Can't walk on country roads anymore

Hard Knocks · 01-02-2022 10:38pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118567910#Comment_118567910

Isn’t it the same to cattle been drove

Easten · 01-02-2022 10:48pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118567949#Comment_118567949

I think so, but it has been years since I brought cattle on the road. Jezz you'd want your head tested now for trying it! A friend of mine in dairy is having an awful time bringing his cows along the road. They have always done it since year 0, about 250 meters to the parlor takes no more than 5 minutes to move the cows. During the five minutes he often gets every sort of a mug trying to force there way through the Cows. He's on the point of packing it in at this stage which is a pity as he is an excellent dairyman

roosterman71 · 01-02-2022 10:54pm

If you are moving animals along a road, you are in complete control of the road. Motorists/walkers/cyclists have to yield to those in charge of the animals

Ave Sodalis · 01-02-2022 11:16pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118567910#Comment_118567910

Yes, they do. Or, as pointed out, farmers handling livestock.

I've always tried to get out of the way as soon as I can anyway. With some horses, that's the nearest pull in. With other horses, that's the nearest area large enough to be safe for something to pass. Unless something happens to spook the horse, I'd usually trot to get there a bit faster.

But I've had incidences where if it wasn't for the fact I heard them coming, was close to a driveway, and was on very quiet horses (i.e horses that got a chance to get used to roads back when they were safer), we would have been splattered across the tarmac and no amount of "I had right of way" would matter.

magicbastarder · 01-02-2022 11:30pm

simple rule, if you come across a horse in the road, you slow and wait until the rider - and the horse, too preferably - has seen you and you're confident that they're comfortable with you passing.

where my wife goes horseriding they've also had issues with motorcyclists on ear-piercingly loud bikes going past. to be fair, the motorcyclists wouldn't know they're passing stables, but bikes that loud are antisocial anyway.

Thargor · 01-02-2022 11:35pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118567995#Comment_118567995

In South Galway even 20 years ago we used to get up at half five in the morning and have the animals on the road by six am if we were changing them or testing, nowadays theres cars all over the place at that hour, lunchtime is nearly safer and even then there will be a big traffic jam behind the whole way, its crazy, this is the absolute middle of nowhere on the Clare border.

01-02-2022 11:39pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118565322#Comment_118565322

motorists dropping a gear and deliberately revving the engine just as they're passing, that sort of thing.

Motorists.

You see that is your problem and also your agenda exposed right there in a nutshell.

Anyone who revs their car engine to upset a horse is just a bollix, an absolute semen stain on humanity. Yet you, in your passive aggressive wisdom, decide to refer to this person as a 'motorist'.

If someone walked past and slapped you would you say you were assaulted by a walker? No, you would say you were attacked by a scumbag.

bb12 · 01-02-2022 11:40pm

i grew up riding ponies and horses on the roads and used to hack my horses out until about 10-12 years ago but it just got too dangerous for the animals and myself. wouldn't dream of hacking horses on roads anymore. even the local racing stables have given it up. sad to see another piece of rural life dying off.

magicbastarder · 01-02-2022 11:41pm

i refer to them as a motorist as non-motorists cannot rev their engine. by definition anyone who is doing that is a motorist.

the same way as i'd refer to a person on a bike as a 'cyclist'.

what a deeply weird angle to have a go at me over.

hashtag notallmotorists

01-02-2022 11:52pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118568285#Comment_118568285

i refer to them as a motorist as non-motorists cannot rev their engine. by definition anyone who is doing that is a motorist.

Ok, so cyclists spit at my wife when she walks the dog if the dog gets in their way.

Or was it just a couple of whankers who happened to be on bikes.

You understand the difference?

magicbastarder · 01-02-2022 11:56pm

if you were to say 'cyclists spat at my wife when she was walking the other day' and you assumed i would think you meant 'every single cyclist ever spat at my wife', you really do have a low opinion of my intelligence.

anyway, this is a sideshow.

hashtag notallmotorists

greysides · 02-02-2022 12:18am

[quote]anyway, this is a sideshow.[/quote]

Mod: Yes, stop!

02-02-2022 12:19am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118568365#Comment_118568365

Of course you would just accept it, how silly of me. There's no way you and the rest of the boards cyclist lobby would be all over a comment like that.

greysides · 02-02-2022 12:19am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118568467#Comment_118568467

Ahem!

