cyclists caused a big traffic jam today

Studoc

astraboy wrote: »

I have seen some high horses in my time on Boards, but you have truly taken 1st place here. How utterly pretentious and condescending the above post is. How dare you think it is ok to hold up a motorist for 45 minutes simply due to the organizers/cyclists/support vehicles of whoever not paying attention. Maybe you life is so empty that you can waste 45 mins of your day off stuck behind someone, but most peoples is'nt. Standing up for peoples actions when they were clearly not showing common courteously to others on the road is only tainting the image of cyclists in general making them out to be those that believe they are above the normal rules of the road. Maybe they did'nt break the Law as set out in the statute book, but they certainly broke the rules of the road as recently published. Such selfish actions help no one.

Astraboy, just because you are in a car does mean you are the most important person on the road. You clearly think otherwise, which I hope is reflected by the number of points on your provisional licence.

peasant

Studoc wrote: »

The self righteous whinging and lack of consideration is coming from another source I think. On a Sunday afternoon, you get "delayed" by 30 - 45 minutes by a large group of cyclists and their support vehicles. Was it a charity ride? Or was it just a group of people out for some fresh air and exercise? Do you think that might be a little more important than you getting to Dublin a few minutes later than expected?

Studoc

I would suggest you tone it down a bit and maybe try to see the motorists point of view.

After all, you don't hold back when you feel delayed on a cycle path , do you?:D

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=55649304&postcount=3

Studoc

peasant wrote: »

Studoc

I would suggest you tone it down a bit and maybe try to see the motorists point of view.

After all, you don't hold back when you feel delayed on a cycle path , do you?:D

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=55649304&postcount=3

Touche! My past comes back to haunt me!

dax101

My suggestions:

1. Buy a faster car.
2. Leave earlier.
3. Drive faster.
4. Overtake aggressively.


Reckon you could shave the 40mins off your time Joe Malone!

Ps I hear the cyclists are organising a monster cycle-a-thon on the N4 every Sunday from now on!

astraboy

Studoc wrote: »

Astraboy, just because you are in a car does mean you are the most important person on the road. You clearly think otherwise, which I hope is reflected by the number of points on your provisional licence.

Never said that, keep your stupid preconceptions to yourself. If you look at my other posts you'll see that I think if everyone on the road showed respect and courtesy to others on the road it would be a lot better. That means me showing cyclists respect and keeping a safe distance(which I do) and cyclists organising an event not causing a 10 mile tailback. Very easy.

And less of the provisional comments, how dare you make assumptions about my license type.:D Going on your pretentious comments I'd say your a great driver.....:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

And o ya I do actually Jog in the cycle lane, but thats due to a lack of decent footpaths in cork.....

heyjude

Joe Malone wrote: »

People, this thread is not about cyclists versus motorists! Its about support vehicles driving at 10mph with hazards on causing a 10 mile tailback.

I got a phone call from Noel Brett, CEO of the Road Safety Authority today stating his concern at what happened and he also advised me that he is taking up the matter with the Superintentant in charge of the traffic corp for the area in An Garda Siochana. Hopefully sense will prevail and this club will be instructed to refrain from such behaviour in future!

And hopefully Mr Brett will be on the phone to the family of any cyclists in such events in future, that without the support vehicles on the outside to 'protect' them from the fast moving traffic, are struck and killed by motorists eager to get to their destination ASAP.

Its interesting that anytime a discussion starts and that old chesnut of "showing respect to other road users" is brought up, its always cyclists or pedestrians or lorry drivers or buses that should be showing respect to car drivers never the other way round, but if you wanna get respect you gotta show respect and a message of "get all the slow traffic out of my way I'm in a hurry" hardly shows respect and neither does the assumption that because you pay road tax you deserve priority over other road users.

Studoc

astraboy wrote: »

Never said that, keep your stupid preconceptions to yourself. If you look at my other posts you'll see that I think if everyone on the road showed respect and courtesy to others on the road it would be a lot better. That means me showing cyclists respect and keeping a safe distance(which I do) and cyclists organising an event not causing a 10 mile tailback. Very easy.

And less of the provisional comments, how dare you make assumptions about my license type.:D Going on your pretentious comments I'd say your a great driver.....:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

And o ya I do actually Jog in the cycle lane, but thats due to a lack of decent footpaths in cork.....

