Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Please note that it is not permitted to have referral links posted in your signature. Keep these links contained in the appropriate forum. Thank you.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2055940817/signature-rules

More Irish driving oddities: parking against traffic flow

2

Comments

  • #32
    Iwannahurl
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,156 ✭✭✭Iwannahurl


    munchkin_utd wrote: »
    its actually a sensible rule to have motorists parked in a manner that they can get out of the parking space later as easily and safely and as unobtrusively (to the flow of traffic) as possible.

    Because the driver is on the right, they have to move their vehicle well out into the traffic lane in order to be able to see.

    It's commonplace to have wrong-way drivers pull out into traffic while trying to exit a parking space. I regard that as a nuisance at best, whether I'm driving or cycling.

    Another weird driving behaviour I see over and over again is motorists crossing to the opposite side of the road at a T-junction and then driving along on the right to access a parking space against the flow of traffic. It's utterly daft, imo, and yet they see absolutely nothing wrong with it.

    The attached pic gives some idea of what I'm talking about, purely for the purposes of illustration. I have no idea whether the car parked against the flow of traffic actually came from the side road.

    354696.jpg

    This is a prime spot in Salthill for wrong-way parking. There are often three cars parked there, sometimes well into the oncoming lane, which is separated by a splitter island. It takes determined muppetry to park like that.


  • #33
    CianRyan
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,729 ✭✭✭✭CianRyan


    Indricotherium wrote: »
    Narrow country road I'd the worst place to do this. Someone driving too fast at night .... Could end up going down the left hand side of the parked car.

    I know the road he's on about and I can confirm, it's 100% safe.


  • #34
    BMJD
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,694 ✭✭✭BMJD


    Iwannahurl wrote: »
    Do you think parking with the flow of traffic, in the exact same spot, is OK?

    of course not, I was merely highlighting the utterly needless going-the-wrong-way-ness of that driver in getting those extra couple of centimeters closer to their destination. I see that kind of thing all the time, people doing 7 point turns and holding up an entire street because they are too stupid/lazy to go around the roundabout 10 meters up the road - kind of thing


  • #35
    dgt
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,985 ✭✭✭✭dgt


    Indricotherium wrote: »
    Narrow country road I'd the worst place to do this. Someone driving too fast at night .... Could end up going down the left hand side of the parked car.

    Herein lies a problem. My car is parked outside my house. It is a lovely space ideal for a vehicle a lot bigger than my car which happens to be beside the road. As I have pointed out, there is very clear visibility in either direction.

    There have never been complaints about it. The gardai drive by now and again, they never come into me. I can't see the issue...?

    Why on earth should I park my car arseways because someone comes cringing to me its against the traffic flow? And what difference does it make if its pointing the "correct" way? Its still outside my home! I don't see why I should inconviene myself for no other reason other than pedantry

    This is a classic case of jumping to conclusions without actually seeing the space in question. If we want to look at possible dangers on country roads, how about watercuts overgrown with weeds, a wheel in the ditch overgrown or that silly badger who wanders out infront of you at the last second. At least with a parked car one can see it and manouvere round it accordingly

    I shouldn't have to be pointing out the obvious, let alone about how I parked my own car outside my own home


  • #36
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 24,713 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    That car in question is parked very close to a roundabout, on a footpath and on a bend so its not a good place to park.

    However parking against the flow in normal legal parking spaces I have no issue with it and if I see a parking space on the opposite side of the road I'm certainly not going to drive away to turn and come back to find it gone. Just use your head and be observant and you can get back out of the space if you are able to drive in the first place.
    Iwannahurl wrote: »
    Another weird driving behaviour I see over and over again is motorists crossing to the opposite side of the road at a T-junction and then driving along on the right to access a parking space against the flow of traffic. It's utterly daft, imo, and yet they see absolutely nothing wrong with it.

    If there is no traffic coming the other way I see no issue with the above.


  • Advertisement
  • #37
    Indricotherium
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,575 ✭✭✭Indricotherium


    dgt wrote: »
    Herein lies a problem. My car is parked outside my house. It is a lovely space ideal for a vehicle a lot bigger than my car which happens to be beside the road. As I have pointed out, there is very clear visibility in either direction.

    There have never been complaints about it. The gardai drive by now and again, they never come into me. I can't see the issue...?

    Why on earth should I park my car arseways because someone comes cringing to me its against the traffic flow? And what difference does it make if its pointing the "correct" way? Its still outside my home! I don't see why I should inconviene myself for no other reason other than pedantry

    This is a classic case of jumping to conclusions without actually seeing the space in question. If we want to look at possible dangers on country roads, how about watercuts overgrown with weeds, a wheel in the ditch overgrown or that silly badger who wanders out infront of you at the last second. At least with a parked car one can see it and manouvere round it accordingly

    I shouldn't have to be pointing out the obvious, let alone about how I parked my own car outside my own home

    I think it's slightly more pedantic to think that because you deem the spot outside your home to be safe, that parking against the flow of traffic on country roads, is generally safe.

