Caliden wrote: » You're still getting stuck on one particular detail. What I'm trying to ask, would a bike licence make sense? If not, why not? If so, why so? Let's just assume for the sake of argument that it's over 18's only that need to carry it and some beginner road safety is taught in schools for those under 18.
hatrickpatrick wrote: » Agreed, I'm simply giving a pedestrian's point of view - a speeding object breaking traffic lights where pedestrians have a green man, especially in a crowded area, is dangerous. That applies whether it's a car, bike, or indeed another pedestrian. Putting people at risk in this manner should carry consequences regardless of the type of vehicle one is operating - if you're driving something capable of moving fast enough to injure somebody, it should have a reg plate so that your ass can be fined if you're caught doing something dangerous. Otherwise there's no deterrent to this kind of thing.
sarkozy wrote: » There was an article in the Guardian, relating to the UK, which has a similar cycling environment to our own, which reported that in court rulings on cyclist/driver collisions, 60-70% of judgements were in favour of the cyclist. This is the clearest statistic available in the UK (and a strong indicator for Ireland) of who is more often than not responsible for these incidents. This is evidence that needs to be repeated often, worked into policy, and then into actual implementation. .....
The study, carried out for the Department for Transport, found that in 2% of cases where cyclists were seriously injured in collisions with other road users police said that the rider disobeying a stop sign or traffic light was a likely contributing factor. Wearing dark clothing at night was seen as a potential cause in about 2.5% of cases, and failure to use lights was mentioned 2% of the time.
The 64-page analysis found that police attributed responsibility for collisions more or less evenly between drivers and cyclists overall, but this was skewed by the fact that when child riders were involved their behaviour was named as a primary factor more than three-quarters of the time.
Caliden wrote: » I think that's all motorists are looking for as well. Responsibility and accountability. Some cyclists seem to getting hung up on the point of being identifiable though and prefer their anonymity.
magicmonkeys wrote: » Cars don't pay to use the roads, there's no such thing as road tax. It's motor tax.
Baron Kurtz wrote: » I cycle and I'd have no problem having to get a licence for my bike. Even some way of identifying cyclists ie a plate, might rule out the large proportion of cyclists who aren't prepared to keep to the rules. They might not bother if it's too much hassle. But ruling out any element of leisure cycling like Dublin Bikes and making it difficult to sign up wouldn't work at all. The DB riders I find are in the majority when it comes to cycling offences.
Jawgap wrote: » One down, two to go....... Also the study cited says in a particularly type of accident (serious ones) in a particular type of location (junction) failing to look properly on the part of cyclists was a significant contributory factor......hardly supports your more general statement that "60% of accidents between cars and bicycles the cyclist were at fault or more at fault"......
Irishcrx wrote: » It's also grinds my gears that they slow down my trip into work by 5-10 minutes everyday by taking up the lanes , slowing down traffic , slowing down crossing lanes and they have free use of the roads while the rest of us have to pay for them.
hatrickpatrick wrote: » Would you oppose reg plates for bicycles then, so that light breakers could be flagged and fined automatically instead of just when a Garda happens to witness the incident?
SeanW wrote: » I pay tax on my road usage as a motorist. Cyclists to do not for their bikes. "Road tax" is fine, an accurate description of the tax, even if it is only applied to motorists.
gramar wrote: » That wasn't even one of the three I saw. The statistics were very much dependent on the city, country, cycling lanes. legislation re: being properly illuminated etc cycling culture and awareness for example it would be a lot higher in Holland than in Spain where I can assure you the cyclist is very much a second class citizen.
Irishcrx wrote: » Twice in the last week I've been forced to swerve into an outer lane and nearly collide with another car because someone was cycling to far on the inside on the road
_Kaiser_ wrote: » While I don't agree with most of the OP's point, it is a bit mad that anyone can go down to Halfords, buy a bike, and set off among busy traffic without any knowledge of the rules of the road, testing, or even insurance to cover themselves if anything happens! No doubt all the cycling heads will be along shortly to say that it works fine in Europe etc and that's true.. but we don't have the public transport or cycling infrastructure that cities like Amsterdam do. Like it or not we are a very car dependent country - even more so if you live outside Dublin. I think the OP's complaint probably relates to the idea that cyclists are no longer required to use cycle lanes (where provided). I'm aware that many of these are shyte, but add in a load of untrained cyclists to already busy traffic lanes and it's no wonder there's problems! And yes, I'm aware that there are quite a lot of ignorant dumbass drivers too - the difference is that you have some comeback there with mandatory insurance, license plates etc.
seamus wrote: » The end has to justify the means. What problem will registration of bicycles solve, and how will that offset the obvious costs and implementation issues that it brings. How do you propose that you enforce this obligation to have a registration plate on bicycles, and how is it easier to enforce than the rules of the road? What makes you think that a person who doesn't care about the rules of the road is going to give two craps about having a plate on his bike?
No Pants wrote: » Flagged and fined automatically how?
seamus wrote: » You know what they say about assumptions. Never assume any other road user is going to do anything until they've started doing it. Observe. There's a cyclist to your left, bearing down on the two in front of him. The most likely possible outcomes of this situation are: 1. He slows down and waits 2. He checks behind him, sees you, and waits 3. He check behind him, sees you and overtakes anyway 4. He just overtakes without checking So within half a second you should be able to deduce that 50% of the most likely things to occur result in you taking evasive action, or flattening a cyclist. Regardless of the fact that you have right-of-way, the logical choice here is to slow down until you're sure of what the cyclist is going to do, before you proceed to pass them. The rule for all roads users is the same - better to yield your right-of-way and drive away annoyed, than to aggressively defend your right-of-way and not drive away at all.
Oscar Gateaux wrote: » I've said this before and I'll say it again. The most cost-effective and efficient way to deal with traffic offences, whether they're committed by motorists or cyclists, is to empower Gardaí to administer on-the-spot punishment in the form of a vigorous kick in the crotch.
Caliden wrote: » Where is the avenue to complain about a cyclist?
Jawgap wrote: » ......so is that a 'no' - you can't / won't link to the studies? Or the thread where you posted them originally?
papu wrote: » Where is the avenue to complain about pedestrians , especially ones who walk out onto the road right infront of you without looking. Can we number , label and tax them too?
gramar wrote: » That would be a 'won't' link the studies because I 'can't' be arsed looking for them. Luckily I haven't been called to the stand as an expert witness and won't look silly by not being able to back up my statements by being able to supply the source. Any statistics yourself? I heard 9/10 cats prefer Whiskas.
cournioni wrote: » I have a question. Why are motorists taxed for the use of their vehicles on public roads and cyclists are not?
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://w0.vanillicon.com/v2/09db0d78cf62f598a20c8cba8bae71e5.svg)
