To the man who got hit by the car on Father Griffen Road yesterday

dafunk

I was driving behind a car yesterday morning on Claddagh Quay at about half eight when the car in front of me knocked a guy off his bike as he turned onto Father Griffen road. He seemed relatively unhurt but I am sure was very shook up. I felt bad that I couldn't stop as I was in the middle of traffic and there's no where to safely pull in there.

He was adequately donned out in luminous gear and I have no idea how the driver didn't see him unless she did the classic motorist thing that no-one who has ever been on a bicycle would do: turn around a corner without looking in the mirrors for cyclists.

I was a cyclist for years and had numerous incidents of motorists pulling around corners without looking, opening car doors without looking and generally doing really stupid things on the road with no attention paid to cyclists.

Anyway, just wanted to rant really and take an opportunity to say "use your mirrors",cars are big and heavy and people are small and light, if you hit them they break!

Interceptor

Bikes are traffic too. Car drivers are just playing a big video game most of the time and should be avoided as they will kill you.

'cptr

PopeBuckfastXVI

dafunk wrote: »

she did the classic motorist thing that no-one who has ever been on a bicycle would do: turn around a corner without looking in the mirrors for cyclists.

So he was overtaking on the inside when she made her turn?

There's a reason why that's illegal, you could get knocked off your bike...

Xiney

Actually, bikes are allowed to ride between the kerb and the left lane of traffic provided there is enough room.

I did my driver theory test yesterday, it's pretty much hammered into you to watch for cyclists before turning left.

Das Kitty

Equally people crossing the road.

Mirror / Blindspot Checking is a dying art.*

Poor dude on the bike.

* I remember being advised by a girl I used to be friends with when I was applying for my test on mirrors. "You don't need to actually look in them, if you keep bobbing your head about he'll assume you're doing it." :eek: She was the worst driver I have ever encountered, but she did pass her test.

big b

did the driver stop?

04KY

Any damage to the car?

cornbb

That sucks. I aways try to give cyclists a bit of space if I'm overtaking them. Its shocking how many drivers will try to dash past a cyclist and then rush back into his own lane in the face of oncoming traffic, almost squeezing the cyclist off the road in the process.

Fey!

Did the bike have lights, front and back?

If not, the driver might not have been able to see the cyclist, despite the luminous jacket; they're generally only luminous when a light hits them directly.

Did the driver stop? If not, by any chance did you get their reg number?

Cole

cornbb wrote: »

That sucks. I aways try to give cyclists a bit of space if I'm overtaking them. Its shocking how many drivers will try to dash past a cyclist and then rush back into his own lane in the face of oncoming traffic, almost squeezing the cyclist off the road in the process.

This is my biggest issue when cycling around Galway.
Motorists should drive around the cyclist when overtaking, not drive directly past them. It's too close and gives the cyclist no room for error.

I was carried along on the wing mirror of a jeep on St. Marys road for about 10 yards road a while ago. The driver stopped..thank God!..and was very apologetic.
That road is particularly bad...as you pass St Marys school... for this kind of reckless driving. That stretch is narrow enough for cars passing each other, nevermind trying to squeeze past a cyclist at the same time:mad:

I now tend to cycle closer to the centre of the road around town so that motorists can't try to nudge past me in the face of oncoming traffic, they have to wait till it's clear and then go around me.

I'm a very experienced driver btw, so have both perspectives on this.

Mrs OBumble

Xiney wrote: »

I did my driver theory test yesterday, it's pretty much hammered into you to watch for cyclists before turning left.

They hammer on about the mirrors, but don't focus nearly so much on the blind-spot, where cyclists are more likely to be!

TBH, if I was cycling, I wouldn't be making any turns without checking for cars about to turn across me.

Sponge Bob

Cyclists should seek to remain parallel to the left front wing of a car at tight spots or in the middle of the carriageway seeing as they are as fast as rush hour cars anyway .

Coming into blind spots level to rear left passenger doors , where space is constricted , is plain stupid cycling . A Mr Darwin once had a theory about dem lads

Das Kitty

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Coming into blind spots level to rear left passenger doors , where space is constricted , is plain stupid cycling . A Mr Darwin once had a theory about dem lads

Darwin's theory of Silly Cyclists: a lesser known work.

