Aggressive car culture puts women off cycling
https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/2026/05/14/aggressive-car-culture-puts-women-off-cycling/
Posted by zainab1900
Aggressive car culture puts women off cycling
https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/2026/05/14/aggressive-car-culture-puts-women-off-cycling/
Posted by zainab1900
38 Comments
That was one factor listed, along with several others such as poor cycling infrastructure
Yep; that’s incredibly obvious. Fears over safety is always the number 1 issue when surveys ask why people don’t cycle.
Remember that segregated bike lanes aren’t for the MAMILs and others who are confident enough to bike right now. Bike lanes are built for people who aren’t confident cyclists
Edit: this bit is also important
> “Women in the workshop observed how urban sprawl and car-based land-use planning has left many with little practical option but to travel by car.”
By relying on sprawling suburban estates and one off rural homes for housing, we are dooming ourselves to eternal traffic problems.
>A woman living in a rural location said she lived only one mile from a town, but the road was unsafe to cycle on due to the “huge volume” of traffic. “The cars just fly along … and people pull into the hard shoulder to let somebody overtake them. So it’s not safe, really.”
Jaysus. I see this a lot in D13, where the cycle lanes, or hard shoulder, are places where cars park. Edging into the road to pass then is really dangerous.
Around Belmayne, which is relatively new, most of the cycle lanes are like this, and a lot of kids bike to school. It’s an accident waiting to happen.
Clearly they just need to dress like airport ramp workers /s.
There are a heap of major factors. The weather being one, and the short days during the winter being another.
There is a percentage of drivers on the road tho that are just lethal, ive done a fair bit of cycling on and off, and about once every 2 or 3 journeys i am very close to being taken off the bike by someone in a car that overtakes and gives no room whatsoever; pretty much clipping the handlebars close.
Its very annoying because the vast majority of drivers will be at least some bit careful with you, but you never know because the other type of driver is just out there and could run you over at any time.
Puts anybody off cycling, some drivers nearly try to kill you on the roads so they can overtake.
Bloke here but yeah, can 100% see why it’s off putting too. I’m not trying to undermine the gist of the article, but not enjoying being at risk of being squashed is also the reason I don’t cycle anymore. Some guys are probably a lot less risk averse but not all of us are into danger sports either. I’d say some of the risks are definitely reducing its viability as a mainstream alternative for commuters etc. If you look at the profile of who is cycling regularly, it’s not reflecting the general population, and that’s very unlike say NL or Denmark etc
Tried it a few times and it was just a load of stress and annoying in both Cork and Dublin. If there were consistent cycle lanes on the routes I’d use I might reconsider but there aren’t, so don’t. I prefer to just walk.
I tried cycling in France too and tbh was as bad. Had a driver shouting Connard ! and various far worse things at me while I was on a cycle lane in Lyon and he wanted to drive across me. You’d also keep getting beeped at when mixing with traffic. I’d no idea I was supposed to yield on a semi-segregated cycle lane, gave up on that too and went back to just getting buses and walking.
Seems very comfortable to cycle in the Netherlands – only issue there is aggressive cyclists lol “Hallo!!!!! Ding ding ding” rather a lot on cycle lanes. They seemed to be able to recognise a newbie very fast.
Recently cycled in Utrecht and it was incredible. Build the infrastructure and people will use it. I swapped to cycling recently and its great, bar the aggressive or unaware drivers. Most cyclists dont want to be on the road or in the way of other traffic. Its safer for everyone that way.
Why gender specific
See it every day. Cycle to work myself twice a day and there’s a particular section without a cycle lane where I see insane overtakes on the cyclists brave enough to cycle on the road.
Footpath for me on that section, not worth it.
Considering I have been hit by a car and had a near miss on Monday I’m not surprised
Aggressive cyclists have put me off cycling. I used to bring the kids out to howth but after a few scary incidents with hobby cyclists screaming “left” as they flew by my kids was off putting. I think after 9am on weekends there should be strict speed limits so that all can cycle. Hard to be a cyclist when you can’t practice as a child in a bike lane
So you’re telling me that people driving like assholes and intimidating cyclist puts people off cycling. Combined that with literally zero real consequences for killing or maiming.
Wild stuff Joe. Who wouldn’t want to send their kids out into that??
Not the point of the article, but am I reading that right that 20% of the women surveyed said it’s less acceptable for women to cycle compared to men?
That’s a crazy opinion to have!
Was cycling home in a safe bicycle lane a few weeks ago on a beautiful afternoon. A white van blaring techno drove up the bus lane next to me, windows down, then screamed at me right as they sped past. The intention was clearly to scare the shite out of me and maybe make me come off my bike. I raced up to see if I could catch them at the lights but they were gone. Most drivers are respectful but it’s arseholes like this that stop a lot of people from cycling.
