Cycling Mikey

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119068632#Comment_119068632

Yeah I'd have more time for him was his "style" ninja, reporting stuff as he encounters it and him posting a pic of 1000 notches on his top tube for all the points he's had delivered to bad drivers.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119068615#Comment_119068615

Why don't you go and get a thousand penalty points issued and then you can criticise him fairly?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119068644#Comment_119068644

Oh stop would you Andrew, just stop ffs. I'm worse myself for engaging with you when you're like this.

km991148

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119068660#Comment_119068660

Lol I wrote and deleted two different replies 😆

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119068644#Comment_119068644

Not sure of your experience with the Irish legal system and how it reacts to such things but I have had a Bus Eireann driver admitting on camera to trying to hit me, that it was intentional and I couldn't even get them to do anything but take a statement. An admission of guilt on camera, time/date, company vehicle and so on. That wasn't enough to even spark a bit of interest. The UK seems to have a far easier system and if we had a similar one here I might actually throw a few videos in while I am answering emails over coffee but its not possible here. You can criticise him fairly without having done the same yourself, it is nonsense to imply otherwise. He is a content creator, I imagine he would take such criticism better than you seem to be. I imagine he now knows that such behaviour drives traffic (pardon the pun) and contributes towards revenue, clicks etc. Fair play to him, the man has found a job he is good at, he is passionate about and keeps his head above water, he is lucky in that regard. I don't like his content myself as it grates a bit but obviously lots of people do.

Paddigol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119068591#Comment_119068591

Do you cycle just to police the roads too? What's your style? Where's the link to your social media page? Is your opinion more valuable than anyone else's on here? Why do you keep suggesting that people who don't agree with your opinion of this lad shouldn't post their criticisms here?

DaveyDave

Considering we have basically zero road policing we really should have a system in place to report offences online. Then again why bother if Gardai don't even take traffic watch reports seriously...

Cabaal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119069978#Comment_119069978

Mikey is generally commuting, he spots these idiots on his way home most of the time.

I'd rather dangerous people are fined, pointed or put off the road rather then remain on the road. I don't care who does it or how.

Unless you think unsafe drivers should go unnoticed and unpunished?

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119069978#Comment_119069978

Too? Who is cycling “just to police roads “?

And where exactly did I suggest that people shouldn’t post their criticisms here?

km991148

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119070873#Comment_119070873

yes of course. That's the overwhelming majority of people on heres augmentt - that unsafe drivers should be let off...

🙄

Seriously.. where on earth did you pull that sweeping statement from? :D

Weepsie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119070873#Comment_119070873

He's not always commuting though. He has a video when he's slowly cycling in the oncoming traffic lane trying to catch someone. He's not trying to perform an overtake so he shouldn't be in the lane for one, but he's actively looking for stuff and there's never any context

Cabaal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119071012#Comment_119071012

I"m still not seeing the issue, if he decides to go out for a spin just to catch idiots on phones why exactly would that be a problem?

They shouldn't be on the phones to begin with, its easy for them to not get fined/pointed.

CramCycle

I'm more surprised at how much people here care, I don't watch his videos as they grate on my nerves a bit. If they annoy you, stop, if they don't great. He is only a danger to himself as far as I can tell, nothing he does, to the best of my memory has endangered others.

Weepsie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119071171#Comment_119071171

You stated he's just on his commute. That's no longer true. He's often just out trying to catch people. Great, it's his time.

My other point was he's occasionally cycling in the oncoming lane and not to perform an overtake, but to do what his "duty".

He should just film and report. That he picks and chooses who he seems to wants to talk to shows me that he's increasingly trying to be antagonistic or get a rise from tosspots like your man. But he's also himself being a tosser in that instance.

Most of his content is or was just film and report. That's fine. And people are allowed not like him. Their are some perfectly valid criticisms for that. Attacking posters for not liking some aspects of his video is weirder to me than the criticisms of the videos themselves.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119071661#Comment_119071661

How do you know where he's going or what he's doing? Do you have access to his diary or what?

People are indeed absolutely allowed not to like him. As noted above, the most obvious action for those people is not to watch his videos.

People are indeed allowed to watch his videos AND complain about him, just as others are allowed complain about the complaining.

To me, the complaining is real 'hurler on the ditch' stuff, people who've never considered reporting a driver or engaging with a driver, people who think cyclists should keep their head down and tug their forelock and say thanks to the nice motorist for not killing them today. It reminds me a bit of the tone policing evident during the real campaign, all the old men telling the young women they had to be nicer to the men who wanted to control their bodies, be more reasonable, not be obstreperous. We all know how that worked out.

He does what he does. I don't like everything he does, every sentence, every gesture, every quip. But I do know that he's made a vastly greater contribution to road safety than his entire army of critics put together.

km991148

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072377#Comment_119072377

Lol you've some attitude and your black and white "tug the forelock" rhetoric that you keep spouting is really telling.

It will absolutely place a ceiling on your ability to become a better road user.

I'd also point out that if these assumptions were in anyway directed at me then you would be completely wide of the mark.

I have reported, I will continue to do so, I'm a pretty strong and assertive cyclist (and driver), you just won't see me going on about it... And if you allow your dog to deliberately crap on my lawn you wouldn't be getting another chance 😆

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072529#Comment_119072529

But you'll keep giving drivers another chance, for some strange reason.

km991148

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119073116#Comment_119073116

No. That's your interpretation.

km991148

And you know what, most of the clips I see we posted on boards, are just situations I don't get into.

Mikey is separate as he is doing a campaign, but for the casual commuter that posts on near misses, I see some dreadful failures in anticipation skills. You will always have **** drivers. You won't change that. You certainly won't by having a road side argument or calling them small dicked. You will have more success by reporting them, but Ireland is a **** show.