Zzippy

Galway is mad for this, drivers not taking account of cyclists, and cyclists not taking account of anything. I cycle occasionally, and drive a lot more. I would always give cyclists a wide berth when driving, cos I know what its like. So what if you have to drive slowly behind them for a while til its safe to get by... But some drivers in Galway are idiots, and pay no heed to cyclists, or other drivers for that matter.
At the same time, cyclists have to be responsible for their own road behaviour also. Cycling up the inside of a car thats indicating to turn left (I've seen this) is stupid. I won't even start on the number of cyclists who refuse to use a light at night - cycling in the dark with no light and dark clothing, well I'm sorry, you deserve to be killed!

leeroybrown

I won't comment on the actual crash as there doesn't seem to be enough detail to make any judgement on what actually happened.

cornbb wrote: »

That sucks. I aways try to give cyclists a bit of space if I'm overtaking them. Its shocking how many drivers will try to dash past a cyclist and then rush back into his own lane in the face of oncoming traffic, almost squeezing the cyclist off the road in the process.

I cycle in Galway City quite a bit and I have one very particular pet hate. I cycle fairly quickly when road conditions/traffic allow and every so often I am overtaken by an idiot who immediately makes a left turn into a smaller road/lane across the front of my bicycle. A while back I had one who couldn't have cut it any finer without clipping me on the way across. Along with motorists who pull out in front of you without looking they're one of the few hazards that you can do very little about.

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Coming into blind spots level to rear left passenger doors , where space is constricted , is plain stupid cycling . A Mr Darwin once had a theory about dem lads

Strangely, I find that at low speeds in traffic where there is no immediate left turn the blind spot can sometimes be the most useful place to be. The behaviour of the driver tends to be very predictable.

claireeney

I will generally follow cyclists until it is safe to give them a wide berth. and also stay well away from the foot path when driving/stopped. once when i was stopped at lights a cyclist took my inside wing mirror with him when he was passing. have to say most of them have a super attitude problem and i wouldnt blame them. i see the way they get nearly run down every day. then again some of them take the p1ss with no hand signals except rude ones, no helmets, no road awareness whatsoever, wobbling all over the place and general fecklessness.

big b

Mrs Big B told me that yesterday morning, she was walking past Nestors Supervalue & there was a cyclist with a child sitting on the wire parcel rack, weaving between cycling on the road, going up onto the pavement , back onto the road & so on.

Idiotic.

inisboffin

Taxi driver ON THE PHONE actually clipped me going up the Shantalla Rd last week. Dusk. 3 lights, 2 reflectors and a bleedin' reflective jacket on me.
(near misses like this happen frequently btw).

Now,for the other side


I then pass loopy lou on his bike yesterday, HIM chattin' on the mobile, no lights and weaving due to pints

Ok, we could go on with 'bad cyclist vs bad driver stories' all night.

Cyclists: FFS get some lights on yer bikes (and vests if poss), and try to stick to the rules of the road (no stuupid weaving etc)

Drivers: Stop being dicks and treat cyclists with respect, give them room like you would a small car, and overtake carefully.

Bike lanes are nonexistent, few, or crappy. Cyclists already have to compromise the way they should cycle. We want to encourage healthy, efficient travel, right?



Oh, and if ya see bikes fallen over in town, pick them up 4 good karma
Otherwise they end up banana wheeled!

dafunk

The cyclist was on the rhs of the car, yes, probably against the rules of the road but unfortunately in this city there are no (few) cycle lanes and there wasn't enough room for him to go up the inside. He doesn't deserve to get hurt for it though, the pedestrian that doesn't cross at the pelican crossing isn't thought to be at fault for getting run over, it's still the driver's fault. Cyclists go up both sides of cars, particularly in traffic. If you're the driver you should use your mirrors, irrelevant really if the other person is 'at fault'. That wouldn't make you feel better if they ended up seriously hurt.

The car didn't seem to be hurt

leninbenjamin

Fey! wrote: »

Did the bike have lights, front and back?

If not, the driver might not have been able to see the cyclist, despite the luminous jacket; they're generally only luminous when a light hits them directly.

if it were out the country this might serve as an excuse, but ffs, come on, Father Griffin road has a ton of streetlights. a luminous jacket should be more than enough if people were to actually pay attentnion when they drive.

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Cyclists should seek to remain parallel to the left front wing of a car at tight spots or in the middle of the carriageway seeing as they are as fast as rush hour cars anyway .

Coming into blind spots level to rear left passenger doors , where space is constricted , is plain stupid cycling . A Mr Darwin once had a theory about dem lads

Frequently it's impossible to cycle anywhere else as motorists don't give us the room to do anything else. For a while i used cycle considerably well out in the road to make myself visible and stop cars boxing me in left right and centre.