Gant21 · 02-02-2022 12:26am

A issue I see is walkers with ear phones and not aware of surroundings. Apologies if mentioned already.

magicbastarder · 02-02-2022 12:47am

Again though, it shouldn't make a difference; partly because that's placing the burden of dealing with the danger on those who suffer from the danger. You never hear people calling for motorists not to listen to music in the car.

magicbastarder · 02-02-2022 12:58am

I think an issue here is people console conflate risk and danger. I might not be using the correct terminology, but will run with those. Walking is not dangerous - as in it does not create danger, but can be risky if it exposes you to danger.

Driving a car can be dangerous; if not done with due caution.

To address the chance of death or injury, you address the danger first and risk will automatically fall in conjunction. This is part of the basic inverted triangle of hazard reduction. The first two basic steps are dealing with the cars in this context; not the pedestrians.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchy_of_hazard_controls

Bass Reeves · 02-02-2022 2:02am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118568591#Comment_118568591

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118568632#Comment_118568632

While all that might seem grand take a tractor. All tractors now have to have a beacon if on the road. So why should a slow moving vehicle have a warning indication.

It's similar with cars it has now made it law that you must have you dims turned on during the year at certain times even before dusk

It's quite simple if warning equipment helps mitigate risk it should be used. So it should be the same for cyclists and pedestrians. If you are walking after certain time it should be law you have to have high visibility clothing. And in the case of bikes you should be lit up.

On high visibility jackets/vests for anybody that wears them. When they get dirty and you cannot clean them dump them. A dirty hi-vis is absolutely useless especially if it has no sleeves on it. The action of moving arms help with hi-vis vests. I bought a Sioen hi-vis short jacket. It's a great job for walking. Vests are a bit of a nuscience.

MB, no worker is allowed on the road at any time of the day without hi-vis. The Hi-vis is not as such protective. Your goggle's helmet and boots are protective clothing. Hi-vis clothing is to indicate to other where you are. In a lot of workplaces hi-vis vests are no longer allowed.

On a roadway anything that helps visual indication is critical. The only way for your inverted pyramid to work is to remove pedestrians from the road. We can do that in towns and villages by use of footpaths and dedicated walkways. On motorways pedestrian's are not allowed.

On local roads it is not unreasonable to expect those that are on them to have some sort of visual indication just like all other traffic is expected to have under law nowadays as dusk descends.

By the way there is no point in being right if you are dead.

Rechuchote · 02-02-2022 7:16am

Why don't cars have speed limiters fitted, and legally enforced? If this can be done for scooters, as is being discussed, surely it can be done for cars too.

malinheader · 02-02-2022 8:17am

A big part of the problem is the amount of traffic we have on our main or major roads at certain times. People know that they are going to hit heavy traffic and will take smaller rural roads which being a bit longer will be a faster route. Usually these people drive at the same speed as if they were still on a major road.

magicbastarder · 02-02-2022 8:59am

The only way for your inverted pyramid to work is to remove pedestrians from the road.

that's a total inversion of the inverted pyramid.

and yes, i agree that pedestrians walking in the dark should carry lights - lights are proactive, vests reactive (and with dipped beams often not all that visible anyway).

kinda what i was getting at was the slow creep of a thread where someone (very legitimately) bemoans the fact that there are a not insignificant proportion of motorists driving with care and attention on country roads, and i don't believe the 'well, pedestrians don't do themselves any favours at times' - while true at times - misses the point. pedestrians who do take care are still being forced off the road.

i rarely come across pedestrians on country roads in the dark; it's the ones in the daylight who still have to worry about being clipped by a wing mirror, or worse.

Danno · 02-02-2022 9:49am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118565262#Comment_118565262

Question right back at you - do you really believe that roads should be shared spaces? You allude to this by saying "despite the approach council's have taken in the past". To clarify, we are talking about rural roads outside the 50km/h zones here. Putting vulnerable pedestrians and cyclists into the mix on a road with fast moving large vehicles is a recipe for disaster - this utopia you dream of whereby all road users hold hands and sing kumbaya is pure folly. if it were to work - why do we bother with footpaths and cycle lanes in built up areas where fast moving traffic is restricted with speed zones. Segregate cyclists and pedestrians from road vehicles, simple as - you'll get very little complaints and very little tragedy.

John_Rambo · 02-02-2022 9:50am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118568348#Comment_118568348

Jaysus, where do you and these people live?

cnocbui · 02-02-2022 10:07am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118565262#Comment_118565262

Motorists provide 10% of government revenue - which is far more than is spent on provision of road infrastructure. Amazing how they are the whipping boy when it comes to use of roads.

