Dash cam saves your ass (no Roundabout stuff please :)

RainyDay wrote: »

I cycle most of the time, and I get very frustrated when I see cyclists doing this crap too.

But remember, every Garda hour spent chasing cyclists is an hour not spent reducing the 200+ deaths and thousands of injuries caused by motorists on the road each year. Be careful what you wish for.

There has to be cyclists injured due to their own stupidity. It's not possible to cycle like some people do in Dublin and there not be injuries and fatalities.

Tragedy wrote: »

There is no evidence that Garda 'enforcement' has any positive effect on road injuries/deaths.

I'd much rather speed vans (as that's all Garda enforcement ever amounted to) at known accident black spots and Gardaí get back to actual policing.

Traffic enforcement IMHO should be privatised. A private company would have a camera on every traffic light and a speed camera on every road. The only way to avoid a fine would be to drive within the rules and laws of the road.

MarkAnthony wrote: »

There has to be cyclists injured due to their own stupidity. It's not possible to cycle like some people do in Dublin and there not be injuries and fatalities.

The number of cyclist fatalities is very low. Anecdotally, most relate to cyclists being caught under trucks, usually when trucks are turning left. I've never heard of a cyclist fatality relating to breaking red lights.

I'm sure there are some cases of cyclist injury due to such actions, but they seem to be fairly low on the overall scheme of things. Meanwhile, 200+ people are killed by motorists each year, and thousands of others maimed. So where do you want to prioritise your resources?

RainyDay wrote: »

The number of cyclist fatalities is very low. Anecdotally, most relate to cyclists being caught under trucks, usually when trucks are turning left. I've never heard of a cyclist fatality relating to breaking red lights.

I'm sure there are some cases of cyclist injury due to such actions, but they seem to be fairly low on the overall scheme of things. Meanwhile, 200+ people are killed by motorists each year, and thousands of others maimed. So where do you want to prioritise your resources?

By your logic - smoking and fatty foods.

Your argument is a spurious one. The guards need to enforce the correct road usage by all parties. That's motorists, pedestrians and cyclists. It doesn't simply come down to fatalities.

josip wrote: »

5 last year and 8 the year before, not insignificant.

Not insignificant, but very low compared to the 200+ people killed each year by motorists - so where do you want to prioritise your resources? And like I said, there is no suggestion that any of those deaths result from errors by cyclists.
Formal research from the UK about the causes of incidents where cyclists were injured put the blame firmly on motorists in the majority of cases.

josip wrote: »

Who else will be doing the killing apart from motorists?

Yes, we agree on this one.

MarkAnthony wrote: »

You are again making the assumption that enforcement = lives saved. If we make the resources argument then why are we spending money on cycle lanes - clearly they're not needed.

You said "The guards need to enforce the correct road usage by all parties." That requires resources - either existing Garda resources or extra Garda resources. One way or other, it involves some Gardai spending time stopping cyclists who break red lights (including the majority of cyclists who break red lights while looking out for the own safety, and the minority of cyclists who break red lights recklessly) and Gardai spending time stopping cyclists who don't have bells on their bikes and Gardai spending time stopping jaywalking pedestrians. Every hour spent on these activities in an hour not spent on motorists who kill 200+ people each year on the roads and maim thousands of others.

MarkAnthony wrote: »

It's not an annoyance to the innocent motorist that goes through a green light after checking the way is clear, even waiting for pedestrians as in the above clip and ends up with a cyclist plastered over their front windscreen. That person has to live with that for the rest of their lives.

Yes, that theoretical situation would be very difficult for the driver to live with. As a fairly keen observer of cycle safety matters, I'm fairly sure that the theoretical situation that you outline hasn't happened in living memory here in Ireland.

So again, do you want to focus your resources on dealing with your theoretical risk, or on dealing with the 200+ people killed each year by motorists and the thousands maimed.

MarkAnthony wrote: »

Furthermore for all the 'Irish Driving' slagging off - its amazing to me more people aren't killed. It's not the cyclists protecting themselves it's them relying on drivers to avoid them which, statistically, they do for the most part. Noting of course we're talking about fatalities here and not what the cost is to the health service in injuries due to negligent cyclists. The problem with that is that it's clearly generating a culture of contempt amongst cyclists in relation to the dangers of the roads which will only have knock on effect in injuries and deaths.

Yes, there is a culture issue, and I'd love to see it addressed and fixed. I'd love to see improvements in the standard of cycling for lots of reasons.

The fact remains that if you want the Gardai to address this issue, they will be diverted from other activities such as the, well, you know yourself by now.

Addressed in other thread.

Clip 1. Merc is not even in the picture when our lights turn green - note the pedestrians crossing and their green man.

Clip 2. Car in the third lane still goes through the red.

On the drive home this evening.....

......a potential entrant for this year's Darwin Awards - to get an idea of how far out n the road she was walking checking where I had to drive in relation to the centre white line......