Car driving in Ireland is ridiculously dangerous. Unfortunately any collision involving a cyclist is fatal. Drivers need to cop on and give cyclists proper space and not overtake on blind bends
The number of road fatalities is 10 higher so far this year than in all of last year which in part is due to the Gardai and the Government not doing enough to enforce road safety.
>Worryingly, however, enforcement appears to have regressed. Last month The Irish Times revealed roadside alcohol breath testing by gardaí had declined by more than half since 2019. The number of fixed charge notices for key offences – such as using a mobile while driving and speeding – are also down this year. The number of gardaí assigned to roads policing is 659 nationally – down from 692 at the end of last year and at the lowest since 2017.
Just cycle on the footpath and you’ll be grand.
Is it just me or is driver behaviour getting worse. Doesn’t seem to be any enforcement except for speed traps. No penalising bad behaviour.
And my family wonders why I’m terrified to start learning how to drive. I literally stay off roads as much as I can…
Thankfully I work from home. But I’m even a very nervous passenger in a car. When someone I love is out driving and takes longer than they usually do I start panicking that they have been clipped by a reckless driver and potentially killed.
I was always told not to cycle certain roads as a child , most our roads are not safe to cycle.
Drivers absolutely have to be more vigilant but whenever i go cycling i know there are some roads i should avoid because of dangerous sections. Do i have a right to be there? Absolutely. Do i want to risk getting cleaned by a truck or car? No.
The rise in the full lycra race bike cyclist numbers, and their reluctance to do what i said above is definitely a contributing factor in cyclist road safety.
I also have a motorcycle and the attitude that is trained there is what cyclists need to have which is “everyone is out to get me and i should ride defensively accordingly”.
You can have all the rights in the world and be outraged as much as you want but if the Gards are not around “might will always be right” on the roads.
Imagine wanting do use the healthy option in Ireland but your chances of just not coming home are incredibly high because of the amount of shite drivers.
The few near misses I’ve had in recent times have been with cars coming out of junctions on my left. I’m convinced it was down to them having phones mounted on their windscreens making the A pillar blind spots even bigger.
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Car driving in Ireland is ridiculously dangerous. Unfortunately any collision involving a cyclist is fatal. Drivers need to cop on and give cyclists proper space and not overtake on blind bends
The number of road fatalities is 10 higher so far this year than in all of last year which in part is due to the Gardai and the Government not doing enough to enforce road safety.
>Worryingly, however, enforcement appears to have regressed. Last month The Irish Times revealed roadside alcohol breath testing by gardaí had declined by more than half since 2019. The number of fixed charge notices for key offences – such as using a mobile while driving and speeding – are also down this year. The number of gardaí assigned to roads policing is 659 nationally – down from 692 at the end of last year and at the lowest since 2017.
Just cycle on the footpath and you’ll be grand.
Is it just me or is driver behaviour getting worse. Doesn’t seem to be any enforcement except for speed traps. No penalising bad behaviour.
And my family wonders why I’m terrified to start learning how to drive. I literally stay off roads as much as I can…
Thankfully I work from home. But I’m even a very nervous passenger in a car. When someone I love is out driving and takes longer than they usually do I start panicking that they have been clipped by a reckless driver and potentially killed.
I was always told not to cycle certain roads as a child , most our roads are not safe to cycle.
Drivers absolutely have to be more vigilant but whenever i go cycling i know there are some roads i should avoid because of dangerous sections. Do i have a right to be there? Absolutely. Do i want to risk getting cleaned by a truck or car? No.
The rise in the full lycra race bike cyclist numbers, and their reluctance to do what i said above is definitely a contributing factor in cyclist road safety.
I also have a motorcycle and the attitude that is trained there is what cyclists need to have which is “everyone is out to get me and i should ride defensively accordingly”.
You can have all the rights in the world and be outraged as much as you want but if the Gards are not around “might will always be right” on the roads.
Imagine wanting do use the healthy option in Ireland but your chances of just not coming home are incredibly high because of the amount of shite drivers.
The few near misses I’ve had in recent times have been with cars coming out of junctions on my left. I’m convinced it was down to them having phones mounted on their windscreens making the A pillar blind spots even bigger.