Hostility towards cyclists

mal1

Someone needs to define hostility. I may be wrong but some posters seem to be stating that they have never experienced hostility on the bike. Whether on the bike, car or walking, I have at some stage experienced hostility. I'm not sure how you could get by without experiencing it. It doesn't have to be hatred or an attempt to injure and kill. Hostility can be more subtle.

Lumen

ROK ON

When I made the post that is partially quoted in the opening post in this thread I did not in fact mean hostility out on the open road. I was referring to off the bike incidents.
I have found that in the past year that when people that I am aquatinted with find out that I cycle, they have berated me for the wrong that this tribe of people called cyclists have inflicted upon society. The other reaction that I find is increasing are people who question whether it is ever safe to cycle - one guy suggested that it was best left to thrill seekers.

The point that I was making is that I have found the increased incidence of this reaction very strange because (1) I have been cycling as a mode of transport since I was 9 and I am now 42, (2) more people are commuting by bike than ever before so these people who berate me must statistically know more people cycling than before.
I really don't know here this attitude has arisen from but it is a dangerous attitude. I think it is partly Born out of frustration with commuting (by bus or car) and partly down to the reinforcement (by helmets and hi viz) that cycling is unsuitably precarious.

I work in an organisation with over 1000 employees. In the depths of winter there is regularly 60 bikes parked in the car park of the main office that houses about 700 of us. There is regularly extensive queues for the showers.

Cycling is a mainstream form of commuting and leisure activity, yet I encounter a growing proportion of people who consider it a semi suicidal aggressive activity practiced by people intent on giving the two fingers to society.
I find it difficult to reconcile these.

ezra_pound

ROK ON wrote: »

When I made the post that is partially quoted in the opening post in this thread I did not in fact mean hostility out on the open road. I was referring to off the bike incidents.
I have found that in the past year that when people that I am aquatinted with find out that I cycle, they have berated me for the wrong that this tribe of people called cyclists have inflicted upon society. The other reaction that I find is increasing are people who question whether it is ever safe to cycle - one guy suggested that it was best left to thrill seekers.

The point that I was making is that I have found the increased incidence of this reaction very strange because (1) I have been cycling as a mode of transport since I was 9 and I am now 42, (2) more people are commuting by bike than ever before so these people who berate me must statistically know more people cycling than before.
I really don't know here this attitude has arisen from but it is a dangerous attitude. I think it is partly Born out of frustration with commuting (by bus or car) and partly down to the reinforcement (by helmets and hi viz) that cycling is unsuitably precarious.

I work in an organisation with over 1000 employees. In the depths of winter there is regularly 60 bikes parked in the car park of the main office that houses about 700 of us. There is regularly extensive queues for the showers.

Cycling is a mainstream form of commuting and leisure activity, yet I encounter a growing proportion of people who consider it a semi suicidal aggressive activity practiced by people intent on giving the two fingers to society.
I find it difficult to reconcile these.

Good post.

I also find that there is a similarity between telling people you're a smoker and telling them you cycle:
"I hope you're careful and wear lights" "it's very dangerous." In a kind of "you do know they're bad for you" way.

DaithiMC

CramCycle wrote: »

While you are right, Ireland is the only country where traffic does not give way at Zebra crossings. Only this morning coming out of Aldi did I see a car driving through a zebra crossing while a pedestrian was waiting. Happens every day at the Clonskeagh exit from UCD. If it was possible I would love for Gardai to set up cameras at zebra crossings and every time a cyclist or car runs through with a pedestrian waiting, they have their car or bicycle scrapped. No fines, no messing, straight to the scrap yard. Had a car try to tip my rear wheel/intimidate me when I stopped to let pedestrians over in UCD and then give me the finger when I looked behind me.

Where is the Zebra crossing at the Clonskeagh side of UCD? There is a traffic light controlled crossing but no Zebra crossing with the white patches painted on the ground. In at least France and Italy I experience cars not giving way to pedestrians at such crossings. In the UK I think they are generally compliant and in Germany pedestrains launch themselves on to these crossings confident cars will stop.

ezra_pound

DaithiMC wrote: »

Where is the Zebra crossing at the Clonskeagh side of UCD? There is a traffic light controlled crossing but no Zebra crossing with the white patches painted on the ground. In at least France and Italy I experience cars not giving way to pedestrians at such crossings. In the UK I think they are generally compliant and in Germany pedestrains launch themselves on to these crossings confident cars will stop.

There's one between the water tower and the clonskeagh gate.

CramCycle

ezra_pound wrote: »

There's one between the water tower and the clonskeagh gate.

That's the one

arybvtcw0eolkf

This thread and the other one on reflective clothing throws up a far more worrying thread than just hostility towards cyclists ~ it shows we have a lot of George Hook listeners on this forum, that's a matter of real concern :eek:

Qualitymark

HivemindXX wrote: »

A number of factors contribute to poor pedestrian behaviour in my opinion. The fact that at a lot of junctions you must wait every time

I know of only one pedestrian crossing where the button causes the lights to change quickly: the one outside the Dáil in Kildare Street.

HivemindXX

Qualitymark wrote: »

I know of only one pedestrian crossing where the button causes the lights to change quickly: the one outside the Dáil in Kildare Street.

There are lots of them. They tend to be the ones in the middle of roads where there are not many pedestrians crossing anyway. It is worth noting that they only change instantly if they haven't been green recently so if you walk up and press the button when the traffic has had free flow for a long time it should go green immediately but if you try that again straight away you will have to wait. The ones near DCU on Ballymun road are like that.

They are rare enough, but there certainly isn't just the one for the TDs to nip across the road as I've seen hinted at before.

Qualitymark

HivemindXX wrote: »

There are lots of them. They tend to be the ones in the middle of roads where there are not many pedestrians crossing anyway. It is worth noting that they only change instantly if they haven't been green recently so if you walk up and press the button when the traffic has had free flow for a long time it should go green immediately but if you try that again straight away you will have to wait. The ones near DCU on Ballymun road are like that.

They are rare enough, but there certainly isn't just the one for the TDs to nip across the road as I've seen hinted at before.

Not hinting at all! Saying! I haven't met any others that regularly change so fast. Mostly I wonder if the buttons are blind, and just there to fool people into waiting!

Edit: the only ones I really believe are the ones with the LED countdown screen. If these were universal, jaywalking could be wiped out.

Hermy

ROK ON wrote: »

...I really don't know here this attitude has arisen from but it is a dangerous attitude...

Frances Fast Tyke wrote: »

...George Hook listeners...

Beat me to it Frances Fast Tyke.

How this guy gets away with openly promoting hostility towards cyclists is beyond me.