What do you lads make of these? I remember Ben Shermin (a cyclist) on here giving out about motorists’ attitude towards them.
I generally have no problem with cyclists. If I see a guy making his way across the road with his arm outstretched clearly turning right then I will slow down and let him across. Also if a cyclist is along the side of the road and comes across a parked car in front I will let him out on the road in front of me. Generally these people will go staight back along the footbpath again and continue on. But you always get the fook who will continue cycling in the middle of the road. That brings me to my problem with them.
The amount of cyclists who break red lights and go down the wrong way in one way streets is huge. You could be waiting at lights for them to turn green and then all of a sudden some fook on a bike comes straight through the lights because he thinks he is not a real road user and can actually go through red lights. Also you are going down a narrow one way street and all of a sudden you see a cyclists bombing toward you. They are up on footpaths as well and you often find yourself having to get out of their way as they come towards you.
My message to cylists is a simple one. You are ROAD USERS. Once you obey the rules of the road like everyone else then I will respect you as being such.
My dislike of cyclists comes from a few simple things.
They have little or no respect for the rules of the roads, red lights mean nothing to them.
They weave through traffic incessantly and expect motorists to be expecting them coming from any angle.
Few cyclists are properly lit up. A small flashing red light on your pack pack is not proper lighting, a small flashing white light on your front is not properly lit.
They scratch the side of your car while trying to squeeze to the front of lights, have had this happen to 2 different cars.
They fail to use cycle lanes which are provided. If there’s a cycle lane, and they’re not in it, then they’re fair game imo.
I dislike cyclists despite having been one in Dublin for many years.
Do you have the same dislike for pedestrians in the city Farmer? There are no facilities for proper cycling in this country and consequently the laws are broken all the time and a blind eye is turned. It’s the same as walking around the place. Nobody is going to wait for the green man to cross the road because the lights work completely against pedestrians. In other cities where you can cross the road when traffic is turning and they need to yield to you, there you see far greater compliance with the laws. And likewise in cities with proper cycle lanes (not ones shared by buses and parked cars and whatever else wants to use the bit of red paint) then you find that cyclists stick to them.
So are you justifying blatantly going through a red light on the grounds that there are no proper facilities for cyclists in the country?
Or going down the wrong way in a one way street?
I have sympathy and respect for cyclists in Dublin and accept that their facilities are inadequate but that still doesn’t give them the right to blatantly break the law and cause danger to other road users.
I dont mind cyclists either. Did over 6 years in Dublin centre cycling around. I know the kind of cunts that go around in cars thinking they have the right of way. I was knocked off my bike twice in Dublin, once was when I was going through Rathmines, and there was 2 lines of traffic heading towards the centre, with feck all coming the other way. Most cyclists will cycle on the outside of the cars then as their lane is taken up by cars on the inside. I was going up along the outside when some lad decided to cross the road with his bike and went straight in front of me. If I didnt hit him, the 3 mopeds that were beihnd me would have clattered him, one of which hit his front wheel. I was probably in the wrong for passing traffic on the outside, but what is one to do when their lane is already taken up with cars. Whats the point in having a bike if you just sit in traffic with cars.
The other time I was in a bike lane on a one way street. A car sped up behind me and passed me out, then swerved back in on top of me, and if they kept going, it might have been ok, but they just stopped right in front of me. Like a move you’d see in a car chase film, speed past someone and then swerve in and brake in front of them. Cunt. Got a bad knock off that one.
I broke someones mirror once too by accident. I was heading home, and it was pissing rain, and I was in the bike lane. There was a turn left at the junction of Aungier st and Kevin St going towards the green, and I was going straight on. As I came up to the junction, some idiot decided he was going to go left, so he pulled out with no indication and I braked, but the wet didnt help and I ploughed straight through his wing mirror.
But generally cyclists are like drivers, there are as many idiots as good ones, so if you give them space to move, and use your mirrors to see if they are around, there is no problems.
[quote=“farmerinthecity”]So are you justifying blatantly going through a red light on the grounds that there are no proper facilities for cyclists in the country?
Or going down the wrong way in a one way street?