John_Rambo · 02-02-2022 10:10am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118569206#Comment_118569206

I bet you every single pedestrian, horse rider and cyclist on this thread has a car.

magicbastarder · 02-02-2022 10:31am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118569141#Comment_118569141

a significant proportion of people in ireland live in the country, on roads without paths. are you saying that - for example - if they want to call into a friend half a kilometre away, they should drive instead of walking? or in another sense, if you live out in the country, you should give up on the idea of being able to walk anywhere at all?

roosterman71 · 02-02-2022 10:38am

Went on a 30k drive last night along the old Dublin Galway road. It was dark (7pm) and that dirty heavy misty rain falling

Met a man (kinda local tramp fella) standing between 2 street lamps all in black thumbing. He was on the footpath but couldn't see him until you were nearly beside him due to where he positioned himself. This same lad could be on any of the roads here day or night in the same outfit
Person walking towards me on the hard shoulder with a small torch (could even have been the torch on their phone). Reflective armband and dark clothes. Movement of the torch light drew my attention
3 people walking, one with a hi viz vest. Others in dark clothes. And going 3 abreast with the one wearing the hi vis in by the ditch

That's 3 examples of stupidity right there.

On the positive, passed a cyclist and they were lit up. Red flashers on the back, reflective jacket, looked like reflectors in the spokes too and a savage light up front as good as any car

irishgeo · 02-02-2022 10:54am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118568923#Comment_118568923

The EU were planning to have all new cars read the speed sign and use GPS to limit the speed but I think it got delayed by the pandemic.

02-02-2022 10:58am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118569420#Comment_118569420

that would help I think. 80kph when you’re walking or cycling on a regional road is very different to 110kph, which is the insane speed regularly hit by many on the Sligo Ballina road in my neck of the woods

Seth Brundle · 02-02-2022 11:26am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118569141#Comment_118569141

Of course they are shared spaces and should remain that way. How else would rural life continue if people could not use agricultural machinery on them? What about walking to check livestock in a nearby field? What about someone walking down to check on their elderly neighbour?

Effectively, in your little utopia, everyone will need a car. What do those who don't want a car do?

It simply is not practical or economically feasible to have segregated routes for pedestrians and cyclists all across the country (effectively parallel to every single road). How would someone access their house from this segregated route as they will often be required to cross the road?

Your views are warped and selfish and reflect the ridiculous notions of someone who believes that the car should be top of the list when it comes to modes of travel.

Lastly, I'll just put it out there as a reminder - pedestrians, people with animals, cyclists and so on were all there before the car. Not that I'm looking for it but as a reminder, there was no consultation with these people on allowing vehicles travel at high speeds or on the volume of vehicles driving at these speeds. now what you are proposing is to effectively ban these people from those routes.

Seth Brundle · 02-02-2022 11:28am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118569206#Comment_118569206

What's your point?

If you disagree with the large amount of taxation and costs levied on drivers then take it up with your TDs as it is they who decided and voted on it, not me. When you are talking to them, maybe come up with viable suggestions for how this income would be replaced.

Seth Brundle · 02-02-2022 11:32am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118569420#Comment_118569420

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118569435#Comment_118569435

I find it gas that people revert to the tech solutions to protect vulnerable road users such as limiting speed, AEB and so on. It effectively confirms that drivers are incapable of controlling their vehicles sufficiently to protect other people.

02-02-2022 11:46am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118569568#Comment_118569568

They aren’t though. That’s pretty clear

Shao Kahn · 02-02-2022 11:55am

Something I very often see, is walkers on country roads walking facing the traffic into blind bends and the brow of blind hills.

I walk on country roads all the time myself, have done all my life, and I would never do this. It's incredibly dangerous.

But unfortunately, this is the blanket advice that pedestrians are given in this country. If you look at the safety advice that they give in the UK, pedestrians are advised to cross over onto the opposite side of the road (so back facing traffic) well before the dangerous bend or hill, and then cross back over again once you have negotiated that section of road.

It may seem counter-intuitive to do this, because we have been taught that you should always walk facing the traffic. But actually if you do it the right way, it is a much safer method that helps you avoid the situation of a vehicle coming through a bend or over a hill and hitting you because they had no advanced warning that you were there.

I've said this to people on occasions, while out walking, and the usual reaction is to look at me like I have two heads... because that blanket advice "walk facing the traffic" is the only thing they have in their head.

Obviously, walking facing the on coming traffic is perfectly good advice in most other scenarios. But I do think it's actually putting quite a lot of pedestrians in grave danger when negotiating blind bends and blind hills.

Just something worth considering, to keep yourself safer out on the road.

I know I'll probably get a few people telling me I'm wrong, but this sort of thing has kept me safe on some very dangerous roads all these years. But there is a right and a wrong way to do it as well... you need to to be constantly looking behind you for any on coming vehicles until you're out of the bend/hill, and it goes without saying you shouldn't have any headphones in your ears etc either. It's not ideal to be walking on the left hand side, but I do believe it's safer than the alternative of walking into a blind bend etc facing a truck or something that has no way of knowing you're there until the last second.