    Many country roads have poor corner visibility, are narrow, and many people speed on them. Not to mention drink driving. A car parked facing traffic on the wrong side of a country road, is an invitation for someone with poor reflexes, or drunk, in poor visibility to drive down the left of it accidentally.


  • #38
    markpb
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,434 ✭✭✭markpb


    Isabel Millions Cranium wrote: »
    Just use your head and be observant and you can get back out of the space if you are able to drive in the first place.

    If you're parked facing the wrong way and a car is parked in front of you, how can you "be observant" if you can't see anything? You'll be sitting on the wrong side of the car, no forward view and no mirrors that you can use to see around you.

    The reality is that you'll pull out into traffic, blind to incoming cyclists and hope that either nothing is coming or traffic will stop to let you out. Inevitably traffic will be forced to let you out because your snout will be sticking out into the road.


  • #39
    dgt
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,985 ✭✭✭✭dgt


    Indricotherium wrote: »
    I think it's slightly more pedantic to think that because you deem the spot outside your home to be safe, that parking against the flow of traffic on country roads, is generally safe.

    Many country roads have poor corner visibility, are narrow, and many people speed on them. Not to mention drink driving. A car parked facing traffic on the wrong side of a country road, is an invitation for someone with poor reflexes, or drunk, in poor visibility to drive down the left of it accidentally.

    My point is, I park my car facing one way, its dangerous. I park it the other way, its safe. Its still in the exact same spot, just facing the other way. This does not compute with me. Does this make sense to you? This is referring to my own spot, not other spaces that are a danger.

    Besides if its that much of a hazard why are there spaces to pull up? If its to let traffic pass why is someones space infront of the house used in this manner? Not that I agree with most of them, which are silly but in instances like my own spot what is the problem?

    Should I tell the postman he can't park there or more importantly park facing the wrong way for the few seconds?

    On odd occasions the road does become very busy, such as the Slane concert. I have yet to have my car damaged. What is the problem?

    I have seen first hand bins that have been crashed into. Surely thats more of a concern to have such an object beside the road which is poorly visible at night to some? What if they meet another car beside a bin? Chances are they'll clip/hit it

    Find my exact quote where I said all parking on country roads is safe, where I've generalised country road parking. That clearly isn't what I said.

    The best part is I'll still keep parking in my space, regardless of this discussion, as I have done for years, without issue


  • #40
    Del2005
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 19,184 ✭✭✭✭Del2005


    Iwannahurl wrote: »
    So there you are, driving or cycling on the left along a public road, as required by law and custom.

    The vehicle ahead of you turns right, or you go round a corner, and all of a sudden you see a motorist driving towards you on the wrong side of the road.

    Would you:

    (a) scream in fear, break out in an instant cold sweat and come to a screeching halt?
    (b) exclaim angrily and quickly call the Garda Siochana to report the motorist for dangerous driving?
    (c) do nothing, except roll your eyes wistfully, perhaps -- this is Ireland after all and the motorist is only parking their car against the flow of traffic just like everybody else?

    You answered a or b? Did you come down in the last shower? The Irish Rules of the Road, God bless 'em, merely tell us to park in the direction of traffic flow "where possible".

    What a marvellous catch-all get-out clause for swerving across the road and parking at the first handy spot we see. Never mind that we have to drive against traffic to get into it. Who cares that we often can't see properly when leaving the spot, so that we have to pull out into the traffic flow just to get a clear view of the road. Shur isn't it grand?

    TTBOMK parking against the flow of traffic is illegal in South Africa, Japan, New Zealand, and at least some parts of Australia, Canada and the USA.

    I don't know about anywhere else, but I know people from other countries who laugh in derision and amazement that it's not just tolerated in Ireland but completely legal and utterly normal.

    Of course that's a minority view, right?

    354618.jpg

    To be fair our being able to park against the flow of traffic is much more logical, and safe, than the continental law where all vehicles coming from the minor road have right of way unless there's a diamond on the main road or the American requirement for a sobriety test before they can breathalyse you.

    You can look at any countries laws and find things we find completely stupid which they allow and vice versa.


  • #41
    Indricotherium
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,575 ✭✭✭Indricotherium


    dgt wrote: »
    My point is, I park my car facing one way, its dangerous. I park it the other way, its safe. Its still in the exact same spot, just facing the other way. This does not compute with me.

    It's the difference between seeing a car late in low visibility, and thinking it's traveling towards you, and the correct move is to dive left, or thinking that it is traveling away from you and the correct moves are to stop, or dive right.


