Be careful on your bike...

sparkman

Cycling from Plassey into town yesterday:

1. As I cycled on the cycle-lane alonq the main Plassey road, a white Honda Civic accelerated as it approached me from the Kilmurry road, obviously hoping it would intimidate me enough to stop & let him through. I didn't. He braked hard at the last minute, stopping about 2 feet from me.

2. On the main Castletroy roundabout, where the cycle-path ends at the zebra-crossing, I was walking with the bike across the zebra crossing. When I started on the zebra crossing, there were no cars on the roundabout, by the time I was halfway across, in the middle of the opposite half of the road, a gold Honda CRV came flying off the roundabout and beeped at me. Apparently I was in her way. After all, zebra crossings don't count if you're pushing a bicycle with one hand.

3. I was standing on the path outside the Parkway wondering if the traffic looked safe enough to attempt entry onto the road when the occupants of a passing mini-van shouted something at me.

4. At the right turn from Parnell St. onto Davis St. I spotted a tribe of pygmy-scobe. As I cycled past them, a take-away milk-shake cup was thrown at me.

I cycle home on this route every evening. Every single day I encounter some kind of hassle, whether it's a Bus Eireann coach driver lurching his bus at me while I was in front of him on the zebra crossing (also at Castletroy roundabout) or people beeping at me as I try to stay a safe distance out from parked cars in case a door opens or pedestrians who refuse to move even slightly out of the way on the cycle paths.

I know all about the cyclists who don't have lights, ignore road rules and take over the footpaths. I'm not one of them and this thread isn't about them. Sorry this is so long. Needed to vent.

Hagar

Face it, you're jinxed.

knightmare

Unfortunately Sparkman, what you have descibed is just the harsh reality of being a cyclist in Ireland.
God forbid we would have cycle lanes that extended for more than 300 meters before dissapearing & leaving you at the mercy of a narrow road and speeding motorists. If it were me I would cycle on the footpath all the time

Insect Overlord

I've done a fair bit of cycling on the Caherdavin side of the city, and usually take a route down the entirety of Henry Street to the Ennis Road, and luckily enough I've had no such trouble. There's plenty of ignorant drivers who pull out suddenly, but they're the same type who cut in front of other cars too.

The only abuse I've ever got was from a pair of "pygmy skobes" (love that term btw!) who told me to get a hair-cut as I sped past them, because apparently I'm some kind of hippy.

Raiser

I know from standing patiently in the rain [no traffic lights/pedestrian crossing] at the roadside on the opposite side of the road to my little 'uns Creche carrying an infant, a 3 yr old, multiple bags blankets toys and various paraphernalia that Limerick Drivers have to be the most ignorant, self-absorbed, fúck-witted cúnts on this Planet......

.....You're lucky to be allowed to pass between cars when they are actually at a standstill in traffic :rolleyes:

Our Eastern European visitors will happily let you pass with a smile and a wave - which I appreciate no end......

Jumpy

Raiser wrote: »

Our Eastern European visitors will happily let you pass with a smile and a wave - which I appreciate no end......

Thats because they are drunk.




I jest...I jest...

Dress yourself up to look like a Gardai. Not too much of course, that is illegal, but enough that a passing glance makes people think you are one. I get a lot less hassle that way.

the drifter

the one thing i will say about the crossings on the roundabouts is i refuse to stop at them for the simple reason that of i do there is a good chance im going to get hit by some idiot from behind..if they were moved another 10ft from the roundabouts id be happy but in there current position...not a chance will i stop unless there are people already crossing...

MarkR

the drifter wrote: »

the one thing i will say about the crossings on the roundabouts is i refuse to stop at them for the simple reason that of i do there is a good chance im going to get hit by some idiot from behind..if they were moved another 10ft from the roundabouts id be happy but in there current position...not a chance will i stop unless there are people already crossing...

So you would knock someone down?

The pedestrian crossing is there, and people have a right to use them. They are in a sill place all right, but I'd prefer to get my car hit rather then hitting someone else.

Raiser

the drifter wrote: »

the one thing i will say about the crossings on the roundabouts is i refuse to stop at them for the simple reason that of i do there is a good chance im going to get hit by some idiot from behind..if they were moved another 10ft from the roundabouts id be happy but in there current position...not a chance will i stop unless there are people already crossing...

Why are you arriving at a Roundabout so quickly that its unsafe to stop?

Why not look out of the windscreen occasionally so that you can see Roundabouts etc. in the distance in advance and approach them at a safe speed?

What would you do if a [thick admittedly] child ran out in the roadway after a soccer ball?

