It appears that ignorance on our roads isn’t confined to our appalling drivers but how often have you seen a cyclist on the road where just 2 feet away is a perfectly usable cycle lane! What is it with these cretins that can’t or won’t use the facility that’s been provided to them? (at great cost to the tax payer no doubt!) At least I did see a garda telling a cyclist to get off his bike as he cycled happily against oncoming traffic last week outside the Bleedin’ Horse here in Dublin, no ticket though, just a roar at a fairly sheepish cyclist…!
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60 Comments
As a cyclist aswell as a driver, there can be many reasons for this. Obviously there are a lot of bad cyclists out there who ignore traffic light etc, but what you describe is often down to the design or condition of cycle lanes. Usually it seems as if a non-cyclist is designing them. Often there is no way onto the cycle lane without stopping and lifting your bike over a kerb. It’s all well and good to be sitting in a warm car with an engine to do the work for you, but if I’ve just used my own energy to get the momentum going to cycle up as hill, in the rain, damned if I’m going to stop and get off the bike just because there’s a cycle lane there with no easy access. Other times, the lip onto the cycle lane is several inches high which means – especially in icy weather – unless you go over it at a 90 degree angle, the wheel will slip and you’ll come off your bike. If there’s a way onto it, then fine, I’ll use it.
Other times the cycle lanes have been dug up and badly repaired and are left in lethal condition for cyclists, or it can even be down to motorists – a car parked on the cycle lane necessitating use of the road, and then no easy way back onto the cycle lane (see first point above).
As a former committed cyclist myself both here in Dublin and in London I cannot see any justification for cycling on the road when a cycle lane is provided. This attitude amazes me because, let’s be honest about this, when I used to cycle a regular route across London to work and back every day I knew where the bad bits were and I knew to avoid them, I knew where the cycle lanes existed and where they didn’t but if you feel that stopping and lifting your bike over a kerb to access a cycle lane is too much like hard work, stay in your car! I for one would never park my car so as to block others access, unfortunately that attitude doesn’t prevail here and the guards are highly unlikely to punish anyone who does park on a cycle lane. Some of my work colleagues in London had their own methods of retribution should anyone piss them off whilst cycling, maybe you should think up a few of your own!!
There are certain conditions when a cyclist must abandon the cycle lane. For example, when making a right hand turn, you should join the appropriate lane. Also, some drivers drift into the cycle lane when approaching a left turn, whether or not this gets them by the car in front. More often than not, they cut you off without indicating, and then just sit there blocking you.
It’s also personal. I think it’s moronic to sit in 2 hours of traffic a day unless you’re actually crippled or live more than 8 miles from work. Many of the drivers in Dublin have travelled no more than 6 miles to get to work. I cycle because it saves time and has a low carbon footprint. I cycle in a manner that’s safe for me, and if I’m an inconvenience to some cretin in a 3.5l jeep, then that’s just an added bonus.
Fair enough Raff, you don’t want to sit in 2 hours of traffic a day, not sure where you live but it must be quite a distance from your place of work, but your comment about being an inconvenience to a cretin in a Jeep suggests that you have the same or perhaps a worse attitude to other road users. Well… that’s hardly very helpful, is it? I fully understand that on occasions cyclists must abandon the cycle lane to cross a street or whatever, fair enough, but my issue is with cyclists who ignore long stretches of perfectly good cycle lanes to cycle on the road in front of cars, buses and lorries! I don’t get it???!!! Why??? To piss off motorists Raff???
I’ve used the very same cycle lanes when I used to cycle and there is nothing wrong with them, NOTHING! They’re safer and quicker and the only reason I’m not using them now is because I don’t particularly enjoy cycling in the rain. I usually walk to the LUAS anyway but with the weather we’ve been having lately I have little option but to use my car.
As I said in my original post, I’m amazed at the ignorance of some cyclists in this city but Raff, you pointed out something very important to me about attitudes. I just hope I don’t ever meet you when you’re behind the wheel of a car!!
