Re: Re: Dublin’s Bicycle Clutter

Garda traffic corps would be wrong to prioritise low risk over high risk activities.

97 people have been killed on Irish roads this year but just one (in Limerick city) was a cyclist. That incident was a collision between a cyclist and a car and we don’t yet know who was at fault.

Many more people are cycling in Dublin now. Many of the 5,000 ‘Dublin bikes’ trips undertaken are by inexperienced cyclists. Yet far fewer cyclists are being killed. So this is not the area to prioritise.

Many people reading this forum pay motor tax, use a bike and also buses and trains. It’s simplistic to divide society into cyclists and drivers like animals in the zoo. The state doesn’t lose any of my motor tax when I ride my bike but there are health benefits and a reduction in congestion and emissions and energy use.

Dublin city council has helped remove many of the trucks from the city through the 5-axle ban. It introduced lower speed limits in the city centre and banned cars from college green. So more people are cycling and fewer people are being killed which constitutes a success to most people. Fewer people cycle in Dublin than in comparable European cities so there is still some distance to travel.

Laws should of course be enforced but it would be wrong to direct resources in an inefficient manner. Cyclists present a danger to themselves more than they endanger other people. The primary purpose of the gardai is to protect citizens from other people, not from themselves. Education is probably a better approach.