Bizarre/Illegal things on motorways

Wild Bill

The chopsticks sign should be enough, as it is in most countries (or some other sign saying "you are entering a motorway".

Putting the pile of details on a sign is daft in English, Irish or both.

Anyone who hasn't read the "Rules of the Road" and doesn't understand motorway restrictions should simply get a one-year driving ban for a first offence.

Though personally, I prefer to simply take them to the nearest wall and shoot them. Especially tractor drivers. :cool:

Robbo

Someone rang in Ray D'Arcy this morning about a cyclist in full spandex gear on the M9. Ray decided that it wasn't dangerous and they were fine.

source

icdg wrote: »

source wrote: »

Same sign is at the entrance of j29 on M7.

With the height restriction?

Unless heading "southbound" perhaps? I know that still gives you two opportunities to exit before the tunnel, but I see no other reason why the height restriction would be signed? There's no general height restriction on motorways...

I'd also question why you'd need to sign a clearway on a motorway...

No, without height restriction, I'll try to get a pic in a while.

nacimroc

Robbo wrote: »

Someone rang in Ray D'Arcy this morning about a cyclist in full spandex gear on the M9. Ray decided that it wasn't dangerous and they were fine.

Heard that and wondered why it didn't dawn on him as to what happens with they get to a slip road! Bike 5 mph, car 80mph = ?!!! He's not the smartest tool in the shed sometimes!

Irish and Proud

Robbo wrote: »

Someone rang in Ray D'Arcy this morning about a cyclist in full spandex gear on the M9. Ray decided that it wasn't dangerous and they were fine.

WTF???

Does he know anything about motorways or driving for that matter?

corktina

Irish and Proud wrote: »

WTF???

Does he know anything about motorways or driving for that matter?

well known cyclist though isnt he!

Iwannahurl

nacimroc wrote: »

Heard that and wondered why it didn't dawn on him as to what happens with they get to a slip road! Bike 5 mph, car 80mph = ?!!! He's not the smartest tool in the shed sometimes!

I was surprised to discover that in the state of Victoria, Australia, cycling is permitted on many freeways with a speed limit of 100 km/h.

Quote:

Cycling is permitted on the shoulders of rural freeways because:

• these areas provide the most practical route for bike riders
• these areas have relatively low volumes of traffic on main roads and entry and exit ramps that bike riders need to cross.

Source: http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/SafetyAndRules/SaferRiders/BikeRiders/PlacesToRide.htm

My perception was that the on/off ramps were the most dangerous stretches, yet Australia (and perhaps Victoria in particular) has a reputation for good road safety standards.

I didn't think much of their urban driving, and their provision for cyclists in Melbourne was often tokenistic IMO. Dooring incidents are common, for instance.

I have no idea why they would invite cyclists onto a freeway, or why cyclists would accept such an invitation. Then again, I can't recall seeing one cyclist in hundreds of kilometres of touring.

Many on/off ramps on dual carriageways (not motorways) in the UK have cycle lanes marked so as to "encourage" cyclists to cross the lanes rather than try to merge with traffic.

Alun

Iwannahurl wrote: »

I was surprised to discover that in the state of Victoria, Australia, cycling is permitted on many freeways with a speed limit of 100 km/h.

It's the same on some highways in Canada if I remember correctly. I seem to remember signs before every exit warning of cyclists crossing the on and off ramps.

baalthor

Robbo wrote: »

Someone rang in Ray D'Arcy this morning about a cyclist in full spandex gear on the M9. Ray decided that it wasn't dangerous and they were fine.

Interestingly Ray (and Ian Dempsey) often have callers to their programmes who say "I'm on the M* but I've pulled over"

Of course maybe they pulled in to the designated parking/rest area on the motorway:rolleyes:

source

icdg wrote: »

That's the tunnel prohibition sign at any rate - the height restriction on it is a dead giveaway.

