Motorbikes in Cycle Lanes

Tombo2001

I know people might look at this and consider it a bit rich considering the liberal use of footpaths by cyclists.

Nonetheless - its something thats on the rise for sure and is not policed and is potentially dangerous.

The particular reason is the speed the motorbikes travel at and the fact that is a de facto 'undertaking' lane. Seen a guy (or girl) on a motorbike yesterday undertake a bus - he (she) was in the centre lane travelling at traffic speed of circa 50k per hour; moved onto cycle lane and did not slow down, and came around the front of bus from the left. The bus was travelling a bit slower than traffic speed.

I know this anecdotal stuff does not mean every motorbike is at it; nonetheless......where does one stand on this issue, as a cyclist.

Seth Brundle

He should probably be a bit more careful as they frequently have parked cars in them!

Tombo2001

Seth Brundle wrote: »

He should probably be a bit more careful as they frequently have parked cars in them!

So true!

LOL.

Fabio

I'm a motorcyclist, and cycled for years before that. I do this the odd time but not at any speed like that, and never if someone is cycling in the cycle lane and never if the cycle lane is raised (obviously I suppose). When I filter to the top of traffic, I do it safely and within the guidelines, and sometimes that requires me to stop in the cyclists bit at the top of the lane. Again, if there is a cyclist there I don't interfere and I actually keep the traffic behind at a slow pace to allow the cyclist(s) to get away from the junction before I head off myself.

At the end of the day, we motorcyclists are a vulnerable bunch too, and we know what it's like when a cyclist is cut off by someone in a car or when a car door swings out and hits you. We understand it, or at least I do. Those of us on two wheels, of all forms, need to look out for one another.

blackwhite

Tombo2001 wrote: »

I know people might look at this and consider it a bit rich considering the liberal use of footpaths by cyclists.

Not just cyclists on footpaths - often see motorcyclists using the footpath here to avoid using Sean Moore Road

https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.3444803,-6.227109,3a,90y,16.87h,88.17t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1sziBI6pow0f9hkAbRBrzUug!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DziBI6pow0f9hkAbRBrzUug%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dsearch.TACTILE.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D96%26h%3D64%26yaw%3D154.54%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100

irlirishkev

Doesn't bother me too much, and I do see it a lot.
Tbh I've seen mopeds/scooters going up them faster than motorbikes tend to.

As long as they're not going too fast, and aren't blocking the way (for bikes behind) if they're stopped in traffic.. then I just ignore it.

Pedestrians often walk out onto bike lanes though, and that could be particularly nasty for all involved.

magicbastarder

my main issue with motorbikes is not so much them using cycle lanes - usually they're going faster than me and i can't really remember any dangerous overtakes - but of motorcyclists shoaling.
it's a (very minor) irritation when another cyclist passes you out to sit in front of you when you're waiting at traffic lights, it's quite another when a motorcyclist does it and you end up breathing in their fumes.

that said, it's a rare occurrence.

check_six

Surely the opportunity for motor-pacing should not be overlooked! Get the boot down and draft away!

Fabio

Fabio wrote: »

I'm a motorcyclist, and cycled for years before that. I do this the odd time but not at any speed like that, and never if someone is cycling in the cycle lane and never if the cycle lane is raised (obviously I suppose). When I filter to the top of traffic, I do it safely and within the guidelines, and sometimes that requires me to stop in the cyclists bit at the top of the lane. Again, if there is a cyclist there I don't interfere and I actually keep the traffic behind at a slow pace to allow the cyclist(s) to get away from the junction before I head off myself.

At the end of the day, we motorcyclists are a vulnerable bunch too, and we know what it's like when a cyclist is cut off by someone in a car or when a car door swings out and hits you. We understand it, or at least I do. Those of us on two wheels, of all forms, need to look out for one another.

I've encountered this a few times and do enjoy the breathing space getting away from a junction, especially at roundabouts and right turns.

