Irish police imply cyclist used motorway when snow-covered road has cycle lane

— Video has over 123,000 views and nearly 900 comments.

Two Garda social media accounts posted references this morning to a cyclists using motorways when the accounts linked to a video with a cyclist on a snow-covered regional road, where cycling is permitted.

The road in question is a dual-carriageway section of the Navan Road in Dublin, formally part of the N3 but now re-classified as the R147.

The section is beside the Navan Road Parkway Railway Station. It has footpaths, cycle tracks and a bus lane — three things which aren’t on motorways.

The message from the official Gardai account on Facebook said: “Please use common sense! Bikes are not permitted on motorways today or any other day.”

The @gardatraffic account on Twitter used the same text and also added: “Exercise extreme caution on the roads and plan your journey in advance #winterready #RSA” and linked to the video on Facebook.

The video — posted on the official Garda account on Facebook — is not taken using a dash camera as there is notable camera movement, showing a large part of the dashboard. The video appears to be taken right of the centre of the vehicle.

Questions by commenters under the video about who was holding the camera went unanswered on the video which was posted 15 hours ago.

We have contacted the Garda press office for comment this evening and will post an update if they respond tomorrow.

Google Street View of the same street:


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15 comments

  1. The last few months has shown that those in charge of Garda social media are either incompetent, or actively hostile towards those who use bikes.

    Reply
  2. It’s shocking coming so soon after the infamous motorists v cyclists poll What are the official complaint channels?

    Reply
  3. The comments beneath the footage contained the usual veiled threats. Garda are basically lying to encourage resentment and hostility and they’ve been doing this since their inaction on parking in cycle lanes was exposed. The police are using social media to lie and stir up hatred.

    Reply
  4. Also of note (and something which would support the notion that Gardai are actively trying to generate negative reaction to people on bikes) why haven’t those in charge of the Gardai Facebook page moderated the vile, hateful and threatening comments? Doesn’t their lack of intervention offer tacit approval to such comments?

    Seriously, this is shameful and disgraceful for a police-force that is sworn to protect all citizens, and yet instead seems to be intent on generating hostility towards some people based purely on their mode of transport.

    Reply
  5. Also note (& I previously made this comment on Twitter) that the Gards will block you if you tag them on twitter with posts that show vehicle registration numbers, even if those posts are to highlight evidenced (the photos themselves) illegal behavior by the owners of the cars. They say this is for privacy issues (although they’ve never backed up this stance with an actual legal position). And yet here they are, happy to libel this person on a bike.

    And still the photo is up on their facebook page…..

    Reply
  6. There are enough who can be thoughtless, even threatening (the last one who tried, thought better of it, and apologised) to someone cycling (say on certain lanes when I have to be in front of a car for maybe half a minute and I’m surely going fast for a bike), and this sort of junk, just makes it worse.

    More driving today, but there are quite a few roads only being cleared by cars, rain and thawing. Cleared roads have a vast pile of crap in cycle lanes. A cyclist isn’t even a second class road user, just an annoyance, or something for County Councils to virtue signal with some really terrible, waste of paint, cycle lane efforts.

    Reply
    • No. Although I was told afterwards they added a correction to the Facebook post — after everyone read it and not a new post with the correction so more people would see it.

      Reply
  7. Well that’s fair enough, so. It’s not like they’re a professional police force to be held to a higher standard.

    Reply

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