Be careful cycling over the Luas tracks

Muahahaha

Was coming across OConnell bridge heading northbound from Westmoreland St direction earlier and saw a cyclist cream himself on the wet tram tracks. He was pedalling pretty quick and went over them at an angle and his back tyre gave way resulting in him taking quite a sommersault. I was on my motorbike and dropped my right shoulder to just about swerve around him and his crashed bike. If there was a car behind him he was defintely getting run over. I felt sorry for him as the exact same thing happened me on Luas tracks several years back out at Bluebell when riding a moped on a wet day and passing a line of traffic.

Trick is to never accerlerate/pedal when going over wet tram tracks, they are as bad as ice on a wet day. Freewheel over and you should be grand.

Im not sure how the northbound lane of OConnell Street will look after the Luas works are finished but I can see more of this type of accident happening when they are all fully installed as there will be more on-street tram tracks than ever before when they are all installed and there are likely to be conflicts for cyclists in a lot more places.

sullivlo

The tracks at the end of Gardiner street are lethal too because they require steering

Wishbone Ash

It's not always easy to take them at a right angle when the road is narrowed for road works or is congested such as around the front of Trinity College. The entrance to St James Hospital is another dodgy spot for tram lines.

ILIKEFOOD

sullivlo wrote: »

The tracks at the end of Gardiner street are lethal too because they require steering

Nearly came asunder on these on the way home, was a bit distracted by the scene of a cyclist on the deck being attended to further down at the side of the custom house..

crosstownk

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

It's not always easy to take them at a right angle when the road is narrowed for road works or is congested such as around the front of Trinity College.

Agreed. It's can be tricky to get across those tracks at times - especially if you get caught between the two tracks. I got trapped a few weeks back (in the dry) and used my very poor bunny hop technique to get across onto College Green.

magicbastarder

my wife - based on seeing an unintended and rather unfortunate dismount - reckons that the dublin bus drivers are at least well briefed, or expecting such accidents. so if you're going to do it in front of a vehicle, do it in front of a DB.

DanDublin1982

Can anyone shed some light on why the ones running across O'Connell bridge are slightly raised?

Lumen

magicbastarder wrote: »

if you're going to do it in front of a vehicle, do it in front of a DB an ambulance.

Fixed that for you.

prinzeugen

DanDublin1982 wrote: »

Can anyone shed some light on why the ones running across O'Connell bridge are slightly raised?

It will be temporary. The whole bridge will be resurfaced and traffic lights changed etc later.

Its pointless providing a new surface just to dig it up again.

godtabh

I have to cross them on a daily basis I learnt quickly how to cross them properly! I still remember the time crossing them and getting the back wheel caught. Fell off the bike sideways and nearly got run over by a car. In the end the embarrassment was worse than the fall

SmartinMartin

I came a cropper on the ones at the entrance to James' hospital a while back on a rainy day, the left curve of the track whipped my front wheel left and threw me straight into the ground, like a catapult. I was blessed the taxi following was quick to react. I still have the scars.

Weepsie

They should have had rubber placed around the tracks. LUAS is well used and handy for certain parts of the city, but been an absolute shambles in design and how long it has taken to do if you ask me.

http://bikeportland.org/2011/09/01/a-few-ideas-on-how-to-improve-streetcar-track-safety-58408

worded

When the trams were introduced I got a motor bike as guessed the risk was too great with smaller tyres ....

Was speaking to someone who said several cyclists she knows had very bad falls Cycling with tram lines ....

ted1

The exit from our bike/car park is in Dawson street so we're forced on to the new LUAS tracks and then have to try to cross them down further but it's a really awkward angle so we nearly have to bunny hop them

Wishbone Ash

worded wrote: »

When the trams were introduced I got a motor bike as guessed the risk was too great ....

Jesus, that was a bit extreme!

In the grand scale of cycling hazards, I'd rate tram lines well down the list.

crosstownk

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

I'd rate tram lines well down the list.

Yep. Way less risk than many taxi drivers, Dublin Coach, Wexford Bus, jaywalkers, potholes and strong gusts of wind!

Wishbone Ash

crosstownk wrote: »

Yep. Way less risk than many taxi drivers, Dublin Coach, Wexford Bus, jaywalkers, potholes and strong gusts of wind!

You omitted Mathews Coaches! :mad::mad::mad:

worded

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Jesus, that was a bit extreme!

