Tag Archives: ‘die-in’

This lunchtime.

Outside Leinster House.

Cyclists held a ‘die-in’ demonstration following the death of Neeraj Jain (top) who was cycling to work last Friday morning when his bike collided with a cement mixer at the back of the building site of the National Children’s Hospital.

Mr Jain, from Faridabad, India, moved to Ireland in 2018 to pursue a Masters degree in Engineering in UCD and was working with Deloitte in Dublin.

Last week in the Shankill area of Paulstown, Kilkenny, a cyclist in his 70s died after he suffered serious injuries following an incident with a parked lorry.

Today’s ‘die-in’ is the second such ‘die-in’ in as many days.

Rollingnews

Meanwhile…

Neil Fox (above) – whose sister Donna (above inset) died when she was hit by a lorry turning left at the junction between Seville Place and Sheriff St Upper in September 2016 – has written a blog post about today’s “die-in”.

From this post…

“‘Die-Ins’ have a very clear purpose and the fact they horrify is the real reason for them, they bring the harsh reality across in a way nothing else quite can.

“As someone who had to wait days before I could see my sister, one might imagine I’d never need a reality check on the horror.

“But I do, and if I do, how much more others who have thankfully never been directly effected by the tragic brutal violent death of a loved-one in a cycling collision.

“I’ve recently been thrilled by the new dangerous overtaking of a cyclist regulation which Minister Ross will bring in next week, but of course the other key ingredient is: infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure, so I am in total solidarity with those protesting today in our shared vision for a safer Ireland, in particular a safe Dublin for cyclists.

“…I call on the Government as ever, to wake up, to do whatever possible to curb such carnage. Carnage, lives lost, lives destroyed. Real people. Not mere statistics.

“…I really hope some good comes of today’s demonstration. It is heartbreaking but perhaps a re-enactment, dramatic as it is, is needed to bring our government to act. Really act.”

“Die-In” by Neil Fox

Yesterday: Extreme Steps

Top pic: Muiris Ó Conchúir

This morning.

Outside the offices of Dublin City Council on Wood Quay, Dublin 8.

Cyclists held a ‘die-in’ demonstration following the death of Neeraj Jain (top) who was cycling to work last Friday morning when his bike collided with a cement mixer at the back of the building site of the National Children’s Hospital.

Mr Jain, from Faridabad, India, moved to Ireland in 2018 to pursue a Masters degree in Engineering in UCD and was working with Deloitte in Dublin.

UPDATE:

Table from I Bike Dublin

I Bike Dublin has announced that it will hold a second ‘die-in’ demonstration outside Leinster House at 1pm tomorrow.

They write:

During the tenure of our last three Transport Ministers – Leo Varadkar, Paschal Donohoe and Shane Ross – 85 people have been killed while cycling on Ireland’s roads.

Mr Neeraj Jain, who was killed in Kilmainham last Friday, is the 39th person to die while cycling since the formation of the current government.

Fine Gael are the only party in Dáil Éireann who objected to a motion calling on the level of investment in cycling and walking to reach 20% of all capital spend on land transport.

Despite the Citizens’ Assembly and the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Change also recommending this level of investment, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe and his colleagues have rejected these recommendations and continued to spin minuscule investments as something to be celebrated while, at the same time, announcing billions of euro in funding for new roads.

Leo Varadkar’s government, with their conservative 20th century car-first approach, are balancing the transport budget with the lives of people who will die cycling.

Minister Ross, who takes years to get a line of text brought into law has long lost the respect of people who cycle.

His penchant for photo ops is matched only by his penchant for avoiding eye contact with those to whom he has made past promises.

The minister has also been unwavering in his support of the Road Safety Authority, who have embarked on a multi-year campaign of victim-blaming, embodied by their fetishisation of high visibility vests.

We call on the government to:

– Immediately allocate 20% of the Land Transport Budget towards active travel (walking and cycling) and prioritise the implementation of the Greater Dublin Area Cycle Network Plan.

– Increase funding of An Garda Síochána coupled with zero-tolerance enforcement of illegal use of cycle lanes, bus lanes and bus corridors.

– Introduce mandatory regulations for HGVs in urban areas to ensure maximum visibility from the driver position.

– Immediately introduce a €500 e-bike grant for all Irish residents regardless of income.

Yesterday: ‘This Death Marks A Turning Point’

Rollingnews