Is it worth it anymore..... ?

greenspurs

Another cyclist killed in Kerry, in a 'collision' with a vehicle.
Its getting ridiculous on the roads, absolutely no regard for cyclists safety by a significant amount of motorists.

I had 3 close passes within the first 6km of my spin last week,
One after 1km, where i cud hear the vehicle coming behind on the N24 Piltown bypass (AKA Death Junction) where the F***tards in planning/roads decided to put plastic bollards on the right hand side of the lane , i heard the red jeep skidding on the road when he slammed on the brakes when he realised he cudnt squeeze past me. It was a terrifying second when i heard the skidding behind me, and awaiting an impact from behind.
Thankfully it didnt come, but i was shook after it.

Then 5k later just outside Carrick heading towards Clonmel, there are "Traffic Calming" (ironic name) island in the middle of the road, and i had 2 welsh campervans pulling 'Hot rods' on their way to Tipperary Raceway in Rosegreen , squeez past me , i cud see inside the back of the campervan, and could touch the side if i tried... I was out near the middle of the lane, but i had to move in , as they werent going to stop.
I have to ask is it worth it anymore, B***ard drivers have taken the joy out of cycling ...:(

Macy0161

No

Comes back to enforcement and penalities. Look at the reasoning and excuses some people who drive will use to justify the actions. All this consequences shouldn't matter, sentencing should be the same regardless if I inflict life changing injuries/ death or just hit the ditch rubbish.

We need an enforced (either by the cops, or based on footage) Minimum Passing Law, and we also need sentences to reflect the consequences as that will push more onto a motorist before taking action.

greenspurs

Enforcement and penalties, exactly.
But i dont think there is the political , or judicial , will to actually enforce a proper clampdown on motorists.
They will talk, but talk is cheap, and in the meantime 7 (?) cyclists have been killed this year and we are only 19 weeks into the year !!

Minister for Transport ? He should have stuck to providing sound bytes on the Last Word. He is incompetent , or maybe he doesnt give a s hit really.

Parchment

I feel the same - i dont cycle for pleasure anymore except on greenways.

Everyone here is talking about enforcement and penalties - i get that but i dont want to be a statistic. Its lethal out there. I wish my boyfriend would stop cycling on the roads, its sad but i do feel that way.

Robxxx7

The 2 times i have been taken out on my bike were by other cyclists .... one coming out of a side road without looking straight into me ..and another who had earphones in and could'nt hear me telling them i was coming on their outside to overtake and then steered straight into me ... nothing major but enough to give you a little fright .... thankfully not had any issues with other car drivers etc .. but a couple of times have been overtaken a little bit too close ...

Something needs to be done to protect us on the road though ...

ford2600

greenspurs wrote: »

Enforcement and penalties, exactly.
But i dont think there is the political , or judicial , will to actually enforce a proper clampdown on motorists.
They will talk, but talk is cheap, and in the meantime 7 (?) cyclists have been killed this year and we are only 19 weeks into the year !!

Minister for Transport ? He should have stuck to providing sound bytes on the Last Word. He is incompetent , or maybe he doesnt give a s hit really.

I know we are entitled to ride N roads but if it's horrible and riskier why do it?

I did a 53km spin last night from Clonmel and met (other than about 7km of R roads) about 4 cars and 15 or so pedestrians. Sunday night was the same.

IME, Killsheelan and Farran ( on Cork Killarney road for example) where traffic calming is combined with "cycle" lanes is particular dangerous if you are not very assertive.

Being assertive can bring other promblems unfortunately

Annie get your Run

No

I understand those saying they don't want to be a statistic, nor do I but I'm not giving up the bike. I have already tweeted Shane Ross and RSA this morning about the 7th death due to their inaction - one tweet is not going to make much difference but many contacts, emails, messages etc will go some way towards getting some action taken. We need a change in driver attitude and we need it fast, not just towards cyclists but their attitude in general towards all road users, including each other (road rage incidents). I drive too but find it far too stressful so much prefer the bike as dangerous as that feels sometimes.

If everyone here contacted Minister Shane Ross, Enda Kenny, the RSA and whoever else you can think of about this 7th death maybe, just maybe, it might prompt the department to deliver on their promise to bring in the MPDL. We also need to contact whoever is in charge of funding the Gardai and the Gardai themselves to actually do something when they see road traffic offences taking place.

It's better than just giving up the bike which is basically allowing these lunatics to win.

Rojo

I feel sick thinking about all of this death. It's so awful.

I'm not giving up the bike either. I've sent countless emails to Shane Ross and received a load of old politician spoof from him on various things they are doing to make cycling safer. We need direct action to happen. Now. It's also so disheartening knowing the Gardai want to try and put the onus on people on bikes as opposed to enforcement and changing driver attitude with regards to cyclist safety.