A few things happened, first a lorry nearly killed me on the Barna road. The driver decided the cyclist wasn't worth avoiding and decided to plough straight on through, his wing mirror was inches from clipping my head (it actually brushed off my hair) and he caused me to swerve like ****ing mental due to the turbulence caused by his speed. Very nearly fell into the path of the obligatory tail gaitor while trying to avoid a head on with the kerb** , scarey few seconds while i tried to regain control of me bike.

the second thing was on Taylors hill, at the blind spot by the school coming down the hill. This time it was a taxi driver coming down the hill at about 50 trying to pass me out just after the traffic Island at the Ardilaun. Of course, there was a car coming straight for him in the opposite direction waiting around the corner, and to avoid a head on he decided the life cyclist was worth risking. Cue another mental skid and life flashing before my eyes moment.

a scary amount of motorists in Galway are absolute c*nts when it comes to cyclists, most of them being professional drivers it seems. the dopey yummy mummy type in the big SUVs are another, although their actions tend to come from sheer stupidity as opposed to blatant maliciousness.

Zzippy wrote: »

Galway is mad for this, drivers not taking account of cyclists, and cyclists not taking account of anything. I cycle occasionally, and drive a lot more. I would always give cyclists a wide berth when driving, cos I know what its like. So what if you have to drive slowly behind them for a while til its safe to get by... But some drivers in Galway are idiots, and pay no heed to cyclists, or other drivers for that matter.
At the same time, cyclists have to be responsible for their own road behaviour also. Cycling up the inside of a car thats indicating to turn left (I've seen this) is stupid. I won't even start on the number of cyclists who refuse to use a light at night - cycling in the dark with no light and dark clothing, well I'm sorry, you deserve to be killed!

this is also true. Considering the amount of near misses i've had, i find it ridiculously disturbing how many cyclists will happily cycle straight through reds, endanger the lives of pedestrians by jumping up on down on the paths the whole time, constantly cut cars off at junctions when there's no stopping distance between them, not make themselves visible, etc. etc. no wonder mororists all hate us. I'm beginning to think all cyclists should be obliged to take some form of competency test before they can cycle in public places.

**small note: ever hit a kerb at high speed? my bike once flew over a 10 foot hedge doing that with me head first into the ground. great fun

Zzippy

leninbenjamin wrote: »

if it were out the country this might serve as an excuse, but ffs, come on, Father Griffin road has a ton of streetlights. a luminous jacket should be more than enough if people were to actually pay attentnion when they drive.

The law requires cyclists to use a light front and rear at night - if they don't they're breaking the law simple as. I've lost count of the times I've had a near miss in Galway with a cyclist I couldn't see til the last second because they were wearing dark clothing and had no light.

The rest of your points I agree with. I've had a high speed collision with the front bumper of a car, not a kerb, so I understand very well what happens when drivers don't see/pay heed to cyclists. That driver was a very very high-ranking Garda who would have been a good driver, he was blinded by the setting sun behind me and never saw me, but he still got an earful after I smashed his windscreen and landed on the road beside his door!

Fey!

leninbenjamin wrote: »

if it were out the country this might serve as an excuse, but ffs, come on, Father Griffin road has a ton of streetlights. a luminous jacket should be more than enough if people were to actually pay attentnion when they drive.

It's not that well lit from the turn to the Maxol in Lower Salthill to the fire station. And the roads off it are pretty dark, too.

leninbenjamin wrote: »

**small note: ever hit a kerb at high speed? my bike once flew over a 10 foot hedge doing that with me head first into the ground. great fun

Years ago a friend of the family was cycling in Dublin and got knocked of her bike by a guy opening the door of a van. Despite having a helmet on, she died from her head hitting the corner of the kerb.


Some cyclists, despite their best attempts to be seen, also forget that where they hang their back light on the back of their saddle gets covered by their jacket, making them invisible again!

As for cycling on the right of traffic, this is dangerous as well as being against the rules of the road. My better half had a cyclist go into the rear quarterpanel of her car as she came out of a junction simply because the cyclist was on the right hand side of a stopped truck, and neither cyclist nor driver could see each other through the truck. Added to this, the cyclist had crossed a solid white line, too.

Which reminds me, why would someone (particularly a student) living in Galway need a €2,000 fold up bike that was designed to be used by people who commute on the tube in London?