As for the use of the cycle lane, I've no real issue if it's not at crazy speed and it's clear and they leave room for cyclists coming from behind at the top of the queue. Like in every walk of life you'll encounter dickheads who'll tail gate a cyclist in the lane and generally take the piss, fortunately I've only experienced that once and read the guy the riot act at the lights, in fairness he did apologise having admitted he didn't think he was too close me given the speed but conceded it could easily have been read by me as an attempt to intimidate me out of the way.

Utter Consternation

magicbastarder wrote: »

my main issue with motorbikes is not so much them using cycle lanes - usually they're going faster than me and i can't really remember any dangerous overtakes - but of motorcyclists shoaling.
it's a (very minor) irritation when another cyclist passes you out to sit in front of you when you're waiting at traffic lights, it's quite another when a motorcyclist does it and you end up breathing in their fumes.

that said, it's a rare occurrence.

I've been undertaken by motorcyclists on the South Quays plenty of times. I always find the motorcylists to be at their most aggressive there.

C3PO

I see smaller motorbikes in the cycle lanes on my commute all the time - doesn't really bother me ... I find the stupid electric scooters far more irritating tbh!!

Utter Consternation

C3PO wrote: »

I see smaller motorbikes in the cycle lanes on my commute all the time - doesn't really bother me ... I find the stupid electric scooters far more irritating tbh!!

I don't mind the scooters so much. The only real problem with them is their silence, they tend to creep up on you.

RayCun

Fabio wrote: »

When I filter to the top of traffic, I do it safely and within the guidelines, and sometimes that requires me to stop in the cyclists bit at the top of the lane. Again, if there is a cyclist there I don't interfere and I actually keep the traffic behind at a slow pace to allow the cyclist(s) to get away from the junction before I head off myself.

Just reminded me of something from a month or two ago...

Cycling home along the canal on a wet evening, I stopped at the lights here. There were a few bikes ahead of me, and a motorbike. The guy on the motorbike was pissed off that there were bikes in the advanced stopping area ahead of him, and was shouting at them that they were in his way, he was going to run them over when the lights changed.

Sure enough, the lights changed, yer man went roaring off at top speed, swerving around the bikes in front of him... and lost control of his bike, skidding all over the wet surface and nearly going on his arse :pac:

Utter Consternation

RayCun wrote: »

Just reminded me of something from a month or two ago...

Cycling home along the canal on a wet evening, I stopped at the lights . There were a few bikes ahead of me, and a motorbike. The guy on the motorbike was pissed off that there were bikes in the advanced stopping area ahead of him, and was shouting at them that they were in his way, he was going to run them over when the lights changed.

Sure enough, the lights changed, yer man went roaring off at top speed, swerving around the bikes in front of him... and lost control of his bike, skidding all over the wet surface and nearly going on his arse :pac:

That's top class. Motorcyclists in general are fairly alright, they have it tough on the road. There's a few head bangers out there too though unfortunately.

mrcheez

I remember being shouted at by a motorcyclist because I was "in the way" on the bus lane

*cough*

Utter Consternation

mrcheez wrote: »

I remember being shouted at by a motorcyclist because I was "in the way" on the bus lane

*cough*

Welcome to everyday on the Quays in Dublin.

Cionn

I have a bigger issue with e-bikes flying along in the cycle lanes, they fly along and are silent, they seem to be getting faster all the time. Motorbikes in general you can hear them a mile away and as a group they have pretty much the same agenda as a cyclist i.e. stay safe and away from cars as much as possible.

eeeee

I don't mind them most of the time. I've had a few close passes, mostly by scooters, and that's real annoying but as long as they give me room it they do make any odds to me.

kenmc

Cionn wrote: »

I have a bigger issue with e-bikes flying along in the cycle lanes, they fly along and are silent, they seem to be getting faster all the time.

How does that differ to a normal bike? Silent, check. Getting faster, if you're doing it right, check.

Macy0161

Seeing this more regularly on the Clonskeagh Road in the mandatory cycle lane. I do have an issue with it, as they generally travel faster and are a heavier mass than say an ebike or escooter.