Going on your random use of icons and habit of jogging in the cycle lane,

"Pot, kettle, black."

astraboy

So me wanting to get to my destination quickly makes me selfish?! I for one(and I can only speak for myself) have no problem with cyclists, trucks, tractors etc on the roads. I hang back, keep a safe distance and wait for an opportunity to overtake. That is displaying courtesy. However, if an opportunity arises where the slow vehicle(or event of cyclists) can pull over for a moment and let traffic overtake, and the driver does not take the opportunity, that is complete lack of courtesy to those behind him/her. So indeed, it works both ways.

astraboy

Studoc wrote: »

Going on your random use of icons and habit of jogging in the cycle lane,

"Pot, kettle, black."

I actually only said it to rise ya.:D;) If you knew Cork at all you would know there are no cyclepaths(certainly none in my part of the city). I jog on the footpath which I share with cyclists most of the time......:rolleyes:;)

O heres some more Icons for you.:o:mad::(:):p

Joe Malone

heyjude wrote: »

And hopefully Mr Brett will be on the phone to the family of any cyclists in such events in future, that without the support vehicles on the outside to 'protect' them from the fast moving traffic, are struck and killed by motorists eager to get to their destination ASAP.

Its interesting that anytime a discussion starts and that old chesnut of "showing respect to other road users" is brought up, its always cyclists or pedestrians or lorry drivers or buses that should be showing respect to car drivers never the other way round, but if you wanna get respect you gotta show respect and a message of "get all the slow traffic out of my way I'm in a hurry" hardly shows respect and neither does the assumption that because you pay road tax you deserve priority over other road users.

What?? You cannot presume that cyclists are going to be killed if support vehicles are not on the "outside" t protect them - that is completely over reaching to justify the behaviour of those who blatantly disregarded the rules of the road.
Clearly another "cyclist versus motorist" muppet!

astraboy

Joe Malone wrote: »

Clearly another "cyclist versus motorist" muppet!

They are out in force tonight Joe!

I can imagine these people, sneering at how great they are when they are cycling, while clearly ignoring rules like obeying traffic lights, then sitting into their car and being oblivious to all others on the road. I bet they hate the fact they have to drive, and get no pleasure from driving at all.........

Studoc

astraboy wrote: »

They are out in force tonight Joe!

I can imagine these people, sneering at how great they are when they are cycling, while clearly ignoring rules like obeying traffic lights, then sitting into their car and being oblivious to all others on the road. I bet they hate the fact they have to drive, and get no pleasure from driving at all.........

And of course motorists obey all traffic rules. I agree with you though that driving is not a pleasure. You should get out of your metal cage and try cycling, at least in the city centre.

astraboy

Studoc wrote: »

And of course motorists obey all traffic rules. I agree with you though that driving is not a pleasure. You should get out of your metal cage and try cycling, at least in the city centre.

I walk/jog a lot thanks, in fact I only use my car on weekends really, and that is because I am among a distinct group that stays in the motors forum. We actually enjoy driving! Can you believe that?! We like our "metal cages", we take pride in them, they are our hobby. We spend saturdays cleaning them, Saturday nights in the pub discussing turbochargers, carbon brakes and cubic centimeters.

I used to cycle regularly in the country for fitness/pleasure, and intend to get back into it, but the fact you fail to get any pleasure from driving means you are clearly a person that believes it is always cyclists Vs Motorists, that one cannot get along with the other, that one cannot enjoy both, and that motoring is a chore. For me it is not, I enjoy it, a nice open stretch of road and my alfa romeo makes me a happy man. Motoring can be enjoyable at times, I suggest you try driving, at least in the country.:)

kona

SPD -> shiney paint ->scrapes.........cant we all be just cool??

moan , bitch, cry:D:D:D

why wasnt there a thread about the aul one driving at 10 mph down the howth road today:rolleyes:
thats slower than a bike:D:D:D:D

in fairness you cant justify holding up traffic for 45 mins, although id have a guess that alot of this time was due to a few indecisive drivers who didnt have the balls to overtake:D
and therefore adding to the tailback.

why are some people **** scared to do this??

believe me cyclists get alot more **** off drivers than drivers get off cyclists.

next impatience arsehole up my ass when im on my bike ill just get in front, and cruise in the middle of the road for 5 mins and see what he does.;)

ImDave

kona wrote: »

believe me cyclists get alot more **** off drivers than drivers get off cyclists.

+1 :pac:

_Kaiser_

Righty.. I've read (most) of the thread, and I agree that while the cyclists have every right to stage their event, common sense (something that there's precious little of in this country at times!) should pervail and delaying traffic for up to 45 minutes on a National Primary Road is unacceptable - Sunday or not!

