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

RGS · 11-11-2019 11:37AM

New law took effect at midnight no change in driver behaviour.

Witnessed the closest pass possible this morning on malahide road just past donnycarney church.

A red VW charging down the bus lane passed within a few centimetres of a cyclist about 10 metres ahead of me.
(Hes a regular bus lane abuser.)

Amazingly 100 metres back the road the gardai were pulling in motorists driving down the bus lane at maypark.

Duckjob · 11-11-2019 11:56AM

RGS wrote: »

New law took effect at midnight no change in driver behaviour.

Witnessed the closest pass possible this morning on malahide road just past donnycarney church.

A red VW charging down the bus lane passed within a few centimetres of a cyclist about 10 metres ahead of me.
(Hes a regular bus lane abuser.)

Amazingly 100 metres back the road the gardai were pulling in motorists driving down the bus lane at maypark.

Too many people not riding assertively enough to block these sort of idiots and their idiot behavior.

When I'm in a bus lane in town these days I'm squarely in the middle of it. If you desperately need to pass me find your way into the other lane to do it.

work · 11-11-2019 11:57AM

RGS wrote: »

New law took effect at midnight no change in driver behaviour.

Witnessed the closest pass possible this morning on malahide road just past donnycarney church.

A red VW charging down the bus lane passed within a few centimetres of a cyclist about 10 metres ahead of me.
(Hes a regular bus lane abuser.)

Amazingly 100 metres back the road the gardai were pulling in motorists driving down the bus lane at maypark.

I think 3 points and a small financial fine is no deterrent, its for a dangerous pass.....so does actually just driving over cyclists get 6 points?

As it is now law is there any requirement for the Garda to act? what about video from helmet cams? If yes it's time for submission of this on mass.

I believe the perceived danger of cycling is the largest deterrent to cycling. If people felt safe you could increase cyclist numbers by multiples.

aloooof · 11-11-2019 12:25PM

work wrote: »

I believe the perceived danger of cycling is the largest deterrent to cycling. If people felt safe you could increase cyclist numbers by multiples.

I'm certainly in that boat. If the infrastructure was better and I feel I could get to work safely by bike, I would. (It'd be a no-brainer, would likely halve my commute).

axer · 11-11-2019 12:41PM

work wrote: »

As it is now law is there any requirement for the Garda to act? what about video from helmet cams?

I don't know if there is ever a duty for a Garda to act on anything. They can take details and file it in the bin.

I had a Garda from store street station tell me there was no law he could act on when I provided footage to him of a close pass. At least now I can point to a specific law in relation to close passes of cyclists. At least that now gives me some leverage to push on them to act and issue fines/penalty points.

I reported another incident to Kevin Street where a van was so close they hit my hand as I put it out to indicate right. I was given the option to report as an accident or just for the driver to be cautioned (and a record against them in pulse). I went for the latter as I didn't have any injuries. Was told id get an update when something was done but never heard anything.

Next time I can demand a fine/penalty points be issued which I will always do from now on unless someone does acknowledge to me there and then that they made a mistake and seem genuinely sorry - not accepting crocodile tears to a Garda when trouble is headed their way. I think that does add something to the interaction with the Gardai when reporting close passes. It's a pity it isn't as strong as the minimum passing distance option (a pass distance totally can be measured from video footage when you can measure lane width and see bike position) but this law is something to work with for now.

RobbieMD · 11-11-2019 01:09PM

axer wrote: »

Next time I can demand a fine/penalty points be issued which I will always do from now on unless someone does acknowledge to me there and then that they made a mistake and seem genuinely sorry - not accepting crocodile tears to a Garda when trouble is headed their way. I think that does add something to the interaction with the Gardai when reporting close passes. It's a pity it isn't as strong as the minimum passing distance option (a pass distance totally can be measured from video footage when you can measure lane width and see bike position) but this law is something to work with for now.

There’s a great thread in the legal discussion forum about Garda discretion. Definitely worth a read if you’re that way inclined. There’s a great poster there GM226 I think, is the posters name.

Essentially you cannot demand a fine/points or prosecution. Of course you’re always open to commencing a private prosecution yourself.

Garda discretion means it can be recorded on PULSE as the garda simply cautioning the driver with no FCPN/summons/charge issued.

mrcheez · 11-11-2019 05:25PM

I was fully expecting a ton of punishment passes this morning as a result of the new law but I was getting huge wide berths from taxis. I was astonished. This was coming from Clontarf into town.

