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It's not illegal to be rude, but it's annoying

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24

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    #32
    Danjamin1
    Registered Users Posts: 919 ✭✭✭Danjamin1


    Seaswimmer wrote: »
    Even when somebody beeps at me I raise my hand in a vague gesture of apology (whether right or wrong) and continue on my merry way..

    I didn't help the cause this morning as I threw a one finger salute at a fella in a Rover who felt the need to honk as he overtook me. The only cause for complaint he could've had was that I was on the road instead of the off road cycle lane as there was plenty of room to overtake safely.


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    #33
    tomasrojo
    Registered Users Posts: 11,769 ✭✭✭✭tomasrojo


    Danjamin1 wrote: »
    I didn't help the cause this morning as I threw a one finger salute at a fella in a Rover who felt the need to honk as he overtook me. The only cause for complaint he could've had was that I was on the road instead of the off road cycle lane as there was plenty of room to overtake safely.

    It's hard not to respond, but that particular reflex went quite badly for me once. I'd really try not to do that. You don't know how much someone is willing to escalate things, and there are some very brittle people around.


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    #34
    MB Lacey
    Registered Users Posts: 1,277 ✭✭✭MB Lacey


    Seaswimmer wrote: »
    Sound advice.

    10 years ago when I started my present commute I was going to correct all driver misdemeanours and advise them nicely how they could improve.

    Now I just enjoy my cycling, watch out for potential hazards, and arrive home or into work feeling happy and not stressed.

    Even when somebody beeps at me I raise my hand in a vague gesture of apology (whether right or wrong) and continue on my merry way..

    I think I'm half way to being this zen on the commute.
    It really is better for my mental health to just keep relaxed and avoid the confrontation which as suggested has never ended with a 'Oh you're so right, I'm extremely sorry and will mend my ways and be more attentive to cyclists from this day on'.
    Any confrontation always leaves me shaking too if they're nasty and couldn't give a fk.
    It's just when there's an incident where a driver has driven dangerously, putting your safety at risk and you roll up next to them stopped at red lights... just leaving the incident unacknowledged seems wrong, defeatest somehow.

    I suppose a shake of the head instead of a tapping at the window.


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    #35
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 49,618 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    maybe you could just get a load of cards for a driving school and drop one under the wiper when you catch them at the lights?


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    #36
    Danjamin1
    Registered Users Posts: 919 ✭✭✭Danjamin1


    MB Lacey wrote: »
    I think I'm half way to being this zen on the commute.
    It really is better for my mental health to just keep relaxed and avoid the confrontation which as suggested has never ended with a 'Oh you're so right, I'm extremely sorry and will mend my ways and be more attentive to cyclists from this day on'.
    Any confrontation always leaves me shaking too if they're nasty and couldn't give a fk.
    It's just when there's an incident where a driver has driven dangerously, putting your safety at risk and you roll up next to them stopped at red lights... just leaving the incident unacknowledged seems wrong, defeatest somehow.

    I suppose a shake of the head instead of a tapping at the window.

    It's hard not to say something when you've been put in danger, had an incident like that a few years ago with a Bus Eireann driver who came booting up behind me honking his horn & went in for a close pass. It had me very shook & he was totally unapologetic when I said something politely as possible to him. His complaint was I should've been in the bike lane as he believed it was mandatory. Wouldn't accept that it wasn't. I would've been in it had it been in good nick, but for anyone who knows the southbound stretch between RTE & UCD they'll know the condition it's in. Reported him to Bus Eireann but wish I had gotten the reg & reported to the Gardaí.


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    #37
    davo2001
    Registered Users Posts: 3,318 ✭✭✭davo2001


    pillphil wrote: »
    Make, model and a partial reg might be enough.

    For what? Going to the Garda and saying the bad man called you a nasty name? Anyways, without proof of any wrong doing (which you don't have i suspect) what do you expect the Garda to do?


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    #38
    tomasrojo
    Registered Users Posts: 11,769 ✭✭✭✭tomasrojo


    magicbastarder wrote: »
    maybe you could just get a load of cards for a driving school and drop one under the wiper when you catch them at the lights?
    I also would counsel against touching cars! That also went quite badly wrong for me once!

    (Admittedly, I've clocked up what must be tens of thousands of hours of on-road cycling by now, and I've had maybe four incidents that went quite badly wrong, but still.)


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    #39
    tomasrojo
    Registered Users Posts: 11,769 ✭✭✭✭tomasrojo


    davo2001 wrote: »
    For what? Going to the Garda and saying the bad man called you a nasty name?

    One of my four "quite bads" resulted in someone being put on the caution register for just that.

    (I had a witness for that bit of our interaction, and he didn't contest my account of that bit.)


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    #40
    davo2001
    Registered Users Posts: 3,318 ✭✭✭davo2001


    tomasrojo wrote: »
    One of my four "quite bads" resulted in someone being put on the caution register for just that.

    (I had a witness for that bit of our interaction, and he didn't contest my account of that bit.)

    Without proof?


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    #41
    NamelessPhil
    Registered Users Posts: 1,098 ✭✭✭NamelessPhil


    I propose a mandatory driving licence test every ten years to make sure that you're still safe to drive and know all the current rules of road, (the actual laws not the RSA's interpretation).

