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

Ha

I was just nodding along to the generalised areas, thinking louth/meath is kinda OK, and thinking the north must be a disaster.

Serious proportion of the close passes around here are yellow regs. And their main roads can be quite narrow.

I saw that at the time, people are just morons, some were saying they're reporting him to the RSPCA and I have no doubt some did.

It’s a one-vehicle lane. Nobody should be parallel in the same lane.

Not sure why it’s irresponsible having a cat on the bike as opposed to a baby strapped up on a bike?

I know you mightn’t mean to - but this is the exact victim blaming that often gets thrown at people that is unwarranted.

Don’t think it’s your man with the cargo with Raven he’s talking about to be fair, there was a lad with a westie who used to cycle round with the westie just clinging to his back.

Used to go round all the pubs with the dog trying to get free pints

All I said is that I wouldn't give all the blame to the moped rider. I don't think that anyone can argue that if you're using public roads that you should be predictable. A motorist is always liable if they hit a pedestrian crossing the road, but that doesn't mean that pedestrians should cross the road without looking!

This is borne out me cycling and constantly seeing other cyclists drifting across lanes without signalling or looking over their shoulder. No one seems to be familiar with the concept of self-preservation!

Maybe I'm given the moped a bit too much leeway as I'm putting myself in his position as if I he was a cyclist. And I'm not saying it's the cyclist's fault. I'm just saying try to avoid putting yourself at risk!

Also, I don't think carrying an animal on a bike is comparable to having a toddler on the bike. Toddlers are restrained, animals generally are not. They are unpredictable and could jump off at any point or get tangled up in the wheels. No problem if they're in some kind of carry cage!

Surely it's better to form judgements based on what actually happened rather than dreaming up scenarios.

The cat would have had much more chance of being injured there if it was stuck in a cage rather than being able to jump free.

Why you even felt the need to mention the cat though, I don't know.

If driving, if it was a single-lane at the red-light then yes i'd be against it. Another cyclist, yes I'd be against that too. However, cyclists often get to take the lead at junctions, so if I was in a car and a bike went in front of me into their designated area, I'm fine with that.

I cycle a fair bit (not as much as I wish) and ya I'd be fairly put out by anyone pulling up alongside me in a single-lane where I have front position.

I don't know why everyone is getting so worked up. We all know what it's like being on a bike and that's why an abundance of caution is needed, even if you're not the cause of the incident. In an ideal world we would all like to assume that other road users will behave logically, but it's never the case!

Yes, it was a dangerous overtake and the moped rider was at fault. But, if the cyclist had given a hand signal or looked over his shoulder, the incident may have been avoided. That isn't victim blaming, it's trying to protect yourself from other road users. No use being technically in the right if you end up dead as a result.

And to say that it's nothing to do with a cat - there's a cat literally in the video. How can you not comment on something so unusual!

They were actually really nice, but it was astonishing, i was like "how could you not see me, I was right in front of you, flashing red lights, good lights too, where we u looking??" Fully reported to the gardai etc so hopefully I can at least get my nice bibs and rapha jacket replaced. Yea true re getting it checked out might drop into one of the vhi clinics tomorrow and get it recorded at least. I'd imagine it's just gonna be a diphene subscription. Its quite sore now, getting out of bed tomorrow is gonna be interesting..

Back in the news this week with more details.

Sentencing on Friday which should be interesting to say the least.

Ah here, you're supposed to give us some small, irrelevant detail that we can all zone in on and nitpick over to prove that it was all your fault in the first place.

With roundabouts, the most likely scenario is that the driver was looking to their right for approaching traffic while driving towards the roundabout.