I think the difference is that poor oul Larry down the road who's been smoking since he was 4 isn't made into a criminal and forced to stop. It's all about stopping new smokers from starting.

It de-normalises smoking. What I see with my kids' peer groups is far fewer smoke as young teenagers (like I did) but many start when they start going to pubs etc. If they continue to have trouble buying tobacco when they're 18/19/20 a lot of them just won't bother. Some will, of course, but fewer.

He's a bit like a shit Boris Johnson. Just not good enough to grift to the same heights, and far less riding one would assume.

Plus people don't understand the local impacts. Lots of people already saying how great this will be, not realising the quietish residential road they live on or bring their kids to school/sports on (Cappagh/Clybaun Rd etc.) will effectively become on-ramps with maybe twice as many vehicles on them.

...but a guard who hits a traffic cone while chasing someone loses his licence for 2 years!

TLDR: "Research, commissioned by us, confirms that yes, we are great lads altogether."

AwFUl bAd LuCk for him that he got caught that *one* time he drove like that...
Funny too how the important function he had to get to was in Cork when he was stopped but was in Kerry by the time it got to court.🤔

"Run along now, ya little scamp, and don't let me see you back here for *checks notes* at least 2 years"
That'll learn him...

"necessary runway" that's a beaut, I'll see if I can work that into a meeting this afternoon.
"It's not happening" becomes "I'm currently giving myself the necessary runway to complete it"

The Urban Fox | The Keith Lemon Sketch Show Series 2 Episode 2 YouTube video by The Keith Lemon Sketch Show

youtu.be/wDuOlLwwijg?...
Urban foxes to blame?

...and the little ladder on the other side. In case you need to get onto the roof of it while out shopping, presumably.

iSock Apple Event Product Launch Spoof | The Keith Lemon Sketch Show | Series 2 Episode 4 YouTube video by The Keith Lemon Sketch Show

Almost entirely as predicted by this Keith Lemon sketch
youtu.be/f1ySzSF7CJw?...

Cover from the single Antmusic by Adam & the Ants

Surprising amount of Adam & the Ants on this thread. Bought from Ken Black's shop on the Main Street in Portlaoise, toy shop out the back and record shop at the front. I can still remember being an age where I wasn't sure which one I'd spend my money in.

"Sasanach" probably

And of course "The vehicle involved failed to remain at the scene". No driver involved seemingly. Always the same with The Journal.

Motherfucking wind farms…

It's working in so much as you can report a traffic incident on the system. Unfortunately it's also not working in the sense that the guards will do SFA about your report. You do feel a little better about things for a few minutes though, so not all bad.

I was in Sydney in the 90s, temping in a bank. One of the senior managers had shorts to match his suits. Impossible to take him seriously in the jacket and tie with shorts and knee socks.

A clear case of nominative determinism

"Enthusiasts"? It's funny, I don't feel that enthusiastic heading off to work every morning, even if I am on a bike!

As a bonus money-saver, you probably won't need/be able to eat at all for about 3 days after using this method

Patel thinks he's Judge Dredd

I'd suspect it is worse in the mornings - I used to be able to cycle up Parkmore Road inside a moving line of cars, but the cars are packed in much tighter now so I have to admit I resort to the footpath most days. There might be changing shift patterns out here feeding into that too though.

GCC seem to look at every project and ask themselves "how can we do this so that it's kinda shit in the end?"
As a daily cyclist in and out of Parkmore it's way better than it used to be, but only on the way out in the evening! Still carnage every morning.

I can't help wondering if Galway CC deliberately make these things shit versions of something good (see also "parklets") in the hopes that eventually people will stop asking for nice stuff. I may be assuming way too much intelligence and forethought though.

It rains a lot all year around where I live so I use an old pair of waterproofs cut off at the knees along with shoe covers. Keeps your actual shorts dry without getting too hot. Yes, I do get soaked knee to ankle but I've found my legs are fully waterproof and quick-drying.

A couple of years ago the same judge gave a taxi driver a similar suspended sentence for *deliberately* driving into a cyclist, twice. It's nuts.

I think it probably mainly comes down to cancer and CVD being the main causes of mortality across the board, so if the risk of these is reduced the overall risk of death is reduced too.