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

Breezer · 10-01-2022 3:25pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118448600#Comment_118448600

Professional drivers already have to meet higher medical standards in order to obtain a licence, and it needs to be renewed more frequently. I’m not in any way a legal expert, but presumably that sets some sort of legislative precedent for distinguishing professional from non-professional drivers?

10-01-2022 3:42pm

As some know on this thread, I am now permanently welded to the middle of the lane after several close passes in one day.

This is a perfect example of why

https://twitter.com/ciarancannon/status/1480190186403282944?s=20

CramCycle · 10-01-2022 5:18pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118448538#Comment_118448538

I presume you are coming from the place that the rules that are there, are not strictly enforced as is. What I am saying is that they should be strictly enforced with all motorists, professional or otherwise, as you only have to be on the road for a few minutes a day to kill someone. I am implying that law enforcement is lackadaisical attitude at present against all motorists. I drove about 800km over the weekend. In that time I seen multiple breaches of the law from motorists, nearly all of which could kill someone. Whether they were professional or not was irrelevant. The standard across all motorists should be of a level that the need for differing rules would be pointless. Things like correct use of lanes, undertaking, not indicating (or indicating as you turn), speeding, mobile phone usage. These are all contributory factors in fatal RTCs, many of which can be monitored via cameras and appropriate software. If you think the rules should be stricter for professional drivers because they are on the road more, then they should be brought up to that level for all motorists. I certainly won't think any better of someone running me over if they are only commuting and not driving all day, I would expect them to receive as harsh a punishment as someone who typically drives 7 hours a day.

wheelo01 · 10-01-2022 9:18pm

Enforcement, or lack of, is the reason why people behave as they do, they know there is little to no fear of being stopped, so therefore regulations are ignored.

I saw a car in its proper lane on the quays, drive into the bus lane, and zoom away, and the car that had been in front of him? A Garda traffic Corp jeep (before rebranding). They ignored it for whatever reason.

There is a certain logic to professional drivers being put under higher scrutiny, and in fact, they are when it comes to the drink driving laws, but I think all laws need to be enforced which would encourage more to drive carefully.

VonLuck · 11-01-2022 9:18am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118450524#Comment_118450524

I more so mean that it should be relatively easy to lose your right to be a professional driver if you repeatedly infringe on road traffic laws. I think motorists would be more wary of their actions if they knew could have a temporary ban from professional driving as a result of their actions.

mackeminexile · 11-01-2022 10:47am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118357175#Comment_118357175

That's the worst bit of the new layout there. I was really surprised it was what they went with when I commuted for the first time after wfh for so long. Lethal, glad you're ok

AndrewJRenko · 11-01-2022 11:25am

There's a difference between the legal standard on the road and what good employers or fleet managers do? When I had a company car, the employer made sure that all company car drivers did advanced driver training every couple of years. It wasn't a panacea, but it did provide some additional skills and good practices. That's an example of professional drivers being held to a higher standard than others on the road.

There's also the flip side of the coin, where employers or business managers pay or incentivise drivers to cut corners. If drivers are paid per delivery (like couriers) or paid based on making x number of deliveries a day, the business is actually incentivising drivers to break traffic laws. There could be a legal liability on the employer if a crash or injury arises as a result of the driver's dangerous driving or parking.

MojoMaker · 11-01-2022 11:32am

Who said Fastway.

Dr_Colossus · 11-01-2022 1:37pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118454054#Comment_118454054

Thanks, to update I got a call from the investigating Garda in Bridewell Station (I think) a few days ago who advised there was no CCTV at that junction and that any cameras in the area were for traffic flow monitoring. Ok, whatever, I'd lost interest at that stage with the he said she said argument and no means of proving the incident. Garda did say the van was registered down the country so I guess that gives such drivers a free pass for bad driving in the big smoke when out of their comfort zone. In conclusion Garda was to ring the registered driver with a warning but whether that actually happens I have my doubts (do Gardaí pull phone numbers from associated motor tax payment logs as I'm not aware where else driver's phone numbers are stored?). I wasn't interested in pursuing it any further since no simple means of reprimanding a driver and no injury but at least there's an incident recorded against the registration.

Garda also said it's better to report such incidents at the applicable station as he was only getting the TrafficWatch report nearly two weeks after the incident. Ok fair point but what then is the purpose of TrafficWatch if not a convenient means of reporting traffic incidents since it's apparently not fit for purpose?

A few months ago I spent approximately 90mins in Store Street over two visits reporting a more serious incident involving a taxi driver on Aston Quay (gave the details in a post here at the time), I got a text message and an unexpected letter in the post with pulse numbers and what not. After all that the incident was then transferred to Pearse Street station and from there the initial Garda wanted me to call in to report the incident again but she was only available after 19:00 for a few days and then on leave for two weeks. Incident was thereafter transferred to another Garda who was very helpful and following a couple of updates advised he had the driver call into the station to give a statement and had also tracked down and spoken to his fare paying passenger. I did have a missed call or two around the time but haven't heard anything more on the incident since so not sure what if anything ever happened.

I really need to get cameras for the bike as your word is literally useless without an independent witness. I have a front and rear facing dashcam for the car but since I do more mileage per year on the bike I need to get that prioritised. Pretty difficult to get a good but yet reasonable camera for the bike though, I had the search narrowed to the Ghost Drift X a while back but never pulled the trigger.

TheChizler · 11-01-2022 2:48pm

My experience with traffic watch is that an incident file gets created and has to be followed up. Report to the station and there's no such obligation.