I fully imagine this to rectify itself this evening though and back to status quo.

On a different topic, how does one go about notifying gardai of people breaking this new law? Just make sure to have video camera ready, or is recording the reg plate sufficient?

fryup · 11-11-2019 06:09PM

how in the name of flying fuk are the gaurds suppose to police this???

unless there's clear bike-cam footage, its going to boil down to his word against mine 99% of the time

its ludicrous legislation (imo)

CramCycle · 11-11-2019 08:59PM

Car tried to undertake me going through a roundabout this morning. Single lane exit, his front bumper was at my rear axle. Had to pull left and let a roar. Elderly lad in a Merc. Never heard me shout, he was typing on his phone, that was on one of those dash mounts. Not sure he even noticed me at all. Thankfully the wind was in my face as it really was a straw breaking a camel's back moment. My Walter Mitty mind was imagining ripping his door open, grabbing his phone and throwing it into the river.

tnegun · 11-11-2019 09:35PM

New law made f all difference to my commute this am.
https://streamable.com/3zfji

Red Audi didn't get the pointless close pass right the first time
https://streamable.com/30sos

Much better on take 2, definitely no need to pass this close, perfect close pass/cyclist intimidation attempt.
https://streamable.com/4ns70

mrcheez · 11-11-2019 09:37PM

I might pick up one of those drones that follows you from above on my commutes X)

AndrewJRenko · 11-11-2019 10:13PM

aloooof wrote: »

I'm certainly in that boat. If the infrastructure was better and I feel I could get to work safely by bike, I would. (It'd be a no-brainer, would likely halve my commute).

If it's any help, Dublin Cycling Campaign have a 'Buddy' programme to let you cycle with an experienced cyclist for a while, if that would help you to gain confidence.

AndrewJRenko · 11-11-2019 10:16PM

CramCycle wrote: »

My Walter Mitty mind was imagining ripping his door open, grabbing his phone and throwing it into the river.

I've thought about doing this more when on foot than on the bike for some reason - but just grabbing the phone out of their hand and throwing it into the back seat of their own car.

11-11-2019 10:16PM

Those streamable links always do crazy stuff to my wifi connection. Clinking one drops my signal to about 30%

eeeee · 11-11-2019 10:23PM

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

If it's any help, Dublin Cycling Campaign have a 'Buddy' programme to let you cycle with an experienced cyclist for a while, if that would help you to gain confidence.

How do you become a buddy? Sounds like a great idea. Might be a nice thing to do do for a person on a day off, as I work part-time.

AndrewJRenko · 11-11-2019 10:42PM

eeeee wrote: »

How do you become a buddy? Sounds like a great idea. Might be a nice thing to do do for a person on a day off, as I work part-time.

Don't know, to be honest - contact them via Facebook or Twitter for more details. Sign up as a member would be a good first step.

micar · 12-11-2019 08:09AM

New law 6 and half hours old and had dangerous overtake by a muppet in a Merc bombing it downhill in a bus lane using it as an undertaking lane giving me about a foot of space.

tnegun · 12-11-2019 08:34AM

Same some ahole in a bus lane this am going at least 70k with inches to spare past me, minutes before I got abuse from a motorbike in the same bus lane beeping and pointing to a bike lane full of leaves and obstructions

buffalo · 12-11-2019 08:43AM

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

I've thought about doing this more when on foot than on the bike for some reason - but just grabbing the phone out of their hand and throwing it into the back seat of their own car.

You need to work on your imagination. I've smashed drivers' phones, emptied my water bottle in their laps, taken their keys from the ignition and thrown them in the ditch, leapt headfirst through their open window to wrestle them while the car is still moving...

magicbastarder · 12-11-2019 09:10AM

saw a chap take a tumble this morning, a bit of a prat fall, he hit the brakes while cycling on wet leaves on the footpath on grace park road and the bike went from under him. he claimed he was fine anyway.

more interestingly, i saw what could have been an expensive day for a chap driving a BMW who passed me on leopardstown road - i was headed for leopardstown, away from the N11, approaching the entrance to a housing estate. he'd obviously pulled out to pass me, but as he was pulling back in i thought 'jesus he's going a bit fast and late making that turn into the housing estate'; as he didn't straighten out but kept pulling back in, and i guess had technically entered the side road. seemingly at the last second, he swerved to pull back out into lane, and clipped the kerb roughly alongside where the 'cycle lane starts' sign is here:

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.276367,-6.187977,3a,75y,212.87h,73.14t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s7KIP_ALh_GoqdG6_k2L7kA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

i suspect with another tenth of a second of inattention from him, he'd have destroyed his front wheel on the kerb.