Puts me off cycling too
Puts everyone off.
Where I currently live, I cycle for everything.
I went back recently to visit my folks and was shitting myself on the bike. Gave up and rented a car for the remainder of the trip.
A motorist buys their car not because it gets them from A to B, but because it promises to get them there faster than anyone else. When they are stuck in traffic behind another car they are annoyed but accept it: the other motorist is a kindred, who bought the same promise they did.
A cyclist on he other hand has not bought the promise, in fact they sabotage the promise that a motorist paid tens of thousands for.
Motorists act like unhinged lunatics in the presence of a cyclists because a cyclists mere existence is an act of aggression in the motorists mind. Anything they do in self defense is always justified.
I live in Spain and cycle everywhere. Live commuting and for sport. It’s great. Hardly any assholes in cars. Some but hardly any. When I go home in summer and cycle (mainly in the west) I find most people don’t know how to deal with cyclists because they’re not used to it. I’ve had people perform dangerous manoeuvres around me and when confronted most apologise and recognise that they didn’t realise how unsafe it was. The weather obviously makes cycling more prevalent here but mostly it’s the quality of the roads, having space and people being used to it.
TII have published the detail of the study here: https://www.tii.ie/media/cladiorn/empowering-women-to-cycle-insights-beyond-numbers.pdf
Pity the Irish Times wouldn’t just link it in the article.
Key findings from the summary page:
• 45% believed that cycling has a negative image.
• 22% stated that cycle journeys were the norm where they lived.
• 49% stated that unsafe roads are a barrier to cycling.
• 39% stated that traffic volumes and speeds are a barrier to cycling.
• 54% stated that safer roads would encourage them to cycle more.
• 37% stated that more cycling specific routes would encourage them to cycle more.
• 29% stated that more segregated cycle lanes would encourage them to cycle more.
• 27% stated that well lit routes would encourage them to cycle more.
• 25% stated that well connected routes would encourage them to cycle more.
• 55% stated they could ride a cycle and had access to one.
• 32% stated they are not confident or able to ride a cycle, however 47% of these
women would like to improve their cycling skills.
• 22% stated that being able to combine cycling with public transport more easily
would encourage them to make more journeys by cycle.
I think rural cycling should be a lot more popular but people do whip around the 80km roads at some clip.
i was doing some lessons with my instrcutor and she was telling me that i can be in the cycle lane when it’s chequered and i said i know but i refuse to simply because it’s a cycle lane, i wouldn’t like to see a cyclist on the road when there’s a cycle lane available to them so why would i be in their lane just because it’s available to me?
Build infrastructure. Cyclist like me don’t want to be on the same road as cars.
I recently posted about cars parking on bike lanes, and the abuse I got avoiding the illegally parked cars and taking photos of them.
I’m very obviously a mid 50’s woman, grey hair, a sensible but confident cyclist of 30 years, not a messer breaking lights and cycling like an eejit. But I get verbally abused and driven around with hostility at least a couple of times a week.
I do cycle defensively because of the aggression and hostility of drivers in Ireland and when there are no bike lanes to use – take up lots of space on the road and refuse to be bullied. Because to do any different is dangerous and will result in you being run off the road or hurt. It’s not ideal but it’s the safest way to cycle when there is no infrastructure and drivers are so hostile.
I’m also a driver (and I love driving too, love going (legally) fast on the motorway, hate being stuck in traffic) and I cannot understand how drivers would want to discourage cyclists – every cyclist is a car off the road!!! Every cyclist means less time stuck in traffic!!!! Drivers should be thanking cyclists, waving to them as they pass, shouting ‘well done’ out their windows, giving them flowers!!! It’s just perplexing to me that drivers see cyclists as their enemies!!!!
[https://www.reddit.com/r/eejitsparking/s/jxzFtzCZx5](https://www.reddit.com/r/eejitsparking/s/jxzFtzCZx5)
Aggressive cyclists have also put me off cycling, to be quite honest.
ETA: as the downvotes roll in, it’s aggression and impatience on the roads in general that are a barrrier for many who cycle or want to more frequently. It’s not only drivers that are subject to this. I stopped cycling because I didn’t want to play kamikaze with busses and taxis in the buslanes any more, but equally, the number of aggressive fast (often male) cyclists who would get annoyed with me for not cycling fast enough in cycle lanes, and be aggressive with me, has also stopped me cycling.
We’re gonna learn the hard way. The 0.5m to 1m rule is not enforced
I can understand this. Living in the Irish countryside on narrow roads where cars are doing 100kph brushing past you is scary.