A cyclist shouted at me three times to get out of her way…I was walking on the PAVEMENT where she was cycling!!!Can one shoot imbeciles like this?
Unfortunately harry39, due to current legislative restrictions it’s not permissible under Irish law to shoot imbeciles in much the same way as it’s an offence to drive whilst using a mobile phone, run red lights, park in disabled parking spots, etc, etc…
Try using the cycle paths through Drumcondra as one example: pedestrians walking all over them and cars pulling out of junctions without looking to see if there’s anyone coming on the footpath/cycle path. I’ve also come off my bike more than once when trying to negotiate a cycle path that weaves between the footpath and the road with a inch or so difference between the footpath and road. Not to mention the broken glass that gets swept off the road and into the cycle path.
One of my hugest peeves as a taxi driver is cyclists using the bus-lane on the N11 when there’s a PERFECT (accessable) cycle lane right beside it. This is beyond dangerous, it’s arrogant and stupid.
@K8
I think you will find that the ‘bus lane’ is also a cycle track in its own right, as it is designated for busses and bikes. The reason that the cycle track (not cycle lane, or bike lane, it’s called a cycle track) is not ‘perfect’ is that it at various places it is either crossed onto the road, behind bus shelters, across junctions or worse still heading towards UCD from Bray it is bumpier than a rollercoaster. Not to mention the cyclists on it.
Oh I presume that as a taxi-driver you know that you are ONLY allowed to use a bus lane when you have a fare in the cab, and that you obey this rule too?
sorry last line of first paragraph should have read “Not to mention the pedestrians on it.”
I can understand the frustration with cyclists using the road on the N11, but there are sections of that cycle path that far from perfect and are in fact downright dangerous. Some stretches have very poor surface, you’re forced to dodge bus shelters and other street furniture, as well as apparently suicidal pedestrians, etc. etc. In addition, the cycle lane deprives you of the protection of priority at junctions emerging on the left. I think that if a cyclist chooses to cycle on the road there it’s not simply out of stupidity or arrogance – it’s more probably out of a concern for their own life and limb. If it was a perfectly safe cycle lane then they’d use it. (And if they didn’t I would agree that it was out of arrogance or stupidity or whatever.)
The truth is that cycle lanes in Ireland are, for the most part, badly designed, constructed and maintained. You’re usually in greater danger on them than off them.
The real problem, as I see it is, is not that some cyclists don’t use some cycle lanes, or that some cars don’t always leave as much room for bikes as they should, or that some taxis use bus lanes when they shouldn’t, or whatever – the real problem is that we have people designing our road system in such a way that different road users end up in conflict with each other unnecessarily.
If they had designed the N11 cycle lane with a bit more intelligence then those cyclist would be happier and safer using it and they wouldn’t be in your way.
I’m afraid guys the problem here is that cycle lanes are built largely as a PR exercise by the county councils. They are built in such a way so as to give every other form of road user priority above cyclists. There is no consideration given to the practicalities of the lane, nor to the safety of the cyclists using the lane.
First and foremost, I’ve yet to see a cycle lane which doesn’t require cyclists to stop at every single side road and yield. This is fine for pedestrians who are moving at a nice leisurely pace, but for cyclists who are often moving in excess of 20km/h, it’s more than just an annoyance. Could you imagine if, driving down the road, you were required to stop and yield every single time you came upon a side road, just in case someone wanted to turn in or out of it? In addition, where the lane crosses entrances to businesses and homes and the like, they present an unbelievable danger as many homes have zero visibility when exiting, so cars have to stick their nose out just to see if it’s safe to go. If I was to collide with the nose of a car at 30km/h, I can tell you I wouldn’t be in a good state.
The other major problems with off-road cycle lanes is that they often stop and start with no consideration given about where the cyclist is to go in the meantime, they often cross in front of bus stops where people are standing waiting or busses are alighting passengers. In one particular case on the N11, the cycle lane and path bizarrely cross over each other and the cyclists (moving at high speed) are required to give way to the pedestrians (moving at low speed). Surely a more intelligent solution could have been devised?
