Suicide Peds

Headhuunter

monkimark wrote:

We have a new winner - 3 very close calls with lemming pedestrians on a 200m stretch of road in one day.
http://goo.gl/maps/28SJK
1 mobile phone and 2 general dopeyness.

The 2nd one must have heard me screaming at the first and she still walked out without looking.

I'm taking off my front light bracket and replacing it with a bayonet plug

Yeah the quiet back roads round there are paradise for suicide peds, most of them are listening for traffic but don't look before stepping off the kerb

SteppenHerring

Bourton on the Water yesterday would take some beating. Hundreds of them milling about across the roads.

keyser__soze

Not as bad as some of the streets in the City (the exit from Canon St station was a lowlight the one time I've ridden that way) but it's only a matter of time until a cyclist or more likely motorbike/moped takes out a pedestrian crossing while the ped lights are on red on Victoria Embankment as traffic turns left from Bridge St just after leaving Parliament Sq - it's quite a quick turn, two lanes and traffic is always gunning it. On the way home turning right at the same lights peds always ignore the crossing lights and walk across which makes it awkward as there's always a grand prix-style start on green there as cyclists, mopeds, motorbikes, Audis and Addison Lee drivers try to leave the ASL at the same time and fight to get round the corner first.

raymondo60

The last leg of my commute in often involves me waiting at the traffic lights at the top of Chancery Lane - I turn right there, then left up Grays Inn Rd. The number of Peds that completely ignore the red 'do not cross' light at Chancery Lane never ceases to amaze me. Quite often I say 'Hold up!' or 'Stay there!' as they start crossing while the cars/trucks/bikes are actually moving through the green light. If we cyclists get criticized for RLJing (as we should) then I reckon pedestrians are just as bad. Obviously we don't have anything similar to the 'jaywalking' system they have in the USA and I'm not sure it would work here anyway, but Peds crossing on red lights is definitely up for debate...,.

Headhuunter

Keyser__Soze wrote:

Not as bad as some of the streets in the City (the exit from Canon St station was a lowlight the one time I've ridden that way) but it's only a matter of time until a cyclist or more likely motorbike/moped takes out a pedestrian crossing while the ped lights are on red on Victoria Embankment as traffic turns left from Bridge St just after leaving Parliament Sq - it's quite a quick turn, two lanes and traffic is always gunning it. On the way home turning right at the same lights peds always ignore the crossing lights and walk across which makes it awkward as there's always a grand prix-style start on green there as cyclists, mopeds, motorbikes, Audis and Addison Lee drivers try to leave the ASL at the same time and fight to get round the corner first.

Yes, the exit of Canon St station is one of the ultimate lemming spots in London, people literally walk out without looking. Quite often they look at you coming down the road and then step out. I don't know if some peds assume that a bicycle can go from almost 20mph to dead stop on a farthing but it seems that way.

Headhuunter

Crouching Peeky wrote:

Lombard Street, Queen Victoria Street. Fenchurch Street, infact any street in the City. Fortunately due to the 4 millions sets of traffic lights in and around the area, it's almost impossible to get up to any kind of speed but I have wondered where I'd stand if I got knocked off my bike by an idiotic lemming? 1 or 2 windmills?

I had a few collisions with peds when I 1st started commuting.

One time I was rolling along King William St in the City and a tubby bloke stepped quickly out of 1 of the office buildings, seemingly looked straight at me and then literally walked out in from of me. We both went down, I skidded across the tarmac on my belly, he fell against the kerb and hurt his hand. He sat by the side of the road for a while, was in a bit of shock I think... No idea why he stepped out. Another time I was riding just passed St Paul's Tube towards Chancery Lane. The traffic was stationary and I was filtering through. All of a sudden this woman carrying a tray of about 6 cups of Starbucks stepped straight through the gridlocked traffic towards the pavement. Again we both went down, coffee all over the place. She was yelling at me - I tried to calmly tell her that she needs to look both ways before stepping through traffic as it's a ROAD... One other time I remember was again, a ped stepping through stationary traffic oblivious to the fact that 2 wheel traffic might still be moving through. This time I went down and she remained standing.... I must have literally bounced off her...

Hasn't happened for a while though, I think perhaps my senses have sharpened and I'm more aware of when lemmings are likely to emerge unannounced from traffic.....

gaz79

I've had a few near misses over the years. I can almost forgive the stupidity of those that just wander into the road having thought it was clear due to the lack of traffic noise. Its the idiots that look up and down the road, see that its only a cyclist approaching and step out in front of you expecting you to move. That really winds me up.