I've also experienced punishment passes by motorbikes in bus lanes - probably more from them than buses (although not as much as taxis).

So basically, I don't subscribe to all two wheels are good... I am bias as well as every weekend and summer evening they do ridiculous speeds (and speeding) on my local roads where we're trying to go about our business walking the children to matches etc.

doozerie

Generally speaking I don't mind sharing space with motorbikes, whether in bus lanes or cycle lanes, but as with anything it all depends on their attitude and behaviour. Some people are fundamentally just downright obnoxious and aggressive, they'd be the very same behind the wheel of a car or on a bicycle, but put them on a motorbike and in a cycle lane and the risks they pose to those immediately around them grow significantly. It's not because they are on a motorbike so much as because they are assholes though.

I've encountered some prime examples of that, very few but they stand out because they were such assholes. Like the motorbike courier who cut me up in the cycle lane so that he could undertake the traffic ahead, and let loose a stream of abuse when I suggested he open his eyes. As an aside, it can be the most entertaining part of any day to watch an asshole hurl determined abuse at you from within a full-faced motorbike helmet. As their face tries to mould itself into a bigger and more aggressive version of itself, the confined space inside the helmet actively fights against them. That plus the fact that their words struggle to escape the helmet, seeming to rattle around inside it, makes it looks like they are engaged in a vicious fight against themselves. You basically watch their head implode.

I do recall one guy, another courier actually, another occasion of diving into the cycle lane to undertake a line of cars stopped at the traffic light ahead. I'm not sure whether the lane was narrower than he'd anticipated or whether he was just an incompetent motorbike handler, but whatever the reason he hopped his front wheel against the kerb to his left. He swung the bike to the right to compensate. But too far as he was now heading towards one of the stopped cars. He swung to the left to compensate. Too far, he hopped the front wheel against the kerb again. Swung to the right. But too far. etc. Back and forth, back and forth.

I had a full view of this spectacle from right behind him. It was 50-50 whether he'd recover control. He lost. By the time he hit the kerb for the final time his speed had reduced enough that his bike toppled to the left and he flopped onto the footpath. Pure embarrassment is like rocket fuel, the speed at which he got to his feet to begin the struggle of trying to lift his bike was impressive. I could have stopped to help him, but I reckon he wouldn't have welcomed the attention, or my uncontrollable laughter, so I left him to it.

Tenzor07

The Dutch with their amazing cycle infrastructure still have one massive problem...

Motor Scooters are legally entitled to use the cycle lanes, they buzz along at a much higher speed than the normal cycle lane users and without helmets either...

As for Motorbikers using the painted lines on the road with a bicycle symbol in them? Well I don't see a problem with that... I would have a major issue with motor bikes on the Grand Canal cycle lane and Clontarf to Sutton one...

Tenzor07

C3PO wrote: »

I find the stupid electric scooters far more irritating tbh!!

Woman in Poland fined by Police because she changed position while walking and the user of the electric scooter had no chance to avoid her:

https://tvnwarszawa.tvn24.pl/informacje,news,potracil-ja-chlopak-na-hulajnodze-brdostala-mandat-bo-zmienila-pozycje,288970.html

Lumen

The problem with enforcing motorbikes out of bus lanes is that all the reasonable motorcyclists would go and you'd still be left with the arseholes.

It is genuinely surprising to me that some motorcyclists are doing "punishment passes" to cyclists when they themselves are illegally using a bus lane, and seems more likely that they're being careless rather than vindictive, but it's difficult to argue with personal experience.

tomasrojo

Tenzor07 wrote: »

The Dutch with their amazing cycle infrastructure still have one massive problem...

Motor Scooters are legally entitled to use the cycle lanes, they buzz along at a much higher speed than the normal cycle lane users and without helmets either...

Don't know how accurate this is, but I do remember reading that they'd try to exclude the faster mechanically propelled two-wheelers from the cycling infrastructure:
https://www.fastcompany.com/3068522/dutch-cyclists-have-had-it-with-motorized-scooters-invading-bike-lanes