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Since we launched our tracker in mid-2015, cyclists have logged many different types of incidents across the city, including 62 times when they have collided with the Luas tracks.
Each purple dot on the map below made by Eoin O’Mahony represents a cyclist’s report of a collision. If you click one, a window should pop up giving more details. If you grab and drag the map, you can explore other areas of the city.
The data shows three clusters of cycling accidents involving Luas tracks: one near St James’ Hospital, one at the bottom of O’Connell Street, and one around College Green.
Twenty-three of the cyclists who reported these accidents mentioned that the tracks had been wet or slippy after rain, which meant that their tyres slid and they lost balance.
For others, swerving out of the way of other vehicles or failing to be able to cross at a 90-degree angle meant that their wheels became stuck in the tracks.
Of the 62 collisions, 39 are from 2017, 13 are from 2016 and the remainder happened in 2015 or earlier.
(Note: One incident near College Green was logged on 19 January 2017 as having occurred on 21 December 2017. It is more likely that the incident occurred on 21 December 2016, a few weeks before it was reported.)
The data set is still relatively small, given that Dublin City Council’s 2016 canal cordon count – which gives a snapshot of November traffic entering the city centre – counted 12,089 cyclists at peak time in the morning.
We want to find out if there are other patterns, other spots too, where multiple cyclists are finding it hard to navigate safely.
So if you’ve been involved in a collision with the Luas lines, we’d be grateful if you can take the time to log it on our database and map.
Excellent work. Information such as this is very important in order to effect change for the better in a rational and evidence-based way.
The accident that happened on parnell street on the 21/9/17 is a lie…the guy on the bike decided to come across the tracks and tried to race the luas, when the luas was passing him by he decided to do a wheelie onto the path but missed and fell off his bike, he is very lucky he didn’t go under the luas, how do i know this you ask? I was on the luas at the time and no i wasn’t driving it.
They should at least by now be testing painted crossing points, with rubber inserts in the grooves and perhaps roughening the metal to make it less slippy at these points.
Or if they really want cyclists to have to cycle in the tram lines maybe there should be rented ‘rail bikes’ that actually sit in the grooves ?
Really? I’m sorry but this is mad. How about keeping off metal tram tracks as they will most likely always be slippy. Ta Daah – You’re welcome.