Driving in Galway City

100200 shih · 31-05-2013 07:54PM #1

Why are there so many crap drivers in Galway city , I'm born & bred here , love Galway , but driving around the city is taking your life into your own hands & it is just getting worst. Between driving for work , picking up kids bring them here & there , I am on the road a great deal, & I am just wondering how half the people got there licences or how they still have them ?

Supergurrier · 31-05-2013 07:56PM

I find best way is to scare the crap out of people in the work truck or deafen them into submission in my own car.

Overall standard of driving in galway isnt that bad compared to rest of the country

Doom · 31-05-2013 07:57PM

Supergurrier wrote: »

I find best way is to scare the crap out of people in the work truck or deafen them into submission in my own car.

Overall standard of driving in galway isnt that bad compared to rest of the country

I think with that statement you qualify at been a crap driver.

Supergurrier · 31-05-2013 07:58PM

Doom wrote: »

I think with that statement you qualify at been a crap driver.

Thanks :pac:

biko · 31-05-2013 08:09PM

Guess I'm just used to it, I don't even beep when someone does something crazy.

100200 shih · 31-05-2013 09:07PM

1 of my many example last Tuesday , driving 20 km per hour , a 10 year old small car fly's around the corner ( thank God for my good brakes ) stops mm from my car & the 3 in the car start laughing ( these where in there 40s both male & female) when i open the window asking them wtf , there answer was what if was a child , what would you do then ! they were speeding around a blind spot in a built up area ,
Maybe its just me , but when I have my kids in the car , then I get mad at drivers like this

Black_Knight · 31-05-2013 10:54PM

Im more surprised when drivers dont drive badly in Galway. Everytime I go near a roundabout im just waiting for that car to cut across me, change lane mid way, see any red traffic light anywhere and stop assuming its for them. 9/10 they do something daft but at least ive been expecting it. Its an odd feeling when they drive properly.

Its like I play a game where I flip a double headed coin, and heads = they're a bad driver. Except every now and again, to my astonishment, it lands on its side.:eek:

Del2005 · 01-06-2013 07:26AM

100200 shih wrote: »

1 of my many example last Tuesday , driving 20 km per hour , a 10 year old small car fly's around the corner ( thank God for my good brakes ) stops mm from my car & the 3 in the car start laughing ( these where in there 40s both male & female) when i open the window asking them wtf , there answer was what if was a child , what would you do then ! they were speeding around a blind spot in a built up area ,
Maybe its just me , but when I have my kids in the car , then I get mad at drivers like this

Don't know if it's just Galway. I've noticed drivers over the white line on blind corners a lot in Dublin recently.

I think it's that Gaybo and his crowd only say exceeding the posted limit is dangerous and not that you need to drive to the road conditions, or at least that's what I get from all the ads and PR the put out.

biko · 01-06-2013 07:46AM

Almost hit a guy this morning as he broke his red light after mine had turned green.
I don't know if it's specific for Galway but red light runners are quite common, I often see a couple cars break it even though they had sufficient time to stop.

Supergurrier · 01-06-2013 09:38AM

biko wrote: »

Almost hit a guy this morning as he broke his red light after mine had turned green.
I don't know if it's specific for Galway but red light runners are quite common, I often see a couple cars break it even though they had sufficient time to stop.

Then people wonder why Irish drivers are slow off the mark on a green light

Stella Virgo · 01-06-2013 09:50AM

100200 shih wrote: »

Why are there so many crap drivers in Galway city , I'm born & bred here , love Galway , but driving around the city is taking your life into your own hands & it is just getting worst. Between driving for work , picking up kids bring them here & there , I am on the road a great deal, & I am just wondering how half the people got there licences or how they still have them ?

you think its bad now ?? there are starting to remove the shopping centre roundabout

......this is going to cause tailbacks never seen in the city.......:eek:.you have been warned

Supergurrier · 01-06-2013 10:01AM

Stella Virgo wrote: »

you think its bad now ?? there are starting to remove the shopping centre roundabout ......this is going to cause tailbacks never seen in the city.......:eek:.you have been warned

That monstrosity was living on borrowed time though and I will be glad to see the back of it. The whole point of a roundabout is to keep traffic moving I used to be terrified of it when I started driving and still hate it as people don't know what to do on it sometimes

IsaacWunder · 01-06-2013 10:41AM

Love Galway, lived there for many years, and am a frequent visitor but the standard of driving there is the worst in Ireland outside the border counties.

