CYCLING CAMPAIGNERS HAVE hit out at a judge’s remarks claiming that cyclists have become a “nightmare” in Dublin.

The Irish Cycling Campaign said this was a “sweeping” statement that runs the risk of “reinforcing dangerous attitudes toward a group of road users who are among the most vulnerable” on the country’s roads.

Judge James O’Donohoe made the comments when deciding that an injured cyclist was mainly responsible for the accident that had taken place in darkness at 6am in September 2020 and in which he had suffered 12 soft tissue injuries.

The judge reduced a €50,000 damages award by 80% to a cyclist who had suffered a brain injury when he and a motorbike had collided.

“You never know with cyclists what they are going to do or anticipate what they are going to do,” Judge O’Donohoe said in the Circuit Civil Court yesterday.

“Cyclists have become a nightmare in Dublin.”

When making the comments, the judge said that he was entitled – as someone who drives cars in the city – to take judicial notice of his own experiences as a motorist.

Responding to the remarks, the Irish Cycling Campaign said that it was “deeply concerned”, adding that the comments were a “generalisation” about cyclists’ behaviour on the road.

Neasa Bheilbigh, chair of the Irish Cycling Campaign, took issue with the judging using his own personal experience as part of the judgement.

“This case should not be used to generalise about cycling in Dublin or elsewhere,” Bheilbigh said.

“The real and ongoing safety crisis on our roads is reflected in rising fatalities and serious injuries, overwhelmingly linked to motor traffic.”

Bheilbigh added that public commentary from the judiciary “should recognise that vulnerability” facing cyclists and, furthermore, should support a “culture of care and responsibility, rather than language that risks normalising hostility toward people who choose to travel by bike”.

With reporting by Ray Managh