You will note some cosmetic improvements for cyclists around the bridge which were put in last week. Coincidentally beside where the conference is taking place
A friend of mine was saying there was what he termed a last minute lipstick job done round the city to cover up the shitty infrastructure that’s there. His company would be involved in drawing up plans for DCC etc.
It’s still a smashing little anecdote from @Fagan_ODowd
Cyclists need to take criticism to win friends
Why is it apparently unacceptable to say that cyclists also have responsibilities?
BRIAN CAULFIELD
Recently, I made the mistake of contributing to a Twitter thread on cyclists’ behaviour by remarking that, as a regular pedestrian, cyclists are more of a danger to me than cars. To be sure, I used loose language. “Danger” is difficult to quantify accurately. What I should have said was that, in my experience walking around Dublin, I am more likely to be struck by a cyclist than a motorist, primarily because of many (not all) cyclists’ unwillingness to observe traffic lights.
That may also be reflective of my own behaviour. I’m probably more wary of cars than I am of bikes. And, of course, a cyclist is very unlikely to kill me or do me serious injury. I doubt that there are adequate statistics capturing the number of times pedestrians are struck by cyclists for this very reason. Most of the time, such collisions are very minor. It’s clear that cars are much more dangerous than bikes – but I would still prefer not to be struck by one.
What followed was extraordinary. There were the polite (and some less polite) responses drawing my attention to the statistics on the number people killed by motorists versus those killed by cyclists or reminding me that force equals mass times acceleration. As an engineer, I found that funny. I wasn’t questioning either the statistics or the laws of physics. There were many who were happy to engage in a respectful exploration of frequently only slightly differing points of view.
Lobby
But then there was the abuse. I was called a c**t. I was told that I had “proven” that I was anticyclist by failing to condemn the behaviour of motorists (I did); that I wanted someone to hate and had decided to demonise cyclists; perhaps most ludicrously of all, that I was condoning child abuse. It was also “obvious” that I had never been to the Netherlands (I’ve been there dozens, perhaps more than a hundred, times).
Even when I sought to withdraw from the conversation, the abuse continued. In more than 10 years on Twitter, I have never previously blocked or reported anyone for abuse. I have now.
I was struck by many aspects of this experience. The willingness of people to extrapolate from something that was said and then to criticise and sit in judgment on something that was never said and never intended is remarkable. The absolute unwillingness to accept that there might be some among their number whose behaviour is a danger to themselves and others (just as there are among drivers and pedestrians) is also extraordinary. As an aside, it’s also interesting that none of the abuse came from women, at least as identified by their profiles. And there’s a question for another day on the sort of vitriolic, personalised “debate” on any topic that social media has unleashed.
More remarkable still is the failure of judgment in thinking that such abuse might achieve anything. On virtually every practical issue, I agree with the cycling community (apparently, it’s unacceptable to suggest that there’s a cycling “lobby”). Cycling (and walking) should be encouraged. It’s even more environmentally friendly than public transport. It’s healthy. It takes cars out of our towns and cities making them more liveable for all.
It’s clear that cyclists and pedestrians are enormously more vulnerable than drivers and, as such, we should segregate road use where possible. We should build more high-quality cycle lanes and should explore alternatives such as placing cycle lanes between on-street parking and pavements. We should pedestrianise more parts of our towns and cities. I confess that I’ve never, in any square or pedestrianised street, in any city in the world, found myself saying “they really should let cars in here”.
We also need to ensure that legal penalties for dangerous behaviour are reflective of the relative potential for harm. In other words, a motorist breaking a red light should be much more heavily penalised than a cyclist doing the same thing. It’s ludicrous that we already have cameras mounted at traffic lights that are not being used to detect and punish drivers who run red lights. There are also innovative approaches that have been adopted elsewhere that might improve safety such as the system in French cities where, at some junctions, cyclists can effectively treat red lights as yield signs (brought to my attention by one of the more polite correspondents).
So why is it apparently completely unacceptable to say that cyclists also have responsibilities to themselves and other road users? That they should obey traffic laws and take reasonable steps to protect themselves and other road users such as lights and visible clothing at night? There are many, many cyclists who are impeccable road users, but it might just help to win (and keep) friends and allies to accept that that’s not universal and we need to be able to have conversations that recognise that.
Brian Caulfield is an entrepreneur and venture capital investor. He is a former non-executive director of The Irish Times
The Irish times seems very willing to publish “I received abuse on twitter and so now I’m an expert and am going to make sweeping statements about a section of society in the real world” type articles lately.
cc @Bandage
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A real “Ive noticed you doing this kind of post lately so I’m giving you a nod in a sarcastic manner” type of contribution here.
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#metoo
@Little_Lord_Fauntleroy on his way to mass this morning
https://twitter.com/bikesandbabies/status/1170323940822212610?s=19
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I really hope this cunt is caught and gets time for this
In all fairness that was some headbutt. Did they ever find the jogger who pushed the young lady out in front of a bus?
As an aside I was out walking in town there earlier and a fellow with a beard on a Dublin bike was coming up to a junction. I was crossing the road, he was coming up to a stop sign. It became clear that he was not going to stop and that if I continued at the pace I was going I would collide with him. I said loudly “STOP” but he completely ignored me and continued on his way.
Do ye have those rental scooters in Dublin now? They’re a menace.
You should have given him a Richie
Some hole on yer wan.
No but there are plenty of private ones. They are going to legislate to legalize them.
They started appearing here and the cities are now trying to catch up with regulations. They’re a nuisance. Abandoned all over the place.
I used them in Stockholm. Great yokes.
Provided you’re not pissed and doing thirty on the pavement.
Yessss!
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