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news
Hi-Viz cyclist © Simon MacMichael.jpgMandatory hi-vis for cyclists a “timely proposal” coming up to Christmas, say councillors
With Christmas coming up, councillors in Limerick have welcomed a mandatory hi-vis proposal for all cyclists in Ireland as "timely", calling for cyclists to "respect the laws". However, they were quickly shut down by the Green councillors, saying that "preaching about hi-vis is victim blaming".
At a meeting of the Limerick City and County Council, Independent councillor Fergus Kilcoyne of City West proposed that hi-vis jackets, vests, and lights be made compulsory for all riders of bikes and scooters in Ireland.
He also asked the council to write to the relevant departments in the Irish Government to request that this be made into law.
Cllr Kilcoyne said that he has been contacted by delivery drivers and postal workers who have experienced issues with cyclists in the early hours due to low visibility and the darker mornings. He also accused of cyclists listening to headphones and not having awareness of the roads when cycling, a topic which was recently discussed with much fervour in one of our live blogs.
> Wearing earphones while cycling — is it allowed? What does the Highway Code say?
He said: "Some of these cyclists are wearing headphones. They can’t hear what is coming behind them and electric cars can’t be heard, so they need to be more proactive in their care of cycling... They have to have a bit of respect for our laws here as well."
Fianna Fáil councillor Catherine Slattery seconded his proposal, considering it a "timely motion", especially coming up to Christmas.
Along with things like mandatory helmets and bike registrations, making hi-vis clothing mandatory has been a go-to proposal for a while from many who believe that the majority, if not the sole onus of safety when riding a bicycle lies on the cyclist.
Last month, Oxford's police were in the middle of a debate after they issued "lights and hi-vis rucksack instead of a fine" to cyclists so they could "get home safely and legally". And in February, Good Morning Britain, ITV's breakfast show asked social media users this year whether cyclists should have to wear a "hi-vis uniform" to be able to cycle, and the results were a confounding 85 per cent 'yes'.
Just weeks before this, Police Scotland was at the centre of a "victim blaming" row after a chief inspector urged pedestrians to wear "reflective or fluorescent" clothing after six people walking were killed after being hit by other road users in just 13 days.
Such comments were also heard at the Limerick council meeting from Finn Gael councillor Michael Sheahan, who claimed that to put the blame on motorists is "wrong", reports Limerick Post.
He said: "Only yesterday evening I saw a family of four – two adults, two children – in total black gear walking along the road, and only that the dog had a reflective band I wouldn’t have known they were there."
"As far as I can see, the Green Party have bikes and buses on their mind and that’s it. The rest of us don’t matter. The taxpayers who are paying to keep our roads functioning properly, they don’t count at all."
However, the councillors were quickly shut down by the Green councillor Seán Hartigan, who said that while cyclists do have a responsibility to have lights on their bikes, mandatory hi-vis wear "will do nothing to prevent injuries to cyclists".
He was referring to the long-term Italian study in which researchers looked at whether legislation demanding that cyclists wear hi-vis had any impact on safety, and found that it did not.
Results of the 15-year-long study revealed that mandatory high-visibility clothing did not influence the total number of cyclists involved in road collisions, nor did it affect the number of collisions involving cyclists as a proportion of all vehicle collisions.
Cllr Hartigan said: "A debate about mandatory hi-vis clothing is simply a distraction from the need to enforce road traffic laws. We know from international road safety literature that hi-vis is not the issue in road safety terms, but rather distracted driving or failure by the driver to properly scan the horizon for all travel modes.
"Preaching about hi-vis is victim blaming and a distraction from the principle need to stop distracted and inattentive driving,” he declared, hitting out that putting the onus on cyclists to wear high-vis clothing “shirks the duty of the Gardaí to enforce the law when it comes to speeding."
The City East representative proposed a counter motion to write to the Minister responsible for Road Safety, Jack Chambers, and Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, asking for increased penalty points to motorists for speeding, too close overtaking of cyclists, parking in cycle lanes, and other behaviours which impact the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.
Supporting his proposal, Green Party colleague Saša Novak Uí Chonchúir agreed that lights, as they are mandatory, should be on every single bike, but didn't back the case for hi-vis.
She said: "If we are asking for cyclists or pedestrians to wear hi-vis, I think we should also call for all cars to be painted in bright pink, bright yellow, bright orange, and bright green."
