Near Misses Volume 2 (So close you can feel it)

tnegun

There was something in the air this evening with several passes into oncoming traffic causing the traffic to take some avoiding action. Here are two of the stupidest both in quick succession and in a race to a red light. The first guy caused the learner to come to a complete stop and the second caused the oncoming traffic to move out of the way. The white van then followed up with a dive to the curb to prevent me from passing on the inside he then drove straight through the junction and turned right behind me!

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119885841#Comment_119885841

i used to enjoy this a lot on strand road when motorists would overtake and find themselves heading straight towards a traffic island.

DaveyDave

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119885911#Comment_119885911

It really is a race to the destination. I had someone undertake me in a bus lane when in the car so they could turn left at a light and stop outside a school just after the junction. We were maybe 30 seconds away from the junction but this person decided to undertake, speed and use the bus lane. Just to park up.

It's a road I'm undertaken on almost every time. The mentality these days is that you have to catch up to the car in front so everyone does 10-20 over the limit if the road is clear up until they catch up and follow the car ahead, even if it means using a bus lane and undertaking. Just to get to traffic or a red light. It's ridiculous but it's what we get for having zero road policing. I've had people throwing their hands up in the car behind me for doing the speed limit because there's space in front of me and I should be speeding to catch up to traffic...

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119886493#Comment_119886493

Yes it is a nonsense, once you're on duty you're essentially performing your duty no matter what you're doing, it's basically a get out of jail free card. Why are guards exempt from the law regarding the use of mobile phones while driving, are they trained not to get distracted?

I knew a lad who joined the Garda reserve and would go out on patrol in the squad car occasionally, one patrol consisted of going to Woodies to collect some garden furniture for the guard's home. He learned fast though in fairness to him, the reserve badge is identical to the real one so there was no queuing at Coppers or paying for train tickets.

As for hierarchy, the whole civil service is more militant in it's application than the army!

Don't Chute!

I’ve never posted in here before as I really only get the run of the mill close passes but today was the closest I’ve ever come to not coming back from a cycle. Heading from Ashford towards Rathnew I entered the roundabout and was about 3/4s of the way through when a fcuking idiot came up off the slip road. I usually keep an eye on who’s coming onto a roundabout and this was no exception. However this guy was so far back I didn’t even see him as a threat. But he just kept coming, at speed. I’d say he was millimeters from completely taking me out and I really don’t know how he stopped! I remember looking down at my bottom bracket and I could see his bumper! I continued on and he held back, presumably a bit shook himself as when he eventually passed me he rolled his passenger window down and apologized. I would normally give someone like that a bollocking but I was completely unable to say anything and just kept going. I’ve never been that close to being taken out and it was fcuking terrifying.

Citizen Six

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119913374#Comment_119913374

My GoPro gives about an hour charge, but it's been a bit less lately due to the battery degrading. I sometimes carry two. But I find I have to charge it when I get to work, or it'll often die on the way home.

CramCycle

Jaysus, had to head into Dublin Town on Thursday. F'in hell I forgot what a sh1tshow driving can be in certain parts. A few (and these are only a small number of things) small examples:

• On the Donnybrook Road, had two cars merge over into the bus lane while on their phones.
• An elderly gent ran a red on a T junction at the coombe with nary a care in the world, thankfully the bus behind me had also stopped to accomodate the idiot. He did not care.
• Two drivers along Vicar St. overtook me to make a left turn where I had to hit the brakes so hard it was effectively an emergency stop.
• Around Marrowbone Lane I had a VW SUV tailgunning me coming upto roadworks and then overtook on the wrongside of a divider at +60kmph through a stop/go system into oncoming traffic.
• Then coming along St. Lukes (could be wrong with the name), another elderly gent jumped into the segregated bus lane as I was coming up it and I had to bail to the side. He then accelerated into the right turn at the end (same junction as previous elderly male driver) and only narrowly missed tipping the car in front. I would later overtake him on his phone, adjusting his glasses like he wasn't able to read it.
• Then along the return journey heading to Donnybrook, every junction blocked by cars sitting in yellow boxes, at least half were taxi drivers.
• Guy on the ebike in front of me nearly got wiped out by a van who took a racing line through the S bend in Donnybrook. It is nothing short of a miracle that we don't have more near misses.