  • Advertisement
  • #42
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 24,713 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Indricotherium wrote: »
    A car parked facing traffic on the wrong side of a country road, is an invitation for someone with poor reflexes, or drunk, in poor visibility to drive down the left of it accidentally.

    If the car is in off the road then how are they going to make that mistake? Also if visibility is poor how are they going to tell the front from the back of the car?
    markpb wrote: »
    If you're parked facing the wrong way and a car is parked in front of you, how can you "be observant" if you can't see anything? You'll be sitting on the wrong side of the car, no forward view and no mirrors that you can use to see around you.

    Well for a start you survey the situation before sitting into the car and see how traffic is panning out. You can edge out very slowly as not to cause an obstruction to something that doesn't see you and then someone will let you out. You can see up trough the windows of the cars in front of you. You have a passenger to keep an eye for you. That's a few ways.

    Its obviously not ideal but its a crazy thing to have a ban on. People reversing out from their drives is far worse and far more common.


  • #43
    challengemaster
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,930 ✭✭✭✭challengemaster


    dgt wrote: »
    My point is, I park my car facing one way, its dangerous. I park it the other way, its safe. Its still in the exact same spot, just facing the other way. This does not compute with me. Does this make sense to you?

    This is exactly my thoughts on contra-flow parking (which I've never even actually thought about before this thread)

    If you're that bad of a driver that seeing a parked car, clearly parked at the kerb, will cause you to dart off the road and crash into a hedge, wall, or other vehicle - You shouldn't be driving to start with.


  • #44
    Indricotherium
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,575 ✭✭✭Indricotherium


    challengemaster wrote: »
    If you're that bad of a driver that seeing a parked car, clearly parked at the kerb, will cause you to dart off the road and crash into a hedge, wall, or other vehicle - You shouldn't be driving to start with.

    100% Correct and not disputing this.


  • #45
    dgt
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,985 ✭✭✭✭dgt


    Indricotherium wrote: »
    It's the difference between seeing a car late in low visibility, and thinking it's traveling towards you, and the correct move is to dive left, or thinking that it is traveling away from you and the correct moves are to stop, or dive right.

    In all seriousness if a car is in the distance/shortly coming up and one can't tell what side of the road its on, let alone if its switched on or off/moving or stationary, they really shouldn't be on the road.

    That, to me, is far more dangerous than a car parked off the road. They could hit that person walking home from/to the pub or that child chasing the football across the road

    Or cars with blown bulbs/1 working headlight

    Personally I think those are a whole separate issue that would spawn a whole different debate


  • #46
    Iwannahurl
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,156 ✭✭✭Iwannahurl


    Isabel Millions Cranium wrote: »
    If there is no traffic coming the other way I see no issue with the above.

    We could extend that logic to claim that there is no issue with driving on the right unless there's oncoming traffic.

    I'm sure German visitors would love to see road signs with a similar message, instead of the standard Links Fahren ones.


  • #47
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 24,713 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    challengemaster wrote: »
    This is exactly my thoughts on contra-flow parking (which I've never even actually thought about before this thread)

    .

    Same here I can't believe its actually a "thing".
    Iwannahurl wrote: »
    We could extend that logic to claim that there is no issue with driving on the right unless there's oncoming traffic.

    I'm sure German visitors would love to see road signs with a similar message, instead of the standard Links Fahren ones.

    Yes because driving for 50 yards on the wrong side of the road is the same as driving all the time on the right and only moving left for oncoming traffic.

    Whats the difference between what you describe and overtaking? Both involve short spells of time on the wrong side of the road when it is safe to do so. Should we ban overtaking?


  • #48
    savagethegoat
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,297 ✭✭✭savagethegoat


    I got given out to by a passerby in the Isle of Man for backing into a diagonal parking bay..... when I looked every other car was in nose first. Also got given out to for going into the right hand entrance at a petrol station....


  • #49
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 24,713 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    savagethegoat wrote: »
    I got given out to by a passerby in the Isle of Man for backing into a diagonal parking bay..... when I looked every other car was in nose first.

    I assume you pointed out everyone else was wrong.


  • #50
    keithclancy
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,208 ✭✭✭keithclancy


    Crazy.


  • #51
    markpb
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,434 ✭✭✭markpb


    Isabel Millions Cranium wrote: »
    Well for a start you survey the situation before sitting into the car and see how traffic is panning out. You can edge out very slowly as not to cause an obstruction to something that doesn't see you and then someone will let you out. You can see up trough the windows of the cars in front of you. You have a passenger to keep an eye for you. That's a few ways.

    Its obviously not ideal but its a crazy thing to have a ban on. People reversing out from their drives is far worse and far more common.