Kander · 12-11-2019 10:48AM

fryup wrote: »

how in the name of flying fuk are the gaurds suppose to police this???

unless there's clear bike-cam footage, its going to boil down to his word against mine 99% of the time

its ludicrous legislation (imo)

Get a bike-cam then. They are not expensive anymore and are easy to use.

I posted this awhile back but the camera cost 30-35 euro on amazon along with the casing and mounts: https://streamable.com/yrzh5

droidus · 12-11-2019 11:28AM

Kander wrote: »

I posted this awhile back but the camera cost 30-35 euro on amazon along with the casing and mounts: https://streamable.com/yrzh5

Link?

Kander · 12-11-2019 11:42AM

droidus wrote: »

Link?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Campark-X25-Waterproof-Rechargeable-Accessories/dp/B07W7JB6M8?ref_=Oct_DotdC_2rmfmv7_2_479430dd&pf_rd_p=553b8fba-18f5-5e79-94ab-2d6124ca341f&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-5&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=3077037031&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=R7DMXMFV6DZ84A6DSEFX&pf_rd_r=R7DMXMFV6DZ84A6DSEFX&pf_rd_p=553b8fba-18f5-5e79-94ab-2d6124ca341f

I got it on sale similar to what it is at now.

creedp · 12-11-2019 03:11PM

fryup wrote: »

how in the name of flying fuk are the gaurds suppose to police this???

unless there's clear bike-cam footage, its going to boil down to his word against mine 99% of the time

its ludicrous legislation (imo)

Does it only apply to motorist or can dash cam footage of a cyclist passing close by a car be used to gain a prosecution against a cyclist? Just sitting close by a junction in Dublin city centre and watching muppetry unfolding. To date all cyclist related muppetry. A woman cycled straight through a red light then across a junction into the oncoming lane and the took a right with no visibility of traffic potentially coming against her. Luckily no oncoming traffic or else they would be charged with passing too close to her as they drove over her. When you actually observe what going on around you the amount of cyclists putting their life at risk by breaking red lights is alarming

Stark · 12-11-2019 03:15PM

Thank you for sharing that story of that woman with us. Without it, we would have never known that not all laws are ubiquitously obeyed by all people at all times.

magicbastarder · 12-11-2019 03:20PM

creedp wrote: »

Does it only apply to motorist or can dash cam footage of a cyclist passing close by a car be used to gain a prosecution against a cyclist?

uh, why would that be an issue? the car is overwhelmingly heavier than the bike, i can explain the basic physics involved if it helps you understand.

creedp · 12-11-2019 03:33PM

Stark wrote: »

Thank you for sharing that story of that woman with us. Without it, we would have never known that not all laws are ubiquitously obeyed by all people at all times.

You are welcome.

creedp · 12-11-2019 03:40PM

magicbastarder wrote: »

uh, why would that be an issue? the car is overwhelmingly heavier than the bike, i can explain the basic physics involved if it helps you understand.

No its OK I understand the position outlined. So presumably if a cyclist moves towards a car the motorist must take evasive action in order to stay within the law. A potential for a moral hazard issue here but for me I'd prefer to cycle safely and have due regard to other road users around me. Obviously there are some real muppet motorists out there and these need to be dealt with but equally some cyclists would want to cop on as well

xckjoo · 12-11-2019 03:49PM

creedp wrote: »

No its OK I understand the position outlined. So presumably if a cyclist moves towards a car the motorist must take evasive action in order to stay within the law. A potential for a moral hazard issue here but for me I'd prefer to cycle safely and have due regard to other road users around me. Obviously there are some real muppet motorists out there and these need to be dealt with but equally some cyclists would want to cop on as well

What in the name of God makes you jump to that conclusion

magicbastarder · 12-11-2019 03:54PM

creedp wrote: »

a cyclist moves towards a car the motorist must take evasive action in order to stay within the law

the law is not 'motorists cannot find themselves within 1.5m of a bicycle'.
the law is specific to a situation of a motorist overtaking a cyclist, whether it is done safely or not. there's no specific distance mentioned i the law, and a cyclist behaving dangerously or erratically would not be a reflection on the motorist.

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

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