. When I was run over by a cyclist, I emailed:
1. RSA
2.Garda Traffic,
3. DOJ.
having insurance tends to increase compliance with RTA legislation I would suggest
and the balance of injuries likely favour the bike when an accident happens between a bike and a pedestrian.
There seems to me to be a clear case for a zero tolerance attitude for bikes breaking essenttially common-sense codes, and to do it in a highly visible way so as to enforce compliance more widely.
As it happens, I was driving up the Malahide rod t'other day and, very unusally, a motoriat was pulled in by Gardai for driving in the bus lane. I bet eveyone who saw that won't risk the bus lane on the Malahide road, at least for a while.
(having insurance tends to increase compliance with RTA legislation I would suggest),
Just to add and pardon the pun, but I think wearing a helmet when cycling is a no-brainer..
All from the UK.....
....But requiring people to take out insurance would be unlikely to improve cyclist behaviour. There is a possibility that it might backfire "So what if I knock someone down, I'm insured"....
““On a winter’s afternoon in 2002, he was cycling up a one-way street in Dublin 4 on the wrong side of the road, when he hit a pedestrian who had stepped out in front of him. Roger Handy (56), a respected auctioneer, had looked in the direction of oncoming traffic, but never saw O’Hegarty who was coming the opposite way.
I hadn't heard of Roger Handy, so in Googling him
http://www.broadsheet.ie/2015/12/17/cyclists-244-motorists-112/
244 cyclists got on the spot fines, so the Gardai are enforcing the laws.
Another interesting article
Stop The Cycle of Hate
15 Cyclists killed in 2017.
How many drivers or pedestrians were killed by cyclists this year?
I was surprised I had not heard of Roger Handy. He was killed 15 years ago. Was that the last pedestrian killed by a cyclist?
““On a winter’s afternoon in 2002, he was cycling up a one-way street in Dublin 4 on the wrong side of the road, when he hit a pedestrian who had stepped out in front of him. Roger Handy (56), a respected auctioneer, had looked in the direction of oncoming traffic, but never saw O’Hegarty who was coming the opposite way.
Brendan
To be honest, I was a little surprised that you had not heard of Roger Handy myself.
Cyclists also need to be compelled to obey the laws, just as other road users are.
Breaking traffic lights, traveling on footpaths
With the rapid increase in the number of cyclists, we have a genuine chance to try and start off on the right foot here, by enforcing good behaviour now, rather than just let it go from bad to worse, under the excuse that everyone else does it.
Why, oh why, oh why (note the standard "Letters to the Editor" etc. start) does it happen EVERYTIME we have a discussion here about cyclists, even like this thread, with the word "cyclist" in the title that once someone says that they observed a cyclist(s) breaking one or more of the ROTR, the most common reply is along the lines of "Well what about motorists.." ?
Why not stick to the thread topic and discuss the merits or failings of cyclists without the apparent "knee jerk" reaction of taking umbridge and retorting with "Sure that's nothing compared to a motorist I saw ...."etc..
Hence, dark jacket, no helmet, no attempt at making themselves conspicuous, probably no lights
They already are, and the stats suggest enforcement levels for cycling offences are broadly in line with those for other categories of road users. The number of cycling offenses versus those of motorists is very, very low.
It absolutely is, but motorists also do it all the time. Add to that, crossing a continuous white line to pass a line of traffic just to get to a right turn lane ahead. It's the rare exception that waits in the line of traffic to move into the right turn lane correctly at times finding themselves being blown out of it by those overtaking illegally.
So what's the justification for a focus on cyclists?
Are we saying it's too late to hope for the same thing with motorists?
The issue is that cyclists do virtually no harm to anyone else through breaking the rules of the road.
Of course, they are wrong to cycle without lights and to cycle on footpaths.
But drivers stuck in their cars or driving in bus and bicycle lanes get very jealous of the freedom of cyclists and want the Gardai to come down heavy on them when they do nothing dangerous.
It would be much better use of limited resources if the Gardai confiscated the cars from drivers in bike lanes.
I started this thread with a video of a really stupid guy. If the Gardai were able to identify him, his bike should be confiscated and he should be fined heavily.
Brendan
The figures for the on the spot cycling fines, were only for the first two months after it was implemented, as I understood it. That's far too short a period of time to be used as comparison with enforcement levels for other categories of road users.
Also, let us not forget, motorists are also "kept in check" by the private companies who do the speed cameras for example. I do not think the speed tickets (and associated penalty points) are included in enforcement figures, do you know if they are ?
Sure, and lets also include all of the cyclists that insist on trying to get to the front of a queue of traffic on a road, while stopped at red lights.
... those numbers are likely to rise further. As such, the cyclist is becoming one of the main commuters around the city and by default, as that number rises so will the number of accidents associated with that form of transport.
Not quite, but it's far harder to change established bad habits than prevent new ones from bedding in.
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