    You can get your driving licence when you're 17 and never have to sit another driving test until you're 70 when a doctor's certificate permits you to drive. 53 years of driving with no re-testing seems crazy.

    If your car has to pass an NCT so should you as the driver.


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    #42
    tomasrojo
    Registered Users Posts: 11,769 ✭✭✭✭tomasrojo


    Danjamin1 wrote: »
    His complaint was I should've been in the bike lane as he believed it was mandatory. Wouldn't accept that it wasn't.

    Not uncommon, similar been mentioned here before, but completely mental logic. Like swinging a hammer at someone in Woodies to give them a scare than then saying you shouldn't have jumped the queue.


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    #43
    Effects
    Registered Users Posts: 9,760 ✭✭✭Effects


    davo2001 wrote: »
    Anyways, without proof of any wrong doing (which you don't have i suspect) what do you expect the Garda to do?

    Give them a verbal warning. Might make them think about it next time.


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    #44
    davo2001
    Registered Users Posts: 3,318 ✭✭✭davo2001


    NamelessPhil wrote: »
    I propose a mandatory driving licence test every ten years to make sure that you're still safe to drive and know all the current rules of road, (the actual laws not the RSA's interpretation).

    You can get your driving licence when you're 17 and never have to sit another driving test until you're 70 when a doctor's certificate permits you to drive. 53 years of driving with no re-testing seems crazy.

    If your car has to pass an NCT so should you as the driver.

    I propose the same for cyclists. There is nothing stopping anyone getting up on a bike, dressing like your preparing for the Tour d bloody France and ignoring the rules of the road.


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    #45
    tomasrojo
    Registered Users Posts: 11,769 ✭✭✭✭tomasrojo


    davo2001 wrote: »
    Without proof?

    I had a witness. I didn't have footage, no. It was over a decade ago, and even now I don't use cameras.

    I should say that the Gardaí probably took action on my statement because it contained plenty of other stuff, but the name-calling was the only bit that I had a witness for.


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    #46
    Weepsie
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 20,522 Mod ✭✭✭✭Weepsie


    davo2001 wrote: »
    I propose the same for cyclists. There is nothing stopping anyone getting up on a bike, dressing like your preparing for the Tour d bloody France and ignoring the rules of the road.

    Hmm this old chestnut.


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    #47
    shootermacg
    Registered Users Posts: 4,845 ✭✭✭shootermacg


    I was cycling along on a two-lane road in an estate this morning, no cycle lanes, when I just moved out slightly from the kerb to go around a gutter and I hear a beep from behind.

    Some stupid cow got a fright, while trying to close pass me with nothing on the other side of the road, no reason not to give me clearance.

    So I get a fright, just because some dope doesn;t know how to drive. I was doing over 30km/h at the time too, so she was breaking the speed limit in her attempt.

    Crazy stuff, the amount of cars that buzz past me over the speed limit, only to come to a crawl at the first speed bump.

    Same area, the day before, some hero tried to over take me on a blind bend. I really need someone to recommend a nice small cheap camera for my helmet.


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    #48
    Seaswimmer
    Registered Users Posts: 1,988 ✭✭✭Seaswimmer


    shootermacg wrote: »
    I was cycling along on a two-lane road in an estate this morning, no cycle lanes, when I just moved out slightly from the kerb to go around a gutter and I hear a beep from behind.

    Some stupid cow got a fright, while trying to close pass me with nothing on the other side of the road, no reason not to give me clearance.

    So I get a fright, just because some dope doesn;t know how to drive. I was doing over 30km/h at the time too, so she was breaking the speed limit in her attempt.

    Crazy stuff, the amount of cars that buzz past me over the speed limit, only to come to a crawl at the first speed bump.

    Same area, the day before, some hero tried to over take me on a blind bend. I really need someone to recommend a nice small cheap camera for my helmet.

    Just curious but did you stick your right arm out when you moved out.

    I find if I signal in good time that the vast majority of motorists give me plenty of space and time


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    #49
    davo2001
    Registered Users Posts: 3,318 ✭✭✭davo2001


    Weepsie wrote: »
    Hmm this old chestnut.

    Well if people propose the same ridiculous BS for drivers then why not for cyclists? We all have to share the same road!


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    #50
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 49,618 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    how many people do you think have been killed in RTAs since the last time a cyclist was responsible for the death of another road user?


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    #51
    tomasrojo
    Registered Users Posts: 11,769 ✭✭✭✭tomasrojo


    shootermacg wrote: »
    Same area, the day before, some hero tried to over take me on a blind bend. I really need someone to recommend a nice small cheap camera for my helmet.

    Nothing you've mentioned is in practice all that actionable though, so having proof of it wouldn't do much for you. Close low-speed passes and drivers overtaking cyclists on blind corners is just everyday stuff, unfortunately. The latter is a particularly obtuse thing to do, but there's a blind corner on my way home and every single time I go that way with a car approaching from behind, the car will overtake me and go round the blind corner on the wrong side of the road. I usually pull over and let them get on with it. I can't stop them doing it. Well, I could take primary position, but they'd either be baffled or get shirty.