Between mobile phone users and a certain age demographic who seem to have given up caring about anyone but themselves, it was one of the worst hours on a bike I have had in a long time. I'd hate to be a cyclist who was a bit slower on the reaction times as it must be terrifying. Finally got home that evening to a car who swung across traffic to enter a one way system at the train station from the wrong side, and then roll eyes at me as I had to stop as he came straight at me. He then pulled in and parked on the Bus Eireann collection point. I left before finding out what wonderful maneuvre he used to get out of there. Then 30 seconds later a Crimewatch van overtook me to left hook me at a traffic light he had a red for (because the train was coming), I presume they now have some legislative power equivalent to the Gardai and it was in the course of his duties.

F* off world.

Weepsie

My near miss was with pedestrians stepping in front of me at my bike advance light. I maturily called him a cock after he shouted at me for existing

Pinch Flat

Had a car pull out left from a roundabout in front of me in the phoenix park earlier. Nothing unusual about that you might say except the motorist had driven up the bike lane at the Wellington monument. 2nd time I've seen that in the past couple of weeks.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/nhExrjD5uwPaWBNE6

Pinch Flat

..

Pinch Flat

Two incidents this morning both before 9.30am on a Sunday. The sad thing is both drivers were with young children - presumably sons - each around 10 -11 years of age. Some great parenting examples on display.

Incident 1

Coming through rathoath village on the way to the club meet up. Car coming against me. Car behind continues on, brushing past me On a really narrow road. Driver pulled into the car park where we meet up. I decided to have a polite word. "hey you came really close to me there made me wobble" i said. " fcuk off or I'll wobble you again". Charming. I'm guessing he took nothing from our interaction.

Incident 2

Four of us set off towards dunshaughlin. As we got to the village, we had a fast and close pass from a bmw x5. Puzzling move, because he was turning right and we were in the left lane going straight on - he had served over to close pass us. Anyway, he's got his passenger window down when we pull up to the light.

"You should all be riding solo" says he. We're trying to remind him that cycling two abreast is perfectly legal and that he shouldn't be using his vehicle to intimidate cyclists. Again, totally lost on him. We pushed on. The light went red again and he got stuck there. Bizarre.

De Bhál

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119934440#Comment_119934440

hang him high.

no way that was 90km/h though

Looks to be the Castletown road I think. Absolute scum.

crisco10

Had a near miss on Sunday, but I was driving.

Happened here:

https://goo.gl/maps/kmJqcWAhTuPQ4BDf9

I was coming up from Sandyford, and in left lane to join M50 southbound. Cyclist going up the shiney new cycle lane out of town. He reached the lights (Which were green for the traffic) and swerved onto the road and straight in front of me. (I'd to swerve into the other lane to avoid him as he was literally right on my front left wing when he dropped off the kerb).

My understanding was that he would have been bound by the (red) colour of the pedestrian lights given the angles of everything at that point, but he (i think) was of the understanding that the cycle line simply terminated and he continued "straight" through the junction? There is a yield sign on the cycle path, but that seems to be indicating a requirement to yield to pedestrians on approach to the lights from cycle lane?

So, in summary, not sure if cyclist was right or wrong, but either way I got quite a fright!

Any thoughts?

Squidgy Black

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119935474#Comment_119935474

He wouldn’t be bound by the pedestrian lights as they’d only apply if he was crossing but the onus would be on him to yield and merge safely into the traffic lane

crisco10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119935534#Comment_119935534

Well he definitely didn't merge safely, assuming that if it's not safe to merge (because I was approaching) then he should have yielded and stopped.

It's (another) really poorly laid out part of infrastructure, because I know that following the cycle lane means crossing 4 roads, rather than just merging and swinging up on the road itself. But this is another level of confusion, and that point is a particularly an awful spot to merge as a cyclist with 2 lanes of cars sweeping toward the M50 and the cyclist coming from an unsighted area (i.e. "off" the road) to many motorists.

magicbastarder

yeah, the bad infrastructure is not a help, it doesn't facilitate merging, and whoever designed it clearly doesn't want cyclists proceeding straight on.

CramCycle

No matter how you look at it, there is no way a cyclist with their eyes open could have considered that a reasonable manoeuvre. I often merge at the junction for M50 service vehicles just prior but you need a bit of confidence and road reading ability.

Pawwed Rig

I cycle that way reasonably regularly and some of the "upgrades" they have done are poor. In this case I would think the should have yielded though

magicbastarder

without a doubt the cyclist should have yielded as they were entering a lane, they should yield to whatever is in that lane.