The problems aren't to do with the drivers themselves, who generally drive defensively and well in the circumstances, rather it's because of:

The small roundabouts with too many exits. Everyone knows this already, so no point in even going into it

Nutters on bicycles who seem to harbour a death wish and see traffic lights as advisory (granted, that's what cyclists are like in pretty much every city in Ireland, but in Galway a lot more of them are likely to be young/inexperienced, late for a lecture, and probably after polishing off a few bottles of Buckfast the previous night)

The fact that what passed for a bypass of the city was zoned for development throughout the boom and now is nothing more than a an elongated car park linking Dunnes to Tesco to the next Dunnes to the other Dunnes, especially on Fridays

Hire cars everywhere during the summer, especially those driven by Americans. You can spot these easily as they're always either Micras or Corsas, are always driven in the right hand lane of any two lane road (even if there's nobody on the inside for miles). They are even more dangerous since the introduction of sat navs because they now take wild turns in case they'd miss their exit, instead of just getting lost like tourists used to. Give them a wide berth

50 km/h speed limits on roads that should have 80/100 km/h speed limits. This has led to a complete lack of respect for speed limits in the city and an attitude of 'in for a penny, in for a pound' when it comes to speeding, resulting in people driving even faster than they know they should, reasoning away their behaviour on the principle that if they're going to speed, and get caught, it might as well be worth the €80 fine and points

pred racer · 01-06-2013 11:01AM

Black_Knight wrote: »

Im more surprised when drivers dont drive badly in Galway. Everytime I go near a roundabout im just waiting for that car to cut across me, change lane mid way, see any red traffic light anywhere and stop assuming its for them. 9/10 they do something daft but at least ive been expecting it. Its an odd feeling when they drive properly.

+1

100200 shih · 01-06-2013 11:18AM

I drive thro that roundabout a number of times a day, I cannot wait to see the back of it , I learned to drive around it , I didn't release how bad it was, till I drove other places, Who ever taught that the roundabout was a good idea should be shot !!!
The work on removing it has started about a week ago, roll on when its done

huggs2 · 01-06-2013 11:31AM

100200 shih wrote: »

Why are there so many crap drivers in Galway city , I'm born & bred here , love Galway , but driving around the city is taking your life into your own hands & it is just getting worst. Between driving for work , picking up kids bring them here & there , I am on the road a great deal, & I am just wondering how half the people got there licences or how they still have them ?

Totally agree.Driving here in Galway city for thirty years and the drivers are just appalling.Its great to go somewhere else in ireland and see the different level of driving.

Del2005 · 01-06-2013 11:52AM

IsaacWunder wrote: »

Hire cars everywhere during the summer, especially those driven by Americans. You can spot these easily as they're always either Micras or Corsas, are always driven in the right hand lane of any two lane road (even if there's nobody on the inside for miles).

They are't Americans. They are Irish people driving fast so they are using the fast lane.

Pulsating Star · 02-06-2013 12:57AM

100200 shih wrote: »

I drive thro that roundabout a number of times a day, I cannot wait to see the back of it , I learned to drive around it , I didn't release how bad it was, till I drove other places, Who ever taught that the roundabout was a good idea should be shot !!!
The work on removing it has started about a week ago, roll on when its done

I don't have any issues with that roundabout, I never have to wait as long there as any new light converted ones. Going back to lights is just catering for bad drivers IMO .
( well there is one issue, the uncontrolled exit from Tesco's not allowing city traffic to exit quickly enough and so waste much of their green light time)

Meteoric · 02-06-2013 01:27AM

huggs2 wrote: »

Totally agree.Driving here in Galway city for thirty years and the drivers are just appalling.Its great to go somewhere else in ireland and see the different level of driving.

