• @dubyakay@lemmy.ca
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    914 hours ago

    Ireland has a big infrastructure problem, that’s for sure. If you live anywhere between Limerick and Dublin, well good luck getting around without a car. It’s amazing how a country that’d be in an ideal position to have year round acceptable temps for cycling, barely any hills to speak of, and no extreme weather excuses either to keep up transit infra, is so regressive that they chose to go the route of 70s North America instead of becoming a second Netherlands or Denmark.

    They actually have more problems. For example look at its population. It never recovered after the great famine. And they always whine about one thing or another. But they do anything except for the right thing to actually attract young people wanting to have children.

    The whole country outside of four urban centres is an absolute nightmare if you don’t drive, and just not conductive to establishing a family anywhere.

    • gian
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      113 hours ago

      The whole country outside of four urban centres is an absolute nightmare if you don’t drive, and just not conductive to establishing a family anywhere.

      To be honest I don’t think this is a specific problem of Ireland, outside the urban centers the only option to move is to drive. There is not a critical mass for a public transportation system, expecially if you need to connect many small (< 20k people) urban centers.

      • @Saleh@feddit.org
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        313 hours ago

        A town with 1k-20k people is perfectly viable for a train stop and having an hourly train connect these smaller places with the next larger city.

        • gian
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          111 hours ago

          I agree. But the problem is not to connect a small town with the larger one, is to connect the small town with the next small one where maybe there is the mall, or the other one where there is the school (higher level) or other services you need.

          The point is that normally you have a relatively good connection to the big city of the area, but the connections between the small towns around it are patchy, that is what make you drive to the next small town instead of using the train or bus.

  • @Gsus4@mander.xyz
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    515 hours ago

    Peak car brain. Dude can’t even imagine how society worked before cars claimed the streets.

    • gian
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      013 hours ago

      That would be stupid, but that a bicyclists use a high visibility jacket is not, too many time on the road (in Italy, but I suppose everywhere else) you cross bicyclists at night or late evening that are basically invisible until the last moment: no light, wear black clothes (and often in the wrong direction).

      True, maybe also the road should be better illuminated, but that a bicyclists make himself visible is not a stupid idea.

      • @Localhorst86@feddit.org
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        11 hours ago

        basically invisible until the last moment: no light, wear black clothes (and often in the wrong direction)

        I am unfamiliar with rules regarding traffic-worthiness of a bicycle, but in germany, your bike requires certain equipment to be fitted to the bike - reflectors on the spokes, front and rear light at night, etc. Additionally, you’re not allowed to drive in the wrong direction, unless specifically allowed to with a street sign (one-way-streets often allow for ciclysts to drive against the direction)

        If those rules don’t exist in a similar fashion in italy: consider making the bike traffic worthy before forcing ciclysts into high-viz-gear and therefore reduce their willingness to actually use a bike in the first place.

        If those rules do exist in a similar fashion already: cyclists are apparently not following those rules, adding another rule for high-viz-gear is most likely not going to be followed either. Maybe consider enforcing the existing rules before adding another rule.

        • gian
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          111 hours ago

          I am unfamiliar with rules regarding traffic-worthiness of a bicycle, but in germany, your bike requires certain equipment to be fitted to the bike - reflectors on the spokes, front and rear light at night, etc. Additionally, you’re not allowed to drive in the wrong direction, unless specifically allowed to with a street sign (one-way-streets often allow for ciclysts to drive against the direction)

          Basically the same rules we have in Italy except the wrong direction one, which state basically that cyclists can go the wrong direction if the road is wide enough. No specification about the enough part btw.

          If those rules do exist in a similar fashion already: cyclists are apparently not following those rules, adding another rule for high-viz-gear is most likely not going to be followed either. Maybe consider enforcing the existing rules before adding another rule.

          Agree here. But I still think that a high viz jacket is better than the small light and reflector you use on a bicycles, expecially in low light conditions

  • @Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org
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    161 day ago

    Why not a bright yellow color for all cars, but a bright orange color for all cars where the driver is drunk or stoned?