I think it is somewhat of an oversight from the RSA too, in their advice to pedestrians.

cnocbui · 02-02-2022 11:56am

"It effectively confirms that drivers are incapable of controlling their vehicles sufficiently to protect other people."

You are full of it.

"Ireland had lowest fatality rate of persons killed in road incidents in the European Union in 2018, according to a report by Eurostat published today." https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2020/0701/1150834-road-deaths-eu/

Anto_Meath · 02-02-2022 12:00pm

It's all to do with respect at the end of the day. I have land rented about 10 mile from the home place, there is a lady beside it with horses. Her & her kids are regularly on the road with the horses. I always give them space and time, sometimes almost parking the car until there is a suitable time to pass. They never acknowledge this. Last summer a heifer of mine got into a neighbours field. I was walking her back up the road, it's a very quite road generally, my wife was at my field with gate open and hi Viz jacket on. This lady came flying past never eased the foot off the peddle. Just about missed my wife & lucky the heifer was quite & didn't startle, but it made me think why do I make an effort when she is on the road but she couldn't be bothered for anyone else. I mentioned it to a couple who are always walking on the road in that area. They tell me she is pure ignorant, they asked her 1 time to slow down a bit & the next day her partner pulled up with them giving out to them for been abusive to her, these are an elderly retired couple & I definitely couldn't see them being abusive.

Hard Knocks · 02-02-2022 12:04pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118569684#Comment_118569684

I do the same, you only live once

Walking / driving at dusk can be dangerous as the sun going down can glare drivers. Also everyone (drivers & walkers) have to remember, just cos you can see doesn’t mean you can be seen

Seth Brundle · 02-02-2022 12:05pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118569684#Comment_118569684

I think it is somewhat of an oversight from the RSA too, in their advice to pedestrians.

When I was young, there were tv adverts advising people on which side of the road to walk on. What I noticed since the pandemic (and you'd see far more people walking along rural roads) was that a large proportion of pedestrians seem to not know which side of the road to walk on. I'd say most walked on the left side. It might be something for the RSA to consider.

Hurrache · 02-02-2022 12:09pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118569340#Comment_118569340

A guy standing between 2 street lights on a footpath is stupidity? The idea that he may be in danger on a footpath because you couldn't see him is a bit strange. If someone is going to drive up onto a footpath and hit a pedestrian, I don't think the point at which the driver is going to see that person will make a difference.
The torch worked, it drew your attention. Nothing stupid there.
Probably.

cnocbui · 02-02-2022 12:38pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118569734#Comment_118569734

That side of the road advice is a stupid rule of thumb. I walk on the side of the road that makes me most easily vissible to traffic, so on the ouside of a bend rather the inner. I therefore will move from one side of a road to the other multiple times on a walk.

CHESSMUTANT · 02-02-2022 12:39pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118558357#Comment_118558357

What a bizarre statement, considering the corpse in the garden.

Gary kk · 02-02-2022 12:44pm

Bizarre bizarre bizarre what a bizarre word. Hate the word can we ban from the thread

Macy0161 · 02-02-2022 1:40pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118569875#Comment_118569875

It's a whole other discussion as to how the judiciary and gardai see road traffic offences. One of the reasons I'd support a move to presumed liability.

magicbastarder · 02-02-2022 1:45pm

without 'bizarre' we'd never have had GUBU.

magicbastarder · 02-02-2022 1:48pm

well, that' an interesting one.

g u b u is banned?

saabsaab · 02-02-2022 1:55pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118569568#Comment_118569568

Fair points. Some are unable or unwilling. I have to wonder how many have a full drivers licence and passed a test? How many are still on a provisional or never passed a test but still drive?

I walk to a local pub and back fairly often some of it on a country road some of it without a proper path but I carry a torch. I've been beeped at a few times. I guess they don't think I should be on the road as a walker at all!

Gary kk · 02-02-2022 3:02pm

Not after a few drinks

02-02-2022 3:51pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118570667#Comment_118570667

Ha, so you can’t even walk to the pub now? They’re having a hard enough time with the drunk driving rules…..

Thargor · 02-02-2022 3:55pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118570210#Comment_118570210

Someone set up a competitor to boards using that word.ie and actually started attracting a lot of users, probably because their pages load instantly like you'd expect of a website in 2022 instead of taking 30 seconds like this broken disaster of a forum we've been left with.

magicbastarder · 02-02-2022 4:06pm

oh yeah, i'd forgotten about that.

Can't walk on country roads anymore

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