The roads are too narrow for both cars and bikes, I dread going around corners.
Having seen how people treat cyclists, I absolutely dont want to be another staitistic.
And id love to be able to cycle in Dublin daily but its not worth the risk.
I don’t see the point of cycling,,, it’s a bit dopey to be cycling past my parked 50K car in the driveway and taking longer to get to where im going.
I have lovely cycle lane mostly from my house to work. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t cycle. The odd time I go on the open road Irish motorists are lethal.
100%
No matter how much hi vis gear and lights you have motorists will still take risks to pass you.
I spend 8-10 hours cycling in the Phoenix Park each week. The roundabout at the Castleknock end of Chesterfield avenue can be a nightmare. The number of times people slow or stop at the entrance and then just pull straight out across me is ridiculous. It’s as if nothing smaller than a car registers with them. I wear bright clothing, have daylight lights and always signal my turns etc, but at least once a week I get to see a car accelerating towards me while the driver is completely unaware of me.
There are lots of careful and polite road users out there but it just takes one close pass or aggressive “punishment pass” to ruin your day.
I do meet cyclists and pedestrians that are just as bad, but it is the vehicles that put me off the spins on the back roads.
I used to cycle a fair bit. Gave up just before COVID. There are only so many times you can have a near miss with a speeding car before your luck runs out.
A good experiment would be to have the people designing these cycle lanes to walk down one and see how safe they feel with a streak of paint protecting them.
Bike theft would be my main reason. I’d love to cycle the cinema or shop.
Its nowhere near as bad as this thread would have you believe. Granted, you need your wits about you – but if you’re commuting by bike, there’s usually a ton of other cyclists about so you are actually part of a wider presence on the road, that cannot be ignored by motorists. Yes, there will be the odd dickhead behind the wheel of a car, but the vast majority of motorists are clued in as regards sharing the road with cyclists.
I drive into work almost as often as I cycle in – I expect that’s quite common in Ireland, particularly since the introduction of the CTW scheme.
I’m Polish and I was actually shocked how many people cycle on the footpath when I first moved to Dublin a few years ago. I understand not feeling safe to cycle on the street – that’s why I don’t cycle at all, I was never too good at it but when I tried to cycle on a very wide footpath once in my Polish city near a busy street, I was immediately yelled at and never did it again, while here I think cycling on the footpath is normalized and there are places where I know I have to be careful while I’m walking cause a bike might suddenly show up in front of me.
I’m in Carrigaline in Cork, you’d want to either be reckless, idiotic, insane, an asshole or all of the options to risk cycling from the town to Cork city.
One slim road with plenty of heavy traffic
The weather
Bike on a major artery (even with a cycle lane) like Bolton street – Dorset street – Drumcondra road and observe at least 10 cycle lane infractions by motorists who are incredulous when called out about it. It’s moot to talk about cycling when the existing cycle lanes are not enforced in the slightest.
Cyclists need to be more mindful of pedestrians. They love to give out about cars not following the rules of the road (which is fair) but seem to never follow them themselves? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cyclist actually stop at a red light at a pedestrian crossing.
Correct.
As a pedestrian in Dublin City Centre long may they remain afraid.
In the 90s Holland has great cycle path infrastructure. Here it’s a disgrace.
Not being able to get a house for an affordable price anywhere within cycling distance is a bigger problem for me personally.
If I’m forced to live an hour away then I’m going to drive. If we had suitable public transport then that might be fine too but we don’t. So I’ll drive.
So either improve public transport or make housing affordable. Don’t continue to worsen traffic flow with bicycle lanes nobody uses and makes commuting times worse.
The old cycle lane, in a car lane trick doesn’t help.
I don’t cycle myself so I’d also add “being a lazy bollix” as being one of the top reasons
Thought that would have been obvious. I’d cycle loads of places if we had proper segregated bike lanes but no chance of me doing it without that.
We need cyclepaths that aren’t shared with cars or buses. The fact they’re unprotected means dipshit drivers can (and often do) just swerve right over the painted lines.
I cycled to work and college when I lived in Galway City. I had a car but the bike was actually faster than driving most of the time with the state of the traffic down here. It made sense for me back then.
Nowadays I’m 34 and married. Moved about 4km outside Galway City. We have 2 daughters under the age of 5 and the bike only comes out at weekends. I tried cycling to work for 2 weeks a few years ago and it was a nightmare. The roads were in a terrible state, no hard shoulder a lot of the way, no street lights and the wind and rain meant that I had to wear waterproofs and change clothes in work. Dripping wet walking in the door.
I like cycling and I live just outside the biggest city in the West and I couldn’t stick it at all. It was torture.
I can only imagine what the 31.5% of people that live in rural Ireland think when they see these cycling lobbyists publishing surveys trying to convince people to ditch their cars. Its not realistic for millions of people.
This just in… irish government have tried nothing and are all out of ideas
I’m buying an ebike this Summer for a bit of independence without borrowing my wife’s car. I’m actually terrified though of motorists. To the point I’m planning on using canal greenwsys anywhere I can.
Given how weak the penalties the courts have applied to drivers who even intentionally hit cyclists, that’s hardly surprising.
Motorists out here trying to kill cyclists while cyclists doing their absolute best to break every rule of the road they can and ignore every traffic light they see.
Have people noticed when cycle lanes are on the footpath certain cyclists act like they are still on the road.
I cycled 5K to and from work on a painted cycle lane for 5 years. Took my time obeyed the lights etc. I was driven off the road 4 times by cars driving in the cycle lane. Nearly got killed when a truck squeezed me to the kerb and I fell against the truck. The rear wheel left graze marks on my helmet.
People need protection from tired drivers, drivers on their phones, and drivers driving with foggy windows.
32 comments
People don’t know how roundabouts work.