- I've an idea that events outside of your 1.5 tons of shiny metal are incidental to you, the tunez of Spin SW and your quest to get to work on time :rolleyes:

the drifter

i never said i couldnt stop safely...its the idiots behind me im worried about twice at the parkway i have gritted my teeth as the car behind me slapped on the brakes and barely stopped in time. as i said above if there was someone on the crossing i would stop...if there was someone waiting to cross and my rear view mirroor present a car i didnt think could stop in time...i wouldnt stop...

- I've an idea that events outside of your 1.5 tons of shiny metal are incidental to you, the tunez of Spin SW and your quest to get to work on time

i totally agree with you there Rasier alot of people in limerick have no clue whats going on around them...

i once had a woman( not indication women are bad drivers it just happened to be one) pass me in the "fast" lane on the bypass in the morning...in here 08 car with L plates doing her lipstick while her child was in the back seat...

the drifter

MarkR wrote: »

So you would knock someone down?

The pedestrian crossing is there, and people have a right to use them. They are in a sill place all right, but I'd prefer to get my car hit rather then hitting someone else.

Totally agree here which is why i said i would stop if there was someone already crossing.....

Berty

To be fair to the road users of the Dublin road, the zebra crossings on those two roundabouts are badly placed and dangerous to both pedestrians and road users.

They have caused many crashes but not involving pedestrians just by cars in general.

Scobes eh. Dont you just love them? Dont worry, a life of little reward will be enough punishment for them.

the drifter

knightmare wrote: »

If it were me I would cycle on the footpath all the time

Is there a specific reason more cyclists dont do this? as in is there a law against it? i know its not the place for a bike but it is safer...

Mc Love

Anyone see the crossing at the crescent shopping centre? Not the one with the zebra crossing/flashing lights. The one where its just two lines parallel to each other going across the road.

Do people stop here and are you supposed to stop? There is no signs etc.

Berty

sparkysrovers wrote: »

Anyone see the crossing at the crescent shopping centre? Not the one with the zebra crossing/flashing lights. The one where its just two lines parallel to each other going across the road.

Do people stop here and are you supposed to stop? There is no signs etc.

I dont stop because you are not required to stop. Pedestrians do not have right of way here. It is only a suggestion of where to cross safely. Some pedestrians walk out in front of you expecting you to stop though.

Mc Love

I know ya!! I never stop unless i am stopped in traffic! But the mother was in the car with me, and i had a argument that it wasnt a pedestrian crossing!! Fecking amnesty licence holders!

phog

the drifter wrote: »

the one thing i will say about the crossings on the roundabouts is i refuse to stop at them for the simple reason that of i do there is a good chance im going to get hit by some idiot from behind..if they were moved another 10ft from the roundabouts id be happy but in there current position...not a chance will i stop unless there are people already crossing...

So if people are waiting to use the crossing there's a danger you'll get rammed but if you stop for someone that's actually crossing the danger is elimated.

phog

Berty wrote: »

To be fair to the road users of the Dublin road, the zebra crossings on those two roundabouts are badly placed and dangerous to both pedestrians and road users.

They have caused many crashes but not involving pedestrians just by cars in general.
Scobes eh. Dont you just love them? Dont worry, a life of little reward will be enough punishment for them.

The crashes had nothing to do with driver behaviour just the positioning of the pedrestian crossings? I've heard it all now.:eek:

Berty

The crossings were placed without much thought following a dangerous manoveur by students whom painted the road with their own white lines one night causing 17 crashes the next day whilst they crossed over and back all day to prove a stupid point.

One thing I will say in defense of the students attack on the road is that their location for the crossing was only in one place and was in a much better location further away from the roundabout.

baza1976

Jumpy wrote: »

Thats because they are drunk.




I jest...I jest...

Dress yourself up to look like a Gardai. Not too much of course, that is illegal, but enough that a passing glance makes people think you are one. I get a lot less hassle that way.

bit too much YMCA for me.. do wear the mock tash too??? lol

Limerick Bandit

@ sparkysrovers do you wear a visi vest?
Its dark out there these days

LB

DarkJager

phog wrote: »

The crashes had nothing to do with driver behaviour just the positioning of the pedrestian crossings? I've heard it all now.:eek:

May I point you to the fine example of bad planning on the bridge near Jurys Inn?

Amazotheamazing

Berty wrote: »

The crossings were placed without much thought following a dangerous manoveur by students whom painted the road with their own white lines one night causing 17 crashes the next day whilst they crossed over and back all day to prove a stupid point.

One thing I will say in defense of the students attack on the road is that their location for the crossing was only in one place and was in a much better location further away from the roundabout.