Parchment

Annie get your Run wrote: »

I understand those saying they don't want to be a statistic, nor do I but I'm not giving up the bike. I have already tweeted Shane Ross and RSA this morning about the 7th death due to their inaction - one tweet is not going to make much difference but many contacts, emails, messages etc will go some way towards getting some action taken. We need a change in driver attitude and we need it fast, not just towards cyclists but their attitude in general towards all road users, including each other (road rage incidents). I drive too but find it far too stressful so much prefer the bike as dangerous as that feels sometimes.

If everyone here contacted Minister Shane Ross, Enda Kenny, the RSA and whoever else you can think of about this 7th death maybe, just maybe, it might prompt the department to deliver on their promise to bring in the MPDL. We also need to contact whoever is in charge of funding the Gardai and the Gardai themselves to actually do something when they see road traffic offences taking place.

It's better than just giving up the bike which is basically allowing these lunatics to win.

I agree but honestly it wont make a difference. I hate saying that but i am realistic about it. Cyclists will always be a minority and therefore wont have pull.

Think about things that were made illegal - using phones when driving, i see it ALL THE TIME. Nobody cares, randomly enforced - fines dont deter people.

Cyclists are paying with their lives - and nothing will change anytime soon. I hate being a debbie downer but i dont really want to gamble with my life anymore, i dont cycle for pleasure any longer. I commute and thats it.

Unfortunately that's exactly what I did. I found it too dangerous on the roads so I felt it wasn't worth the risk.

C3PO

I could be wrong but I would guess that as a percentage of people who regularly cycle the fatality/serious injury rate is no worse than it was in the past? There are just so many more people cycling now that an increase is almost inevitable!

queldy

Sadly, very sadly, I have to admit that lately I feel the same - I am not sure it is worth anymore.
I was cycling since I was 5, few years I was riding more than 15 thousand km a year, and this all for fun. But lately I do not enjoy anymore.

There is not a day, not even one, during my commute (that takes ~20min, on the safest path I could choose) that I do not experience at least a near miss or some very dangerous situation.

Lorries, buses, SUV, people speeding at lights, car cutting left, doors opening, motorbike on the cycling lanes, cycling lanes becoming park lanes in certain hours (when you need them more!), taxi driver yelling at you, bus drivers going crazy (especially when they are not in service - have you ever tried to cycle in the proximity on Heuston during evening time?), holes everywhere, etc...
If you want to train and find a place with less cars, you need to cycle out of the city at least half an hour - half an hour of risk, again. And more to come back.

I have had problems with cycling all my life - the road has always been "owned" by cars, everywhere. I always kept going.
Now, I just do not enjoy it anymore. I hope it will pass.

iwillhtfu

Parchment wrote: »

i dont cycle for pleasure anymore except on greenways.

To be entirely honest I'm starting to follow your line of thought.

It's amazing how much more relaxing it was cycling along the greenway last week in comparison to the roads.

Also when you're out on the MTB you get to soak in your surroundings and get back to the sheer enjoyment of cycling.

As ford2600 has said and I agree generally I stick to the the back roads and head out early enough usually to catch the sunrise. Although in saying that I've met a few lunatics booting down to mass to confess all their sins early on a Sunday morning. Cyclist or not you won't stand int he way of a meeting with Jebus. :eek:

dodzy

Talking to a girl in the tax office this morning and she told me that there was an accident between a cyclist and a truck close to where she works in queen street at 9.00am this morning. hope it does not turn out bad

Parchment

iwillhtfu wrote: »

To be entirely honest I'm starting to follow your line of thought.

It's amazing how much more relaxing it was cycling along the greenway last week in comparison to the roads.

Also when you're out on the MTB you get to soak in your surroundings and get back to the sheer enjoyment of cycling.

I felt so sad that i had to drive to a greenway to enjoy a cycle. I really enjoyed the greenway and it was poignant that i then put my bike into a car and went home.

Weepsie

Yes I would say it is. Just apply some common sense, particularly in urban areas and with large vehicles. There were just under 4x more pedestrians killed in 2015 than cyclists.

smacl

No

ford2600 wrote: »

I know we are entitled to ride N roads but if it's horrible and riskier why do it?

Agreed. The vast majority of my cycling is for pleasure and I plan it to be on L-roads, some light off-road, and a small number of R-roads. Doing this I meet very little traffic and get to see some great countryside. Road surfaces are worse for sure so the going can be a bit slower and bumpier, but it is a small enough price to pay. Depends what's available to you locally, but there is a lot o be said for exploring the back roads and bohereens.

godtabh

Macy0161 wrote: »

Comes back to enforcement and penalities. Look at the reasoning and excuses some people who drive will use to justify the actions.

