We're being slaughtered again...

ThisRegard

Very apt given the thread title, but tuning in to Joe Duffy for my dose of afternoon misery to see he has the following come up (given his track record, subjects mentioned in tweets aren't always on the show)

https://twitter.com/Liveline_RTE/status/587587296200957952


EDIT: Just to say the thread title is not mine !

eeeee

^^^^ oh god. Time to divest myself of my faith in humanity...

ThisRegard

I'm tellin' ya, someone will say "They don't even pay road tax Joe".

manafana

ThisRegard wrote: »

Very apt given the thread title, but tuning in to Joe Duffy for my dose of afternoon misery to see he has the following come up (given his track record, subjects mentioned in tweets aren't always on the show)

https://twitter.com/Liveline_RTE/status/587587296200957952

"are cars still taking up the road?, can a road be crossed without worry of being hit by these speedy cars sometimes overtaking each other and emitting toxic chemicals"

lennymc

but cars pay road tax

manafana

lennymc wrote: »

but cars pay road tax

you have me there :P

sure bloody cyclists be ripping up the roads riding like mad men.

ThisRegard

Ok, it's on now, prepare for the madness and idiocy.

AIR-AUSSIE

ThisRegard wrote: »

I'm tellin' ya, someone will say "They don't even pay road tax Joe".

We need a sound bite for the thread in fairness.

OldBean

ThisRegard wrote: »

Ok, it's on now, prepare for the madness and idiocy.

I've an afternoon of invoicing to do. It's going to be perfect background noise.

neris

on whineline

Pinch Flat

neris wrote: »

on whineline

Let me guess - post race analysis of Paris Roubaix?

daragh_

Despite my best efforts I managed to catch a few minutes...

So, Cyclist.ie - The Irish Cycling Advocacy Network doesn't think Cyclists should ride 2 abreast. Interesting.

Also he was pretty dismissive of racing cyclists out training etc

Bit disappointed with that tbh.

eeeee

I think it's hilarious that the cycle guy they got in advocated equivocally against road and racing cyclists :rolleyes:

Also guards on scooters is the answer to cycling ilegallities (sp?) apparently...

ThisRegard

gadetra wrote: »

I think it's hilarious that the cycle guy they got in advocated equivocally against road and racing cyclists :rolleyes:

That was funny, racing guys are a different breed altogether, he had no time for racers. He then went on to talk about how he was in the 'fast lane' of some road.

He didn't really do much good in fairness.

RobertFoster

gadetra wrote: »

Also guards on scooters is the answer to cycling ilegallities (sp?) apparently...

Mopeds or micro scooters?

evilivor

gadetra wrote: »

I think it's hilarious that the cycle guy they got in advocated equivocally against road and racing cyclists :rolleyes:

Also guards on scooters is the answer to cycling ilegallities (sp?) apparently...

He was also against cyclists riding two abreast.

eeeee

ThisRegard wrote: »

That was funny, racing guys are a different breed altogether, he had no time for racers. He then went on to talk about how he was in the 'fast lane' of some road.

He didn't really do much good in fairness.

Nope. It seems incredible they couldn't get an advocate for all kinds of cyclists on the show. As a mod on here said- "we're all friends on two wheels". I nominate CramCycle to be the cyclist advocate on the next whineline!

On the scooter guards, I think Ursula on a mini scooter should do the job :pac:

ThisRegard

Ursula was awful. I'm in Longford a lot and the roads are so empty and quiet for the the most part she really is just one of those mad whingers because she had to slow down for a bit.

OldBean

He also didn't know whether it was legal to overtake a cyclist on a continuous white line or not, and didn't argue the point that as cyclists, we shouldn't have to "give over the road".

But there was some points that he did well with, and Joe himself wasn't as bad as I'd thought he would be.

spyderski

Where did they get this idiot "expert" from....?

Beasty

I've moved a number of posts on this topic from the off-topic thread

Chips Lovell

Listening to Liveline is like sticking your hand into the fire and complaining that it burns.

RobFowl

Jep Gambardella wrote: »

Listening to Liveline is like sticking your hand into the fire and complaining that it burns.