Lived in Australia and felt safer to cycle in the cities and surrounding areas. However, I did get hit by a car once and know others who have been seriously injured by cars. It is not just an Irish problem. I have no urge to cycle on the roads in Ireland however due to safety (and weather)
I’m a woman and I’ve been cycling to work in Dublin for 6+ years now and consider myself fairly confident at this point. Sticking it out at the start when you’re having big buses overtaking so closely, etc, is not for everyone.
I’ve come off my bike avoiding a pedestrian who had jumped into a metal-fenced bike lane while running for a bus. I broke my hand when a bus overtook me and immediately stopped dead, leaving me nowhere to go or time to stop.
I cycle defensively, I stop for red lights and I don’t mind taking extra time to get there safely but if I didn’t like the exercise and the incredible amount of time it saves versus taking public transport, I would probably consider it too risky.
Not badly designed routes?
Woman? Cyclist? Road?
*Average hualier and trades man shakes fist in the sky and pouts*
I’d love to cycle in Dublin. It would be so handy for the morning commute. Unfortunately, it’s far too dangerous for my liking
Like many public realm issues in this country, it boils down to us having a shocking sense of civic responsibility. Throwing litter on the floor, aggressive driving, playing music on the train, rampant NIMBYism drink-driving, standing at the door on a rush-hour Luas, fly-tipping. All these things ultimately prove that a significant percentage of the population spend no time thinking about the impact of their actions on other people. Even worse, plenty of people seem to have the attitude that any benefit for somebody else is automatically a loss for themselves, and calling out poor behaviour is at best “no craic” and at worst an invitation to aggression.
I can confirm that my girlfriend won’t take the bike anywhere in town because and I quote “drivers in Ireland are crazy” she is from Belgium you see, but as a person who cycles to work everyday I can say she right.
This cycle path junction in Booterstown/Blackrock always gets me. No coherency or attention paid to how you are supposed to use it. If you’re coming from Blackrock on the dedicated bike lane, you’ve to turn across the oncoming bike lane, mount the footpath and then take the pedestrian lights across and then rejoin the road after the junction.
https://preview.redd.it/mtgo8h8md31h1.png?width=1181&format=png&auto=webp&s=aab05da15429a2903891f525b513b246d539aa58
Yeah this absolutely tracks. I cycle to work several times a week and it’s getting worse.
There are two main groups of drivers that are particularly dangerous, the ones who are openly hostile to cyclists and then the ones who aren’t paying enough attention.
Cycling through Dublin you can see the sheer amount of drivers constantly on their phones, it’s genuinely terrifying.
The media is also partially responsible for driver animosity towards cyclists, you constantly hear radio shows trying to whip up anti-cyclist sentiment among their listeners for cheap rage engagement. It’s absolutely disgusting and the shock jocks who do it should be held accountable because they have blood on their hands.
Those of us who cycle are just trying to get where we’re going too – to work, to the shops and home to loved ones.
Not a woman but I would never cycle in this country, go online and you’ll see people laughing about any incident that a cyclist gets injured in. You’d think cyclists were the reason we have so many road deaths and bad congestion
Yes, it can be aggressive at times but what’s more alarming is the lack of due diligence and just bad driving from cars.
I honestly had two close calls with cars yesterday and I was in a designated cycle lane. They just pull out without a care
I consider myself a pretty competent cyclist. I got back to cycling as an adult when I lived in London, and back when I started the super highways were not a thing, they came along later. I then cycled for over a decade everywhere in London, dealing with narrow roads, very busy traffic, not infrequent road rage, Very busy cycle lanes, etc. Back in Dublin, and so now have a car again, but I still cycle.
Something I notice about Irish cyclists which I would love to see a campaign over is safe road positioning. In London you learn about the concept of Primary positioning, that is, getting in the lane if traffic with the cars when the conditions suggest this is the safest place to be. This may be when traffic coming the other way is heavy, when a lane is narrow, when there are cars parked to the left, or when coming to a junction and getting in the right lane ahead of time, or when at the lights to prevent the car behind from speeding away around you or turning left into you as you get away. The idea is you put yourself in front of the car behind to prevent that car from overtaking when it is not safe to do so. This is your analysis of the situation as a cyclist, and it pays to ignore what the driver wants because that may lead to your injury or death.
In Dublin, I do see a small number of people doing this, but the numbers are tiny, and all too often I am dismayed at cyclists hugging the ditch and putting themselves in mortal peril to convince the worst people on the road.
Other things I notice is a lack of awareness, people not checking their shoulder, people not indicating their intentions, people not using their voice to signal their presence, people proceeding through stopped traffic on the left.
While in London this is considered pretty normal, here it is only in its infancy, and while all of this stuff is defensive and it makes you safer on Dublin streets, it still attacts overly aggressive reactions for morons who believe driving is a right rather than a privilege. Our government would do well to make a campaign targeted at those motorists explaining all of this, which would in then give cyclists permission to be safer on the roads.