These are the primary reasons why I largely avoid off-road cycle lanes unless they are sufficiently removed from the main traffic flow.
Aside from this, the councils clearly don’t care. When they are doing roadworks, they frequently block cycle lanes or paths with equipment, then direct pedstrians onto the road or cycle lane and give no indication about where the cyclists should go. When they rip up cycle lanes to do repairs, they’ll often badly repair them (as they do roads) and leave them strewn with debris.
Other road users don’t care. They park in cycles lanes at all hours of the day or night. I’m pretty sure there’s a generation of mothers who believe that the red bit of road is the “Park here to drop off and pick up your kids who are more than old enough to walk themselves”, a generation of businessmen who think it’s the “Making a call on your mobile lane”, and a generation of taxi drivers who think it’s the “Passenger pick up lane”. Not to mention the pedestrians who seem to assume that getting hit in the kidney by a handlebar won’t hurt.
I could go on and on. I have a car. I cycle to work. I’ve driven a motorbike for years. Cyclists are by far the most vulnerable road users, bar none, yet their safety is given absolutely zero priority by anyone else on the road.
Elements of this discussion reflect a broader problem of “them and us” attitudes espoused by various categories of road users. In the course of a given week, I cycle, drive, walk,and use public transport, roughly in that order of usage. So I’m a cyclist, driver, pedestrian and passenger at various times. I can see from a driver’s perspective why it might be frustrating to have a cyclist in front of you when there’s a cycle lane available. However, having had the benefit of a cyclist’s perspective as well, I know that there are very good reasons – many of them outlined above – for not using many of Dublin’s cycle lanes. The N11 may appear “perfect” from the perspective of a car but having attempted to cycle it, I can tell you it’s not: the key problem is that it attempts to turn a long-established pedestrian area into a cycle route by virtue of slapping down some red paint. In addition the surface crosses innumerable dips in front of peoples driveways creating a profoundly uncomfortable and, in some weather conditions, unsafe commute. Finally, drivers emerging from those same driveways must, perforce, cross the cycle lane to reach the road. Technically they should yield priority to oncoming bikes but – reasonably enough from their perspective since it’ll make getting out very difficult – they don’t, forcing said cyclists to either stop entirely or to move onto the road. This is neither the fault of the cyclist nor the drivers but comes back to a cycle lane design strategy driven not by expertise (we still have not had a cycle lane engineer appointed by DCC) but by a political need to point to the existence of cycle lane “network”. Hence the appearance of what often appear to wilfully eccentric cycle paths across the city and hence the ongoing reluctance of cyclists to use many of them.
Can I therefore ask – politely and genuinely – if K8 has himself ever attempted to use the N11 cycle route on a bike? I’d be very interested in his views after giving it a go.
And Rubbish Irish Drivers, with regard to your point about tax-payers expense. As a tax-payer myself, nothing enfuriates me more than contemplating the labour, materials and money wasted on constructing literally useless cycle paths. Do it right or don’t do it.
I avoid the N11 specifically because of those cycle “tracks”. Far too stressful and dangerous with all the hazards on them. But I’m sure that was the planners intention in creating them in the first place, get all those nasty cyclists out of the way of the “real traffic”.
quote:”Can I therefore ask – politely and genuinely – if K8 has himself ever attempted to use the N11 cycle route on a bike? I’d be very interested in his views after giving it a go.”
Seconded.
When you say a cycle lane is “perfectly usable”, I take it that conclusion is reached from behind a car window. If so, don’t be too surprised if cyclists who are actually in physical contact with the lane don’t reach the same conclusion.
K8 you weren’t on the N11 at Stillorgan last Saturday were you?! Myself and a friend had a great aul run-in with a taxi driver who took great offence to us edging out a whole one foot (the cheek of us?!?!) into the bus lane so he seemed to think it would be a fair response to brake hard and weave into the bike lane – thats the kinda crap that gives taxi drivers a bad name.