I'm from Galway and only learned to drive after I left Galway for work. I've worked various different places and so to get back to Galway have to drive through a lot of different places in Ireland. Honestly I don't think Galway drivers are worse than those anywhere else south of Sligo (no real repeat experience North of that so can't say).

For e.g. I saw someone drive the wrong way around a roundabout in Limerick, I've seen people break red lights in Tipperary, I've seen crashes and people randomly stopping on roundabouts in Cork, someone assume a feeder lane had right of way in Sligo and many more.
Some scary things in Galway too, one caused by me being an idiot on that occasion, I'm not claiming perfection. I'm not saying it does not happen but I think it is on a par with everywhere else in the country.

I do spend most of my driving time outside Galway City, my impression is I see about the same number of things as people who mostly drive in Galway see, it's just my experiences are more geographically diverse so I think it is more of a driving thing than a Galway thing.

Stoolbend · 02-06-2013 03:14AM

biko wrote: »

Guess I'm just used to it, I don't even beep when someone does something crazy.

Same as that. I just expect everyone to go the whole way around roundabouts in the wrong lane all the time.

GalwayMagpie · 02-06-2013 11:44AM

IsaacWunder wrote: »

Love Galway, lived there for many years, and am a frequent visitor but the standard of driving there is the worst in Ireland outside the border counties.

The problems aren't to do with the drivers themselves, who generally drive defensively and well in the circumstances, rather it's because of:
The small roundabouts with too many exits. Everyone knows this already, so no point in even going into it

Nutters on bicycles who seem to harbour a death wish and see traffic lights as advisory (granted, that's what cyclists are like in pretty much every city in Ireland, but in Galway a lot more of them are likely to be young/inexperienced, late for a lecture, and probably after polishing off a few bottles of Buckfast the previous night)

The fact that what passed for a bypass of the city was zoned for development throughout the boom and now is nothing more than a an elongated car park linking Dunnes to Tesco to the next Dunnes to the other Dunnes, especially on Fridays

Hire cars everywhere during the summer, especially those driven by Americans. You can spot these easily as they're always either Micras or Corsas, are always driven in the right hand lane of any two lane road (even if there's nobody on the inside for miles). They are even more dangerous since the introduction of sat navs because they now take wild turns in case they'd miss their exit, instead of just getting lost like tourists used to. Give them a wide berth

50 km/h speed limits on roads that should have 80/100 km/h speed limits. This has led to a complete lack of respect for speed limits in the city and an attitude of 'in for a penny, in for a pound' when it comes to speeding, resulting in people driving even faster than they know they should, reasoning away their behaviour on the principle that if they're going to speed, and get caught, it might as well be worth the €80 fine and points

+1

But there is also the issue of rural urban divide.

Galway has a lot of rural drivers on urban roads and they do not know how to use them. Lanes are a mystery to them, especially on roundabouts. The rural drivers come in maybe once a week and get all flustered with the volume of traffic, filter lanes, multi signal junctions and death wish cyclists.

Also, drivers do not show their displeasure at the idiots nearly enough. When you see someone doing something daft blast them out of it!!! Most just shake their head and roll their eyes, the don't want to make a scene...but the offending driver is oblivious to any error on their behalf.

Let them know and highlight the error to everyone in earshot!!!

serious3 · 02-06-2013 02:09PM

just as an example of galway drivers my wife passed her test here in clifden, its a one way street, no traffic lights till 6mths ago, no roundabouts and one hill. she passed a test on the thurs and drove me to galway on friday and got to the roundabout at tesco's and froze! she hadnt a clue what to do, whilst reckless of me to do it to her but it taught her a lesson!

100200 shih · 02-06-2013 02:42PM

serious3 wrote: »

just as an example of galway drivers my wife passed her test here in clifden, its a one way street, no traffic lights till 6mths ago, no roundabouts and one hill. she passed a test on the thurs and drove me to galway on friday and got to the roundabout at tesco's and froze! she hadnt a clue what to do, whilst reckless of me to do it to her but it taught her a lesson!

