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

Do you often pull over when driving in heavy urban traffic to let a faster cyclist through?

Health & Safety rules would never allow bus drivers in Ireland to be exposed to that kind of danger!

With a long queue behind, on a road with limited safe overtaking opportunities, the safest option for the cyclist is to pull in and allow the queue behind to overtake. It's the lowest risk option for the cyclist!

Yeah in fairness I've driven that bit of n72 plenty, I'd get very little enjoyment out of a cycle on a route like that.

However I used cycle bits of the n73 from kildollery to Mitchelstown and it's similar. Cus I lived there and it was my way home.

That's a great way to ensure that Bruce in his lowered 1.4 Golf or Willie in his Scania S650 overtakes you with an inch to spare after sitting behind you for three or 4 km.

...on the other hand you might be reasonable and aware of the law and rights of other road users not to mention your own safety 🙈

I'd pull in if a road had limited overtaking and traffic was building up. I don't like the idea of traffic building up behind me for extended periods as people get impatient very quickly and you know some gobshite 10 cars back would try overtake everyone. I'm on a bike for enjoyment, if I pull in to let people pass it's to make life easier for me not them, I just don't want the hassle. There's certain roads I'll avoid for convenience or safety even if they're the most direct route. It's all personal choice really. If someone wants to push on that's their decision.

I take a pretty primary position myself. Maybe not the middle but left wheel track at least and if a manhole or pothole us in my way it's out I go, not in.

I rarely pull over, but if I knew a truck was back there a couple mins I'd pull in.

Pulled in once in last 2or 3 weeks. Bus stuck behind me between termonfeckin and clogherhead.

Is that cyclist supposed to be indicating to go right, no idea what's he at...just a bare gesture and move right in front of a car.

Weird post. I've cycled the N72. It's absolutely fine. There's a school a few hundred metres West of the point you linked. Cars are bumper to bumper there a few times a day. Most slow-moving vehicles on this road don't do a great job of "getting out of the way", because there's nowhere to go. A lot of slow-moving HGV's use it. Tractors are regularly on it.

I also don't understand what you're saying about the Clonmel-Dungarvan road. Are you suggesting that leisure cyclists should pick a meandering route with lots of stopping and starting and extra junctions, in an effort to avoid collisions with/from motorists? So: cycle on a poor road surface, with potholes etc, in the hope of NOT having a crash?

I have no problem with suggesting someone should move in if traffic is building up behind them, but if you're saying that an N road is off-limits to a bike, I disagree. And if you're saying that an R road should be off limits to a bike, I'd use much stronger language to say that I disagree.

Yours feels a bit like a victim-blaming post to be honest with you, even if that's not what you intended.

I don't think there is anything specific in legislation about differences in speed. Last time I looked at legislation, it was about driving in a manner that prevented other road users from overtaking (paraphrasing obviously).

My interpretation of that would be that if the oncoming traffic is preventing other road users from overtaking, I'm not not breaching any legislation.

He specifically said that he wouldn't pull over for faster cyclists.

What has 'differential' got to do with anything. You've come up with your mythical rule about having to pull over to let faster traffic through, but now you are weaseling out of complying with your own rule yourself, with weasel words. If you expect other people to get out of your way, it is only courtesy that you get out of their way also.

I'm a bit confused that people are finding traffic conditions where queues of 10-20 cars appear behind cyclists at the drop of a hat, but they never experience conditions where motorists are holding up cyclists in busy traffic.

In fairness, you went a bit further than just telling us what you do;

”That's all well and good, but I would be of the opinion that if you're on a road where traffic is travelling at 80kph, and there's a build up behind you, it costs very little to pull over, if there's an opportunity, and let the faster traffic past.”

Honestly, it’s hard to believe that anyone doesn’t meet heavy traffic at one time or other . It’s hard to believe that anyone would experience traffic heavy enough to build up behind a cyclist but yet never busy enough to hold up a cyclist behind a motorist.

Courtesy is a two way street.