No it would still be a separate issue.
Yep, a fair point I'd concede.
Sensible people like you and I would agree. The aggressive anti-car brigade basically see any private car use as planetary treason, or worse, for which clamping is merely an inadequate substitute for the death penalty.
But this is a problem. One guy puts a wheel or two up. The next the whole car. It's setting a bad precedent when you turn a blind eye. You either follow / enforce the law or you don't. If you can't fit your car into a space then park elsewhere.
I'd agree, but rare isn't never. About 5 fatalities and 500 serious injuries per year in the UK. Can't find comparable Irish statistics.
That I find surprising, unless you mean injuries to themselves by walking out in front of traffic.
Yes, of course. But to paraphrase the NRA: cars don't kill people; drivers kill people. I would imagine (admittedly without any quantative research) that the sort of driver who drives aggressively behind the wheel of a car is exactly the type who would cycle aggressively when put in the saddle. So perhaps we should be targeting ALL aggressive and dangerous road behaviour rather than engaging in an ideological hate-fest against private cars and drivers.
Not too hard to draw a distinction here.
Proportionality and discretion are recognized elements of the law.
Or make the spaces bigger.
Illegal parking and illegal group riding are still different issues. Both are a factor in the pretty abysmal adherence to road traffic law by a large number of road users
I can't speak to other places but in Dublin if you are parked illegally and causing an obstruction, they lift the car to a nearby location and clamp it there.
Ah, how wonderful it would be if the world and the human beings who inhabit it were as simple as you appear to think. I don't know a single driver who thinks s/he "should be permitted to overtake dangerously" but I know lots who are complicated creatures who are capable of making poor decisions when under stress. Stress is multi-factorial, some of which are controllable by the driver and some that aren't. And stressors include eejits in Lycra who think they own the road and have that special glow of self-righteous entitlement that comes with their mission of saving the planet from their fellow inhabitants. Not alone do they think they have the right to be inconsiderate to motorists, they think it's actually their duty to do so. And there's nothing as dangerous as a zealot infused with quasi-religious devotion to eradicating heresy. Or heretics.
Yes, injuries to themselves or others due to drivers swerving to avoid them. Alcohol often being a factor. In cyclist caused incidents, it is usually themselves who suffer and similarly with cyclist/ pedestrian collisions, the cyclist usually comes off worst.
That's exactly it, people are people. Most of the real idiots on bikes are young and male, just like most motor accidents are caused by young male drivers. Getting on a bike or into a car does not immediately change one's nature, though there is an element of motorists taking more chances because they perceive they are safe within the car (the Peltzman Effect)
Yet thousands of them do it every single day. The problem is most of them don't perceive their actions as dangerous.
The fact that lycra seems to offend you so greatly is a reflection on yourself. You do you find it necessary to judge people by their choice of clothes? Do you also mock those working on building sites for wearing PPE?
You don't know any cyclists do you?
Exactly. and you can see that in action particularly on the hilly routes around Wicklow. Tight bunch of experienced cyclists and you'll get past them soon enough. 5 or 6 novices out for the day hear a car coming and sting out into a long single file making it a real challenge, having to wait for a rare longer straight to get past.
Grand so, element of truth in that. Climbdown appreciated from your previous claim that they actually think they should be permitted to overtake dangerously.
I perceive a correlation between bad cycling behaviour and Lycra wearing eejits. Perhaps I'm wrong but that's the way it seems to me.
Why on earth would I? Construction industry has serious safety issues and PPE is essential and helps saves life and limb.
As entitled, yes. More entitled, no. Entitled to break the law on group cycling, certainly not.
Likewise cyclists vis-a-vis pedestrians.
Mere presence, yes. Careless, inconsiderate and downright illegal behaviour is different and will undoubtedly induce stress. Stress is multifactorial and whether any particular stressor is the straw that breaks the camel's judgement and decision making, who can say? But it would be ostrich like to simply ignore it.
Now you're just being silly. I cycle myself occasionally. As does my wife, children, siblings, and assorted other relations, neighbors, friends, and acquaintances. Most also drive too. They tend to see both sides of the car/bike divide, and have experienced of both sides. Most roll their eyes in despair at the eco-warrior, car-hating type of cyclist.
Couldn't agree more /S
I think you misunderstood. They think they should be permitted to overtake crossing continuous white lines, on bends, or into oncoming traffic. Their mistaken perception that it's not dangerous doesn't make it so.
My perception is exactly the opposite. Those in lycra are generally more experienced and better cyclists who know how to 'ride safe' and take an appropriate road position avoiding the risk of potholes, debris or car doors opening. Of course some motorists don't like that as they'd prefer cyclists to just get out of their way. The folks on lycra are also more likely to be on bikes costing in the thousands that they're less likely to take chances on damaging them. Likewise in cars, it's often the younger drivers in relative bangers that are more like to drive like idiots.
It just seems you don't understand that lycra is as appropriate a choice of attire for regular cycling at any distance.
It would indeed, as I've said, I wish all users would better adhere to the law. Of course it would be similarly ostrich-like to suggest that the numbers of incidents of cyclists acting carelessly, inconsiderately or breaking the law isn't significantly dwarfed by the number of motorists doing likewise. And motorists are the ones who are killing people.
Other stressors include eejits in cars who think they own the road and have that special glow of self-righteous entitlement that comes with their mission to get to the shop for the pint of milk in the fastest time possible. Not alone do they think they have the right to be inconsiderate to cyclists, they think it's actually their duty to do so.