Who's to blame? Hitting ped on cycle path.

meanredspider

Kieran_Burns wrote:

I always say thanks as well... a bit of effort, and some courtesy go a LONG way to making it all work.

I've a bell on the road bike. Ice Spikers on the MTB have a much better effect though:

"WTF - I'm about to be mugged by Snap, Crackle & Pop!"

jds_1981

Bustacapp wrote:

jds_1981 wrote:

At the same time - what was the pedestrian doing? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGO3bt6YPKo
It's like walking in London, other people just stop or change direction randomly which can get close even if you're just walking past them at a reasonable pace.

Note to self: Only ever walk in straight lines following the shortest logical path to reach destination. Anything else is merely selfish and inefficient.

:rolleyes:

You're welcome to take any route you want. However, stopping can be selfish and inconsiderate in London - especially around rush hour you'll find that pedestrians start aligning into single file. People then sometimes stop and cause the ten people behind them to have to stop too.

Applespider

In this instance, the cyclist is going too fast so it's his fault. If it was a car passing a cyclist who'd had to swerve out, we'd blame the driver for going too fast/not giving enough room.

Having said that, I have been in a similar situation on the cycle path at Vauxhall. There was a drunk vagrant on my lane of the cycle path and the pavement had pedestrians walking along. I slowed to below walking speed (i.e. moving just enough not to fall off) to go around him on the other lane of the cycle path... at which point, he turned and stepped into the side of my wheel. My fault or his? And then he hugged me.... bleurgh!

I think you can be aware that pedestrians will do silly things but you can't foresee all of them. The ones that step into the road to get round someone slower feel the most dangerous to me since it's not practical to cycle along assuming that they'll all randomly step off!

cookdn

Kieran_Burns wrote:

cookdn wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

I was in my Nightvision jacket (bright yellow), with a vision 1 and the Mj808e on the front. I'd be interested to know what the lights were like from the front as I'm conscious of how bright they are (it was about 6pm when I was in East Leake) if they aren't angled correctly.

It was a bit earlier than that (about 1745-1750) and the chap I saw definitely didn't have a Nightvision jacket on. I have one and as soon as you are hit by any sort of reasonable light source you fluoresce like a 60's space ship 8). On that basis the ped needs to visit their optician.

(ps. I want your commute as mine sucks in comparison )

For God's sake don't look at the post I just put in "The War" thread then.... 8)

That's just rubbing peoples nose in it.

Kieran_Burns

cookdn wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

cookdn wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

I was in my Nightvision jacket (bright yellow), with a vision 1 and the Mj808e on the front. I'd be interested to know what the lights were like from the front as I'm conscious of how bright they are (it was about 6pm when I was in East Leake) if they aren't angled correctly.

It was a bit earlier than that (about 1745-1750) and the chap I saw definitely didn't have a Nightvision jacket on. I have one and as soon as you are hit by any sort of reasonable light source you fluoresce like a 60's space ship 8). On that basis the ped needs to visit their optician.

(ps. I want your commute as mine sucks in comparison )

For God's sake don't look at the post I just put in "The War" thread then.... 8)

That's just rubbing peoples nose in it.

We were stopping and taking photos that morning - I have them as my desktop wallpaper now.

Keeping on topic - we did have an issue with a lady walking down the path with headphones on, so we were extra careful going past her

reformedfatty

Bustacapp wrote:

jds_1981 wrote:

At the same time - what was the pedestrian doing? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGO3bt6YPKo
It's like walking in London, other people just stop or change direction randomly which can get close even if you're just walking past them at a reasonable pace.

Note to self: Only ever walk in straight lines following the shortest logical path to reach destination. Anything else is merely selfish and inefficient.

:rolleyes:

Obligatory XKCD -

EKE_38BPM

The cyclist was riding too fast. I think we can all agree with that.
The cyclist should have announced his presence (a shout, a bell, an Airzound, whatever).
The ped should, just in the interest of self preservation, have looked over their shoulder before heading for that side path, especially as they knew that there were cyclists around. Maybe all these years of cycling has made life-savers such second nature that I even do them when on foot.

I teach my trainees that when you are riding on the road, you have as much right to be there as any other road user and that they are never to ride on the pavement, but when walking the bike on the pavement or cycling on a shared path, peds have priority.

So, in answer to the question, the cyclist was to blame and I don't really understand how anyone can think any different.

trickydisco

It was actually on the bristol to bath cycle track where this happened.

http://www.bristolbathrailwaypath.org.u ... bout.shtml

which states

Everyone has equal priority
Cyclists - please pass pedestrians and disabled people slowly and carefully, and warn them by bell or voice if they haven't seen you.

rhext

+1 for cyclists fault. He was going too fast. He didn't make his presence known. And the pedestrian was approaching a path on her right: I don't know whether she was randomly drifting or whether she intended to turn right and walk down it, but if you see a pedestrian approaching a turn-off on a shared-use path you should plan on them taking the turn without checking over their shoulder.

My mates have given up taking the p**s out of me for the bells that I insist go on all of my bikes (including the full-suspension mountain bike that hardly ever sees a pedestrian), but I'll tell you what: you can travel safely down a shared-use path a whole lot faster if you let them know you're there from 25 meters out.

