Cycling on paths and other cycling issues (updated title)

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

Well I hadn't seen your post tbh. Sorry to hear that. But these things happen and at least you're both still alive. I got car doored pretty badly once while cycling in the city centre and it shook me up for a while, now I'm paranoid af around parked cars.
You must excuse my suspicions, for years and years cyclists get such a hard time, you should know this as a cyclist yourself. Given a hard time because they sometimes annoy motorists, it's as simple as that. The only reason they don't go nuts at pedestrians who are also an annoyance to drivers, is because everyone has to be a pedestrian whether they drive a car or not.

First off thanks for replying and being honest.

BTW my cyclist friends say I'm a triathlete not a cyclist!

Joking aside though I understand your point but personally I just get on with it and not let myself get stressed with what anyone thinks about me when I'm out on the road cycling. To be fair though, where I live I really don't get much if any aggression towards me when I'm on the bike.

You're right, these things do happen but the reason I originally posted was because I just wanted to let people know what can actually happen by breaking a red light when cycling, I got the sense from some of the posts they were condoning it and trying to justify it. I'm sure many will disagree but that's just the sense I got.

I got car doored myself once while out running, an aul biddy who was going into Mass just opened the door right as I was passing. Christ that hurt.

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

But surely you would agree that hivis would make him more visible, from further away, particularly in a blue or black environment, such as nighttime?

A bit of day glow wouldn't go amiss either!

Hurrache wrote: »

[Shrugs shoulders and sighs]

Maybe this staggering myopia is a reason for a large number of road crashes.

Heh, fair point. Let me rephrase. Cyclists are immune to criticism from certain posters on this thread.

Pinch Flat wrote: »

The comments section in the journal is always a good bell weather of how car dominated and car dependent we are. Someone boozed up driving and kills someone in a hit and run ? Hardly an eyebrow raised. Must look up the story about the new cycle lanes in the Phoenix park. I'd say the comments section went into melt down.

In such a case the driver is a criminal. A "hit and run" driver no more represents motorists as a whole than the murderers in the Hutch-Kinihan feud represent everyone in Leinster.

LeinsterDub wrote: »

And ? Motorist are immune to criticism from certain others posters on this thread.

Who cares about the unreachable fringes?

According to whom? Everyone on this thread will criticise a motorist who genuinely behaves irresponsibly. But according to some * cough cough Thelonious Monk * what the cyclist did in Spook's video is no big deal.

Stark wrote: »

You keep missing the point don't you.

He's just parroting the same drivel people come out with for not being able to see cyclists in the middle of the day if they're not wearing builders' vests.

Did you see Spook's picture of the horses with and without hi-vis? I would have thought that would have ended the debate.

I have the same opinion of people who claim road users who don't wear hi-viz are invisible regardless of lights or ambient lighting. They simply shouldn't have driving licences. Can't wrap the entire external world in hi-viz.

Again, review Spook's pic. And no there is no need to "wrap the entire external world in hi-viz" just road users that are not already highly visible.

Indeed if everything in the world was hi-vis, a hi-vis wearing cyclist would blend in to the background, which rather defeats the purpose.

magicbastarder wrote: »

i don't think that was the point he was making, more the point that there's no clickbait like a cycling story, and actual serious injuries and deaths on roads are unremarked on. at least in the journal comments anyway.

Kind of predicted he'd pick this up. :rolleyes:

SeanW wrote: »

That's why seeing every thread about cyclists being hijacked with "But motorists break urban speed limits in the middle of nowhere" does tend to grate after a while.

Then you should try "Motorists murder several people every week in this country" instead and see how you get on.

As a follow up you can ask yourself why exactly you and people like you get so excited about cyclists breaking laws with effectively zero consequences or harm when you have endless death and carnage on near daily basis from 'lawbreaking scum' as you put it in cars engaging in the exact same lawbreaking, just using a rocket launcher instead of a cap gun as someone compared earlier.

Would you ever be tempted to spend days/weeks of your time complaining about motorists the way you do about cyclists on here considering the consequences are so infinitely more horrific? Why not out of interest? Genuinely curious about this to see if you can articulate why instead of ducking the question/calling it whataboutery...