Also, why do cyclists insist on cycling the wrong way up narrow one way streets in the middle of the road and a) think it's fine, and b) wonder why drivers get pissed off at them?

inisboffin

Fey! wrote: »

Years ago a friend of the family was cycling in Dublin and got knocked of her bike by a guy opening the door of a van. Despite having a helmet on, she died from her head hitting the corner of the kerb.

Sorry - Yeah, I wore a helmet in the States, but tbh got out of the habit here. If I do more cycling in the summer, I am getting one. It was tragic about the person you knew, but statistically, helmets protect you by a HUGE amount. Most serious or fatal bike injuries are head ones I believe.

Some cyclists, despite their best attempts to be seen, also forget that where they hang their back light on the back of their saddle gets covered by their jacket, making them invisible again!

Good point! My driver friends tell me a reflector/yellow waistcoat combo is much better than a little blinky red light though. People also forget if they put stuff on a carrier, and the light is on a saddle post.

Which reminds me, why would someone (particularly a student) living in Galway need a €2,000 fold up bike that was designed to be used by people who commute on the tube in London?

Ha ha! They look cool on d'internet though!
One of my bikes came out of a skip!

Also, why do cyclists insist on cycling the wrong way up narrow one way streets in the middle of the road and a) think it's fine, and b) wonder why drivers get pissed off at them?

To a) Sometimes (as with a certain intersection in town), the cars give NO leeway to a bike turning. I see people take a oneway out of pure frustration.
Personally I get off and walk rather than play 'death-chicken'.
b) I think at a certain point in being frustrated, all drivers and all bikes each become one entity..by this logic, why would 'driverman the asshole' be pissed off when he/she has been far guiltier..just a theory

Sorry, am lost on using multiple quote, but I tried!

leninbenjamin

Zzippy wrote: »

The law requires cyclists to use a light front and rear at night - if they don't they're breaking the law simple as.

very true, but if you can't see a luminous jacket in an area illuminated by street lights, regardless of whether or not they are breaking the law, you're not paying enough attention to the road. simple as.

Fey! wrote: »

It's not that well lit from the turn to the Maxol in Lower Salthill to the fire station. And the roads off it are pretty dark, too.

still enough to make everything relatively visible for the most part. i spent a year cycling out that road at 4am after working weekends in the pub.

Fey! wrote: »

Years ago a friend of the family was cycling in Dublin and got knocked of her bike by a guy opening the door of a van. Despite having a helmet on, she died from her head hitting the corner of the kerb.

I knew someone who suffered a similar fate. it was a Jeep though that hit her.

Fey! wrote: »

Also, why do cyclists insist on cycling the wrong way up narrow one way streets in the middle of the road and a) think it's fine, and b) wonder why drivers get pissed off at them?

that i have no answer to...

ellie2528

Does anyone know more stats on if you should wear a helmet of not? Had some near misses myself with cars, trucks, buses on the spiddal-barna road, they drive so damn close and overtake while there are cars coming - but I heard if you are a girl, and they can see your long hair, they keep a wider distance from you, but if you are wearing a helmet, people tend to take chances and drive closer to you - any thoughts? Do they even help anyway if you get knocked off?

inisboffin

ellie2528 wrote: »

Does anyone know more stats on if you should wear a helmet of not? Had some near misses myself with cars, trucks, buses on the spiddal-barna road, they drive so damn close and overtake while there are cars coming - but I heard if you are a girl, and they can see your long hair, they keep a wider distance from you, but if you are wearing a helmet, people tend to take chances and drive closer to you - any thoughts? Do they even help anyway if you get knocked off?

I am working so haven't time to do supergoogle at the mo , but I can tell you I am 99% sure that it is far far better to wear a helmet than not.
What about short haired girls???:eek:
If we are talking helmet stories, my friend's fella got dragged by a truck that hit him, it GROUND his helmet down to a flat part. Was still badly hurt but that grinding would have been his skull without it.
In a lot of the States it is illegal NOT to wear one, and that is based on safety statistics. Now, if you DO get one, you must get one fitted properly. They are semi useless if they are only half on your head and move around.
I had a couple of 'see stars' spills in the States, and honestly think I would have been badly hurt if I hadn't had one on. If you're a regular cyclist or commute near a lot of traffic, I'd say do it.


WAIT! Have a brilliant idea. Get a wig in the Joke shop and GLUE it on the helmet - dilemma solved!