Road Safety Authority of Ireland’s rules of the road
Correct road positioning will allow a cyclist to move safely and competently on the road network.
Drivers should be aware that cyclists may need to change direction from the normal secondary position on the road (left side of the road) to a more primary riding position (centre of the road) in order to:
– get the best view of the road and junctions ahead.
– increase visibility for approaching traffic, especially where a driver’s view
may be blocked.– turn left or right, enter a roundabout, change lanes or approach a bend.
Before changing position on the road, cyclists should ‘look, signal in good
time and look again’ to ensure that it is safe to proceed.Where a cyclist is not confident in taking up the ‘primary’ position, it may be safer to get off the bike and cross the roadway on foot where it is safer.
From the Road Safety Authority of Ireland’s revised rules of the road.
Meanwhile…
🚲 Rider road positioning- A small victory 🚲
For the first time ever, we see cyclist road positioning referred to in the latest edition of the Rules of the Road.
The @RSAIreland promised to do this following our email & recent meeting
(blog attached).https://t.co/asXv96SDLI pic.twitter.com/t4jONg53Lu— Stayin’ Alive at 1.5 (@SafeCyclingEire) August 6, 2019
You can cycle in the ‘centre of the road’, says revised rules of the road (Cian Ginty, Irish Cycle)
‘If they could stop breaking red lights, get insurance, etc etc.’ in 3…2….1
(Or maybe this is a more educated comment section than thejournal.ie)
You must be new.
Moving to the centre of the road to enter a roundabout is just simply beyond stupid, regardless of your intended destination upon exiting it.
I see people do it, and it may be “correct” road usage but it is still plainly stupid and dangerous, especially considering the competency of many cyclists.
I am a cyclist. I don’t enter roundabouts from the centre of the road… because that’s a silly thing to do.
If the lane is narrow you better believe I’m moving to the centre.
You are a cyclist but your username shows your sympathy for illegal parking, weird.
He’s far more than that. He’s Clampers … you must be new around here …
You have to take ownership of your lane. That’s roundabouts 101.
Moving to the centre of the road to enter a roundabout if you are turning right[1] is not stupid, it is sensible.
But if you are going left[2] or straight[3]… most likely not needed.
[1] third or subsequent exit
[2] first
[3] second
Trying to get all the way around a roundabout by cycling along the perimeter would be a recipe for disaster. In fact, isn’t that precisely how that poor woman died in Templeogue last year?
No it’s not – if you are turning right and you stay to the left a car going straight might just plough into you as I know from near misses – now I take the left side of the inner lane having waited for a save moment to move out there
motorists dont read the rules of the road
motorists dont care what cyclists want – e.g. cyclists dont have to use cycle lanes if provided, motorists dont care and will drive you over if you dont
and cyclists don’t care what motorists want. I don’t think anyone can disagree with that.
hay! were all just trying to get to our dead end jobs! That’s why everyone on the road is cranky, lets focus in the dole people asleep in their comfy comfy beds.
in this era of all being equal it’s about time cyclists started contributing financially as opposed to just giving out and demanding all the time.
they should be required to have insurance and tax to navigate the roads. Once they start contributing, I’m sure people will be much more willing to discuss their perceived persecution on the roads and their demands
Motorists are the road user who do damage to the roads and environment and cause congestion. We provide tax incentives for cycling because of the benefits for all other road users, improved air quality, lack of carbon emissions and public health benefits.
Rubbish. There’s always a cohort of cyclists and pedestrians who break the law, and there’s always a cohort of motorists who do the same. Neither is without blame.
But, cyclists should have to sit a test in order to prove their competence on the roads, similar to a motor bike.
They should be required to pay a tax also to use the roads. the same as motor cycles.
Nothing you said relates to anything I said or shows why it is rubbish. Motorbikes cause air pollution, noise, carbon emissions and damage roads. Bikes do not – so they get tax incentives not taxes though VAT applies.
Every car and van on the road breaks the law every few minutes. I do it , you do it, we go faster than the speed limit when it suits us and its reasonably safe , just like cyclists break red lights when its also safe and reasonable for them (as they should ) . its all cool. but really motorists , people in glass house shouldn’t throw stones. we all bend the rules , that’s life, we are all just trying to get from A to B, No one, bar a few idiots are trying to make an issue. In a 50 zone I might go 55 or 60. its fine, so if a cyclist (like me also) goes through a pedestrian red light, because ..there’s no one there so why stop? , then fair play to them. no police are around so its all cool.
And helmets. All drivers should have to wear helmets, as thousands of motorists suffer head injuries in collisions every year.
thousands of motorists suffer head injuries in collisions every year.
Not true.
Globally, yes it is. There are 148,707 road deaths a year in India alone.
oh, you mean live drivers have to wear seat belts? Oh yeah how silly …
So they should be allowed to cycle in the centre of the lane all the time?
Surprised not to see avoiding drains and uneven surfaces at the side of the road as being one of the main reasons for sudden movement from “secondary” to “primary” position. Obvs, there’s no-one at the RSA who rides a bike.
So cyclists should be allowed move to the centre of the roadway as they please.
Not on front of me they won’t.
What are you going to do to people on bikes?
Give them a few acres in pheonix park to ride about in.
I knocked a cyclist off his bike on the quays a few weeks ago. I was turning left, he cycled down the path and straight across the road.
Fecker wrecked my car and kept going. Next time I’ll make sure he doesnt get away
Do you knock him off his bike or did he keep going?
He got knocked onto another bike and didn’t notice , I guess.
both
What would you do differently?
In the interest of balance, the following stanza should be bolded also:
Before changing position on the road, cyclists should ‘look, signal in good
time and look again’ to ensure that it is safe to proceed.
In the interest of balance motorist should be told to wait until it is safe to overtake but most of the text concerns itself with telling cyclists what to do.
The cyclist in this scenario is not changing lanes. They are changing position within the same lane. If you are overtaking a cyclist with a reasonable amount of space (i.e. the other lane, same as you would a car), then there’s no issue.
Yes, and that should be explained. It is also not always possible to overtake due to a solid line in the road and that should be explained in this context.
edit: not sure if you’re replying to me or not.
1.5 metres of space
reverse
“Before changing position on the road, cyclists should ‘look, signal in good
time and look again’ to ensure that it is safe to proceed.”
This part, some cyclists do this, many more do not. This, IMO, is the one thing that is gonna catch out the unwary cyclist. I see it every day. The ones that fail on this neither signal or look.