Yes.
The roads are too narrow for both cars and bikes, I dread going around corners.
Having seen how people treat cyclists, I absolutely dont want to be another staitistic.
And id love to be able to cycle in Dublin daily but its not worth the risk.
I don’t see the point of cycling,,, it’s a bit dopey to be cycling past my parked 50K car in the driveway and taking longer to get to where im going.
I have lovely cycle lane mostly from my house to work. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t cycle. The odd time I go on the open road Irish motorists are lethal.
100%
No matter how much hi vis gear and lights you have motorists will still take risks to pass you.
I spend 8-10 hours cycling in the Phoenix Park each week. The roundabout at the Castleknock end of Chesterfield avenue can be a nightmare. The number of times people slow or stop at the entrance and then just pull straight out across me is ridiculous. It’s as if nothing smaller than a car registers with them. I wear bright clothing, have daylight lights and always signal my turns etc, but at least once a week I get to see a car accelerating towards me while the driver is completely unaware of me.
There are lots of careful and polite road users out there but it just takes one close pass or aggressive “punishment pass” to ruin your day.
I do meet cyclists and pedestrians that are just as bad, but it is the vehicles that put me off the spins on the back roads.
I used to cycle a fair bit. Gave up just before COVID. There are only so many times you can have a near miss with a speeding car before your luck runs out.
A good experiment would be to have the people designing these cycle lanes to walk down one and see how safe they feel with a streak of paint protecting them.
Bike theft would be my main reason. I’d love to cycle the cinema or shop.
Its nowhere near as bad as this thread would have you believe. Granted, you need your wits about you – but if you’re commuting by bike, there’s usually a ton of other cyclists about so you are actually part of a wider presence on the road, that cannot be ignored by motorists. Yes, there will be the odd dickhead behind the wheel of a car, but the vast majority of motorists are clued in as regards sharing the road with cyclists.
I drive into work almost as often as I cycle in – I expect that’s quite common in Ireland, particularly since the introduction of the CTW scheme.
I’m Polish and I was actually shocked how many people cycle on the footpath when I first moved to Dublin a few years ago. I understand not feeling safe to cycle on the street – that’s why I don’t cycle at all, I was never too good at it but when I tried to cycle on a very wide footpath once in my Polish city near a busy street, I was immediately yelled at and never did it again, while here I think cycling on the footpath is normalized and there are places where I know I have to be careful while I’m walking cause a bike might suddenly show up in front of me.
I’m in Carrigaline in Cork, you’d want to either be reckless, idiotic, insane, an asshole or all of the options to risk cycling from the town to Cork city.
One slim road with plenty of heavy traffic
The weather
Bike on a major artery (even with a cycle lane) like Bolton street – Dorset street – Drumcondra road and observe at least 10 cycle lane infractions by motorists who are incredulous when called out about it. It’s moot to talk about cycling when the existing cycle lanes are not enforced in the slightest.
Cyclists need to be more mindful of pedestrians. They love to give out about cars not following the rules of the road (which is fair) but seem to never follow them themselves? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cyclist actually stop at a red light at a pedestrian crossing.
Correct.
As a pedestrian in Dublin City Centre long may they remain afraid.
In the 90s Holland has great cycle path infrastructure. Here it’s a disgrace.
Not being able to get a house for an affordable price anywhere within cycling distance is a bigger problem for me personally.
If I’m forced to live an hour away then I’m going to drive. If we had suitable public transport then that might be fine too but we don’t. So I’ll drive.
So either improve public transport or make housing affordable. Don’t continue to worsen traffic flow with bicycle lanes nobody uses and makes commuting times worse.
The old cycle lane, in a car lane trick doesn’t help.
I don’t cycle myself so I’d also add “being a lazy bollix” as being one of the top reasons
Thought that would have been obvious. I’d cycle loads of places if we had proper segregated bike lanes but no chance of me doing it without that.
We need cyclepaths that aren’t shared with cars or buses. The fact they’re unprotected means dipshit drivers can (and often do) just swerve right over the painted lines.
I cycled to work and college when I lived in Galway City. I had a car but the bike was actually faster than driving most of the time with the state of the traffic down here. It made sense for me back then.
Nowadays I’m 34 and married. Moved about 4km outside Galway City. We have 2 daughters under the age of 5 and the bike only comes out at weekends. I tried cycling to work for 2 weeks a few years ago and it was a nightmare. The roads were in a terrible state, no hard shoulder a lot of the way, no street lights and the wind and rain meant that I had to wear waterproofs and change clothes in work. Dripping wet walking in the door.
I like cycling and I live just outside the biggest city in the West and I couldn’t stick it at all. It was torture.
I can only imagine what the 31.5% of people that live in rural Ireland think when they see these cycling lobbyists publishing surveys trying to convince people to ditch their cars. Its not realistic for millions of people.
This just in… irish government have tried nothing and are all out of ideas
I’m buying an ebike this Summer for a bit of independence without borrowing my wife’s car. I’m actually terrified though of motorists. To the point I’m planning on using canal greenwsys anywhere I can.
Given how weak the penalties the courts have applied to drivers who even intentionally hit cyclists, that’s hardly surprising.
Motorists out here trying to kill cyclists while cyclists doing their absolute best to break every rule of the road they can and ignore every traffic light they see.
Have people noticed when cycle lanes are on the footpath certain cyclists act like they are still on the road.
I cycled 5K to and from work on a painted cycle lane for 5 years. Took my time obeyed the lights etc. I was driven off the road 4 times by cars driving in the cycle lane. Nearly got killed when a truck squeezed me to the kerb and I fell against the truck. The rear wheel left graze marks on my helmet.
People need protection from tired drivers, drivers on their phones, and drivers driving with foggy windows.
Comments are closed.