Yeah and she has no idea what the word 'exponentially' actually means.
If I'm approaching 3 buses parked up, I'm not slowing down 'more than 30m' before the stop, but I am waiting to react with my fingers on the brake levers (as is tradition cycling in traffic in Dublin). Not all cyclists will behave like that, but it isn't safe to make assumptions in either direction - the cyclist in this case could have been paying no attention and therefore even 10km/h was too fast, or he could have been watching like a hawk and he meant it when he said in his testimony that he had no time to react before impact and it wouldn't have made a difference if he was traveling at 10km/h.
If I was to always start slowing significantly 15m before any potential conflict in Dublin, again, there would be no point cycle commuting and I sincerely doubt there is anyone here who actually cycles that way in practice.
Idiot village more like.
At 30km/h and assuming a 1 second reaction time a cyclist will travel 8.3m before brake application.
Assuming use of front and back on a dry surface with decent grip a braking distance of 5m be possible but for most cyclist it'll be somewhat longer and certainly longer in wet conditions.
13m is the absolute minimum distance bar you want to argue a shorter reaction time is appropriate; which I don't think it is in the circumstances here.
As an aside the Plaintiff here didn't want a finding against cyclist; assuming he was uninsured. Collecting off lay Defendants is what any legal team want to be doing.
Pure nonsense from Dublin Bus, they could have bought this off for the cost of joining the Third Party alone pre proceedings.
Insofar as I know they don't use barristers to run their cases, with solicitors office doing all the work including in the High Court.
That friction between a solicitor and a barrister has the advantage of countering group think
Yeah there was one in particular from some Alison person talking about how road deaths were "increasing exponentially" as if hi-viz was the only solution to that. I'd bet my money she has some sort of Range Rover or X5 parked in the driveway.
A few letters in the Irish Times in the last week calling for mandatory hi-vis for not only cyclists and motorcyclists, but pedestrians too!
Yeah let's impose draconian measures of dubious if any effectiveness - as long as they don't impose any inconvenience on car drivers, bonus points for blaming the victims of those who don't bloody well look where they're going
Secondly, we don't actually know how quickly the cyclist was travelling. A Garda investigator estimated it, but we don't know how or using what methods (and being honest, having looked into how they estimate car speeds at accidents, I'd be lary of them applying that methodology in general, nevermind to bikes).
If my experiences of being on different bikes has taught me correctly: "Drop handlebars = too fast", "flat handlebars = fine".
Two points;
Firstly, a bike slows very quickly (and a modern car too, in fairness) from 30km/h. It's quite subjective depending on tyres, brake type, attention, etc, but it's not going to require even 10m unless someone isn't even trying - potentially it could only take half that. The accident happened 30m from the stop - and I don't believe current advice is "you should travel at a speed that will allow you to stop 6 times over in the distance between you and an expected obstacle".
Honestly, buses on my commute have gotten very strict in queueing for a stop rather than dumping people higgledy-piggledy and I could be caught out by something like this, albeit I don't quite hit 30km/h on my commuter very often.
Another reason I avoid the N11 now I'm in town is the interaction with bus stops. Whites Cross to Foxrock Church outbound is a nice downhill, which the cycle lane routes you right through the bus stop.
fwiw, the person on the bike should've been aware enough to be easing off coming to the bus stop imo.
Finally found it, I was thinking it was one of those shared spaces near junctions, and IMO, 30kmph + is too fast for those. this on the other hand, if it is the right place is a clusterf*ck of epic proportions but, presuming this is the right place and it was as described, there are multiple people at fault. The DB driver, that is a straightaway, even at 30kmph he should have seen the cyclist. The council, that shared space is ridiculous, barely wide enough for a pram. Just before it becomes shared, the bike lane should have stayed in the bus lane, and had bollards up from about 300m back where it went up onto a footpath. Lastly, the cyclist is also at fault, that is a narrow shared space, coming up to a bus stop, with a DB opening its doors. Just like any road user, you have to act according to the conditions. I would have bunny hopped off into the bus lane and went around rather than slow but not everyone can do that. For those who don't or can't, you should be slowing and moving over to the left of the lane in case anyone does step out.
I'd say 30km/h at that point AND in the circumstances appears to have been careless. He was approaching a bus stop where, to follow the shared path, he was going to be maneuvering around the bus shelter. AND where he could see three buses queued at the stop in front of him. Which would lead any reasonable person to realise there is an increased likelihood of encountering pedestrians in the shared lane.
To not have slowed down when observing that in front of him is, IMO, reckless.
That said, from the legal perspective I'd tend to agree with liability being attached to Dublin Bus - albeit possibly with some contributory negligence from the pedestrian herself.
I can see both points, but it highlights why I rarely use those kind of cycle lanes as I generally want to be travelling at around 30kmph and would never feel comfortable doing so where there's a decent chance of being routed along the inside of buses. RTE to Donnybrook is a prime example.
Yes, there's always risks, such as being doored for example. The difference is I'm willing to take that risk where the potential harm is to me. I'm not willing to take that risk where the potential is for me to plough into someone at 30kmph.
Not a hope in hell I'd use that shared space. I'll use the bus lane and then the main lane to overtake stationary buses, and angry motorists can go get f**ked for the 3 seconds of inconvenience it may cause them.
I cycle down that road almost every working day. The footpath is a shared cycle space. It's quite a dangerous stretch as you arrive down to that bus stop and there'll be people strolling around waiting for a bus and they don't expect cyclists to appear. The cycle path goes around the back of the bus stop.