Anyway, bike lanes are dangerous, plain and simple, why can’t drivers acknowledge that – its shows massive ignorance to keep ranting about cyclists when you haven’t got a notion what the lanes are actually like, especially seeing as cyclists are more than willing to see it from your point of view. Get off your arse for 5 mins and take a spin down the N11, or any bike lane for that matter, and see if you’re still of the same opinion.
Bike lanes are grand for mountain bikes at low speed, but I’ve got a racing bike worth more than most of the taxis that are trying to kill me, and generally go at speeds over 20mph, so it’d be pure suicide to go on the bike lane.
I’m equally a cyclist and a driver, and have a god fearing petrol guzzling beast of a car to entertain me at the weekends, cyclists are slow and annoying but so are aul grannies, women, learner drivers, busses, trucks… thats life so relax and wait the 5 extra seconds before you pass them out, the only reason they’re not on the bike lane is coz that section is probably a heap of shite
I had a difference of opinion with a cyclist who chose to use the road in preference to a mandatory cycle track a few weeks back. My use of the car horn was countered by the cyclist deciding to dismount and effectively block my progress. The cyclist was obviously of the Darwin school of thought but mistakenly thought he was a smart ass. I asked him why he had stopped to which he said that my beeping made him suspect that something was wrong with his bicycle so he stopped to check it out. I was happily able to put a new strategy into play. Basically I bought a few “combination” locks in a pound shop. I took one out and put it on his wheel and locked it. I wished him a pleasant evening and drove around a clearly baffled “not so” smart ass.
I should have said, this solution to arsehole cyclists only costs €2 a pop. The results are priceless – cant wait for my second chance to do it (though to be fair, I reserve this particular one for serious arseholes)
What exactly is a “mandatory cycle track”?
If you tried that on me I’d smack the head off you – hopefully someone will – or better yet hop in your car and throw away your keys coz it amounts to the same thing
quote: “I was happily able to put a new strategy into play. Basically I bought a few “combination” locks in a pound shop. I took one out and put it on his wheel and locked it. I wished him a pleasant evening and drove around a clearly baffled “not so” smart ass.”
Yeah right. I suppose he waited there patiently for you while you went off to the pound shop to buy your locks…
I wouldn’t bother listening too much to what K8 has to say either. His other pet peeves include motorists who stick to speed limits. (http://shitedrivers.com/2008/04/20/dangerous-taxi-driver-how-to-report/). I’m presuming that’s also dangerous, arrogant and stupid in his opinion.
Tackleberry – your threat of violence is pathetic. A keyboard warrior whose first and only answer amounts to criminal assault! That will get you places – Mountjoy for an extended stay, courtesy of the state.
Steve – I had 3 locks stored in the glove box for a few months waiting for a cyclist to do something “special”. His own smart ass atitude allowed me the time to simply lock the wheel. He was the type of tree hugging gobshite who stood there waiting (hoping?) for me to hit him. Of couse I abhor violence of any kind (unlike Tackleberry, the cycling world’s modern day Rambo!)
So was the whole beeping affair because you were genuinely inconvenienced by a cyclist being on the road, or were you just looking to start a fight?
Oh, Tackleberry, when you are in Mountjoy on your little holiday you could use the time to study the “Rules of the Road” You can learn all about “mandatory cycle tracks” and the law that requires cyclists to use them where provided and therefore makes using the main road in such circumstances illegal
No Steve, the beeping was for the cyclist to use the cycle track provided instead of holding up traffic – the only one looking for a fight was the “smartass” on the bike. If you are looking for a fight I would advise you to avoid Tackleberry – he sounds downright dangerous!
To be honest, I reckon you could easily have overtaken him and been on your way with no traffic held up. How do you ever get round streets with no “mandatory cycle tracks”? The fact that you went to the trouble of buying the locks suggests to me that you were spoiling for a confrontation.
Speaking from my own experience as a driver, the number of problems I’ve had with cyclists dwarfs the number of problems I’ve had with downright aggressive drivers. Perhaps you should read the section of the rules of the road regarding aggressive driving and road rage.
