Galway motorists really grinding my gears

gordongekko

gordongekko wrote: »

What? How do you get a fine if you don't do anything wrong?

Quite easily. For example I got a fine for stopping in a yellow box junction. Two lanes of traffic clear for me to exit the box when a car in the other lane crossed into my lane thus leaving me in the stuck with some of my car in the box. Fine in the post a few days later.......... I much rather the lenient interpenetration of rules in Ireland makes for much pleasurable driving rather than the anal can't put a foot wrong way things work in some places.

death1234567

Amalia Melodic Racism wrote: »

gordongekko wrote: »

What? How do you get a fine if you don't do anything wrong?

Quite easily. For example I got a fine for stopping in a yellow box junction.

So you did do something wrong.

death1234567

death1234567 wrote: »

So you did do something wrong.

No I didn't someone else forced the situation. It was impossible to avoid.

If it was now I'd have appealed and been willing to go to court over it but I was a bit less headstrong then as I was a good few years younger.

Jimmy Garlic

Galway is the Calcutta of the West. A horrible town to drive in.

L'prof

Twice yesterday in the space of 2 minutes separate cars drifted between lanes without indication forcing me to break heavily or I'd have tipped into them. Once on the roundabout at the Motorway entrance and again on the dual carriageway beside the Galway Clinic. About an hour later in Gort a car just stopped suddenly and then decided he was turning into a shop, the poor dog in the boot got a right judder

tenacious-me

Cycled through town a few times this week, every day I've seen at least one driver stopped at a red light that just decides to go through the junction because there's nothing coming, particularly during pedestrian lights.

Haven't seen this so much previously, seems incredibly stupid and risky for the sake of a couple of seconds.

talking_walnut

tenacious-me wrote: »

Cycled through town a few times this week, every day I've seen at least one driver stopped at a red light that just decides to go through the junction because there's nothing coming, particularly during pedestrian lights.

Haven't seen this so much previously, seems incredibly stupid and risky for the sake of a couple of seconds.

Wait until the schools start back properly. Traffic lights close to the schools might as well not exist.

snubbleste

Traffic gone bonkers today. Long tailbacks all over.

_Puma_

Was heading over the Quincenteneary bridge yesterday and there was someone in front of me driving a bit erratically, swerving from lane to lane causing people behind her to break. Got that feeling to back off a bit as we came up to the roundabout at the hospital as I ended up behind her. Was on the right lane and sure enough there was a foreign reg car on the left lane who proceeded to try and turn right and the woman in front was going straight on. As the driver on the left lane proceeded to drift right(without any indicators i might add) she decided to try and jump in front before he cut her off. She missed him by literally an inch. He jammed the brakes and ended up at a complete stop right in front of me where I would have been if i hadn't backed off.

Sometimes it is just best to assume that most drivers just literally haven't a clue. Of course if I hadn't backed off it would be me getting hit and the driver in front getting away Scot free.

joebloggs32

tenacious-me wrote: »

Cycled through town a few times this week, every day I've seen at least one driver stopped at a red light that just decides to go through the junction because there's nothing coming, particularly during pedestrian lights.

Haven't seen this so much previously, seems incredibly stupid and risky for the sake of a couple of seconds.

Keeping cars waiting needlessly waiting at pedestrian crossings adds to gridlock.
Having driven in Australia the red changes to a flashing amber quite quickly. If the pedestrians have all crossed and it is safe to proceed then off you go. You don't have to sit waiting for the green.
Often at pedestrian crossings here, people press the button and in fact cross before the green man when a gap in traffic opens, and then the cars are stopping for nobody to cross.

Unrealistic

joebloggs32 wrote: »

Keeping cars waiting needlessly waiting at pedestrian crossings adds to gridlock.
Having driven in Australia the red changes to a flashing amber quite quickly. If the pedestrians have all crossed and it is safe to proceed then off you go. You don't have to sit waiting for the green.
Often at pedestrian crossings here, people press the button and in fact cross before the green man when a gap in traffic opens, and then the cars are stopping for nobody to cross.

It's frustrating, certainly, but does it really add significantly to gridlock? If traffic is heavy surely all it does is delay you for 5-10 seconds until you catch up with the car in front again 100 yards down the road?

what_traffic

joebloggs32 wrote: »

Keeping cars waiting needlessly waiting at pedestrian crossings adds to gridlock.

Not really - sitting in your car is probably a greater contributor to the car traffic gridlock that you see from your windscreen. That is what I always say to myself when I get into a car in Galway City anyhow.

snubbleste

Anyone know what was causing day-long jams in town today?

gordongekko

snubbleste wrote: »

Anyone know what was causing day-long jams in town today?

Schools are back

tenacious-me

joebloggs32 wrote: »

Keeping cars waiting needlessly waiting at pedestrian crossings adds to gridlock.
Having driven in Australia the red changes to a flashing amber quite quickly. If the pedestrians have all crossed and it is safe to proceed then off you go. You don't have to sit waiting for the green.
Often at pedestrian crossings here, people press the button and in fact cross before the green man when a gap in traffic opens, and then the cars are stopping for nobody to cross.

That doesn't mean you can just go through a red light, you can't have people deciding themselves when it's appropriate to go through.