SeanW wrote: »

As someone who has had the misfortune of being a pedestrian in Ireland's main cities, yes Irish cyclists are - in the main - profligate lawbreakers. Totally unqualified to point the finger at others.

LOL, they're totally qualified to point their finger at you to tell you you're wrong, and also motorists to show you who the real profligate offenders are.

And it's not a matter of opinion, the facts and figures prove you wrong.

SeanW wrote: »

We learn very quickly as a survival skill to "negotiate" with two-wheeled lawbreakers in daily life. That's the reason that hypocritical cyclists don't hurt or kill more people. We're watching for you.

Ha ha, c'mon. Do you think you're unique, do you think anyone who cycles or drives into cities remain on their bikes or in the cars for the full window they're in the city. Every single person in the country is a pedestrian of some form, you're not in a little secret club.

Maybe stay indoors if you think walking around is a game of survival and you're in a permanent state of fear.

This one is for Andrew

https://twitter.com/gardainfo/status/1273149224931274753

SeanW wrote: »

Which "facts" are these? The facts that show that road fatalities in Ireland are among the lowest in the world, provably so, by every relative measure?

Not a "state of permanent fear" but rather a need for a relaxed awareness. If you aren't watching out for two-wheeled lawbreakers, you WILL be involved in a nasty accident. The risk is tolerable, but it is there.

Are you prepared to withdraw your filthy scurrilous lies about "murder?"

You'd be better off looking out for more four wheeled law breakers. I find them more of an issue regardless of whether I'm driving or cycling.

Hurrache wrote: »

The facts that show that people in cars are worse offenders for law breaking. It's that simple.

Not if you've got blinkers on though.

I hadn't driven in a while in the whole lockdown. I mentioned earlier in the thread I bought a new car in March. Got to take it out for its first proper spin last friday and saturday.

Forgot how ****e the standard of driving was out there. Roundabouts are free for alls. Left lane busy and going straight? No problem - just join the quiter right lane and barge on through anyway.

Forget about driving at the speed limit without being overtaken or undertaken up the bus lane - this applies to any scenario - happened in a few spots in residential streets. More so saturday where everybody seemed to be in a right rush.

Stop lines at junctions can be generally ignored as can advance bike boxes. Just make sure you sail past, blocking the car's vision beside you, piling half your car into the junction. Red lights? Pah. Only for eejits. Speed up to get through or else drive up the arse of someone who's silly enough to be stopping. Amber it's case closed - definitely speed up to get through.

Make sure you drive around the car in front of you who's turning left, preferably onto the other side of the road. Better still if into incoming traffic. You'll never get those few seconds back. Oh yeah and saw loads of cyclists on footpaths. lots have been intimidated off the roads by aggressive driving that seems to be the norm these days.

I think that is changing, and drivers ( which includes most cyclists) are being protrayed as the selfish ones.

Pinch Flat wrote: »

Because we live in a car centric country. And victim blaming. People seem yo love this.

I'd say it's because everyone breaks the rules in their cars and knows the dangers so they just shut up because they know they're guilty of speeding etc. too.

magicbastarder wrote: »

i'm going to go out on a limb here and say that i reckon that if you were to tally every single instance of a law being broken in this country - whether detected or not - over the course of a day, that in pure numbers, motorists would account for *easily* over half of them.
probably the vast majority; they're probably the easiest ones to get away with and with the most opportunities to do so.

No. It's definitely snooker players.

Wait - cyclists! I mean they're on the roads, where all the crime takes place, according to you - but they have no number plates to identify themselves!

Obvious when you think about it.

FACT!

magicbastarder wrote: »

i'm going to go out on a limb here and say that i reckon that if you were to tally every single instance of a law being broken in this country - whether detected or not - over the course of a day, that in pure numbers, motorists would account for *easily* over half of them.
probably the vast majority; they're probably the easiest ones to get away with and with the most opportunities to do so.

Yes, there are more motorists, but the rate of delinquency is much higher for cyclists who are far and away the most irresponsible class of road users and the ones least likely to suffer any sanction for their actions. Hundreds of motorists are penalised every day, and rightly so, I doubt if the number of cyclists sanctioned reaches double figures.