Btw, I think what your militant attitude reminds me most of is the drivers who will block the overtaking lane on a motorway because they don’t want other motorists “breaking the law” by speeding. A typical attitude characterised by being full of concern for how other people may be committing infractions yet completely oblivious to how their own behaviour negatively affects everyone else.
Hi Steve – I have read all the rules of the road, as all road users should. You should not “reckon” on anything to do with the incident as you were not there. If I could have “easily” overtaken the goon I would have, the point was that I couldn’t. You could read a book on etiquete and refrain from making judgements on situations you dont know anything about
Steve – we agree on something at last- the overtaking lane hoggers
A lot of the “cycle tracks” on the N11 are not cycletracks at all, due to incorrect signage they are footpaths, this should be obvious from all the pedestrians using them, and the fact they are completely unsuitable for cycling on. If you do not know what the correct signage is then you should go learn it before threatening people for OBEYING the law. I regularly illegaly cycle on these footpaths since I find most taximen & busdrivers are completely ignorant of the law and choose to put my life at risk “to teach me a lesson”.
Most cycletracks have surfaces unfit for a car or motorbike, yet bikes with no suspension are expected to cycle on them. Under the following law you can argue against having to cycle on apparently mandatory cycletracks with correct signage.
Act 14 of 1993, Section 67
Road users’ duty of care.
67.—(1) It shall be the duty of a person using a public road to take reasonable care for his own safety and for that of any other person using the public road.
(2) It shall be the duty of a person using a public road to take all reasonable measures to avoid—
( a ) injury to himself or to any other person using the public road,
( b ) damage to property owned or used by him or by any other person using the public road.
@avon
Did you ever stop to consider that that cyclist was actually looking out for YOUR wellbeing. I know for certain that I would be beside myself if I was cycling along on a ‘perfectly good’ cycle track only to come across a bit of gravel or glass or something, and fall out into the road forcing you to take evasive action and end up wrapping yourself around a lamp-post, ending up bouncing a basketball in a wheelchair like in the tv ad. Especially if I could have avoided the whole thing by being more careful where I cycled in the first place.
Of course I’d be also looking out for myself too, by ensuring that I don’t hit said gravel/glass and encounter a driver playing with the kids or phone or shaving, who DOESN’T take evasive action and ends up going over me.
@avon again,
next time you try your trick with the locks, you should probably watch out you don’t get a ulock round the side of the head, or through your windscreen. Interfering with someone elses property is an offense, and self defense would not be unwarranted.
Billy – dont worry about “forcing you to take evasive action and end up wrapping yourself around a lamp-post, ending up bouncing a basketball in a wheelchair like in the tv ad”. I simply wouldn’t take such an irresponsible course of action. Stick to killing dragons or whatever other fantasies takes your fancy, in the real world the rest of us will get along with real life!
Billy – you could keep yourself completely out of harms way by using the cycle track provided – better than being turned into a pancake
or by just being ahead of you
Oh and remember, if the cyclist wasn’t ahead of you for a brief part of your journey, they’d be in a car in front of you for a much longer part of your journey
Avon : “I simply wouldn’t take such an irresponsible course of action.”
So what – you’d go straight over the cyclist? Or would you be able to stop in time. Don’t forget that if you rear end a cyclist who falls in front of you, you are liable for not maintaining a suitable distance to be able to brake
Wow what can I say to such a witty and insightful chap such as Sir Avon of Barksdale? Its pretty clear that you’re showing yourself to be a complete arsehole in every post you make so I won’t waste much more time with you but how on earth am I being a violent “keyboard warrior” by saying I’d defend myself against somebody as militant as you, driving around with a loada padlocks in his car just spoiling for a fight and looking to mess with my property? In fact the more I think about it, you actually sound like a standard scumbag spoiling for a fight, and the premeditated (or should that be medicated?) nature of your illness is further proof of aforementioned arseholery, you really should seek medical help, you could ask them to treat you for padlock addiction too
You’re the one outlining some hypothetical situation where you as a cyclist “falls” out in front of a motorist! Now you’re changing the situation to you being ahead of me (go figure)!!! Stick to the cycle track Billy (or spend your time slaying those dragons) and we’ll all get on grand.
