Letters to the editor

THIS WEEK, WE heard from our readers on the triple lock and road safety. Have something to say? See our letter guidelines here. 

Wrong-way driving

Wrong-way driving is not confined to early hours on motorways. Like every experienced driver, I’ve had plenty of near-misses with oncoming cars on single-lane roads, both rural and suburban.

I’ve noticed a disturbing trend in recent years: drivers pulling out to give a cyclist a “little bit of space”.

Clearly they’ve been influenced by that well-meaning RSA ad from eight years ago – but unfortunately it’s not “a lot more safe” for other drivers.

In the most recent incident, I was driving on the old Bray road from Bray to Shankill, and a car coming in the opposite direction veered across the road right in front of me to avoid a cyclist who was right on the outer edge of the cycle path.

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Of course, I’m not suggesting motorists should closely pass cyclists. The common-sense advice is to hang back, chill, and don’t pass until there’s no oncoming traffic.

Cyclists, meanwhile, should consider discounting and walking beside their bikes on the footpath / verge for a few seconds to let a car pass on a narrow road.

Geraldine Comiskey,
Dublin

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Big questions

[Do you think Ireland should remove the Triple Lock?]

Regarding Ireland’s triple lock. Ireland has been officially neutral since 1937. But since 1973 it’s now part of Europe. So it should accept the fact that it’s not neutral any more and join the EU defence alliance. It need not provide troops – just the Atlantic areas – so the Russians can’t rule the roost. That way Ireland can participate in a war if needed.

John B Tobin,
Wexford

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