I stay on the road as I am turning right into Northwood but that drives the taxi drivers nuts because they can't understand why I can't use the shared bike lane to achieve that. So they do angry close passes as they fly in from the airport.
Santry in general is not a good place to cycle a bike.
Looks like a "shared footpath" judging from the two blue shared footpath/cycle lane signs near the bus stop.
Got to love when people wring their hands about "cycling on footpaths" regardless of how much due care and attention someone was exercising yet the very same people will probably lose their mind the second someone sticks a blue sign on a footpath and cyclists decline to use it.
Was he on the footpath there? Is that supposed to be a bike lane? It's not marked as such in that photo anyway.
I think it's tomasrojo who pointed out that 30km/h is the magic threshold that is "far too fast for a bicycle" according to many commentators (not picking on anyone here) and incredibly dangerous, but also "far too slow for a car" because modern cars will implode if driven within the speed limit in Dublin city centre apparently and sure you'd never get anywhere at that speed.
I'll hold 30+ KPH on my cycle into work on the clontarf/fairview cycle lane into town.
Its not a shared space never mind the the above picture where the accident seems to have taken place.
DB are at fault.
A dedicated cyclepath becomes a shared space if a pedestrian crosses onto it. I can't think of a cyclepath in Dublin I've used that hasn't had people cross onto it, or even walk along it. If I'm cycling at 30km/h on a dedicated cycle path and someone steps onto it, I'll obviously slow down. I won't always be cycling below 20km/h just in case someone steps onto it - just like I won't crawl along anytime I'm in a cycle lane with cars or buses in traffic beside it just in case one of their doors opens into the lane or a passenger suddenly alights.
There's no evidence that the shared space had any pedestrians on it until the person alighted from the bus, and in that case, I'll repeat:
If the new requirement for 'sensible' cycling is unreasonable expectations as to others actions, then we all might as well get off and walk our bikes around all the time because that's the only way we'll ever reach that extremely high bar.
This seems to be the bus stop in question (the only downhill section on a shared path on the old Dublin road):
X marks roughly 30m from the stop, but it could be another couple of metres depending on where they were measuring from.
Loyatemu, if cycling at 10km/h around vehicles is what you consider safe, genuine question, how do you get anywhere on a bike? I can't think of a single cycle I do that doesn't have me in close proximity to other vehicles for the majority of my cycle - and it would make my 25min commute to work take at least an hour since there's none of that that isn't in close proximity to vehicles.
I agree with Cram here, if he was doing that speed it's careless in those circumstances. I wouldn't do 30+ in close proximity to any vehicle, you just don't know what might happen. If only for my own self preservation, I've no interest in being in the right while picking my teeth off the ground.
He said he couldn't have avoided her even if he was going slower which may be true, but she'd have been better off being hit at 10km/h.
Fair point, and it was the comment on shared space, not the bus letting someone off itself. I don't think in those shared space areas 30kmph is reasonable.
The specific incident I don't know the area well enough, to know if the bus driver could have seen the cyclist or he was being economical with the truth, or if 30kmph in a shared area where it would be reasonable to expect pedestrians, alighting passengers, was a contributing factor.
It's as safe as cycling 30km/h anywhere else. It isn't reasonable to expect a bus to let someone off 25-30m from a bus stop without warning, and if the new requirement for 'sensible' cycling is unreasonable expectations as to others actions, then we all might as well get off and walk our bikes around all the time because that's the only way we'll ever reach that extremely high bar.
What's the difference between this and being doored, exactly?
Is it? I think a cyclist in a shared space should not be travelling at 30+lymph, it's simply not safe.
Ive been cycling to Skerries every Sunday for the last 3 or 4 years for lunch in Olives. Its nice to know my money/business is not appreciated!
I'm surprised by Dublin Bus in this, in the past they seemed to have had more cop-on.
For a relatively small claim (€25k) the legal costs are going to dwarf the award, even more so by enjoining a third party.
Sensible decision IMO...
https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/courts/2026/01/22/judge-finds-dublin-bus-not-cyclist-responsible-for-collision-with-alighting-passenger/
There's so much to unpack there
Cyclists need a catch-all phrase to rival "the hard pressed motorist" 😉
https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/2026/01/22/deeply-upsetting-skerries-active-travel-plan-provokes-angry-response-from-residents/
Some classics in here:
“If parking becomes more difficult, businesses will suffer and the heart of Skerries will be ruined,” a submission read.
Some questioned the need for cycle lanes: “We do not have a need for cycle lanes as there is currently plenty of room on our roads for the cyclists amongst us.”
Others said cyclists did not benefit local businesses. One wrote: “Cyclists are not exactly known for stopping by to make large purchases or availing of all the wonderful goods and services provided by our wonderful local businesses in Skerries town!”
“Residents of the town must be prioritised over transiting and visiting individuals, particularly cyclists, in a country where cycling year round is impractical, whose needs will therefore primarily be seasonal,” one submission said.
“Our junctions are safe. Pedestrians should probably get off their phones and look left and right before crossing any road.”
The same person added: “When will motorists get something? I’ve yet to see any plans to improve infrastructure for those that drive.”
Sounds like an idyllic village to be honest :)
The footpath will usually be fully blocked too for good measure
Parking cars on footpaths, illegal and in a manner to increase traffic congestion is the right of the hard pressed motorist, don't you know. The cyclists make them do it.