Ding Dong.
Anyway, by being ahead of you, on the road, I would be keeping myself out of harms way. By cycling on your hypothetically perfect cycle track I would be putting myself in harms way by leaving myself open to falling out in front of you. do ya geddit yet?
So the two wheeled Rambo has returned! Tackleberry I hope you’re not back to make violent threats. For someone who “won’t waste much more time with you”, you sure wrote a long winded post! Reread your own previous post regarding threat of violence. If you’re still unsure in any way, consult a dictionary or take up english classes. You could change your handle to “Dingleberry” while you’re at it!
Not so hypothetical, I’ve taken some nasty spills while cycling on “perfect” cycle tracks. Remember, most cycle paths are just footpaths with a crap paint job on them, so they’re going to have cracks and kerbs between driveways that can be difficult to see in poor light. I’ve taken the odd tumble hitting the kerb while crossing driveways. I could easily see myself falling the wrong way some time and into the traffic to the right of me.
Billy, those dragons are keeping you up late! And on a school night!!!
The cycletracks keep you off the main road and out of harms way. Incidentially mandatory cycle tracks are exactly that – you are required, by law, to use them – hence my use of the term “mandatory”
Ding dong.
“mandatory” indeed, but as rubadub pointed out previously, the duty of care which is required of all road users allows cyclists to avoid those which would endanger our lives and potentially those of other road users.
Ding dong
How do you define ‘harms way’?
Kevin, just keep to the left hand side of the track – you should hopefully be ok. It is your own responsibility to cycle at a speed which is appropriate to the environment you are travelling in. This includes volume and proximity of pedestrians and other road users as well as the quality of the surface. Nearly all cycle accidents I have witnessed resulted from inappropriate speed for prevailing conditions (whether on the main road or on a cycle track).
Many cyclist views expressed here and elsewhere seem to suggest that cyclists should be provided with infrastructure which allows them to cycle as fast as they please without interuption. I would fully support such infrastructure in an ideal world but, in the real world we are talking about routes in built up urban areas so stops and yielding of priority happens to all (motorists, pedestrians and god help us, cyclists as well)
If you have an issue with using cycle tracks, take it up with the RSA or your local TD. In the meantime, its best to obey the law and use the cycle tracks provided.
Billy, the big shiny things on four (or more) wheels can harm you – you dont have airbags etc that help protect motorists and are therefore vulnerable, or to put it another way, potentially in harms way. If there is infrastructure that keeps you away from such potential danger, then you should use it, especially if its the law!
Ding dong!
I think you really mean to say “sed -e ’s/harm['s]*]/my/’”
But anyway I better get going now, I reckon if I head into work now I will definitely be out of your way when you decide to beep at more cyclists going about their way, trying to make the world a little more environmentally friendly. It’s been fun.
re “Kevin, just keep to the left hand side of the track – you should hopefully be ok. “. Oh that’s nice, “keep to the left and hopefully it won’t be my problem”. Cheers.
@Avon – I agree completely with Tackleberry. Its rich you are calling him Rambo when you are the one who who basically assaulted someone elses property and left them stranded. Did you ever wonder if he made it home ok? I would hope next time you try it you get a good box in the ear. How many “cycle accidents” have you witnessed to come to such a conclusion? I can only assume it is a fair few to achieve any kind of statistical significance and it worries me that you seem to be in the vicnity of so many. Common Denominator? I look forward to seeing a motorist come at me with a combination lock in hand, at least I will kno now what to do.
Avon,
I’m a motorist, driving over 30K miles a year, and I NEVER have the problems with cyclists that you seem to have whilst driving to work. I sent your post to three Gardaí I know just for some feedback. They each stated that you were in breach of the law by interfering with a third parties property & obstructing traffic. All three Gardaí would have given you a ticket, and one would have pushed to have you in court.