But by practicing better cycling is the most effective bang for your buck change you can make. If every cyclist upped their game and led by example, drivers wouldn't have a chance to act the way they do. This isn't victim blaming it's just controlling what you can and not trying to make a right from two wrongs.

But if some of ye don't adjust your attitudes on the roads then you will be forever stuck in this angry us Vs them bullshit.

Cabaal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119073689#Comment_119073689

So if every cyclist cycled perfectly drivers wouldn't have a chance to act the way they do?

Honestly, what world do you live on?

The following things are wrong in many drivers views:

• Using a bike box at a traffic junction
• Not wearing a helmet
• Not wearing hi-viz
• Not wearing enough hi-viz
• Wearing too much hi-viz and/or lycra
• Using a bike lane
• Not using a bike lane
• Simply cycling on roads at all (because they don't pay road tax!!!!1)
• Cycling too fast
• Cycling too slow
• Cycling with kids
• Filtering through traffic
• Simply owning a bike (cause they don't pay road taxx!!!!!!111)

You claim you are not victim blaming but you are doing exactly that and everything I've listed above is legal to do.

The reality is that even if cyclists break every red light in the world that doesn't for one nanosecond make it ok for ANY motorists to try run cyclist off the road in an aggressive manner, to drive with a mobile or to speed.

As a motorist, cyclist, pedestrian and runner I have no issue with reporting dangerous behaviour by anybody, the reality shows that most of that dangerous behavior is from motorists so they deserve to be punished for endangering others.

I'll give you one example, last week I videoed a speed sign for 1hr, over 60% of cars passing exceeded the 50km/limit, several of them exceeded 70km/hour. Every one of them was entering a school zone!

Stop victim blaming and making excuses for **** driving,

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119073689#Comment_119073689

We could do both- practicing better cycling AND challenge dangerous drivers directly to make it socially unacceptable.

km991148

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119075066#Comment_119075066

Sure, you do you! I'm good for getting into arguments with randomers (except on here yif course..).

It's not even the challenging, it's the antagonistic style. Besides, I said you would get more bang for your buck on being better. Once again you take part of the statement and run with it out if context.

MojoMaker

Ignoring Cabaal's post because it's not convenient?

km991148

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119077792#Comment_119077792

Actually missed it. Had to scroll up to check your comment was for me. Thanks for flagging it, I'll read it when sober and reply then.

km991148

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119078679#Comment_119078679

Actually I can answer now, what the **** has it got to do with my simple claim that it's far better not to get into arguments with **** drivers (or worse, antagonise them by making assertions about their manhood?)

I'm sick of this us Vs them crap. I also run, cycle, walk and drive.. but yet I've still got to be pigeonhole based on assumptions by boards.ie users.. it's madness!

km991148

And besides, in no way I have indicated that I condone bad driving. I'm not against reporting bad driving (I'd wager I've done so more than most here). I've been the victim of terrible driving (nerve damage that took years to heal, not quite fully) but when it comes down to it, you will not "educate" a driver by waving your pinky at him to insinuate they have a small dick.

I didn't say don't report, I said the biggest bang for buck is leading by example and practicing being a better cyclist. Frankly I think there are a lot of terrible cyclists that post here and they could do a helluva lot more to up their own game. This is not mutually exclusive to crap drivers having to do the same...

Cabaal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119078761#Comment_119078761

Leading by example doesn't work,

Take speeding or mobile phone use, lots of people don't do it when driving. But does it make a difference to those that do. Nope, not for a second.

Enforcement is the only way to get people to change, putting the onus on cyclist to cycle perfectly as a means to improve motorist behaviour is just laughable. As I've already pointed out motorists get outraged by perfectly legal things cyclist do....but you've ignored all that.

Using your logic Gardai shouldn't monitor speed and we shouldn't have speed vans. Instead other motorists should just lead by example and not speed. That'll sort out the issue.

🙄

km991148

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119079227#Comment_119079227

Nah you are mixing many issues here and being very obtuse about it.

"Going by your logic".. yeah cool. I don't know how many times I've made clear that drivers should be reported. I think people just love an argument tbh and have no real interest in road safety or getting better.

Good luck and stay safe everyone.

km991148

And besides, like I say, many of the posters on this site could definitely do more for their own safety. The anticipation skills are often absolutely dreadful on the near misses thread. It's cringey. As I have said, repeatedly, this is not a boolean. People can do more for their own safety AND also report drivers etc.

I don't know why you are missing that point? I can't really simplify it any further tbh.

The only real issue I have is people that get into roadside arguments. That's just moronic to me, but some of ye just love it.

Large bottle small glass

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119079763#Comment_119079763

The problem you are encountering is the very nature of platforms like Twitter/YouTube?Facebook don't lend themselves to reasoned argument and seeing both sides of things; you pick a fu(king side and defend/attack irrespective of the merits on either side.

If you ever try and have a discussion about reducing your risk of almost anything but especially as a cyclist on here or the mentioned platforms, the immediate discussion killer 101 is normally pulled out in that you are victim blaming irrespective of the merits or otherwise of your argument.

Cycling Mikey will get more traffic the more he engages with drivers; whether his goal is traffic and likes/shares or money it doesn't really matter. Once he gets people angry or annoyed he will drive traffic.

In the last clip linked there was a lot of people on phones, but he chose to engage with someone to get a row going rather than passively reporting as many as possible isn't much of a watch.

Interesting essay here from last month, if long and way off topic, on American politics but with a section commenting on the real world outcomes arising from recent trends on social media platforms

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/05/social-media-democracy-trust-babel/629369/