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119935924#Comment_119935924

Yep that infrastructure is purely for crossing to where the cyclist is in the pic, any cyclist going straight on should be on the road before the left filter lane occurs so they can be in the middle lane at the junction.

Kamikaze stuff from the cyclist and the sort of behaviour that only encourages the anti cyclist brigade.

Squidgy Black

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119935611#Comment_119935611

Yeah I don’t know the actual area well myself but it looks like they should’ve had some form of flyover for pedestrians and cyclists, as opposed to multiple crossings of 3 lane roads.

I swear anyone who designs any infrastructure like that never actually thinks what happens to cyclists at the end of the path, it’s the ‘figure it out yourself’ plan once you get to where they’ve planned

tnegun

One of the closest yet this evening passing the Intel roundabout towards Maynooth here I was in lane 1 coming from Leixlip proceeding straight through when a left-hand drive van comes from behind in the same lane and attempts to take the first exit straight through me. Had I not completely stopped he would have gone through me and he missed my front wheel by mm. I had just fixed a puncture so annoyingly the camera was off, it probably saved me though as my pump broke so the front wheel was only half inflated and I was traveling a lot slower as result. I let such a roar I frightened the passenger in the rear seat visibly jumped out of their seat.

Take a guess as to what happened before you hit play. More than likely you'll be wrong. The drivers response is a bit nuts too

https://twitter.com/anneramsey740/status/1597352813612666886?s=20&t=MCvR10heXEJeHnAnw8XIJg

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119936816#Comment_119936816

No sound, but you can see what they do at the moment they decide they've had enough of the discussion

tnegun

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119936649#Comment_119936649

Agree completely I think if you did follow the cycle lane there are 5 possibly 6 lanes of fast traffic to try to cross unaided!

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119935924#Comment_119935924

Dependent on the day I will either take the road or the expected path. The path is a pain in the hoop, spits you out at the bottom of an annoying climb. At least the road you can carry pace into Bearna way. The path does mean you can avoid cars provided none run the red (several do though on the other side). In all my times cycling that way, it's a 2 minute cycle, with 2 lights. With the path, on a good day (and it rarely is, it's 4 minutes (more often than not it's 8 minutes).

Kaisr Sose

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119935967#Comment_119935967

Poor and dangerous. I had too many vehicles turn left off Drummartin Link to Upr Kilmacud Rd, including one thst had me on the deck.

The cycle lane on the pavement until. Just before the lights means they don't see you as road traffic. Indicating at last second does not help either. The corner should be made a 90 one, not the wide sweeping one thst encourages fast cornering. Very poor by design.

Cycle lanes on pavements are not a good idea.

Liam O

Most of the north Dublin cycle lanes appear to have been designed in a way that lead to a cyclist being spat onto a road or a crossing whether it's the ones in Artane that you've to do a pedestrian cross at the roundabout or the one outside the Tesco between Feltrim and Airside that just kind of...stops on the path.

When I cycled from Santry to Finglas last year to get to the COVID testing centre the cycle lane crossed through the entrance to multiple estates that cars definitely would not adhere or pay attention to. The road is the only way really.

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119937841#Comment_119937841

To be fair it drops you down to road level a good 25m before hand, the issue is simply cars not giving a f*ck, they don't look, and to be honest I am surprised you even get a indicate as I am turning light, most don't even bother with that. The next junction where they can mergge over the bike lane to turn down Benildus Avenue is actually worse. The number of near misses with pedestrians or cars clipping the safety barriers over the years is astonishing.

munsterfan2

First time I cycled to work ( summer training as it 55k ) I followed signs for N2 and got onto the 3-lane section after M2 where you have to cross to the middle lane to continue straight as the left lane filters onto M50. Didnt do it a second time :-) Now it's left at KilShane cross and around the back of Airport, ClareHall and back onto N2 at Lidl Finglas.

magicbastarder

you mean charlestown rather than clarehall? i wouldn't fancy the R122 through balseskin in the dark.

Squidgy Black

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119939037#Comment_119939037

The sad thing is the Artane roundabout is so close to being a proper Dutch style roundabout, but priority was given to the cars so crossing is a nightmare due to all the lights.