In a similar vein I was held up for 45 minutes on the Sunday of the Paddy's Day weekend outside Kells, because someone decided that staging the local parade at 3pm along this route would be a good idea! :rolleyes: (I suppose all our PC enviornmentally tree-hugging friends on this thread think that's acceptable too?)
Why the parade couldn't have been staged earlier in the day, or routed so as not to affect traffic on both sides of the town is beyond me, but that's Ireland for you.

astraboy

So you use a message board to get back at all us "evil" "planet destroying" "Bastard" car drivers? How quaint.:rolleyes:

In fairness I do see where the cyclists are coming from(thats just me, I'm a nice guy you know, open minded to others points of view:)) especially about cycling in the city. Personally, I try and drive in the city as little as possible, its not fun, and I like to enjoy my drives. I walk to college each day and my car is normally a weekend warrior only, and I have nothing against cyclists. Don'y try and paint me as a raging motorist intent on removing cyclists from the streets. The issue being discussed is this particular event, and the Op even said he had nothing against the event or cyclists. He just did not like being seriously inconvenienced and hindered in his journey by the actions of a group of cyclists oblivious to a 10 mile tailback.

As someone said earlier, its not about the law or the rules of the road necessarily, its about showing common courtesy to others on the roads. Pulling over every so often when safe to do so in the event would have made the OP and the other members of the 10 mile tailback far less stressed and give everyone a better image of cyclists.

Joe Malone

kona wrote: »

SPD -> shiney paint ->scrapes.........cant we all be just cool??

moan , bitch, cry:D:D:D

why wasnt there a thread about the aul one driving at 10 mph down the howth road today:rolleyes:
thats slower than a bike:D:D:D:D

in fairness you cant justify holding up traffic for 45 mins, although id have a guess that alot of this time was due to a few indecisive drivers who didnt have the balls to overtake:D
and therefore adding to the tailback.

why are some people **** scared to do this??

believe me cyclists get alot more **** off drivers than drivers get off cyclists.

next impatience arsehole up my ass when im on my bike ill just get in front, and cruise in the middle of the road for 5 mins and see what he does.;)

Kona, I wouldn't recommend you do this. For a start its completely illegal.
Why would anyone be "up your ass" if you are cycling in a responsible manner? Sounds like maybe you make a nuisance of yourself on the road on a regular basis.
By the way, I expect the "see what he does" part would not be pretty.
Interesting question though. General question: If an ar$ehole (like Kona) decided to cycle in the middle of the road in front of your car for 5 minutes, what would you do?

astraboy

I can assure you there would be much horn blowing and flashing of lights at the offending cyclist from the Astraboymobile Joe! Of course that would be bullying on my part and the cyclists should be allowed do what ever they like, including inconveniencing motorists because they are out for a jaunt.

Studoc

Joe Malone wrote: »

Kona, I wouldn't recommend you do this. For a start its completely illegal.
Why would anyone be "up your ass" if you are cycling in a responsible manner? Sounds like maybe you make a nuisance of yourself on the road on a regular basis.
By the way, I expect the "see what he does" part would not be pretty.
Interesting question though. General question: If an ar$ehole (like Kona) decided to cycle in the middle of the road in front of your car for 5 minutes, what would you do?

Clearly you have not cycled in a while. Cycling in a responsible manner does not mean that you won't have a jackass of a driver three inches from your back wheel.

It's worrying that you think the response to a cyclist riding in the middle of the road (not illegal btw, rude yes) would not be a pretty one. What would your response be? Fume with indignant rage and try to teach him a lesson? Or keep cool and overtake when you could?

astraboy

Cyclist or not being rude has no excuses and therefore the guy deserves a blast of the horn. Hanging from his back wheel would not be safe and I would not do it, I'd keep my distance and I would however overtake when safe to do so and forget about the matter. Intersting how a situation about a rude cyclist has you turning the matter around to be the fault of the driver. And of course the drive is the one with the flaw, turning indignant with rage. "How dare the motorist be on the road at that time.":rolleyes: Theres no such thing as a dangerous cyclist of course...

DJ_Spider

Me and the g/f were returning from fairyhouse market a few weeks ago on the m50. We were passing a slip road when several cyclists came onto the road and stayed on the hard shoulder.

Surely cyclists are not permitted on a motorway? and surely not use the hard shoulder, this is supossed to be for emergencies only. What if we suddenly had a blow out and needed to pull off the main carriageway?

