Thursday, January 19, 2006

Another road-related rant, sorry!

I have decided that the most dangerous drivers on the road are not press-on executives in big saloons, boy racers, taxi drivers, or any of the groups stereotypically labelled as dangerous; the vote must surely go to young drivers in small, boring, unimaginative, unloved, cheap cars that feature an L-Plate in the back window. The type who hate buses, cycling, walking, and have been waiting for years to get on the road, regardless of how cheap and crap the car is. The lack of interest in the car is an important issue here, as young drivers who look after their cars and have some pride in them tend to be much more capable on the road. I encountered, or rather, found myself involved in, two incidents this very morning involving small cars (Fiat Cincecento, Volkswagen Polo, both base models that hadn't been cleaned for a while) that featured L-Plates. Incident 1: Cycling along the road, I spot a big pile of tarmac and gravel, obviously left over from some uncompleted roadworks, on my side of the road. I want to move around it, as it's about 2 metres wide, but I can hear a car behind me. I look behind, see this red Cincecento, indicate that I need to move out, and try to do so. The car draws level with me, refuses to give me any space, and runs me over the roadworks. The driver, a young woman with long blonde hair, carries on her merry way with her L-Plate advertising her inexperience. 1 mile later (I know, not my day!), I arrive at a roundabout, and proceed across it ( I am going straight ahead). A red Polo is at the next exit. The driver looks at me, then drives directly across my path, forcing me to brake. I look at the back of the car. Another L-Plate. Did she see me? I sometimes get the feeling that drivers can look right at you, but you don't register in their brains. This seems to happen most if you are on a bicycle or a motorbike, as you don't "matter", you are "unimportant" as a road user, the car is stronger and will win the collision challenge. It could also relate to how the new car user despised having to cycle, walk or get the bus in the past and can now get some retribution on the "scum" they now encounter in that situation. In some cases not being seen is perhaps understandable, the cyclist is wearing black clothes, has no reflectors or lights, and is cycling at night; but in my case, it was full daylight, I was wearing a dayglow yellow jacket, the tyres on my bike are bright red, my cycling helmet is bright red... So, congratulations to the Department of Transport who thinks it is ok for drivers to be allowed on the road despite, by carrying an L-Plate, freely advertising the fact that the state has not yet declared them capable of taking their place of responsibility on the road in their lethal killing instrument. Wonder if I could get a car horn fitted to my bike?

Monday, January 16, 2006

Confirmation of what I've always thought...

Off-road safety myth exposed

Children are no safer in SUVs than in standard passenger cars, says a report from US accident experts. They say the increased risk of a 4x4 rolling wipes out the potential safety of riding in a big off-roader.

The study, from American insurance firm State Farm, looked at 4,000 child accidents and found similar injury rates of 1.7 per cent in SUVs and cars.

This, when combined with the damage you will do to everyone else if in a crash in an off-road vehicle (and you are probably more likely to do so in any case as the high driving position gives the false impression of driving slower, explaining why people seem to speed more in 4x4s; the brakes are MUCH worse (hate having a Freelander behind me, they have possibly the worst braking distance on the road); and the steering responsiveness due to the high centre of gravity is seriously compromised), is why everyone should see sense and stop this moronic race to have a bigger "car" than your neighbour. When would it end?

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Yet another story of injustice in Irish sport funding...

Two Irish cyclists, Robin Seymour and Tarja Owens (Team Podge and Rodge), won the open mixed classification of the TransRockies Challenge in Canada in 2005, beating an international field. I heard nothing about it until today, when I stumbled on the news while looking at a bike accessories website. The pair ended the seven stage off-road race a considerable 2 hours 30 minutes and 23 seconds clear of their closest rivals Blair Saunders and Marg Fedyna (Team Adidas Roll Up The Rim). Such was their performance that their overall time placed them sixth in the open men classification, underling the quality of their ride.

The tragedy is that Seymour and Owens were amongst 80 Irish athletes passed up for funding by the Irish Sports Council for 2005. Their participation in the unique off-road race cost approximately 5,000 euro and was only made possible through the support of K Capital Source/Mark Kenny, Red Bull and Outsider magazine. Why is it that those in control of funding are obsessed with the 'mainstream' sports, and completely ignore those unfortunate enough to excel in a sport that is not easily watched from the comfort of a couch, or a warm corporate grandstand?

To cite another example, Ireland is probably one of the best-sited countries in the world for surfing and windsurfing, but the PWA Professional Windsurfing World Tour only made 3 visits, in 2000 - 2002, as the government wouldn't stump up the cash to host any more, all this despite rave reviews from all who attended as to the excellence of the location, the beauty of the country, and so on. An event like this doesn't even cost very much to host...