That and the merges back onto the road are woeful, going town direction it brings you across the front of a busy bus stop and just dumps you into the bus lane, and going towards coolock it brings you down a side road with no real merge back into the malahide road

tnegun

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119943364#Comment_119943364

That bike lane is another disaster and another example of why paint doesn't make infrastructure. If there's no queue you get close passed as your in one "lane" and the car in another so passing distances seemingly don't apply, then the pinch crossing the canal bridge and traffic encroaching on you to cars in the queue to the amenities either suddenly pulling into the lane in front of you or suddenly opening doors to let someone out!

tnegun

The same roundabout as Tuesday night, keep an eye on the white car on the right as we enter the roundabout, he changed lanes from behind me but then completely messes up and doesn't accelerate into space to get around me then somehow manages to get passed himself and decides to squeeze me! A few minutes later this guy pulls off this manoeuver and quickly gets a taste of his own medicine! Sorry for the language I had a ton of close passes tonight so my blood was up. I cannot wait for the Leixlip -> Maynooth greenway to be done as I will completely avoid this stretch!

Weepsie

St. Pats and DCU students were causing mild carnage in Drumcondra this evening, spilling everywhere. I politely asked some to get the f*ck off the road, and then one stumbled into me and bumped me in the shoulder. A quick cop on, and fine, til his dickhead mate took a kick at my bike. I was absolutely livid. I had an idea which of them it was. Big man, standing behind his mates saying what you going to do etc.

Anyone cycling through Drumcondra tomorrow, glass everywhere

magicbastarder

huh. DCU students being dicks is one of the possible explanations of the possible seeming break-in i mentioned in the la flamme rouge thread.

Pawwed Rig

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119943576#Comment_119943576

It is being replaced by a signal controlled junction.

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119946676#Comment_119946676

Must be a city wide student night, UCD students were drinking getting onto the buses at 8:30 this morning and most I seen were not going to make it to 8pm as I went home. Empty shoulders of vodka everywhere.

Kaisr Sose

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119943263#Comment_119943263

I totally agree they don't give a hoot about their driving. The left turn at Luas heading towards Beacon is for me not as bad as the left onto Kilmacud. It's all bad design though. Between Benildas and Beacon where the lane goes over to the othrt side is bonkers. When you cross you have infrastructure in your way of joining the cycle lane and it's not ramped flush. This is new design and still not thinking of the cyclist access to the two way lane to Beacon. Easily avoidable to make it both pedestrian and cyclist friendly.

fun loving criminal

Not really a close pass but more of a road rage rant.

Got stuck behind a bin truck on my way to work. Bin truck stopping at every house to pick up bins, holding me back. On a narrow road, so I couldn't overtake and when I had a chance, bin truck had stopped and there was a gap to pass, I decided to go for it, only to be held back because they would start up again. I got off my bike to walk up on the footpath and try and walk past them instead but I wasn't fast enough and they just would not give me a chance to pass, on my bike or on foot. They knew exactly what I was trying to do and just try and get in front, so I could get to work.

Just some cop on is needed, please.

crisco10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119948643#Comment_119948643

Stop, I regularly need to cycle through that junction at the beacon/drummartin road with my kid in the trailer. (A trailer i got instead of a 2nd car - sustainable or what!)

And then i need to turn right onto blackthorn Road. For all the cycle lanes painted on the road everywhere, by far the safest way to do it is to just cross at pedestrian lights and roll down the footpath across the old entrance to the hotel. Everything else is putting my kid in harms way.

They've spent so much time and effort putting cycle lanes down, and yet, they're not even close to useful.

fun loving criminal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119950865#Comment_119950865

I'm expected to pull in and let cars pass me but that same rule doesn't apply to a other traffic then?

Elvis Hammond

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119950636#Comment_119950636

So you're Mr. Bean? Kids were watching it the other day, & he was at something similar.

Weepsie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119952065#Comment_119952065

No you're not. There's no rule that states that

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119952065#Comment_119952065

I hate to ask but how come you couldn't pass the bin truck when it collected bins? Or did I misunderstand what was happening. Was the driver overtaking each time rather than slowing once and you'd be away?

fun loving criminal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119953954#Comment_119953954

There was a very narrow street with cars parked on each side, very little room to pass. But when there was room to pass, that's exactly what the driver done, sped up while I tried passing.

Weepsie

Very likely driver can't see you.

fun loving criminal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119954205#Comment_119954205

The two lads hanging off the back of the truck did see me.

Weepsie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119954792#Comment_119954792

They're not driving the truck