What are some good rules/etiquette for new cyclists?

Keep_Her_Lit

Overature wrote: »

DO NOT use the bus lane or road when there is a cycle track availible

DO NOT SELFISHLY and HYPOCRITICALLY drive your private car in the bus lane, Mr. Shouty Highhorse.

jinkypolly

Keep_Her_Lit wrote: »

DO NOT SELFISHLY and HYPOCRITICALLY drive your private car in the bus lane, Mr. Shouty Highhorse.

Ha haaa!

monument

This thread is so great it's nearly making me feel bad for being for the suggested new cycling forum under commuting and transport.

rp

Keep_Her_Lit wrote: »

DO NOT SELFISHLY and HYPOCRITICALLY drive your private car in the bus lane, Mr. Shouty Highhorse.

Ah come on, the government have recognised that compelling cyclists to use cycle lanes is dangerous and counter-productive to the transport strategy, so perhaps they will soon announce the revocation of the following traffic regs?

• Driving in 24 hr bike&bus lanes (whether indicating or not)
• Parking in cycle lanes
• Crossing a red light if its only been red a little while
• Stopping in the ASL area at a light

...and that is just from my commute this morning.

Lusk Doyle

Keep_Her_Lit wrote: »

DO NOT SELFISHLY and HYPOCRITICALLY drive your private car in the bus lane, Mr. Shouty Highhorse.

That has got to be the best put down I've seen around these here parts for quite some time! Kudos and nicely done!

flatface

be careful moving past stopped traffic even when in a cycle lane. Pedestrians and turning cars will pop out from behind buses and vans into your path every so often. I always slow down filtering inside a stopped bus expecting something to attack me and am thankful once in a while.

cdaly_

I mostly pass stopped traffic on the outside where they expect to be overtaken.

Incidentally, today I saw a "Cyclists: Beware of passing this vehicle on the inside" sticker on the back of a truck. Nice to see it being pointed out.

As it happened, I and that truck were turning left at the same time. I was sitting out a car-length in front of it waiting at the lights...

flatface

RT66 wrote: »

There is no queue at lights.
If you're faster than everyone else feel free to take up an advanced position.
What causes pandemonium is slower cyclists elbowing their way to the front and then slowing everyone down when the lights turn green.

Is there really any need for shoaling?
Sit behind the cylists that arrived first and if a) you are faster you will soon breeze past them or b) you are slower you save yourself the indignity of being overtaken after shoaling. Tis a win win.
I do the same for 1 or 2 cars at a lights too - they are gonna take off faster than me so do I really need to get in front and slow them down just to save 20 feet? Seems a bit pointless to me.

rp

flatface wrote: »

I do the same for 1 or 2 cars at a lights too - they are gonna take off faster than me so do I really need to get in front and slow them down just to save 20 feet? Seems a bit pointless to me.

I'd get in front cars solely to avoid sitting there breathing in the noxious fumes they like to pump out their tailpipes.

Hmmzis

flatface wrote: »

RT66 wrote: »

There is no queue at lights.
If you're faster than everyone else feel free to take up an advanced position.
What causes pandemonium is slower cyclists elbowing their way to the front and then slowing everyone down when the lights turn green.

Is there really any need for shoaling?
Sit behind the cylists that arrived first and if a) you are faster you will soon breeze past them or b) you are slower you save yourself the indignity of being overtaken after shoaling. Tis a win win.
I do the same for 1 or 2 cars at a lights too - they are gonna take off faster than me so do I really need to get in front and slow them down just to save 20 feet? Seems a bit pointless to me.

While sitting behind a car or two might at first seem like a reasonable thing to do you are actually endangering your life and limb with that. Just have a thought of what would happen if the driver behind you is on the phone, drunk or just doesn't pay attention and rear ends you and the car in front.

Lumen

Hmmzis wrote: »

While sitting behind a car or two might at first seem like a reasonable thing to do you are actually endangering your life and limb with that. Just have a thought of what would happen if the driver behind you is on the phone, drunk or just doesn't pay attention and rear ends you and the car in front.

Your argument would apply equally to any situation where you're in the flow of traffic.

I think, with respect, it is nonsense.

Dermot Illogical

flatface wrote: »

Is there really any need for shoaling?
Sit behind the cylists that arrived first and if a) you are faster you will soon breeze past them or b) you are slower you save yourself the indignity of being overtaken after shoaling. Tis a win win.
I do the same for 1 or 2 cars at a lights too - they are gonna take off faster than me so do I really need to get in front and slow them down just to save 20 feet? Seems a bit pointless to me.

I'm nearly always faster than cars from the lights. I'll clear the junction before they catch up usually. In Dublin city centre they might not catch up at all.
Why mix it up with them when you can go clear?

flatface

RT66 wrote: »

I'm nearly always faster than cars from the lights. I'll clear the junction before they catch up usually. In Dublin city centre they might not catch up at all.
Why mix it up with them when you can go clear?

I do understand your perspective and if you are not impeding cars taking off then no harm. Just for myself I act as much like a car as I can (without attaching wing mirrors etc.) so that I get treated more like a car (visible object on the road to be yielded to, overtaken properly). And I like when bikes stop behind me, when I'm cycling or driving, so I do the same.

Overature

Keep_Her_Lit wrote: »

DO NOT SELFISHLY and HYPOCRITICALLY drive your private car in the bus lane, Mr. Shouty Highhorse.

hahaha, well played, its just annoying when im on the bus in the morning and a cyclist forces the bus to pull out in to the mainstream traffic. when there is a perfectly good cycle lane there

Hmmzis

Overature wrote: »

hahaha, well played, its just annoying when im on the bus in the morning and a cyclist forces the bus to pull out in to the mainstream traffic. when there is a perfectly good cycle lane there

I can see where you're coming from but I yet have to see a 'perfectly good' cycle lane here in Dublin. The ones I've seen and experienced so far are:

very poorly surfaced,
littered with glass shards and other crap,
end for no good reason without warning,
have all sorts of metal covers on them (lethal when wet),
don't go along the road where I have to go,
make me surrender the right of way,
have illogical and outright dangerous twists and turns in them with kerb jumps.
Also, the segregated ones seem to be mostly annexed by joggers, walkers, dog owners and the odd trash bag, hitting anything at 30-40km/h (my usual commuting speed) is not going to end well for me or the other party (well, except for the trash bags).

So forgive me for having a sense of self preservation, I'd rather play 'chicken' with the buses.