Near Misses Thread Volume 2 (So close you can feel it)

Duckjob wrote: »

I cringe when I see videos of people riding a road like that so close to the edge with oncoming traffic. I used to ride that way too, I guess subconciously to "not be in the way too much". Nowdays, after being on the receiving end of one close pass too many, I've learnt my lesson very well and I would be squarely in the middle of the lane.

Problem with riding near the edge in a place like that is you're giving bad drivers an invite to drive selfishly and endanger you.

It's been one of the benefits of this thread since I took up cycling again, positioning ,myself on the road rather than trying to be out of the way. All the discussion that has gone on about positioning, looking ahead, etc has been super helpful.

Thanks folks, your near misses are not going in vain

Went out for a little pootle around in the sun earlier. Didn’t bother with a helmet as it was a relaxed Dutch style ride.

All well until I was nearly back home. On a straight bit of road with traffic coming the other way. I was already riding well out to discourage stupidity, but idiot man in an Audi wasn’t going to be delayed and blasted though regardless. Not the worst close pass I’ve had, but still too close and too fast (60kph zone and I guess he was well over 70)

Anyway, I saw him turn into one of the estates further up, so I followed him to see if I could have a reasonable word with him. I approached him calmly as he was getting out of his car and said to him he had passed Me very close and fast. His immediate response - “where’s your helmet?”. I asked him what he thought a piece of styrofoam on my head would do to protect me if he hit me at 70+ kph. He just keep on about me not wearing a helmet, so I left for my own sanity.

“Professional” driver...

McGaggs wrote: »

I'm sure there's probably more than a few taxi drivers out there who never sat a test and got their licence during the 70s or 80s when they gave them out to clear a backlog. The taxi driver who rear ended me on a Dublinbike while I was stopped at a traffic light was about the right age for it.

The amnesty was in 1979. There was 25,000 licences given out. That was 42 years ago. Out of that number, how many do you think might now be taxi drivers?

In 2016, there were 17,146 registered taxi drivers in the country. In the same year, there was a total of 2,820,528 Irish driving licences, of which almost a quarter (249,657) were provisional. That's 2,570,871 full licences on the road. That's 0.61% of full licences being used to operate taxis.

At the end of 2017, 6,213 taxi drivers were in the age profile to have received an amnesty. So if we extrapolate the figures above, thats 37.89 drivers, so call it 38 taxi drivers, for the entire country.

Figures show that 55% of taxi drivers operate in Dublin, thats 21 taxi drivers, statistically speaking, who are driving around Dublin on an amnesty licence.

All of which is to say, while the figure is not zero, most of the time when the amnesty argument is invoked, the effect is generally less than people suppose

crosstownk wrote: »

Exactly. Taxi drivers simply drive for a profession. They are not professionally trained drivers in any way. Their driving licence is identical to mine. Their attitude to cyclists is something to behold, imo.

If you have something as a profession, it's kindof expected that at very least you are going to be half decent at doing that thing.

I mean, you don't have to a jedi of your profession, but you should at least not be completely sh*te at it. It's a pretty low bar that many taxi drivers dismally fail to clear.

A 10yr old with a mouth like that tells you all you need to know about all generations of that family unfortunately MangleBadger.

The best strategy is usually just to steer well clear.

hots wrote: »

How does it make them get through lights quicker? Slower surely as they all have to stick together at the slowest one's pace?

He's talking about the truck putting kids in danger so it can get through the lights quicker, not the cycle bus.

Coming back from a lovely little ride around my local area yesterday

The road outside my estate has this little narrow chicane bit of about 50 yards which is one way at a time, so you need to yield to traffic already coming though it. Due to a bends at both ends, there's no thru visibility until you get to it, so you need to slow down and check if there's anything coming from the other end and stop if necessary.

Its a traffic calmed street with speed bumps etc.

Guy in a Toyota hatchback came up behind me as approached this section, me doing around 30kph.

Just as I was getting near to where you slow and stop if necessary, his patience runs out and he overtakes me.

At that moment, as anyone with 2 brain cells could predict might happen, a car comes around the bend exiting the one way bit and our genius has to hastily move back in in front of me while the other car had to stop dead to avoid a head on collision.

Our genius then goes for gold and charges on through the one-way section with another car already on its way through from the other side. The driver of that other car also has to stop dead in the middle of the section while our genius drives up on the footpath and around them and flies off.

Are they giving driving licences on the back of cereal packets these days ?

riewomann wrote: »

I love cycling as much as the next person, but the optics of this are terrible. Its a big two fingers to everyone else and reeks of a "my child is the most important thing in the world, so if I have to incenvenience hundreds of people for them to have a spin, then so be it".

I think it reeks of "I know this strip of paint won't protect my child from drivers who refuse or don't know how to share the road, so I will".

riewomann wrote: »

I've being noticing where a parent and child are cycling, the child will be in the cycle lane as normal and the parent cycling parallel to them in the traffic lane.

I appreciate their will to protect their child, although by cycling in the traffic lane they are holding up traffic. Even where it is a mandatory cycle lane.

This type of behaviour will only create further animosity amongst some motorists for cyclists. Surely if your child is ready to cycle then let them cycle, or if not take them off the primary routes where traffic is whizzing by.

I love cycling as much as the next person, but the optics of this are terrible. Its a big two fingers to everyone else and reeks of a "my child is the most important thing in the world, so if I have to incenvenience hundreds of people for them to have a spin, then so be it".

Rant over.

So many things wrong with this.

1. Cycling two abreast: Perfectly Legal.
2. Cycling in manner to protect a less experience, vulnerable road user from impatient idiots in cars who will do everything and anything to get in front: Good and sensible parenting, most likely as a result of a number of previous bad experiences with poor drivers.
3. Mandatory cycle lane: This means cars can't drive or park in it. Not that people on bikes must use it. The legal requirement for people on bikes to use them was removed years ago because many are unsafe and not fit for purpose.
4. Inconveniencing 100's of people: Really? There were approx 50 - 100 cars behind this parent and child?
5. Having a spin: Cycling is also a means of transport. It is not all about "having a spin". I regularly cycle to places (sports training, the shops etc) with my kids.
6. "the optics of this are terrible": It's not about optics, it's about sharing the road with more vulnerable road users. Sadly, in my experience people in cars are extremely impatient and are more than happy to endanger people on bikes just to get to the next red light 2 seconds faster and frankly that seems like exactly what the situation was here.

The roads are for people, not for cars. When on the roads you will sometimes meet slower moving vehicles / people. Suck it up and act accordingly. If you get delayed for 30 seconds behind a parent and child on a bike it isn't the end of the world.

Rant over too!