I rest my case , WTF were you thinking !!

serious3 · 02-06-2013 03:26PM

100200 shih wrote: »

I rest my case , WTF were you thinking !!

quite simply i was teaching her a lesson, she reckoned she could drive and i wanted to prove a point! all it did was cause a minor delay to 2 or 3 other motorists while we swapped seats.

100200 shih · 02-06-2013 03:51PM

serious3 wrote: »

quite simply i was teaching her a lesson, she reckoned she could drive and i wanted to prove a point! all it did was cause a minor delay to 2 or 3 other motorists while we swapped seats.

all you did was cause a delay !, what about when things like this happen over & over again, & us that have to drive around the city on a daily basis have to put up with you " just teaching her a lesson ".

serious3 · 02-06-2013 05:53PM

100200 shih wrote: »

all you did was cause a delay !, what about when things like this happen over & over again, & us that have to drive around the city on a daily basis have to put up with you " just teaching her a lesson ".

it was 12yrs ago and once, take a chill pill will ya, if you get that wound up driving round galway then you shouldn't be driving so either get the bus, walk, cycle or move.

100200 shih · 02-06-2013 06:15PM

serious3 wrote: »

it was 12yrs ago and once, take a chill pill will ya, if you get that wound up driving round galway then you shouldn't be driving so either get the bus, walk, cycle or move.

Why , so people not used to driving around the city can cause accidents at major roundabouts by there husband trying to teach herself a lesson !!!

anyway by to the subject , any other story out there ???

Leonard Hofstadter · 02-06-2013 06:16PM

As an ex-Galway resident, I totally agree with the sentiments regarding bad driving in Galway. They really are that bad.

It's the only place in the country I know of where when approaching a roundabout, the left hand lane covers the first, second and third exit:eek:. In fact, if you enter the roundabout in the right lane to take the third exit (which is the correct thing to do for those that don't know), they will blow the horn at you for crossing over from the inside lane to the outside lane just after the second exit!

The abuse of red lights is amazing too, someone beeped me for stopping at a red, because the light were going amber as I was approaching the traffic light!

Approaching the Joyce roundabout from Seán Mulvoy Road is torture if you want to head to Moneenageisha - Moneenageisha is the third exit from Seán Mulvoy road but forget about going into right lane if you want to head this way - I learned after a while that approaching it in the wrong lane was the only way to traverse this particular roundabout. Having five junctions leading to a mini roundabout is always a recipe for disaster.

At least Galway drivers are much more forgiving if you're in the wrong lane and want to change lanes. You'll always be left out. In Cork, nobody ever leaves anyone out to change lanes. Cork drivers are much more impatient.

serious3 · 02-06-2013 06:50PM

100200 shih wrote: »

serious3 wrote: »

it was 12yrs ago and once, take a chill pill will ya, if you get that wound up driving round galway then you shouldn't be driving so either get the bus, walk, cycle or move.

Why , so people not used to driving around the city can cause accidents at major roundabouts by there husband trying to teach herself a lesson !!!

anyway by to the subject , any other story out there ???

there was no accident, 2 or 3 other drivers were slightly delayed thats all! have you considered that your impatience and inconsideration for other road users causes could cause bigger delays? or the fact that your rage could cause you to do something rash and cause an accident?

GalwayMagpie · 04-06-2013 10:37AM

captainspeed wrote: »

As an ex-Galway resident, I totally agree with the sentiments regarding bad driving in Galway. They really are that bad.

It's the only place in the country I know of where when approaching a roundabout, the left hand lane covers the first, second and third exit:eek:. In fact, if you enter the roundabout in the right lane to take the third exit (which is the correct thing to do for those that don't know), they will blow the horn at you for crossing over from the inside lane to the outside lane just after the second exit!

The abuse of red lights is amazing too, someone beeped me for stopping at a red, because the light were going amber as I was approaching the traffic light!