I have sympathy and respect for cyclists in Dublin and accept that their facilities are inadequate but that still doesnt give them the right to blatantly break the law and cause danger to other road users.[/quote]
And do you have a similar attitude to pedestrians who cross the road when there’s a red man? Or do you just hold these opinions in relation to cyclists because you are an occasional pedestrian so are guilty of ignoring red lights yourself?
Cyclists are road users first of all. They are similar to cars. So they definitely shouldn’t be going down a one way street the wrong way.
As for the lights issue - yes I have broken the red man. That is only when there are no cars coming and it is free to cross. I have often been going through a junction as the third or fourth car and a dude on a bike cycles straight through in front of me breaking the light.
And to go back to Gman’s point about there being ‘no point in cycling if you have to sit in traffic’. That doesn’t mean that you can weave in and out between cars causing danger. Again - yeah it’s shit there are no proper cycling facilities but it doesn’t give you the right to be dangerous on the road.
Thanks for clarifying it. If you deem breaking the law to be safe then you’re happy with it but if you deem others breaking the law to be dangerous then it’s outrageous. Do you think it’s ok for a car to break red lights if there’s no traffic nearby?
Pedestrians are road users too. Just because there were no traffic lights in Leitrim when you were growing up doesn’t mean that there are no laws applying to pedestrians.
I’ve no doubt that you’ve witnessed dangerous cycling in Dublin, similarly there’s plenty of instances when cars veer into the cycle lanes and pass far too close to cyclists - they don’t see cyclists as a real obstruction and are happy to veer around them instead of waiting patiently behind for an overtaking opportunity.
[quote=“farmerinthecity”]Cyclists are road users first of all. They are similar to cars. So they definitely shouldn’t be going down a one way street the wrong way.
As for the lights issue - yes I have broken the red man. That is only when there are no cars coming and it is free to cross. I have often been going through a junction as the third or fourth car and a dude on a bike cycles straight through in front of me breaking the light.
And to go back to Gman’s point about there being ‘no point in cycling if you have to sit in traffic’. That doesn’t mean that you can weave in and out between cars causing danger. Again - yeah it’s shit there are no proper cycling facilities but it doesn’t give you the right to be dangerous on the road.[/quote]
I’d agree with you on the one way streets and red lights. I saw someone get knocked down one day at the portobello bridge going through a red light, and it was something I’d never chance myself.
as for traffic, do you expect cyclists just to sit at the back of a queue of cars and wait patiently, while cars are sitting in their legal lane? It generally only happens at stopped traffic anyway, and if drivers have a bit of patience then it’ll be fine. as rocko said, they only have to wait for a little bit to safely overtake cyclists. As in the time I got knocked down, some arsehole tried to gain a couple of seconds by speeding past me and then cut me up, when all he had to do was wait behind about 10 seconds and safley turn left.
Which ones would they be? Just so I can try to anticipate them next time I’m out driving and following the rules of the road.
[quote=“Gman”]
as for traffic, do you expect cyclists just to sit at the back of a queue of cars and wait patiently, while cars are sitting in their legal lane? It generally only happens at stopped traffic anyway, and if drivers have a bit of patience then it’ll be fine. [/quote]
I have no problem with cyclists moving up through traffic at lights, just dont fucking scratch my car when you’re doing it and we’ll be fine. I will overtake on any road past any machine or bike when it is safe.
Thankfully I passed my driving test before a rudimentary knowledge of the rules of the road was required so I’m unfamiliar with the full rulebook. The one about not parking near a humpack bridge would be one anyway.
[quote=“therock67”]Thanks for clarifying it. If you deem breaking the law to be safe then you’re happy with it but if you deem others breaking the law to be dangerous then it’s outrageous. Do you think it’s ok for a car to break red lights if there’s no traffic nearby?
Pedestrians are road users too. Just because there were no traffic lights in Leitrim when you were growing up doesn’t mean that there are no laws applying to pedestrians.
I’ve no doubt that you’ve witnessed dangerous cycling in Dublin, similarly there’s plenty of instances when cars veer into the cycle lanes and pass far too close to cyclists - they don’t see cyclists as a real obstruction and are happy to veer around them instead of waiting patiently behind for an overtaking opportunity.[/quote]
I do not doubt for one second that there are many, many car users out there that act the maggot with cyclists, but this is not the point and, as the old adage says, two wrongs dont make a right.
