“Shocking moment” taxi overtakes on a solid white line, hits cyclists and Independent.ie warns cyclists

Independent.ie has published dash camera video showing a taxi driver overtake at least one stationary vehicle at a junction, not yielding to two cyclists using the cycle lane and then the newspaper focuses on how “cyclists it is to be extra vigilant”.

Although it is not totally clear, the Independent.ie seems to indicate that one of the two cyclists said: “If there is a message for cyclists it is to be extra vigilant especially where it comes to taxis and buses where people are driving for a living and where attention can sometimes get distracted.”

Well in advance of the junction on the road in question — the Eglinton Road — has a solid white central line, and the solid line continues after a pedestrian crossing at the junction — the solid while lines disallow overtaking and overtaking is also not allowed at the crossings.

The taxi in the video appears to overtake the vehicle with the dash camera — the source of the footage — and turns into a side road, Brookvale Road.

Brookvale Road is often used as a rat run to skip the traffic congestion on Eglinton Road towards its junction on Donnybrook Road.

The vehicle with the dash camera car seemed to be stationary avoiding blocking the yellow box.

I Bike Dublin, a campaign group, said on Twitter: “Come on @conor_feehan and @payutiwari96, were you tempted to point that the driver went from overtaking to turning left without any consideration for the cyclists? Very poor driving and some bias from you.”

Members of the public were also critical of the article.

@IsMiseNessy said: “Dashcam car seemed to be stationary waiting for traffic to move so it could progress past the yellow box. So as per this article people cycling must be vigilant when faced with ‘profesional drivers’ making ludicrously dangerous and impatient left turns.”

@SusanTheSilent said: “Cyclists told to ‘be extra vigilant’ when a taxi swerves across you throwing you across its bonnet, which roughly translates into no longer being able to rely on such niceties as motorists driving on the left hand side of the road. We are now at DEFCON 1.”

@robbiekayak said: “To echo everyone else, headline is wrong , drivers professional or otherwise need to pay attention. That taxis driver overtook stationery traffic to turn left. Slowing down doesn’t just mean your speed.”

Here’s the headline the Independent used:

Here’s the road shown on Google Street View:


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8 comments

  1. I would expect people who are driving for a living to be the best out there. They are on the road all the time so would know the rules of road and how to deal with all kinds of situations better than people who are commuting or out for leisure.
    If someone is distracted while doing their job, perhaps they should look out for something else where they do not endanger people.

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  2. The article is little more than a quote and a video. Clearly the journos just weren’t bothered to work out exactly what happened, but still wanted the clicks for the video so they just got any old quote and published. It’s a matter of laziness, not malice really, but you would expect better from a major newspaper.

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  3. Luckily the cyclists survived this crash! The footing is excellent (..) material to show at any car driver’s license course to emphasize this as one of the most typical / critical manoeuvres for everybody in urban traffic.

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  4. That was an impact that could have had a serious consequence for the first rider who went over the bonnet.
    What a lot of riders don’t appreciate is that shock of impact numbs the pain from any injury so it won’t be patent for maybe hours later. Never dismiss the driver in these RTCs. You are too vulnerable to injury.
    This RTC should be formally reported to Donnybrook Garda and the Pulse ID No. obtained for it.
    Professional drivers have to set the standard for driving and safe interaction with VRUs. This is not acceptable driving and it can be construed as reckless endangerment of the two riders.

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  5. Good advice, be extra vigilant. This applies to every road user. Cyclists are more vulnerable to serious injury when involved in any impact . No sense in being 100% right and dead.

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  6. Outrageous article. I saw the article and I can not accept that any cyclist hit like that could possibly have said what he is quoted as saying. Leaving aside the likelihood of ( very often initially undetected) spinal injury or and severe nerve damage in the long term (from such a knock; propulsion and impact) It is also, in the legal sense, an obvious ‘impossible to lose’ civil action ( Of course the driver was very helpful after he nearly killed the cyclist-he stands to lose his license and a massive insurance claim, and ought to have been charged with a criminal offense also). Either the cyclist was in shock and just feeling lucky to be alive or he was misquoted.

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  7. I see this behaviour from taxi drivers all the time. It’s not just cyclists that need to watch out but all road users and pedestrians as the standard of road use by taxi drivers in particular is appalling

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