Approaching the Joyce roundabout from Seán Mulvoy Road is torture if you want to head to Moneenageisha - Moneenageisha is the third exit from Seán Mulvoy road but forget about going into right lane if you want to head this way - I learned after a while that approaching it in the wrong lane was the only way to traverse this particular roundabout. Having five junctions leading to a mini roundabout is always a recipe for disaster.

At least Galway drivers are much more forgiving if you're in the wrong lane and want to change lanes. You'll always be left out. In Cork, nobody ever leaves anyone out to change lanes. Cork drivers are much more impatient.

Total agree about the Joyce roundabout. The roundabout is too small for 5 exits. This is exacerbated by it being one of the main arteries in the city. Getting round it on the inside lane when quiet is nearly impossible. When busy there are buses and trucks using it which further restrict space on an very tight roundabout.

I thinks the drivers have just enemas subconsciously rejected the rules on this roundabout as complying with them is dangerous and nigh impossible.

biko · 04-06-2013 01:54PM

Enemas??

Did you mean "en masse"?

Alun · 04-06-2013 03:29PM

biko wrote: »

Enemas??

Did you mean "en masse"?

I certainly hope so, although if the drivers concerned were having enemas while driving around the roundabout in question, it might explain their errant behaviour somewhat

BigEejit · 04-06-2013 03:58PM

A good few years ago I drove my brother to a few places in Galway while we were up there for a funeral, he was freaked out by not only the mad drivers there, but also by my driving. I had spent 4 years driving in east London and was just a little assertive. If you arent in London you will spend all day getting around. Anyway we were coming up to that small roundabout from the Dublin road going into town past the cemetery and he was freaked that I went onto the roundabout while there were 2 other cars on it

Some people had no clue how to drive though, we saw the aftermath of a crash where a driver from the moycullen direction went straight into the side of a car at the junction with the road coming across the bridge. Just fools.

Redshift · 04-06-2013 06:14PM

A Dub in Galway here, having driven for years in Dublin and all parts of the country for work at some point and being mainly Galway based for the last four years I can say without a doubt that the standard of driving in Galway rather poor compared to the rest of the country generally.

The biggest failings IMO being in the wrong lane on a roundabout, seen many accidents caused by this and running red lights, in fact I was nearly creamed by a taxi crossing while at the pedestrian light which was green at AIB Eyre Square last week and not for the first time at this location. He just sailed through making me jump back while his thick cabbage head glowered at me for having the audacity to try and cross the road.

Of course all this happens everywhere but it does seem to happen much more in Galway. I drive with the expectation particularly on roundabouts that those in immediate proximity are almost certain to do something stupid.

GalwayMagpie · 04-06-2013 07:47PM

Alun wrote: »

I certainly hope so, although if the drivers concerned were having enemas while driving around the roundabout in question, it might explain their errant behaviour somewhat

god damn autocorrect, but agreed, it may explain a lot

kevin65 · 04-06-2013 08:12PM

I'm commuting from Galway to Limerick for work and the most stressful part of the journey is getting across Galway city. I've lived there for over 20 years and the standard of driving seems to be getting worse, definitely worse than Limerick, Cork or Dublin. I wish they would just build that f*cking bypass :mad:

Conmaicne Mara · 05-06-2013 09:23AM

kevin65 wrote: »

I wish they would just build that f*cking bypass :mad:

You, me, and a lot of other people as well.

holdmybeer · 05-06-2013 11:49AM

Black_Knight wrote: »

Im more surprised when drivers dont drive badly in Galway. Everytime I go near a roundabout im just waiting for that car to cut across me, change lane mid way, see any red traffic light anywhere and stop assuming its for them. 9/10 they do something daft but at least ive been expecting it. Its an odd feeling when they drive properly.

Completely agree, people keep swerving into my lane on the Bodkin Roundabout. Scary stuff.

kevin65 · 05-06-2013 08:34PM

holdmybeer wrote: »

Completely agree, people keep swerving into my lane on the Bodkin Roundabout. Scary stuff.

Should probably be renamed the Bumpkin Roundabout in honour of the ignorant peasants that frequent this and other roundabouts in Galway each day.

Driving in Galway City

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