But it burns, burns I tells ya

manafana

All road users need educating anyway a cyclist most likely can only kill himself, someone in car can do far more damage so should be held to higher standard, was nearly clipped by guy on his phone the last day. Anyway liveline isnt the place for fair debate

colm_gti

Nobody pays road tax

daragh_

Guards on Scooters would be great - but only if we are allowed to Motor-pace them.

eeeee

daragh_ wrote: »

Guards on Scooters would be great - but only if we are allowed to Motor-pace them.

They should be colour coded for different speeds too, eg. red ones for 35, blue for 40 etc.

It's the only reasonable way forward!




Re Ursula's Longford rage, it's a hideous place to cycle, mostly because whilst the non-main roads are quiet, drivers are also not at all used to cyclists, and very used to flying down a 'road' with grass growing in the middle of it at 80kph, +even if they're in a hurry/know the road well/doing a boy racer TT. I know plenty who do it, I'm even related to some of them I suspect Ursula may be amongst their number.

Hunterbiker

RobFowl wrote: »

But it burns, burns I tells ya

Talk to Joe...

ThisRegard

manafana wrote: »

Anyway liveline isnt the place for fair debate

That's putting it mildly.

gunner0098

RobertFoster wrote: »

Mopeds or micro scooters?

Nope - Segways

NBar

I pay more road tax on 3 cars than those bigoted a**holes do ringing up that pathetic radio show, must have been another slow news day so let's get the blood boiling by having the motorist V cyclist debate. Give it a rest Joe

doozerie

manafana wrote:

All road users need educating anyway a cyclist most likely can only kill himself, someone in car can do far more damage so should be held to higher standard, …

The self-serving usually are happy to take that argument as motivation to behave in any way they see fit. Basically they choose to interpret it as meaning that users of different types of vehicle should be held to different standards of behaviour. And that’s bad for everyone.

It feeds into self-justification of moronic behaviour on “little” Honda 50’s by people (often delivering pizzas…) who treat the roads like their own little playground as if Honda 50’s are not real vehicles or something, by people in “shopping cars” who consider themselves less of a risk to others than a car that you don’t have to fold yourself in two to get into, by people on bikes who consider it perfectly reasonable to weave amongst pedestrians while they’d be appalled if a motorist or motorbiker did it, etc.

What we need is a common and consistent standard of behaviour across the board - the rules of the road, although far from perfect, provide the closest we have to a common set of rules designed to minimise the risk of us all just killing each other on the roads. If cyclists, motorists, and pedestrians, all made more of an effort to just get along, there wouldn’t be so many people in each of those groups who feel they have righteous grievances against both of the other groups. And Joe might suddenly find himself with a drastically reduced number of outraged people to poke his stick at.

obriendj

"Most bikes in Ireland won the Nobel prize - They have no bell"
- Classic Joe

tomasrojo

I find that joke an insult to the memory of the injustice of the true "No Bell" prize: the 1974 Nobel Prize for Physics, when Jocelyn Bell, the true driving force behind the discovery of pulsars, was omitted from the list while her supervisor was honoured.

If only there was an on-air forum for me to communicate my displeasure.

JBokeh

Cyclists should be taxed on the cubic capacity system that cars have, 7 pints of blood in your average cyclist, which is about 4L, which would put you into the 1800 P/A tax band provided you're born between 1980 and mid 2008, pre 1980 you can have the €56 a year tax because you're now "vintage" :pac:

And number plates too, that should be 650mm x 100mm affixed by pop-rivets to the cyclists shoulders, or tattooed at the builders crack region of the back. If the garda ANPR picks up that your road tax is out they'll lean out the window and hit you with a tranquilliser dart

However it is the cyclist that pays the road tax, so you can have as many bikes as you like, Mandatory testing before you can cycle on the road, otherwise you'll have to wear an L plate, But you'll still be allowed cycle on the road. Special licence category 2A-B for those wishing to cycle side by side shooting the breeze. Someone also mentioned the idea of radio chips in the neck, brilliant idea, why not stick an e-flow tag in under the skin on the neck too, introduce mandatory use of cycle lanes, and then start charging tolls on them. Women will also be required to have a man waving a flag in front of them to warn others of the impending danger

Going to print out my plans and send them to Joe and that Hook fella, Once I get some air time, all the taxi drivers will agree with me, and I'll get elected into politics, where I'll have a cushy career for myself.