EKE_38BPM

rhext wrote:

...I'll tell you what: you can travel safely down a shared-use path a whole lot faster if you let them know you're there from 25 meters out.

Get an Airzound and increase that distance to 50 metres!

cookeeemonster

cant be bothered reading the thread again but didn't the cyclist himself admit his error on the youtube clip? He posted this in the description:

"Not one of my greatest cycling moments when I hit this poor girl when she turns into my path without looking, had I been riding slower this might not had happened."

tailwindhome

Peter Sagan says "Use a bell"

cookdn

TailWindHome wrote:

Peter Sagan says "Use a bell"

Doesn't really go with the terminator skull on the head tube. :?

tailwindhome

cookdn wrote:

TailWindHome wrote:

Peter Sagan says "Use a bell"

Doesn't really go with the terminator skull on the head tube. :?

He's the tourminator

rhext

EKE_38BPM wrote:

rhext wrote:

...I'll tell you what: you can travel safely down a shared-use path a whole lot faster if you let them know you're there from 25 meters out.

Get an Airzound and increase that distance to 50 metres!

They like to be warned gently from a distance. 50 meters with an Airzound gives them just enough time to pick themselves out of the hedge that they've jumped into in their terror, and to come back at you with a branch :-)

meanredspider

Where the hell can you get a bell that fits to a set of carbon bars (or a stem) that actually frickin works, though? I've tried several - most of them give no more than a "clack" is rain (fortunately, the BB7s on the V squeal slightly when wet). I mean, how hard can it be?

Kieran_Burns

rhext wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

rhext wrote:

...I'll tell you what: you can travel safely down a shared-use path a whole lot faster if you let them know you're there from 25 meters out.

Get an Airzound and increase that distance to 50 metres!

They like to be warned gently from a distance. 50 meters with an Airzound gives them just enough time to pick themselves out of the hedge that they've jumped into in their terror, and to come back at you with a branch :-)

jds_1981

When I was a student cycling to uni I used to warn pedestrians who were walking in the cycle path with a loud tyre skid behind them.

unixnerd

Where the hell can you get a bell that fits to a set of carbon bars (or a stem) that actually frickin works, though?

What about one of those Airzound (?) things that works on compressed air?

What's really annoying me these days is folk who walk on one side of a path a have their dog on the other using an "invisible" lead.

antfly

My bell can be heard about half a mile away when the wind blows in the right direction, it's a cateye. People often thank me for dinging it.

Wallace1492

I still get nightmares from an incident a few years ago. Me and a mate were heading down a single track road in Glencoe (to the village from the Clachaig pub, if you know it). There were 2 walkers going in the same direction in the very centre of the road, both had walking poles. Now the here road is downhill, and you can get a decent speed, there was loads of room on both side of the walkers, so my mate headed left, and I headed for the right. Walkers heard us just before we passed, one on left kept walking in a straight line, mate passed no problem, however one on left must have thought it was a vehicle, as he jumped right in a flurry of poles and rucksack. Just how I managed to veer even further right and avoid the poles and him, I really dont know. Yes, was all my fault for not shouting out, and although I had slowed down, was not enough to stop if he had jumped just an inch further.
Lesson learned. Always anticipate the unpredictable nature of the pedestrian.

Big_Paul

Seen this twice today already, first one was a girl with her earphones in decided for no apparent reason to veer the whole way across the shared path, second one was a bloke in his sunday best doing the exact same thing, mobile clamped to ear. IME you can ring a bell as much as you like but "ding ding" isn't going to be heard over Dubstep.

Saying that, I have had bloody minded folk, usually well dressed respectable looking types, hear my bell them deliberately block my path.

northstar

The pedestrian was at fault.

BillyMansell

northstar wrote:

The pedestrian was at fault.

Whilst the ped was an utterly moronic, simple-minded fucktard who didn't think of a cursory glance before she moved, the cyclist has a percentage of responsibility, but even with the best will in the the world they could not have saved themselves from such stupidity.

A horse, considered a dumb animal, would have had more spatial awareness in that situation. The law exists to reward stupidity. A horse would have had a greater intelligence for self-preservation and would not be a total fucktard and would certainly not be thinking of engaging their brain and question liability only after the event.

Daz555

100% cyclists fault. Too fast (electic assist?), too close, and attempted to overtake right next to an exit point on the footpath.

Having said that, pedestrians on shared paths need to be a bit more defensive and have a look behind them from time to time to reduce their chances of being struck by an idiot.

northstar

BillyMansell wrote:

northstar wrote:

The pedestrian was at fault.

Whilst the ped was an utterly moronic, simple-minded fucktard who didn't think of a cursory glance before she moved, the cyclist has a percentage of responsibility, but even with the best will in the the world they could not have saved themselves from such stupidity.

A horse, considered a dumb animal, would have had more spatial awareness in that situation. The law exists to reward stupidity. A horse would have had a greater intelligence for self-preservation and would not be a total fucktard and would certainly not be thinking of engaging their brain and question liability only after the event.

Yeah, he was a bit pacey but as you say to move direction without looking.