Mind you I've seen this happen on plenty of times when it wasn't a pedestrian light, just a red light with nothing coming through on the section with the green light.

joeKel73

tenacious-me wrote: »

Cycled through town a few times this week, every day I've seen at least one driver stopped at a red light that just decides to go through the junction because there's nothing coming, particularly during pedestrian lights.

Cyclists are very bad for this. When I cycle across town I often end up leap-frogging with something that rolls through every single junction as if lights don't apply to them.

tenacious-me

Rather than this turn into the usual cars vs. bicycles thread, I was pointing out that I've seen cars do this a lot recently.

While there's no doubt cyclists do it too, stupidly, and with plenty of potential for injury to self and others; I think it's a lot more risky when a two tonne vehicle does this.

Also as a driver and cyclist, I definitely wouldn't take the risk of penalty points and the more likely chance of getting a fine when in a car. Although it would certainly help if gardaí would fine cyclists more often for this, I've also seen cars perform stupid maneuvers in the presence of gardaí with no repercussions .

snubbleste

Traffic lights at Bodkin junction are not operating correctly due to a software issue. A staff member has been appointed to the Council's Traffic Control Unit to push a button repeatedly to make the light go green.
http://connachttribune.ie/traffic-light-issues-cause-problems-at-busy-city-junction/

I was stuck in traffic on the Western Distributor Road last week, around 8:05. I was heading East, at about three cars from the 2nd roundabout for Dunnes. I was sitting still, when my car gave a jolt. Like what happens if you take your foot off the clutch while in gear.
Was quite confused at what had happened for a second, and then looked in my rear view mirror, and the woman in a Skoda behind me had her hands up apologising. I looked in my wing mirror, and I could see that she was right up on top of me.
Traffic started moving, so I indicated, and pulled in to the left off of the roundabout, and the woman just continued on as if nothing had happened.
Now luckily, there wasn't even a scratch on my car, as she must have just been nudging forward when it happened, but I thought common curtsy would come into play, and she would have pulled in as well to apologise.

beardybrewer

That sucks, but I'm not surprised. An old lady once whacked my parked car and tried to get away. I caught the number plate and the guards tracked her down. They didn't care about the hit and run aspect, but they forced her to own up and because of her behaviour I engaged the insurance company rather than settle in gentlemanly like.

Best thing is to hold up traffic for another few seconds, snap a pic of her plate at least, and indicate they should pull over. If she legs it, at least you have something for the guards.

snubbleste

Deleted User wrote: »

I was stuck in traffic on the Western Distributor Road last week, around 8:05. I was heading East, at about three cars from the 2nd roundabout for Dunnes. .....

Happened to me on a bicycle once. Car behind me was nudging forward in the traffic jam and 'thump'.

snubbleste

Garda pulling in motorists using the hard shoulder at Briarhill this evening..
and earlier the N6 at Coolagh roundabout was reduced to one lane. Traffic cones, electronic signs, Garda and the Council hanging around. Anyone know what was happening on that stretch?

Laviski

i would hazzard a guess and it is to catch people who are driving on the hard shoulder that want to turn left at the lights.

snubbleste

Laviski wrote: »

i would hazzard a guess and it is to catch people who are driving on the hard shoulder that want to turn left at the lights.

Yeah I know that part. We've discussed it here before.

But why was the area around Coolagh reduced to one lane? I counted two garda cars and two motorbike garda hanging around.

Zzippy

snubbleste wrote: »

Yeah I know that part. We've discussed it here before.

But why was the area around Coolagh reduced to one lane? I counted two garda cars and two motorbike garda hanging around.

Large checkpoint with gardai, RSA and social welfare inspectors...

bobbyss

snubbleste wrote: »

Happened to me on a bicycle once. Car behind me was nudging forward in the traffic jam and 'thump'.

What happened? What did you do? Bike damaged?

Mr_A

Cars passing me on the bike far too close and while moving very quickly certainly grinding my gears recently. Happened last week in a right turn lane as I coasted to a red light, the guy was flying and then had to brake hard to get stopped at the light. Dangerous and totally pointless. Yesterday it was on the Doughiska Road where someone seemed to be trying to teach me a lesson for being on the road, sped past too close with the horn blaring.

Funny enough before that I had been thinking things were getting better with a bit more courtesy on the road.

Your Face

Mr_A wrote: »

Cars passing me on the bike far too close and while moving very quickly certainly grinding my gears recently. Happened last week in a right turn lane as I coasted to a red light, the guy was flying and then had to brake hard to get stopped at the light. Dangerous and totally pointless. Yesterday it was on the Doughiska Road where someone seemed to be trying to teach me a lesson for being on the road, sped past too close with the horn blaring.

Funny enough before that I had been thinking things were getting better with a bit more courtesy on the road.

That's not unheard of, unfortunately.

Redhairedguy

You'll always have feckless ass-hats unfortunately.

Recently I've seen some wonderful examples of people flying through red lights whilst people are trying to cross the road in Salthill. One particular specimen in a 151 Beamer blared the horn and flashed his lights at an older woman as she crossed at the lights nearest the roundabout. He was coming off the roundabout, heading towards Leisureland, and didn't even slow down as he whizzed through the flashing amber, almost clipping her.

Gingganggooley

Knob turning right at Moneennageisha junction, heading towards Lough Atalia and couldn't give two about blocking up the lane.