In the grand scale of cycling hazards, I'd rate tram lines well down the list.

Well my instincts were correct on reading this thread and listening to ppl

Motor bike tyres are bigger and trams are a huge risk to bikes it seems

tomasrojo

Worst fall I ever had (I've only had a few) was in front of St. James' Hospital. Teeming rain, couldn't get a decent angle, but it wasn't the tyres getting stuck in the track. The bike just slipped away from under me. A diverting fall, I think it's called.

DanDublin1982

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

You omitted Mathews Coaches! :mad::mad::mad:

Kearns are my current nemesis.

worded

tomasrojo wrote: »

Worst fall I ever had (I've only had a few) was in front of St. James' Hospital. Teeming rain, couldn't get a decent angle, but it wasn't the tyres getting stuck in the track. The bike just slipped away from under me. A diverting fall, I think it's called.

We're your tyres slicks?
How could you have avoided it?


Sounds like a safety ad needs to be run on the hazards of cycling on tram lines

Kaisr Sose

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

You omitted Mathews Coaches! :mad::mad::mad:

I will second that. Mathews drivers skills of observation, driving with due care and attention as well as being courteous to other road users are somewhat lacking.

As for LUAS tracks, when the cross town goes live and all track down it will be very common to see falls. The majority of cyclists just don't know how to ride them. A few weeks ago, somebody at work fell and broke their arm - it was dry. Just imagine when it's wet..

worded

Are lives been lost due to wet tram lines?
Are there any stats from Dublin or other cities available for injuries from tram lines ?

robyntmorton

worded wrote: »

Well my instincts were correct on reading this thread and listening to ppl

Motor bike tyres are bigger and trams are a huge risk to bikes it seems

I'd be more afraid of a flock of marauding seagulls than trams in all fairness.

Just be sensible around the tracks. Avoid cycling between them, and if the conditions don't allow it, don't go chasing PB's along the tram line!

worded

Kaisr Sose wrote: »

I will second that. Mathews drivers skills of observation, driving with due care and attention as well as being courteous to other road users are somewhat lacking.

As for LUAS tracks, when the cross town goes live and all track down it will be very common to see falls. The majority of cyclists just don't know how to ride them. A few weeks ago, somebody at work fell and broke their arm - it was dry. Just imagine when it's wet..

I've heard if broken arms as well, oh the pain, the pain ....

Wishbone Ash

worded wrote: »

Well my instincts were correct on reading this thread and listening to ppl ...

So you choose a form of transport which, pro rata, has the highest fatality rate.

tomasrojo

worded wrote: »

We're your tyres slicks?
How could you have avoided it?

Sort of; they had some thread, but not deep or extensive. But bikes don't aquaplane, so it's not really that important. Tramlines are just very smooth, and get really slippery in the wet, which you can see by just walking along one when it's very rainy.

I could have avoided the fall by going a different way home, which I did after that.

I also could have used the cycle track, which would have let me cross at a better angle, but at the cost of being shunted off the road and losing all priority at the mouth of the hospital road. On this occasion, it would have been the better option.

That whole stretch running west to the hospital in front of the old Corporation flats is rotten anyway, so a change of route was the best option.

tomasrojo

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

So you choose a form of transport which, pro rata, has the highest fatality rate.

Yeah, by any metric travelling by motorbike is the mode of transport most likely to result in death or serious injury.

That's at the population level. It's entirely possible at the individual level never to have a serious incident, obviously.

Weepsie

worded wrote: »

I've heard if broken arms as well, oh the pain, the pain ....

Doesn't require a tram line. I broke my elbow when wheel went on a particularly slippery patch of brick work that served as a speed bump/pedestrian crossing. It was like black ice on the day and am fairly convinced grease or something had been spilled to go down like I did.

I work in IFSC so will hopefully remember to just dismount before crossing the Luas into car park. never had an accident on them, but seen seem falls and the embarrassed looks after.

eeguy

I got caught on the tracks at the bottom of Marlborough St.

Came at them at the wrong angle and the front tyre slipped into the groove.

Lesson learned. I try to cross them as perpendicular as possible now.

John_Rambo

There's a long lost cycling phrase and skill that enables a cyclist to safely shred over a rail line at any angle. Any ex-courier will know it.

The Bunny Hop. Urban cyclists - Learn.

Mic drop.