5uspect · 11-01-2022 9:51pm

https://twitter.com/safecyclingeire/status/1480999260938199040?s=21

Effects · 12-01-2022 12:04am

Got left hooked at the bottom of Francis St. the other day. Woman was on her phone. I was on a cargo bike, and leaned as left as I could. So she ended up rubbing the side of her car off the steering arm, leaving a sizeable amount of damage to her car. She decided to just keep on driving.

12-01-2022 12:16am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118458785#Comment_118458785

I can imagine the conversation she had at home and work once she saw the damage 🤣

Beeping cyclists

ARX · 12-01-2022 10:56am

I had one before Christmas on St Raphaela's Road in Dublin.

If I'd been on the road bike I'd have been on the road but I was on the slow hack bike so I thought I'd try the cycle track.

A couple ahead of me were walking on the adjacent footpath and about 3 metres before I passed them the man pushed the woman (in a jocular way, they were both laughing) into the cycle track, right in front of the bike sign on the tarmac.

They were very apologetic and I just said "be careful".

Even on the coastal cycle route in Dun Laoghaire people will walk onto it without looking. I think if they don't hear a motor vehicle they assume that there's nothing coming.

AndrewJRenko · 12-01-2022 1:40pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118458008#Comment_118458008

Tread carefully with submitting material to this. If it is shown in mainstream media, expect to be attacked the next day with ALL the reasons why you're wrong, because you're not wearing hi-vis, and you went over that white line 10 minutes before. Expect to be doxxed too.

07Lapierre · 12-01-2022 4:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118460823#Comment_118460823

Yep.. Hi-viz is very important... https://twitter.com/r0thar/status/1477050648982138883?s=20

AndrewJRenko · 12-01-2022 7:10pm

I've seen some of these before, but when you look at the full thread, it really is a jaw-dropping indictment of the abysmal quality of driving on Irish roads

https://twitter.com/CitizenW0lf/status/1481050925192130565

12-01-2022 7:32pm

He's a better man than me in this one. Jesus.

https://twitter.com/CitizenW0lf/status/1481051630514720769

12-01-2022 7:41pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118463369#Comment_118463369

Colourful language a plenty

A lot of these are a perfect example why I'm 100% glued to the middle of the lane, every lane on every road, from now on. I had too many like this when I hugged the curb

MojoMaker · 12-01-2022 10:20pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118463480#Comment_118463480

Jaysus. The neck on that driver.

12-01-2022 11:20pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118464371#Comment_118464371

Night and day to the one behind who saw what was happening and held back should she need to leave that driver reverse so there are good drivers out there but all it takes is one to ruin your day or worse.

12-01-2022 11:27pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118463480#Comment_118463480

Both assholes

standardg60 · 13-01-2022 12:01am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118464766#Comment_118464766

Get out on the bike much yourself?

That and the brake check one were unbelievable. Can accept that some people are just thick but when it's clearly deliberate it's another matter entirely

sy_flembeck · 13-01-2022 12:20am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118464766#Comment_118464766

Really? Why so?

CatFromHue · 13-01-2022 1:00am

Well at least the dog seemed to be having a great time!

DaveyDave · 13-01-2022 3:39am

So he's an asshole because she doesn't want to move over and yield to traffic that has right of way? If he was in a car she'd be moving into the empty space beside her.

Imagine driving into someone because you're that entitled. With a bloody dog on the front!

CramCycle · 13-01-2022 9:31am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118453736#Comment_118453736

But surely this should be the same for all drivers, it should be really easy to lose your license if you are a sh1t driver. Average speed cameras, red light cameras, bus lane cameras etc. would sort out a huge amount of sh1te on the road very quickly.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118454249#Comment_118454249

Same here, driving for work for me means that you don't cut corners but so many are incentivised to do so. An uncle drove long distance, I think another regular posters father had the same issue, where they were being incentivised to brake less so as to keep brake wear at a minimum but also the timing cross country was such that it was legally possible from a driving perspective provided you didn't have a break. Absolute insanity. Only 2 days ago Hildegarten Naughten was bragging about how they have suspended driving time rules to accommodate the logistical issues surrounding Covid. So to make up for the understaffed and under supported sector, they are effectively giving carte blanch for employers to demand more. There is a reason it is increasingly understaffed, as pay has plummeted and conditions have hit near rock bottom, a lot of people who would have made a career out of it years ago packed it in and left

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118458008#Comment_118458008

Much like Andrew, it just isn't worth the stress that it would bring to your life, as if somehow not wearing a Hi Vis or stopping just over a white line so your more visible is somehow relevant when someone tries to kill you.

ARX · 13-01-2022 10:23am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118460823#Comment_118460823

If you were wearing hi-vis, you weren't wearing enough of it. If you were clad in head-to-toe hi-vis, you didn't have lights. If you were clad in head-to-toe and had lights, you didn't have a motorcycle escort.

AndrewJRenko · 13-01-2022 11:14am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118464766#Comment_118464766

And there we go.

VonLuck · 13-01-2022 11:51am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118465771#Comment_118465771

Your average motorist can't loose their professional driving licence if they don't drive professionally so I'm not sure what your point is there. If you're talking about your normal licence, we have the penalty point system where you're off the road after 12 points. For professional drivers, you could have say, just for arguments sake, a month's professional driving ban after 6 points. It's an additional measure for those who are on the road more often.

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

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