I disagree, in most of the European countries I've visited there are pedestrian crossings at the same positions on roundabouts as Limerick. In France they don't even bother with pedestrian lights, cars just stop for pedestrians anyhow.

It makes sense to have them there, cars are supposed to slow approaching a roundabout and not pick up speed until they are off them.

It's not the planners fault that most Irish drivers want to be above the law while simultaneously being awful drivers.

DarkJager

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

I disagree, in most of the European countries I've visited there are pedestrian crossings at the same positions on roundabouts as Limerick. In France they don't even bother with pedestrian lights, cars just stop for pedestrians anyhow.

It makes sense to have them there, cars are supposed to slow approaching a roundabout and not pick up speed until they are off them.

It's not the planners fault that most Irish drivers want to be above the law while simultaneously being awful drivers.

Its not a pedestrian crossing on a roundabout, its a pedestrian crossing on a blind corner which has been very badly planned.

Azphyxi8

There is nothing wrong with the pedestrian crossings. Drivers need to be cautious on a roundabout so they shouldn't be speeding approaching any of these crossings.

They are cleary markedand driver error would be the only cause of an accident.

Berty

So all the crash's since the introduction of the crossings have nothing to do with the crossings themselves, it must be the drivers who oddly enough did not crash so much when the crossings did not exist.

The crossings are too close to the roundabout. Its as simple as that. The only reason the one at the parkway roundabout works so well is that traffic is nearly constantly moving at snails pace unlike the Groody roundabout.

oh well

"It makes sense to have them there, cars are supposed to slow approaching a roundabout and not pick up speed until they are off them"

the problem is that after you've gone around the roundabout, and you are just picking up speed to ensure the roundabout is free for the next people coming onto it, you have to slam on breaks to allow pedestrians cross the road. Its not the crossings before the roundabout that I see as a problem, its the crossing coming as you exit the roundabout.

Taking the Jurys Inn as example, come down the hill, onto roundabout and try exit quickly so that the cars coming onto roundabout from dock road - agggghhhh, theres a pedestrian crossing the road.

phog

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

I disagree, in most of the European countries I've visited there are pedestrian crossings at the same positions on roundabouts as Limerick. In France they don't even bother with pedestrian lights, cars just stop for pedestrians anyhow.

It makes sense to have them there, cars are supposed to slow approaching a roundabout and not pick up speed until they are off them.

It's not the planners fault that most Irish drivers want to be above the law while simultaneously being awful drivers.

Berty wrote: »

So all the crash's since the introduction of the crossings have nothing to do with the crossings themselves, it must be the drivers who oddly enough did not crash so much when the crossings did not exist.

The crossings are too close to the roundabout. Its as simple as that. The only reason the one at the parkway roundabout works so well is that traffic is nearly constantly moving at snails pace unlike the Groody roundabout.

Why isn't it an issue in other countires (as posted by Amazotheamazing), a few years back I holidayed in Poole is southern England and on the way to our caravan site we had to negotiate a roundabout just of a roundabout, something like a figure 8 and we cant deal with a simple pedrestrian crossing.

Amazotheamazing

oh well wrote: »

"It makes sense to have them there, cars are supposed to slow approaching a roundabout and not pick up speed until they are off them"

the problem is that after you've gone around the roundabout, and you are just picking up speed to ensure the roundabout is free for the next people coming onto it, you have to slam on breaks to allow pedestrians cross the road. Its not the crossings before the roundabout that I see as a problem, its the crossing coming as you exit the roundabout.

Taking the Jurys Inn as example, come down the hill, onto roundabout and try exit quickly so that the cars coming onto roundabout from dock road - agggghhhh, theres a pedestrian crossing the road.

But that's bad driving, you shouldn't be speeding off a roundabout and the car behind you shouldn't be forcing you to drive faster.

The car behind me isn't my concern, what's infront of me is, within reason.

concussion

the drifter wrote: »

Is there a specific reason more cyclists dont do this? as in is there a law against it? i know its not the place for a bike but it is safer...

Specifically, it's against the law. Footpaths are for pedestrians, roads are for traffic. Cyclists on footpaths are a danger to pedestrians.

Amazotheamazing

Berty wrote: »

So all the crash's since the introduction of the crossings have nothing to do with the crossings themselves, it must be the drivers who oddly enough did not crash so much when the crossings did not exist.

The crossings are too close to the roundabout. Its as simple as that. The only reason the one at the parkway roundabout works so well is that traffic is nearly constantly moving at snails pace unlike the Groody roundabout.

The crashes are occurring because people aren't taking due caution on the roads. Pedestrian crossings have bright flashing orange lights, if you can't see them you shouldn't be on the road.

I'll say it again, you shouldn't be speeding off a roundabout.