Nobody steal my ideas, ya hear me?!

Though my actual opinion is that everybody should actually get along better, and seeing as I'm still in my daydreaming mood, it would be good if there were a way that anyone who fancied it, or was caught being an ass could be given the opportunity to cycle in a town centre and on open roads to see what it is like for a cyclist, Drive a van with a blind spot the size of louth on the roads and in a town, drive a car with a trailer, drive a tractor and a motorbike to get the experience of being in someone else's shoes and seeing what difficulties they face on the road.

I got a notion a few years back, and I wanted to try fill up all the categories on my driving licence, got them all bar the bus ones, and it gave me a serious eye opener to driving from a truck or bikers perspective. Though i've done neither since the test. Cost me a small fortune mind you, I'd hate to think of the bikes or cars I could have bought with all the money :eek:

Rackstar

ThisRegard wrote: »

Very apt given the thread title, but tuning in to Joe Duffy for my dose of afternoon misery to see he has the following come up (given his track record, subjects mentioned in tweets aren't always on the show)

https://twitter.com/Liveline_RTE/status/587587296200957952


EDIT: Just to say the thread title is not mine !

It's good that this is getting coverage. It'll highlight the point to the rogue cyclists.

IMO 2 abrest is dangerous at times. Especially on narrow country roads like where I live. It's impossible to give the 1.5m when passing cyclists or meeting cyclists, who are cycling 2 abrest on narrow country roads.

furiousox

Shrill female caller was allowed get away with too much.

"They wouldn't give me the road!"
"I was in a hurry!"
"They were riding 2 abreast!"

a) It's not your road
b) Your journey isn't more important because you're in a car
c) Jesus, not this again.....

colm_gti

Rackstar wrote: »

It's good that this is getting coverage. It'll highlight the point to the rogue cyclists.

IMO 2 abrest is dangerous at times. Especially on narrow country roads like where I live. It's impossible to give the 1.5m when passing cyclists or meeting cyclists, who are cycling 2 abrest on narrow country roads.

So then don't pass them until you can give them the 1.5m?

Rackstar

colm_gti wrote: »

So then don't pass them until you can give them the 1.5m?

I wait until theres enough room to pass. It'd be courteous if they dropped back to single file and then there'd be enough room to pass, in lots of spots.

Am I supposed to pull in off the road when cyclists are coming in the opposite direction, 2 abreast and not leaving 1.5m?

Lemming

Rackstar wrote: »

I wait until theres enough room to pass. It'd be courteous if they dropped back to single file and then there'd be enough room to pass, in lots of spots.

Am I supposed to pull in off the road when cyclists are coming in the opposite direction, 2 abreast and not leaving 1.5m?

If they're on their side of the centre line then what's the issue? Do you feel the need to pull in every time a car passes you going the other way too?

TheBlaaMan

Rackstar wrote: »

I wait until theres enough room to pass. It'd be courteous if they dropped back to single file and then there'd be enough room to pass, in lots of spots.

Is the inherent danger of your perspective not immediately obvious to you? Are you struck in any way by the underlying message in your own response?

The reason riders sometimes ride two abreast is to take their own safety into their own hands and not rely on drivers to provide that safety. Preventing you from passing until it is safe to do so may not fit in with your view of the world or your own sense on entitlement to make swift progress but you share the road, you do not have any more right than a horse and cart, tractor, slow moving truck - or cyclist - would you get worked up about being delayed by those others?

Go take a look at the horrific injuries caused when cars hit humans - I'm sure you will find many examples if you care to look online - and then ask yourself if your impatience is really worth that cost?

BTW, I drive over 1000km each week and perhaps cycle 100km, so I'm mostly a car driver and yes, some cyclists are complete ignorant idiots. So too are many car drivers......

RobFowl

JBokeh wrote: »

Cyclists should be taxed on the cubic capacity system that cars have, 7 pints of blood in your average cyclist, which is about 4L,

So poor auld Lance would get taxed double each July??

happytramp

Rackstar wrote: »

I wait until theres enough room to pass. It'd be courteous if they dropped back to single file and then there'd be enough room to pass, in lots of spots.