    That's basically what I said. You wing it, driving out with zero visibility and hoping that you don't hit anyone that you can't see.


  • Advertisement
  • #52
    ofcork
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,477 ✭✭✭ofcork


    The only thing that bothers me about this parking is people who pull in at night like that for whatever reason and leave their lights on.


  • #53
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 24,713 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    markpb wrote: »
    That's basically what I said. You wing it, driving out with zero visibility and hoping that you don't hit anyone that you can't see.

    It's no different to a large number of junctions all around the country with zero visibility until you are out on the road and some of them that I encounter are brand new!


  • #54
    Iwannahurl
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,156 ✭✭✭Iwannahurl


    Isabel Millions Cranium wrote: »
    Yes because driving for 50 years on the wrong side of the road is the same as driving all the time on the right and only moving left for oncoming traffic.

    Pardon?

    Isabel Millions Cranium wrote: »
    Whats the difference between what you describe and overtaking? Both involve short spells of time on the wrong side of the road when it is safe to do so. Should we ban overtaking?

    Overtaking is already banned in certain circumstances.

    IMO parking against the flow of traffic should be banned for similar reasons, though obviously the vehicles being parked, or leaving parking spaces, will be moving at a slower speed than vehicles overtaking (and therefore the relative risks are lower).


  • #55
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 24,713 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Iwannahurl wrote: »
    Pardon?

    50 yards.


  • #56
    Iwannahurl
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,156 ✭✭✭Iwannahurl


    Your claim is that if there is "no traffic coming the other way" then there is no issue with driving on the wrong side of the road.

    The key point -- with both driving and parking against the normal flow of traffic -- is that there is traffic coming the other way, often enough for wrong-way parking to be a nuisance and wrong-way driving to be dangerous.

    Which is why the sensible thing to do is park and drive on the correct side of the road.

    This country is well supplied with road users of all types who think that being on the wrong side of the road is absolutely OK as long as there is no traffic coming. They're not very smart to think that.


  • #57
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 24,713 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Iwannahurl wrote: »
    Your claim is that if there is "no traffic coming the other way" then there is no issue with driving on the wrong side of the road.

    The key point -- with both driving and parking against the normal flow of traffic -- is that there is traffic coming the other way, often enough for wrong-way parking to be a nuisance and wrong-way driving to be dangerous.

    Which is why the sensible thing to do is park and drive on the correct side of the road.

    This country is well supplied with road users of all types who think that being on the wrong side of the road is absolutely OK as long as there is no traffic coming. They're not very smart to think that.

    So what's the difference between overtaking a car wen you can clearly see ahead that nothing is coming and driving on the wrong side of the road for a short period of time when you can see clearly nothing is coming but you are not overtaking.

    Next you will say crossing to the other side of the road while making a right turn should be outlawed as you do after all have to breifly drive on the wrong side of the road.

    You care far too much about the absolute technical nitty gritty of road use rather than just relaxing and getting on with things like the vast majority of people quite happily do.


  • #58
    Iwannahurl
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,156 ✭✭✭Iwannahurl


    Isabel Millions Cranium wrote: »
    So what's the difference between overtaking a car wen you can clearly see ahead that nothing is coming and driving on the wrong side of the road for a short period of time when you can see clearly nothing is coming but you are not overtaking.

    Next you will say crossing to the other side of the road while making a right turn should be outlawed as you do after all have to breifly drive on the wrong side of the road.

    You care far too much about the absolute technical nitty gritty of road use rather than just relaxing and getting on with things like the vast majority of people quite happily do.

    You also think parking on footpaths is OK, though it has been illegal for many years, so I'll take your perspective with a large grain of salt.

    It is of course typical of Irish culture that adhering to the RoTR is regarded as "technical nitty gritty" while doing pretty much what you feel like when you feel like it (eg ignoring speed limits, parking regulations, lines and signs) is seen as being "relaxed" and "happy".

    Other countries have made wrong-way parking illegal for good reason. I'll bet they also enforce it. Here we have both a populace and a police service which regards the existence of such rules as a nuisance at best, which explains an awful lot of what passes for "normal" behaviour on our roads.


  • #59
    ba_barabus
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,618 ✭✭✭ba_barabus


    The big question is, did they have their hazard lights on?


  • #60
    Iwannahurl
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,156 ✭✭✭Iwannahurl


    ba_barabus wrote: »
    The big question is, did they have their hazard lights on?

    That's how motorists signal that they're relaxed, happy and not actually breaking any real rules or getting in anyone's way.


  • Advertisement
  • #61
    ba_barabus
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,618 ✭✭✭ba_barabus


    Iwannahurl wrote: »
    That's how motorists signal that they're relaxed, happy and not actually breaking any real rules or getting in anyone's way.

    It also absolves you of any legal responsibility


Advertisement