Adwitiya joined road.cc in 2023 as a news writer after completing his masters in journalism from Cardiff University. His dissertation focused on active travel, which soon threw him into the deep end of covering everything related to the two-wheeled tool, and now cycling is as big a part of his life as guitars and football. He has previously covered local and national politics for Voice Cymru, and also likes to write about science, tech and the environment, if he can find the time. Living right next to the Taff trail in the Welsh capital, you can find him trying to tackle the brutal climbs in the valleys.
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49 comments
Limerick Council should also ban motorists from driving around with the windows closed and radio/music on.
Ive worn HV and have dynamo and battery lights for my protection for 40 years,My decision !
Speaking for myself its commonsense.
There once was a councillor from Limerick
Whose anti-cyclist banter was the same old schtick
He said cyclists should be seen
So their clothing must sheen
But they'll keep handing out driving licences to any old prick
Does anyone else remember, a few years ago there was a big debate about whether electric cars should have a sound effect system precisely so they can't sneak up in people...
Ha! I'm all for these electric cars being silent, and being made to remain silent. Because they are only silent (and that's using the term loosely) at or below 20mph. Much above that and road noise overtakes engine noise. So let them be made to abide by silence, and stick to a 20mph limit! Then, quid pro quo, I'll take my chances on a bicycle.
Im deaf on tbe right and electric cars are the worst for me silent !
It's been a legal requirement in the UK since July 2019.
Really? There must be an awful lot of illegal electric cars around then, unless the sound effect is exactly the same as non-electric cars...
They only have to make a noise when reversing or travelling below 12mph, and it can be turned off though like automatic idling cutoffs in ICE vehicles it will default to on next time it's started.
Why such a useful system (specifically designed to help visually impaired people) should be susceptible of deactivation isn't clear, unless it's to help twats like the idiot I've just seen on an EV forum when I tried to look for a reason : "I like to deactivate it because it lets me creep right up behind cyclists who don't know I'm there then give them a big blast on the horn and watch them fall off LOL." Truly they walk amongst us.
I think EVs making fake noise is a bad idea. It trains pedestrians (possibly cyclists too) to rely on their hearing and thus they don't allow for other silent vehicles such as e-scooters or bikes (maybe the odd Sinclair C5). This then leads to distracted peds staring at their phones and not bothering to look before crossing if they can hear that the road is "clear".
Also, adding more noise to the environment is a bad idea in cities when we could finally have a chance to reduce road noise although to be fair most noise comes from the tyres/road/potholes/puddles combo.
As to the car (EVs or not) drivers that use their horn to intimidate cyclists - that's the kind of thing that the police need to stamp down on, though I've yet to hear back from a couple of "angry horn" driver videos I sent to them the other week.
Edit: Just heard back from A&S about them - a warning letter, a fixed penalty or a prosecution.
They can't be disabled on vehicles made and sold in countries after the date when/where it has become mandatory, this includes UK, EU, US currently. Some vehicles made before then had a switch if they had a synthetic sound generator. Like yourself I don't understand why anyone would want to disable it, aside from the obvious safety implications of doing so, it's really not that offensive. Mine (Ioniq 5) sounds like a very slow Tron Lightcycle.
I had a black car for 5 1/2 years and wasn't once asked to put hi-viz on it.
However I've been 20 feet away from a car that decides to pull straight into my path around a parked car when wearing hi-viz. If they're not looking for you thay won't see you.
ALL THESE CYCLISTS AREN'T OBEYING LAWS I JUST MADE UP
It's all blather and hot air. The council is finely balanced between Irelands 2 main parties and a load of independents.
This is the sort of shite they come up with to give themselves the illusion of power.
Just ignore them. I imagine everyone else will including the Irish Govt.
The Peter Principle, in action, right there...
"Independent councillor Fergus Kilcoyne of City West proposed that hi-vis jackets, vests, and lights be made compulsory for all riders of bikes and scooters in Ireland."
Are lights not already compulsory?! Even without any lights or reflectors, if you are an observant driver, driving to the conditions, then you will still see them:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/laRlbdK4WtM
He said: "Only yesterday evening I saw a family of four – two adults, two children – in total black gear walking along the road..," so he was able to see them then.
"They can’t hear what is coming behind them and electric cars can’t be heard"
LOGIC
Beat me to it - a worthy partner to the usual statement "I see all these cyclists without hi-vis who are invisible..."
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