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    #52
    davo2001
    Registered Users Posts: 3,318 ✭✭✭davo2001


    magicbastarder wrote: »
    how many people do you think have been killed in RTAs since the last time a cyclist was responsible for the death of another road user?

    Well a car weighing 20 times that of a bike might have something to do with it. DAILY I see cyclists breaking the rules and daily i see motorists breaking the rules.

    A motorist is never going to die in an incident with a cyclist, but it doesn't always means the motorist is at fault.


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    #53
    shootermacg
    Registered Users Posts: 4,845 ✭✭✭shootermacg


    Seaswimmer wrote: »
    Just curious but did you stick your right arm out when you moved out.

    I find if I signal in good time that the vast majority of motorists give me plenty of space and time

    Always, put my hand out at waist level if I need to leave a cycle lane. In this case I literally moved out slowly 10 inches well ahead of time. My neck isn;t what it used used to be, so I have no idea what else she was actually doing that gave her the fright.


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    #54
    Chips Lovell
    Moderators, Politics Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 24,269 Mod ✭✭✭✭Chips Lovell


    @davo2001, please read the forum charter before posting here again. This kind of generalised rant is not what this forum is for.

    Thank you.


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    #55
    shootermacg
    Registered Users Posts: 4,845 ✭✭✭shootermacg


    tomasrojo wrote: »
    Nothing you've mentioned is in practice all that actionable though, so having proof of it wouldn't do much for you. Close low-speed passes and drivers overtaking cyclists on blind corners is just everyday stuff, unfortunately. The latter is a particularly obtuse thing to do, but there's a blind corner on my way home and every single time I go that way with a car approaching from behind, the car will overtake me and go round the blind corner on the wrong side of the road. I usually pull over and let them get on with it. I can't stop them doing it. Well, I could take primary position, but they'd either be baffled or get shirty.

    Sorry now buddy, I would say that is most definitely an offence to take a blind corner on the wrong side of the road. It may be an everyday occurrence..but don't be a push over.

    I will tell you, its the last time a car will pass me in this manner. I was actually shocked at the stupidity of it. From now on, I'll be right in the middle of the road for that corner, try to take your own safety into your own hands sometime and stop being a push-over.


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    #56
    Seaswimmer
    Registered Users Posts: 1,988 ✭✭✭Seaswimmer


    shootermacg wrote: »
    Sorry now buddy, I would say that is most definitely an offence to take a blind corner on the wrong side of the road. It may be an everyday occurrence, but just because you seem to be a push over.

    I will tell you, its the last time a car will pass me in this manner. I was actually shocked at the stupidity of it. From now on, I'll be right in the middle of the road for that corner, try to take your own safety into your own hands sometime and stop being a push-over.

    Ah but you might meet his friend overtaking coming the other direction.

    Big difference between cycling assertively/defensively and cycling stupidly.


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    #57
    tomasrojo
    Registered Users Posts: 11,769 ✭✭✭✭tomasrojo


    Seaswimmer wrote: »
    Ah but you might meet his friend overtaking coming the other direction.

    Yes, exactly.


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    #58
    tomasrojo
    Registered Users Posts: 11,769 ✭✭✭✭tomasrojo


    shootermacg wrote: »
    Sorry now buddy, I would say that is most definitely an offence to take a blind corner on the wrong side of the road

    I'm glad we're friends. Yes, I agree it's an offence. It's treated with great indulgence though. You may be heading down a path that ends with you curating a rather dull YouTube channel.


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    #59
    Seaswimmer
    Registered Users Posts: 1,988 ✭✭✭Seaswimmer


    NamelessPhil wrote: »
    I propose a mandatory driving licence test every ten years to make sure that you're still safe to drive and know all the current rules of road, (the actual laws not the RSA's interpretation).

    You can get your driving licence when you're 17 and never have to sit another driving test until you're 70 when a doctor's certificate permits you to drive. 53 years of driving with no re-testing seems crazy.

    If your car has to pass an NCT so should you as the driver.

    Just curious here. Do you actually have to do any kind of a driving/theory test or is it only an eyesight/medical checkup.

    Edit.

    Answered my own question. Medial checkup and eyesight. No driving related testing at all.

    http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/travel_and_recreation/motoring_1/driver_licensing/renewing_a_full_driving_licence.html


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    #60
    mr spuckler
    Registered Users Posts: 3,113 ✭✭✭mr spuckler


    why cycle so close to the kerb to begin with? just cycle 2 - 3 feet out all the time and force the driver to overtake you properly. also gives you more space to react if you need to.

    in my experience cycling at the kerb encourages drivers to attempt dangerously close overtaking manouevres (sp) so best to proactively deter them from that option.


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    #61
    average_runner
    Registered Users Posts: 12,851 ✭✭✭✭average_runner


    Seaswimmer wrote: »
    Just curious here. Do you actually have to do any kind of a driving/theory test or is it only an eyesight/medical checkup.

    All road users should do a test. Majority of cars and cyclists I see can't use the roads correctly.

    A bike might not cause much damage but it could cause a car to crash and cause damage


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