It goes both ways.

I was at a pedestrian crossing along the canal this morning. Garda car stopped at a red light as 30/40 cyclists broke the red light and one brushed my arm maybe 2m from the stopped garda car.

07Lapierre

No

I will NEVER stop cycling! The benefits far outway the risks.

Weepsie

Also plus 1 on the quiet roads. Cycled basically nothing but L roads for a 150 kms last week and didn't have a single issue. Only when I got to R roads was there anything, and it wasn't even anything that I feared for my safety from, just an annoyance.

No

There has been a huge increase in cycling numbers in the last few years and there has been a corresponding increase in tragic incidents.

It's hard sell for people who are put off by the headlines but I still believe these incidents are sufficiently rare to continue doing what I enjoy.

Macy0161

No

godtabh wrote: »

It goes both ways.

I'm not sure what your point is, other than whataboutery nonsense. Because some cyclists do something that is wrong (that doesn't appear to have killed anyone in years), it justifies motorists doing something else (which keeps killing people)?

magicbastarder

there's been a big increase in 'leisure' cycling over the last few years - plus with more people (theoretically) back in work i wouldn't be surprised to see a climb in the stats for people using the cycle to work scheme. that said, there's more cars on the road too.

so as mentioned above, it may be inevitable that there are more incidents simply because there are more people on bikes; i'd be interested in seeing the stats on KSIs per million KM cycled (or however it's measured) before i'd make a call on whether it's much more dangerous out there.

godtabh

Macy0161 wrote: »

I'm not sure what your point is, other than whataboutery nonsense. Because some cyclists do something that is wrong (that doesn't appear to have killed anyone in years), it justifies motorists doing something else (which keeps killing people)?

You cant say its enforcement of the rules for one side only. Needs to happen on both. Otherwise its them vs us type thing. People should be encouraged to share the road

Macy0161

No

godtabh wrote: »

You cant say its enforcement of the rules for one side only. Needs to happen on both. Otherwise its them vs us type thing. People should be encouraged to share the road

Who said I did? I want enforcement full stop. However, the focus should be on the modes that are inflicting the death and life changing injuries, which isn't cyclists.

greenspurs

I have emailed over a dozen Tds this morning, including Minister Ross, and Councillors as well, with my original post.

I try to avoid N roads, but to get to the quieter roads, sometimes you have to gamble on the N roads.
I love cycling, but the anger, ignorance and lack of respect wears you down....

greenspurs

godtabh wrote: »

You cant say its enforcement of the rules for one side only. Needs to happen on both. Otherwise its them vs us type thing. People should be encouraged to share the road

I have yet to be a victim of a close pass from a cyclist !
Or a cyclist attempt to squeeze by !!

I know what you are saying, but its not an issue when Dangerous driving and not caring is the issue...

godtabh

Macy0161 wrote: »

Who said I did? I want enforcement full stop. However, the focus should be on the modes that are inflicting the death and life changing injuries, which isn't cyclists.

Not specifically you.

wandatowell

Government (both local and national) are gonna have to start doing something about this. As previously stated, the laws and punishments are going to have to be enforced.

Cycling appears to be a great hobby/life choice and the government are gonna have to start working with cyclists. One issue that stands out (to me) is when pro-cycling lobbyists bring forward recommendations people start freaking out over the cost of it. Until peoples mindset changes nothing will improve for the vulnerable road users. I find that very frustrating even though I don't cycle.

We are lagging so far behind Europe in this regard is laughable......and as we laugh people will die.

greenspurs wrote: »

I have emailed over a dozen Tds this morning, including Minister Ross, and Councillors as well,

Love it. Mouthing off on a public forum is one thing but positive action is another. Well done to you.

CramCycle

07Lapierre wrote: »

I will NEVER stop cycling! The benefits far outway the risks.

Same here, people say they don't want to be a stat, I want to be part of the stats that show I will live longer and be healthier while alive. If we all stopped doing things that have killed others, then nothing would get done. No one would drive, walk along a pavement, jump out of bed

Macy0161 wrote: »

Who said I did? I want enforcement full stop. However, the focus should be on the modes that are inflicting the death and life changing injuries, which isn't cyclists.

It should just be blanket, there is no need to differentiate. Just sit on the roadside and go after everyone who passes breaking a rule, be they cyclist or motorist. There needs to be major reform in regards legislation and paperwork for the gardai, as well as a huge drive in Garda recruitment or even contracting out some roles to private contractors (ANPR for Tax/Insurance, red light running, mobile phone use etc.).

Dcully

Hate to say it but I'm extremely concerned everytime I hop on the bike the last 6 months or so in particular.
Rarely do I get a spin in without seeing something dangerous or a close call.
Its bad when your kids of 11 and 14 are asking you not to cycle today.