I break the law when I go through the red man. Hands up Im guilty. Whether I believe car drivers should break a right light if no traffic is coming is irrelevant again to the argument on the cyclists.
Cyclists are on the road full time (unless they decide to cycle on the footpath which many decide to do). Pedestrians are on the road only when they cross it. So to equate cyclists and pedestrians are ridiculous. Pedestrians dont walk up a street in and out of cars at high speed. Pedestrians dont go down the wrong way on one way streets at high speed. Pedestrians, in the main, break red lights only when it is safe to do so. Cyclists dont if you ask me.
You see most cyclists like to have the best of both worlds road users and non road users. They have a bike so they must cycle on the road yet they think they have the same privileges as pedestrians by going down the wrong way on the one way streets etc. They dont.
[quote=“myboyblue”]
I have no problem with cyclists moving up through traffic at lights, just dont fucking scratch my car when you’re doing it and we’ll be fine. I will overtake on any road past any machine or bike when it is safe.[/quote]
[quote=“farmerinthecity”]I do not doubt for one second that there are many, many car users out there that act the maggot with cyclists, but this is not the point and, as the old adage says, two wrongs dont make a right.
I break the law when I go through the red man. Hands up Im guilty. Whether I believe car drivers should break a right light if no traffic is coming is irrelevant again to the argument on the cyclists.
Cyclists are on the road full time (unless they decide to cycle on the footpath which many decide to do). Pedestrians are on the road only when they cross it. So to equate cyclists and pedestrians are ridiculous. Pedestrians dont walk up a street in and out of cars at high speed. Pedestrians dont go down the wrong way on one way streets at high speed. Pedestrians, in the main, break red lights only when it is safe to do so. Cyclists dont if you ask me.
You see most cyclists like to have the best of both worlds road users and non road users. They have a bike so they must cycle on the road yet they think they have the same privileges as pedestrians by going down the wrong way on the one way streets etc. They dont.[/quote]
You made yourself out to be angel in the first post here Farmer saying that you’ll let a cyclist out in front of you when he comes to a parked car. You seem oblivious to the fact that you’re obliged to do so as a ROAD USER. When a cyclist is in front of you it’s up to you to find a safe time to pass him out.
The talk of pedestrians is not irrelevant, it’s a beam of light to illuminate your hypocrisy on when it’s safe to break the rules of the road and when it’s not. You think the rules of the road should apply to cyclists and cars but not to pedestrians and your justification for same is that the latter are not ROAD USERS. Regrettably, block capitals do not hold any standing in Irish law - maybe Artfoley will clarify.
Cyclists are a cross between pedestrians and cars whether you agree with that or not. That’s why people cycle. If bicycles got stuck in traffic nobody would cycle.
[quote=“therock67”]You made yourself out to be angel in the first post here Farmer saying that you’ll let a cyclist out in front of you when he comes to a parked car. You seem oblivious to the fact that you’re obliged to do so as a ROAD USER. When a cyclist is in front of you it’s up to you to find a safe time to pass him out.
The talk of pedestrians is not irrelevant, it’s a beam of light to illuminate your hypocrisy on when it’s safe to break the rules of the road and when it’s not. You think the rules of the road should apply to cyclists and cars but not to pedestrians and your justification for same is that the latter are not ROAD USERS. Regrettably, block capitals do not hold any standing in Irish law - maybe Artfoley will clarify.
Cyclists are a cross between pedestrians and cars whether you agree with that or not. That’s why people cycle. If bicycles got stuck in traffic nobody would cycle.[/quote]
What a load of rubbish. I get the feeling that you are now arguing for the sake of arguing.
So you are saying that the reason that people cycle is that they can go down one way streets, weave in and out through cars at high speed and dangerously jump red lights because they know that they can get away with it? Thats some slur on the many good ROAD USING cyclists out there.
That cannot be justified and is pretty rampant from what I have seen out there. None of your talk about pedestrians, breaking the green man, traffic lights in Leitrim, getting fitted for a stair lift in your gaff* will get around that.
*You may actually have mentioned that in the pub on Friday night
You are allowed to cross a single white line in the case of an emergency or for access, causing a tailback is a dangerous act and in such cases overtaking a dangerously slow moving object is acceptable.
I believe I asked you to outline what rules of the road cyclists are allowed to break? I feel it only fair that I as a motorist am privvy to these.