The cyclist in question is also within their rights to issue proceedings against you, furthermore had I been driving behind you and witnessed your actions, I would have reported you to the Gardaí myself.
Regards,
Murph
Erm,
I can’t believe anyone is taking this Avon guy seriously. You could have at least tried to make your fantasy somewhat believable Avon. Class A Walter Mitty if ever I saw one.
Murph – Just interested to know what “ticket” could the gardai you spoke to write up for this? Just curious?
Clearly the initial obstruction to traffic was caused by the cyclist dismounting (if Avon’s post is accurate) so I suspect that the cyclist would be in a bit of bother especially if those onstreet cctv cameras caught it.
Actually, if it went to court I wouldnt be surprised if the judge sided with the motorist! Stranger things have happened in Irish court rooms (I have seen plenty, especially in the District Court – which is where any prosecution would be heard)
@Avon.
For reference, this is the section of the rules of the road I was referring to:
http://www.rulesoftheroad.ie/accidents-gardai-and-penalties/what-not-to-do/road-rage.html
Here’s a few good reasons not to use cycle tracks…
http://www.flickr.com/groups/dublincyclelanes/
I’m from Mullingar, on the new c link road there is a cycle lane, the drainage is dreadful with puddles up to 2 inches deep but not only that every driver seems to use it as a swerve lane. shortly after it opened a young lad got knocked off his bike while on the lane wearing a bright red jacket. Drivers need to learn how to drive.
We all need to get from A to B in one way or another. How we do that is our own personal choice. Personally I prefer to cycle as this has proved to be the quicker (not safer) and cheaper option. I only use my car if I really need to; if the weather is extremely bad or I need to carry a heavy load perhaps or I’m going out with friends for a meal, but the cycle is my main form of transport. Why can’t we all just get along nicely and considerately when we share the roads? The main problem, I think, is space and time. There’s just too many people and not enough room, so we all feel suffocated and blocked in every direction. Our lifestyles are fast moving nowadays which only fuels the problem. The only natural way to release this feeling is aggression to anyone who “gets in the way” or “slows us down”. Also, it would be a good idea to include a cycling course within the driving test so the motorist can see what its like to be on a bike in traffic and how much room and consideration is required to pass safely. We all have the “Health & Safety” issues enforced within our workplaces, but this seems to mean nothing out on the roads. Finally, there are too many people dying on our roads, so lets all slow down a little and chill out! Take care out there.
This site has a wonderful facility of the month section, as noted towards the top of this page, too many “cycle facilities” seem to be provided as a PR exercise, frequently useless, sometimes downright dangerous and more dangerous than the roads, often a waste of money that could be better spent on more important and useful things like adequate road repairs.
http://www.warringtoncyclecampaign.co.uk/
If motorists were treated the same way as cyclists (who pay tax like everyone else) there would be hell to pay politically, so personally if the “facility” is that bad I’ll stay on the road and quite happily annoy the motorists, I’m generally trying to get somewhere on my bike too you know, I’m just trying not to get Diabetes in the process!
Avon there is no law that requires cyclist to use facilities where they are provided. None whatsoever. That is just your fantasy.
Personally I have taken up dangerous road design with the RSA and several other government agencies, they completely ignored me, showing how useless and motorist focussed they really are.
Avon Barksdale, just wanted to reply to your statement to the other poster that his comments could land him in jail. Your actions of locking some elses property sites to vandalism. You have no right to put a lock on someones bike. If you were to lock my wheel I would have you charged for same.
From what I’ve seen from the majoity of the posts people here that actually cycle know the deal with the state of our cycle Track/lanes. I’m both a cyclist and driver. Though at the moment I’m more of the latter. In saying that I really don’t see the problem with cyclists not using the lanes. It’s not exactly the hardest manoeuvre in the world to go around a cyclist safely. It’s another case of the impatient driver.