Am I supposed to pull in off the road when cyclists are coming in the opposite direction, 2 abreast and not leaving 1.5m?

Ultimately I agree with you there. However it's not a popular opinion to express around here. As a pedestrian, cyclist and a motorist I generally try do whatever helps the world turn around as smoothly and pleasantly as possible. I don't really care if I'm entitled to cycle two abreast, I pull back when I can to let cars go past. I'm sure most appreciate it in the same way when I'm walking I appreciate motorists waving me across the road even though they have the right of way or pulling in a little to let me overtake if i'm going faster than they are.

Rackstar

TheBlaaMan wrote: »

Is the inherent danger of your perspective not immediately obvious to you? Are you struck in any way by the underlying message in your own response?

The reason riders sometimes ride two abreast is to take their own safety into their own hands and not rely on drivers to provide that safety. Preventing you from passing until it is safe to do so may not fit in with your view of the world or your own sense on entitlement to make swift progress but you share the road, you do not have any more right than a horse and cart, tractor, slow moving truck - or cyclist - would you get worked up about being delayed by those others?

Go take a look at the horrific injuries caused when cars hit humans - I'm sure you will find many examples if you care to look online - and then ask yourself if your impatience is really worth that cost?

BTW, I drive over 1000km each week and perhaps cycle 100km, so I'm mostly a car driver and yes, some cyclists are complete ignorant idiots. So too are many car drivers......

What impatience are you referring to? I wait until there's room to pass leaving 1.5m between the car and cyclists. If the cyclists are cycling 2 abreast, not leaving 1.5m for the oncoming car to pass I slow the car to a stop. Allowing the cyclists to continue.

You hit the nail on the head with the sharing, sharing is not forcing oncoming traffic to stop so you can cycle 2 abreast. That's taking over the road.

BTW I cycle too.

And also, less of the inappropriate lectures yeah.

ThisRegard

Rackstar wrote: »

You hit the nail on the head with the sharing, sharing is not forcing oncoming traffic to stop so you can cycle 2 abreast. That's taking over the road.

BTW I cycle too.

And also, less of the inappropriate lectures yeah.

Unless you were going to hit them head on, why did you stop?

Pinch Flat

furiousox wrote: »

Shrill female caller was allowed get away with too much.

"They wouldn't give me the road!"
"I was in a hurry!"
"They were riding 2 abreast!"

I think I came across her a few weeks ago in central dublin. She tried to squeeze between the car ahead of her in the centre of the road and the cycle lane - blocking the passage of about 7 or 8 cyclists. I drew up along side - her designer sun glasses nearly fell of her head as she pressed the down button on her window.

"Excuse me, but your parked in the bike lane and there's about 7 or 8 of us trying to get by" to which she replied "well, I'm trying to get to work". And proceeded to roll her window back up.

Obviously just a casual group of cyclists out for a lesurely cycle at 8am in her self-entitled little world.

Rackstar

ThisRegard wrote: »

Unless you were going to hit them head on, why did you stop?

Because its not safe. Cyclist 1 is half a metre out from ditch, there's 1.5 metres over to cyclist 2 and I need to leave a 1.5m gap. My car is 1.8 meters and the road is 4.4m

RobFowl

Rackstar wrote: »

Because its not safe. Cyclist 1 is half a metre out from ditch, there's 1.5 metres over to cyclist 2 and I need to leave a 1.5m gap. My car is 1.8 meters and the road is 4.4m

By those figures Cyclist 2 is 2.5m out (ie on wrong side of the road).
Methinks a little exaggerating is happening....

Rackstar

RobFowl wrote: »

By those figures Cyclist 2 is 2.5m out (ie on wrong side of the road).
Methinks a little exaggerating is happening....

And that's exactly my point. There isn't room to safely travel 2 abreast but it's still happening.

neris

the aul church going bint from Howth should learn to drive her car faster going down the hill. If shes been passed out at 35km by a bike she needs to get off the road and use the frequentish bus service.

Lemming

Rackstar wrote: »

And that's exactly my point. There isn't room to safely travel 2 abreast but it's still happening.

So what you're saying is that you're encountering cyclists cycling on the wrong side of the road then, rather than simply two abreast?