakes he had made in his role as minister for sport and they would really make you cringe.

Journalism and cycling

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