PETER OWENS,
Sir, - I am writing in response to the editorial written in last Friday's paper. I was unimpressed with the bias shown by your paper regarding incidents with cyclists. I welcome this change in the legislation as I think it will make the city a safer place to cycle in.
I have been cycling in the city for 10 years, mostly to and from work, and over that time I have witnessed numerous incidents between motorists and cyclist (either myself or others). Most have been near-misses in which the motorist has been in the wrong. The introduction of bike lanes over the last few years has improved the situation somewhat but the fact is a lot of people still consider the city too dangerous to cycle in and hence use their cars/public transport to get around.
For a city with desperate traffic problems, surely we should be trying to make it safer to cycle. But this will not be possible until motorists change their attitude towards cyclists. Common incidents that occur are:
parking on bike lanes
hogging lanes while turning
using bike lanes as their "extra lane"
never checking for cyclists in side mirrors and hence dangerously cutting in front without any indication
travelling at speeds in excess of 50 mph in the city centre (try the quays at night for a free adrenaline rush)
and passing cyclists leaving cms of leeway.
The list goes on. The Gardai never enforce regulations in these cases. In the last few years the number of fatal accidents in the city centre has risen. This can be attributed to increased traffic load and an increased road-rage factor at peak times. The situation will continue to deteriorate if it remains unchecked.
I believe that the attitude from many general motorists, taxi and truck drivers is that cyclists are an annoyance and shouldn't be on the road. Most of the time, indicating your situation to a motorist ends up in a confrontation or being ignored. I think that the only way to get motorists to wise up is either to introduce a mandatory cycling "experience" in the city to all motorists taking the driving test or the introduction of these new measures from the EU. Maybe then the city will be a safer and less congested place to travel. -
PETER OWENS,
Yours, etc.,
Arbour Hill,
Dublin 7