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

There was no expectation of the driver completing the movement to the left (never mind a reasonable expectation) before the cyclist. They were of similar speed so driver should have waited a few seconds.

Good question with regards a cycle track being defined as a lane in terms of legislation. They are more commonly known as cycle lanes with a track to me being more something off road or on a greenway. I don't know an answer but if not then they should just close all cycle lanes since they offer no legal protection to cyclists and thus make them a danger as in the video above.

Had no cycle lane existed then the cyclist would have been in the driving lane and have flexibility to overtake on the right once the driver started to indicate and veer left.

I don't know why any of that is relevant?

Imagine you're driving behind someone, and you move out - still behind them - to overtake them (on the right). They put on the right hand indicator - do you proceed with the overtake?

The onus is on the overtaker - whether on the left or right - to ensure they do so safely and legally. The overtaken should of course be wary about not causing an accident particularly to a more vulnerable road user, but the primary responsibility lies with the person overtaking. Read the law I linked, it's very clear that the cyclist should not have overtaken on the left in this situation.

I'm of the belief that the law is an ass in this situation, but that's what it says.

Talking about blind spots annoys me as it's an excuse for inattentive driving that gets thrown around too often. There's no such thing as a blind spot if you're looking, it's the responsibility of the driver to pay attention, use mirrors, shoulder check when changing lanes etc. If that driver was actually paying attention, they would have clocked the cyclist further back and noted they may be in the lane beside them (and subsequently paid extra attention when making the left turn). Driving isn't about just paying attention at the point of potential conflict it's about assessing everything at all times to reduce any risk of a poor decision that can lead to a collision.

For example, if I am driving and taking the left filter at the criminal courts (coming from Islandbridge), I've already observed if there are likely to be any cyclists before I've even passed the lights at the bus garage, then I spend any time sitting in traffic checking my mirrors for any cyclists that may have come out from Phoenix Park. Then mirror, shoulder check, mirror and turn. No blind spot exists.

You can talk about no blame all you like (for what it's worth I think the cyclist had enough awareness to avoid the collision) but the reality of it is the driver's complete inattention to the situation - being in an urban area crossing a cycling lane where there is a high possibility of cycle traffic - is the one that can get someone else injured or killed. If there had been a cyclist further along side the car and not in a position to see an indicator, they would have wiped them out.

Also only the driver of this car knows where their supposed blind spot is, we can only guess as we're not the ones sitting in it and not looking. The higher degree of responsibility is with the driver in this instance and if they can't handle that then they shouldn't be driving, too much acceptance on the road of this type of driving.

Even worse then that the fully licenced driver/instructor with them didn't check either...

Had the same on the quays from a taxi driver, who made contact with the rear of my bike when I moved slightly rightwards to go around a pothole. I had video footage from a rear camera. Garda in Pearse Street said because the actual point of contact was off-camera (below the frame), there wasn't anything he could really do. 🤷

Just an honest lad wanting to do his turn in the wind ;)

Same as below from a few weeks ago, hardly same car, 141 silver prius? Rang TrafficWatch and reported the driver at the time and also called Bridewell station a few times but was unable to get past the operator so email the station also but still haven't heard anything.

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Right, thats it, I've done it. I've bought a helmet camera because it is now at the stage where I'm in the middle of 2/3 near misses and 'light hits' a week.

I commute between UCD and DCU daily, through the city centre and it seems inevitable in the area between the 5 Lamps (northside) and the RDS (southside) that I'll be driven into the footpath, side swiped, near-missed or roared at. I'm tired of it, but will not go back to car/moped travel.

Is there someone we are lobbying to have a reporting facility available for incidents? I'm kind of late to the cycling commuting community, but can see myself becoming very active.

Today's incident was quite amazing. On Portland Row there was a car parked (in the bike lane) and as I approached it a taxi pulled in ahead of me and stopped adjacent to the car, literally hemming me in. I knocked on the window and shouted/gestured to the driver to move forward/backward to let me go. He refused, saying that his pickup was in the house we were sitting outside. A few more choice words ensued, and he was insisting that I could get out past him despite the fact that my handlebars would've taken his and the adjacent car's wing mirrors off. More shouting and then I eventually got off the bike and lifted it over the top of both cars. What the actual F like. I, admittedly came in a bit hot, but his first move was to pen me in and not look anywhere around him?!

Anyway.

How far back does traffic have to be behind you before you're allowed indicate and move lanes?

I went over the Wicklow Gap today, playing leapfrog with a lovely vintage car and accompanying large white van providing mechanical assistance. I don't know what was wrong, but they kept pulling in every couple of kilometres to tinker with the engine.

I hadn't seen them in a while as I approached a blind summit in the road. The roof of an oncoming car appears as I hear an engine behind me - the vintage car overtakes with very little room to spare. "oof, a bit tight", I think. I had stronger thoughts as the mechanic's van barrelled through straight afterwards, forcing the oncoming driver to come to a complete stop.

The icing on the cake was the pair of them pulling in once again about 200 metres up the road. 🙄 

That verdict is one of the worst I've seen in a long time. Reduced to basically nothing presumably because of the mitigating circumstances mentioned, although what they are is anyone's guess based on the news article I read: basically his father (a 51+ year old's father) died shortly after the incident...so **** what. It's not often I get annoyed about things like this but this is a big one, because something similar happened me before in Blanch years ago.

Some clatter, impressed to managed to stay upright. Were there much "afters", not sure I've have held the cool in that situation and would have waited or looped back.