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

thebaz wrote: »

I think it should be mandatory for all drivers to spend a certain time on bike, I drive a car soemtimes too.

I've thought that as well.

Motorists who don't cycle have no idea how terrifying a close call can be. They seem just think what's the big deal, you weren't hit.

Unfortunately if they did experience , their decision making and awareness might improve.

Phone use definitely seems to have shot up in the last year, particularly the last few months in my experience. When I'm in the car at a red light 9 times out of 10 the person behind me is looking at their phone.

I've seen a big spike in people just flat out on a call with the phone to their ear. The amount of people not even trying to hide it just shows how everyone is getting away with it.

Recently in Phoenix Park someone nearly clipped me in a large older Merc, in his haste to pass me he got stuck at the roundabout 100m away and couldn't get it into gear with his phone in his hand and was holding me up.

https://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/motors/2017/0725/892841-irish-drivers-use-of-mobiles-and-texting-while-driving-soars/

My own experience cycle committing is that about one in three are distracted by a device. One give away is that traffic queue when the lights go green - a lot of the time there’ll be one motorist buried on their phone, holding everyone else up.

The icing on the cake for me was one evening about 12 months ago. Got on the south quays in Dublin was watching an Irish football international. I pulled up beside (he was stationary), and kind of looked over his shoulder. They reaction was priceless. Common enough to see people applying makeup, eating cereal and reading things held on the steering wheel

queldy wrote: »

Does it make it legal if you keep it (the phone) on the steering?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S12r2M0yFvY&feature=youtu.be

Not a near miss - I sensed "something": invading lanes, random left/right moves, slowing down/accelerating without following the flow of traffic, braking abruptly - all signs for "be careful: driver is either not-skilled, confused, tipsy or phone-driving".
I stayed behind, then saw from mirror she was using the phone. Not visible in the video, but she was using it for long time (I could see clearly in the mirror).
Stay safe out there!

Almost every single instance of car or van in traffic moving erratically connected to use of an electronic device while driving.

CramCycle wrote: »

came past a 181 car sitting in the middle of the N11 this morning with no other cars around it, they were all 200m up the road. For a second I thought maybe something had happened but no, they just didn't notice the traffic moving. Even when they started moving they couldn't put the phone down and crawled along juddering every so often.

Yep, one afternoon I was cycling up the hill past the gates to the Botanic Gardens and could see lights go green up ahead, a car at lights didn't budge and lights had gone back red by the time I got up there. Guy looking at his phone.

CramCycle wrote: »

Holy Crap, coming down the N11 last night, car in the bus lane for a few km, even though there was no heavy traffic, as in why bother? Anyway, driver slwoing and speeding up erratically, nearly rear ends a bus, nearly hits a pedestrian at a crossing. I though they had a paper in their hand as they passed me, caught them at a set of lights. They are reading printed PDF or PPT slides and making notes, the driver is, I sh1t you not, writing and reading while driving. I went to give out and then I just couldn't be bothered.

If you got the reg, or even the make/model and year I would say something to Traffic Watch anyway Cram. What you describe goes further than just glancing at a phone in traffic. There's an accident coming there if that behaviour is not corrected. Could be you as you travel that route frequently.

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Having been through the Traffic Watch process multiple times, usually with video evidence, most recently showing a driver using his phone five times over the course of a few minutes, it is very, very difficult to get Gardai to act on such complaints.

is there an argument for getting it recorded so that if they're ever involved in a collision there's a record showing a trend in bad driving behaviour? or would that even be admissible if not fully investigated / prosecuted?

CramCycle wrote: »

Holy Crap, coming down the N11 last night, car in the bus lane for a few km, even though there was no heavy traffic, as in why bother?

For the sake of pedantry, was this after 7pm? In that case the bus lane is not in operation and is the correct place for a car to be (the leftmost lane).

CramCycle wrote: »

Not after 7pm. It was about 17:40. Although this raises another (two) interesting point(s). I for one am off the opinion all bus lanes should be 24hours, have never understood timed operation lanes as they are only out of operation at the times no one would ever need to go into them.
Also I don't think that it is treated as the left most driving lane out of hours, as the N11 is a national road and not the same as a motorway. You do not have to drive in the left lane for a variety of reasons, on the N11, you could be turning right etc. and driving in the right hand lane is perfectly fine. I am pretty certain that this requirement for motorways does not carry through to roads like the N11, although I do it anyway.

As far as I know this is not correct. The N prefix doesn't make any impact on whether the road is one or two lanes. Once the operating times of the bus lane end it simply becomes another driving lane, and as such the keep left driving rule would come into effect. Keep left is not specific to motorways either, it applies on all roads. As for junctions and lane markings, yes they must be adhered to but that's besides the point.