Sorry for delay in this, been mental the last few days.

munchkin_utd

source wrote: »

Sorry for delay in this, been mental the last few days.

Is that on the slip road itsself or just before it?

i.e. is it replacing the chopsticks on the slip road or the 1 x english and 1 x irish signs with dozens of lines of text of what is and isnt allowed that you find in advance of the motorway entrance?

source

munchkin_utd wrote: »

source wrote: »

Sorry for delay in this, been mental the last few days.

Is that on the slip road itsself or just before it?

i.e. is it replacing the chopsticks on the slip road or the 1 x english and 1 x irish signs with dozens of lines of text of what is and isnt allowed that you find in advance of the motorway entrance?

On the roundabout at the entrance to the slip road.

rameire

Report on Twitter from RTE NEWS at 11.13 today
" Motorists on the M7 Limerick to Dublin Road ( Southbound) are being warned that a car is travelling the wrong direction on the Nenagh bypass"

These people should be banned from driving and their cars should be crushed on the spot.

Cantona's Collars

Saw 3 people walking along the hard shoulder against the flow of traffic on the M11 this morning-They were wearing PRO LIFE t-shirts,bit of an ironic statement if you decide to walk on a motorway.
Passed a guy jogging along it the other day.

Smcgie

Robbo wrote: »

Someone rang in Ray D'Arcy this morning about a cyclist in full spandex gear on the M9. Ray decided that it wasn't dangerous and they were fine.

I agree with him! Why is everyone so concerned about upholding the law on motorways it's the gardas job not yours.

L1011

Smcgie wrote: »

I agree with him! Why is everyone so concerned about upholding the law on motorways it's the gardas job not yours.

Because the Guards do not do regular motorway patrols, and there are a lot of utter idiots who think its safe to cycle on roads where traffic is passing at >=120km/h.

Drafts alone from passing cars is enough to knock a cyclist in to the path of the next one, let alone other risks.

zuroph

Yesterday evening, a cyclist fell off his bike on a footpath and straight out on the road right in front of me. I hit the brakes, it was wet and lucky for him, I stopped in time. that was at 30kph. at 120kph, what would be his odds?

nacimroc

Smcgie wrote: »

I agree with him! Why is everyone so concerned about upholding the law on motorways it's the gardas job not yours.

Looks to the sky and shakes his head!

Because the motorist has to look out for the cyclists safety seeing as they arent smart enough to do it themselves! 'Most' people will swerve/slam on the breaks for people breaking the law and endangering themselves. When you are cycling across a slip road and I have to swerve out of front of traffic doing 80 mph to avoid you, do you still see it as a problem for the gaurds?

I think we should just stop the gardai prosecuting and let natural selection take its course for a year or two. Personally I will scare the living $hit out of a cyclist before I'd consider endanging myself and swerving, but thats just me.

Aidan1

Drafts alone from passing cars is enough to knock a cyclist in to the path of the next one, let alone other risks.

And whatever about cars, drafts from a truck passing by less than 2m away at ~100km/h is really not funny - has to be experienced to be believed. Thankfully you don't tend to see cyclists on Motorways that often, but there should still be a fixed penalty fine sufficiently high to deter all of them.

funnyname

Travelling west on the M6 last night at about 7.45, about 3km after Athlone, spot a Colm Quinn BMW employee (Colm Quinn liveried van pulled up in the hard shoulder was the give away) on the other side of the motorway hammering in Colm Quinn advertising placards into the margin.

Just about to report this to the NRA unless someone can tell me that this legal and that the NRA are making a few bucks from it by selling advertising space on the side of the motorways of Ireland?

Also

I've recently seen a couple of digger drivers working in fields close to the motorway park up for the day on the hard shoulder to get easier access to their digger.

munchkin_utd

funnyname wrote: »

Travelling west on the M6 last night at about 7.45, about 3km after Athlone, spot a Colm Quinn BMW employee (Colm Quinn liveried van pulled up in the hard shoulder was the give away) on the other side of the motorway hammering in Colm Quinn advertising placards into the margin.