But I might be wrong as I am from the UK and still getting to know the rules of your roads here. :eek:

Studoc

astraboy wrote: »

Cyclist or not being rude has no excuses and therefore the guy deserves a blast of the horn. Hanging from his back wheel would not be safe and I would not do it, I'd keep my distance and I would however overtake when safe to do so and forget about the matter. Intersting how a situation about a rude cyclist has you turning the matter around to be the fault of the driver. And of course the drive is the one with the flaw, turning indignant with rage. "How dare the motorist be on the road at that time.":rolleyes: Theres no such thing as a dangerous cyclist of course...

The person overtaking is responsible for doing so safely, whatever the perceived provocation. And while there may be such a thing as a dangerous cyclist, I have never seen or heard of a driver coming out second best in a collision with one.

astraboy

Fair point, but the actions of cyclists weaving in and out of cars and jumping on and off the footpath when they feel like it(as I've seen in Cork) can cause a crash, and of course it the car driver that will get blamed. We can all make sweeping generalizations about any group on the road, my experience is that the stereotypes rarely live up to the hype. Don't tar all regular drivers as crazy of out to get cyclists or idiots, its ridiculous(though many drivers are idiots!).

axer

The problem I saw with having cyclists 2 a breast when there is a large group from my experience cycling as part of a large group in 2 charity cycles from maynooth to galway city and back again is that the group gets too long. The result of that is cars overtaking the support vehicle and then driving at high speeds past the cyclists increasing the risk of a cyclist losing control, it is also important for junctions etc whereby there cannot be a large period of time before the entire group pass through. Usually for these safety reasons the start and end of the group is kept as close together as possible and the support vehicles stay out further onto the road than the cyclists to protect them.

If a group of cyclists want to cycle then there is no other option but to cycle on the main roads for safety reasons. There safety must come first.

ART6

cyclopath2001 wrote: »

There is no difference in rights according to how much tax you pay. Driving and cycling on the roads is a privilege to be shared.

I entirely agree, but don't privileges have to be earned? Let's share the cost by applying a tax to cycles prorata to the amount of road a bike occupies compared to a car or HGV.
I expect one of our cycling colleagues will claim that they already pay tax for the roads since they also own a car. In my family we have two cars, and we pay tax for both, so why not a tax on both bike and car?

cyclopath2001

ART6 wrote: »

I entirely agree, but don't privileges have to be earned? Let's share the cost by applying a tax to cycles prorata to the amount of road a bike occupies compared to a car or HGV.
I expect one of our cycling colleagues will claim that they already pay tax for the roads since they also own a car. In my family we have two cars, and we pay tax for both, so why not a tax on both bike and car?

To set the rate, I think you'd need to factor in the wear and tear caused to roads, with bicycles causing very little. The amount of road space used productively should be a consideration. Also, how to tax foreign cars?

My estimate would be that my share would be 25 euro, something which the government and motorists might be prepared to waive as the the benefit to motorists of people cycling to work instead of driving means more space for those who have to bring a empty armchair and sofa with them wherever they go and then complain that there's not enough room to pass.

Gegerty

Joe Malone wrote: »

Kona, I wouldn't recommend you do this. For a start its completely illegal.
Why would anyone be "up your ass" if you are cycling in a responsible manner? Sounds like maybe you make a nuisance of yourself on the road on a regular basis.
By the way, I expect the "see what he does" part would not be pretty.
Interesting question though. General question: If an ar$ehole (like Kona) decided to cycle in the middle of the road in front of your car for 5 minutes, what would you do?

Joe Malone - law enforcer

Joe Malone

Civil Defence have conducted an investigation into the affair and have found that the club in question held two events on the day.
One being a charity cycle to Sligo on Saturday which made the return leg to Mullingar on Sunday. This was made up of experienced cyclists. The second was a group of less experienced riders who met up with the experienced ones in Rathowen. The less experienced group obviously had less experienced support people with them who made a complete mess of the event. Red faces all round in Mullingar but lesson learnt I think/hope

Joe Malone

Studoc wrote: »

Clearly you have not cycled in a while. Cycling in a responsible manner does not mean that you won't have a jackass of a driver three inches from your back wheel.

It's worrying that you think the response to a cyclist riding in the middle of the road (not illegal btw, rude yes) would not be a pretty one. What would your response be? Fume with indignant rage and try to teach him a lesson? Or keep cool and overtake when you could?

Wrong again Sudoc. I recommend you read the Rules of the Road before posting such uninformed nonsense. It would be a good idea to study the full book before using the roads and making an idiot out of yourself