But obviously, the behaviour you noted is completely unacceptable and is ridiculous and in a just world they should be having a talking to from the Gardai.

CramCycle wrote: »

Not after 7pm. It was about 17:40. Although this raises another (two) interesting point(s). I for one am off the opinion all bus lanes should be 24hours, have never understood timed operation lanes as they are only out of operation at the times no one would ever need to go into them.
Also I don't think that it is treated as the left most driving lane out of hours, as the N11 is a national road and not the same as a motorway. You do not have to drive in the left lane for a variety of reasons, on the N11, you could be turning right etc. and driving in the right hand lane is perfectly fine. I am pretty certain that this requirement for motorways does not carry through to roads like the N11, although I do it anyway.

driving on the leftmost lane or on the left side of the road even applies to one way streets

Ray Bloody Purchase wrote: »

http://www.stickybottle.com/latest-news/dublin-cyclists-head-drivers-windscreen/

Looks like they had a relatively lucky escape. Injured but not killed.

Typical media putting the blame on the cyclist:

Dublin Fire Brigade warning after cyclist’s head hits driver’s windscreen

The windscreen was broken by the cyclist’s head

In all seriousness glad that it sounds not too serious, only taken in the ambulance as a precaution.

rubadub wrote: »

google maps shows some stretches I cycle on the N11 are 24hr, unless it is out of date or has changed completely?

As the bus lanes usually have a continuous line does this mean if a car is in it they cannot cross it again (bar emergencies)?

Bus lane markings might be described as continuous white lines but the specific "continuous white line" in law has a different meaning. Maybe the driver didn't know that.

Had a close call last night from the "other side" of the steering wheel....

Was along Clonskeagh Road, out of town, near bird avenue junction. There was a "cyclist" in the cycle lane. I say "cyclist" because it looked like he was on one of those mountain bikes with a climb assist mechanism (i.e. a motor!). He was pedaling and probably doing about 30kph.

I overtook him, then was approaching a normal cyclist in cycle lane a bit on. Just then he caught up with me and undertook me, then weaved and overtook the normal cyclist. I'd to brake (not much), and gave him a beep. He hadn't done any sort of shoulder check, or signaled he was going to change lane out of cycle lane. At this point, it all went crazy, the fella swerved out in front of me and jammed on the brakes, which clearly given he was on a bike, he had no brake lights. I was stunned , brake checking is a brain dead thing to do at the best of times, but to do it when on a bike to car!

Anyways, he continued to hurl abuse at me and be generally intimidating as we rolled along at about 10kph. To the point my wife thought he would smash the car up. I was livid, and probably would have continued the exchange at the next set of lights (which were red) but my wife was actually quite scared and intimidated so I didn't want to drag it on.

What really gets me about this is that this guy was a terrible cyclist, just before and just after the incident, we saw him doing other minor things that were just arsey. He just gives cyclists a bad name, and if all cyclists were like him then some motorists would have a point.

As an aside, it did spark a conversation between my wife (who is also a cyclist on that route) and I. The solid white lanes on the cycle lane; are they mutual? i.e. cars can't enter the cycle lane, but can cyclists cross them to overtake other cyclists? To be clear, the latter is something we both do regularly, the question is more a spirit of the law versus letter of the law one...

TheChizler wrote: »

Not mutual no. What was the point of the beep?

Fair question, I could argue that given he hadn't looked at all, I was alerting him to my presence.

I could also say that I was a little irritated and wanted to let him know that he had been a c*ck.

being honest, probably 40/60 between the 2 above.

RE the white line thing, is the ROTR not that white lines shouldn't be crossed? (i.e. no "direction" is specified)

I'm wondering now am I cyclist or a normal cyclist.

crisco10 wrote: »

RE the white line thing, is the ROTR not that white lines shouldn't be crossed? (i.e. no "direction" is specified)

I appreciate your honesty! A few years ago I made a conscious decision not to beep after the fact when someone did something dangerous or stupid when it wouldn't help avoid the situation, and I've never looked back. It's a much more relaxing experience, almost forgiving them. Only had to beep to avoid an accident once since, when someone started drifting into my lane as I was overtaking them while being overtaken on the N40.

That rule only applies to the specific continuous white line in the middle of a road, lots of road markings could be described as that but only one has the meaning. Lines marking cycle lanes or bus lanes for instance don't have such a rule associated with them.

crisco10 wrote: »

He was pedaling and probably doing about 30kph.

He just gives cyclists a bad name, and if all cyclists were like him then some motorists would have a point.

except he was a motorcyclist, if they all went about uninsured untaxed etc, then yeah, people would have a fair point to moan about all motorcyclists. Just like if the only car drivers were joyriders.