Just about to report this to the NRA unless someone can tell me that this legal and that the NRA are making a few bucks from it by selling advertising space on the side of the motorways of Ireland?
.

you can almost be certain its not legal as the NRA previously considered other advertising efforts on the motorway as being distracting, and thus endangering the driving public.
Id say report away. If they get away with it then every chancer will be parking on the side of the motorway and putting up advertisments.

popebenny16

combine harvester on the Nenagh bypass last week. you know how they fly along.

-Corkie-

funnyname wrote: »

Travelling west on the M6 last night at about 7.45, about 3km after Athlone, spot a Colm Quinn BMW employee (Colm Quinn liveried van pulled up in the hard shoulder was the give away) on the other side of the motorway hammering in Colm Quinn advertising placards into the margin.

Just about to report this to the NRA unless someone can tell me that this legal and that the NRA are making a few bucks from it by selling advertising space on the side of the motorways of Ireland?

You are not the first to complain about this...

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=77808789

ardmacha

spot a Colm Quinn BMW employee (Colm Quinn liveried van pulled up in the hard shoulder was the give away) on the other side of the motorway hammering in Colm Quinn advertising placards into the margin.

Report them to the litter warden.

edit There was a pedestrian killed on the M2 near Ashbourne on Sunday. Laissez Faire is all very fine, but this is the result.

funnyname

munchkin_utd wrote: »

you can almost be certain its not legal as the NRA previously considered other advertising efforts on the motorway as being distracting, and thus endangering the driving public.
Id say report away. If they get away with it then every chancer will be parking on the side of the motorway and putting up advertisments.

I sent my email to the RSA who then forwarded it onto the NRA and then I got copied in on their reply to the Roscommon CoCo.

Now it seems daft to me that it had to go through all those channels to get sorted but hey ho, we need a reason to keep people busy in their jobs.

Dear Sir/Madam



The Authority has been notified of the alleged unauthorised erection of signage alongside the M6 west of Athlone.

Please see attached complaint received from Mr Martin Harold.



Such forms of advertising structures, especially outside the 50km/hour speed limit areas, can create traffic hazards by distracting road users travelling at high speeds. Thus, the practice of erecting unauthorised advertising signage along stretches of motorway is unacceptable.



The Authority requests that the Council undertake the statutory obligations set out in Part VIII of the Planning & Development Acts 2000 - 2010 to regularise this matter.



The Authority requests that it is informed of the outcome of investigations into the matters raised in the attached correspondence..



Kind regards

X X

Programme & Regulatory Unit

Dirigent

Saw a SUV driving along a relatively empty stretch of the M50 one morning last week, in the overtaking lane, with the two inner lanes empty.

Unusual? No.

However this SUV had a logo: "GARDA TRAFFIC CORPS".

yer man!

I didn't know guards could pull people over on the motorway, was driving down the M18 a few weeks ago at 120km/h and a guard was standing in the middle of my lane, had to move to the overtaking lane to avoid him, he was waving in the car behind me. I just thought is was very dangerous.

Robbo

Someone contacted Ray D'arcy this morning, saying they think they saw a dead monkey on the hard shoulder of the M6, just east of Athlone in the Galway-bound carriageway.

Being a safety conscious chap, Ray warned people not to fixate on the hard shoulder looking for it to confirm it's genus. However, if they did see it, he asked them to pull in for a gawk.

Robbo

Robbo wrote: »

Someone contacted Ray D'arcy this morning, saying they think they saw a dead monkey on the hard shoulder of the M6, just east of Athlone in the Galway-bound carriageway.

Being a safety conscious chap, Ray warned people not to fixate on the hard shoulder looking for it to confirm it's genus. However, if they did see it, he asked them to pull in for a gawk.

"Don't look, but there's a dead monkey on the side of the road!"
Who’s NOT going to look. :rolleyes: