Who is more dangerous to a cyclist?

Raam

daymobrew wrote:

I am a regular called to TrafficWatch. On a few occasions the investigating Garda has asked me to come in and make a statement. They generally appreciate the report and statement. It can slowly make a difference.
I report red light breaking, dangerous driving, and illegal turns (when they cross active pedestrian crossings).

I've read your posts, you're definitely excluded from the "most of us don't" part of my post!

cunnins4

That was my most recent near killer on the bike. Going down o'connell street the other day and a massive gust of wind struck me from the side and the bike just pulled from the left of the road to the right. Absolutely nothing i could do. It lasted all of two seconds, but that was enough to send me straight across any traffic. Luckily i was about 50 yards ahead of any traffic at the time.

Other than that, i'd say boy racers closer to my home are my worst enemy on the road. Stupid cocks just don't give a toss about anyone except themselves. Give them a wide birth.

fade2black

My bike is magic - I bet you're all jealous.

As soon as I sit on it, I become invisible.

ambro25

I don't cycle, I have a (motor)bike, but after close to 2 years of 2-wheel commute in the heart of Dublin, firstly on an electric (silent) moped and now a (much louder) 125cc maxi-scoot, I can fully relate to the iPod'ed / SMS'ed / Phone'd up oblivious pedestrian as highest risk (in this debate, might a difference be made between "risk to a cyclist" and "something" which is dangerous of itself, such as a moving lorry? ).

Drivers (of all things 4-wheeled) are bad enough as it is, and on some days (like last night for instance) you'd swear its either a generalised bad case of mixed-sex PMS, or a generalised terminal case of the blinkers, but for pedestrians... don't they teach kids at school to look both ways anymore?

'Been 4-wheel driving 17 years and thankfully, I got onto a bike only recently in my driving career, so that I have the benefit of quite a bit of "road-reading" experience accrued over the years by now, but you just cannot predict / 'compute' for the oblivious pedestrian, whom you've observed for the last 10 seconds or so walking on the pavement in a straight line with their back to you, suddenly deciding to cross the road less than 10 meters in front of you without even pausing to look :mad:

Victor

ambro25 wrote:

I can fully relate to the iPod'ed / SMS'ed / Phone'd up oblivious pedestrian as highest risk (in this debate, might a difference be made between "risk to a cyclist" and "something" which is dangerous of itself, such as a moving lorry? ).

And watch out for the iPod'ed / SMS'ed / Phone'd up oblivious cyclist / driver also.

They should fit a water cannon to the front of Luas trams.

ambro25

Victor wrote:

And watch out for the iPod'ed / SMS'ed / Phone'd up oblivious cyclist / driver also.

Whereas it's easy enough to understand why a pedestrian would be iPod'ed / SMS'ed / Phone'd (but that doesn't excuse their lack of peripheral awareness), these should be prosecuted (putting the mobile phone thing aside, it's illegal in numerous countries for both cyclists and motorcyclists to be iPod'ed / SMS'ed / Phone'd ) and I've absolutely no sympathy whatsoever for those that are run-over because of it.

All same contestants for the Darwin Awards, far as I'm concerned.

daymobrew

ambro25 wrote:

I can fully relate to the iPod'ed / SMS'ed / Phone'd up oblivious pedestrian as highest risk

I saw, on Lower Liffey St, a small ad asking Luas users to look around when crossing the tracks. The photo was of a woman texting. The ad was on a cigarette bin outside a pub.

RainyDay

ambro25 wrote:

Whereas it's easy enough to understand why a pedestrian would be iPod'ed / SMS'ed / Phone'd (but that doesn't excuse their lack of peripheral awareness), these should be prosecuted (putting the mobile phone thing aside, it's illegal in numerous countries for both cyclists and motorcyclists to be iPod'ed / SMS'ed / Phone'd ) and I've absolutely no sympathy whatsoever for those that are run-over because of it.

All same contestants for the Darwin Awards, far as I'm concerned.

I've seen more than 1 cyclist texting while cycling in Dublin city. :eek:

Traumadoc

Any injuries I have seen with cyclists are due to cyclists just falling over- I usually dont get to see cyclists vs trucks - they tend to go straight to the coroner.

Bettyboo2u

RainyDay wrote:

I've seen more than 1 cyclist texting while cycling in Dublin city. :eek:

I have seen this too. Crazy people! Just to add another tangent to the post where would everyone consider to be a dangerous stretch of road to cycle on. My main pet hate is the quays (no coincidence this is where the pedestrian stepped into my path!).

While the collision happened on the North Quays i find the stretch alongside Guinness on the South Quays the most dangerous and nerve racking place to cycle. The traffic on this stretch goes far too fast, it can be very difficult and dangerous to cross from Guinness’s to enable you to be in a position to cross the bridge onto Parkgate st. If you decide to cycle on the riverside side of the road the space between the parked trucks and the traffic is very narrow. If you then add to this the speed of the traffic I’m surprised more cyclists are not injured on this stretch.

beans

it can be very difficult and dangerous to cross from Guinness’s to enable you to be in a position to cross the bridge onto Parkgate st. If you decide to cycle on the riverside side of the road the space between the parked trucks and the traffic is very narrow.

You should be positioning yourself at the left-hand side of the right-hand lane. Not trying to cut across when traffic permits, nor on the right-hand side between the passing traffic and the trucks. Pick the lane you need to be in, stick to it, and let them pass you on the right if they want to. Try to ignore the horns and the curses.

GreeBo

beans wrote:

You should be positioning yourself at the left-hand side of the right-hand lane. Not trying to cut across when traffic permits, nor on the right-hand side between the passing traffic and the trucks. Pick the lane you need to be in, stick to it, and let them pass you on the right if they want to. Try to ignore the horns and the curses.

should be, but as you imply, its not easy sometimes
Same thing happens in harrolds cross travelling towards the bridge, there is a bus lane on the inside and then another lane.
If you want to turn right at any stage you need to be in the right hand lane, but you will get blown out of it by cars.
Also approaching Terenure village from Rathfarnham village, same deal.
Anyone know "the law" on this?

Bettyboo2u

beans wrote:

You should be positioning yourself at the left-hand side of the right-hand lane. Not trying to cut across when traffic permits, nor on the right-hand side between the passing traffic and the trucks. Pick the lane you need to be in, stick to it, and let them pass you on the right if they want to. Try to ignore the horns and the curses.

Not sure if you cycle this route beans but there is three lanes. One bus lane and two other lanes. As i said previously to cycle on this stretch is to take your life in your hands. The traffic on this stretch goes far too fast to notice a cyclist and most of the time the traffic will not give space to a cyclist as they seem to jockey for position to turn either left or right.

beans

Yeah, it's not an easy stretch of road to cycle. To clarify, I would advocate the LHS of the third lane from the left. I cycle that stretch whenever I'm leaving town.

Sometimes you have to act like a normal roaduser. You wouldn't see a car travelling along the bus lane before cutting across two lanes to make the turn required, so you won't see me doing similar on the bike. It's a dangerous stretch on reflection. Helps to get a good bit of speed up so that the cars don't try anything too mental to pass you out. Blocking the lane would probably be easier but not necessary, there's room for everyone if you do it right.

Civilian_Target

beans wrote:

Sometimes you have to act like a normal roaduser. You wouldn't see a car travelling along the bus lane before cutting across two lanes to make the turn required, so you won't see me doing similar on the bike.

That's a good philosophy, I use it quite a lot. Sure, you get beeped at frequently, but that doesn't reduce your rights, nor does it compromise your safety. It may be slow and smelly, but it works, and it's a tactic I frequently use on multilane roundabouts (yes, in the UK they have cycle lanes leading into multi-lane roundabouts, and cyclists are expected to use them the same way as everyone else!)