crazy pedestrians

ooh, my favourite topic.

Last week I was lucky with the green lights and came tearing round the corner on the last stretch of road on my way to work. More green lights, no cars ahead, no cars behind, so I just keep to the middle of the road, stand up and get to it.

Until I notice the bunch of pedestrians waiting to cross. No, for Gods sake, they are NOT going to try to cross the road RIGHT in front of me on a red light just because there aren't any cars in the road... oh, yes, they are.. All of them! Without even casting a glance in my direction!

I slam on the brakes and just barely avoid hitting 4 people sideways with my bike. And scream hysterically: "You can't just cross on a red light if the road's not clear!!!"

The closest gentleman turns and looks surprised. "Hmm - sorry, did you say something?"

:eek:

I was so roiled up I rolled out of a parking lot right afterwards without checking and was almost run down by a taxi... I want a fog horn on my bike!

I frequently find pedestrians more frustrating than cars on my commute.
The last 100 yards or so of my commute is through a bus depot and up the sidewalk towards our office's parking garage.
I'm usually saying "on your left" until I'm blue in the face and creeping along at their walking pace. Pedestrians are far less predictable than cars, they tend to "drift" on their walking path, they wander around without a glance. And don't even get me started on jay-walkers.....

I was jaywalking once and got pulled over by a bike cop.

Oh, the irony....

So what did you say? "Uh, sorry, I usually ride a bike..." :D

Some pedestrians are just plain cute. Yesterday traffic had piled up in front of me so I swung up on the sidewalk, where I see an ancient old man 100 m ahead doddering in my direction with a ... don't know the name, push-thingy with four wheels. So I slow down, and keep to one side to give him plenty of room and not scare the poor guy.

But when great-grandpa catches sight of a (relatively) young woman, on a bicycle, wearing nothing but bike shorts, a sport top and bike shoes all he can do is stop, mouth wide open, eyes wide open and GAWK.

I still wonder how long it took til he started moving again.

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The last 100 yards or so of my commute is through a bus depot and up the sidewalk towards our office's parking garage.
I'm usually saying "on your left" until I'm blue in the face and creeping along at their walking pace. Pedestrians are far less predictable than cars, they tend to "drift" on their walking path, they wander around without a glance.

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But if you are on the sidewalk, you really should be going at their walking pace, shouldn't you? Is sidewalk cycling legal where you live?

It isn't where I live, except in residential areas (a law that was enacted so that kids don't have to ride on the street while they are still learning), and when I am walking downtown, it really irritates me to hear, "On your left!" like I am supposed to move over for a bike. It irritates me even more when they don't even bother with that, of course, but really, if you HAVE to be on the sidewalk where you aren't supposed to be, you should be ceding the right of way to pedestrians.

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Originally Posted by Regina

I frequently find pedestrians more frustrating than cars on my commute.
The last 100 yards or so of my commute is through a bus depot and up the sidewalk towards our office's parking garage.
I'm usually saying "on your left" until I'm blue in the face and creeping along at their walking pace. Pedestrians are far less predictable than cars, they tend to "drift" on their walking path, they wander around without a glance. And don't even get me started on jay-walkers.....

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I usually call out "excuse me" as I'm zipping through the train station parking lot. People stop dead and look in my direction, which is what I wanted. I don't think non-bikers understand "on your left." My husband finds people tend to move left when he says "on your left."

But I need an air horn for the cars ...

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Originally Posted by susiej

I usually call out "excuse me" as I'm zipping through the train station parking lot. People stop dead and look in my direction, which is what I wanted. I don't think non-bikers understand "on your left." My husband finds people tend to move left when he says "on your left."

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I've said it before and I'll say it again....every time a biker comes up behind me and says "On your left!", all I really hear is "(mumble mumble) LEFT!". More times than not, I would think it would make pedestrians obey and jump left.
I think only savvy bikers might know what you're referring to.
I really think it is better to say something else. "Excuse me", "Coming Through!", "Bicycle passing you", "Bicycle coming!", or even just "Passing you!", all would be more easily understood by joggers and pedestrians.

I agree, pedestrians are often much more frustrating. They don't move fast like cars, but are much more unpredictable and often pay less attention. Had a crash with a pedestrian only a couple of weeks ago. A professor obviously absorbed in solving whatever important scientific problem was puzzling him, stepped off the sidewalk right in front of my bike, getting himself tangled up in my front wheel. I of course fell over too. I wasn't going fast luckily so there was no major damage, but still had to get my wheels trued as he had managed to put a small buckle in both of them. Luckily he was very sorry for causing the accident and paid for the repairs without any discussion. It seems pedestrians don't actually look for traffic before they cross the road, they just assume that when they can't hear any cars coming it must be clear. So maybe the solution would be to put a little speaker at the front of the bike blasting out engine noise to warn people you're coming. Preferably something sounding like a very fast engine revving up....

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Originally Posted by Lisa S.H.

"Excuse me", "Coming Through!", "Bicycle passing you", "Bicycle coming!", or even just "Passing you!", all would be more easily understood by joggers and pedestrians.

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I've never heard the term "on your left" and I don't know what the Norwegian equivalent might be. If I'm about to pass a pedestrian who doesn't seem to have noticed me I usually just go "Hepp!"

It's also scared the bejasus out of a meandering cyclist or two, the type who hasn't quite got around to thinking that there might be other, and faster cyclists in town...

I like that I think I will use it for now on when passing pedestrians.

Does it mean anything? or is it just a grunt?

spokewench

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Originally Posted by spokewench

I like that I think I will use it for now on when passing pedestrians.

Does it mean anything? or is it just a grunt?

spokewench

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Well actually it means "Wake up, you lazy git!" but it sounds a bit more polite. :D

Pedestrians, and the lasts 100 yards or so of my commute, are the primary reason why I got a flat bar bike for commuting...a heads up riding position and better slow-speed control for me to navigate them (and DH wonders why my commute average speeds are so slow!).
I usually mix up "On your left." with "Hi, passing on your left (or right)" or "Heads up!" - usually that's for folks stepping off a bus with their heads down while they fiddle with their I-Pods or cell phones - or some other hopeful attention-getter.
For Xeney, yes, I do yield to pedestrians (haven't hit one yet! ;) ) and bikes are allowed on sidewalks in Montgomery Couty, MD. The bus depot area where I ride is part of a multi-modal transportation center (soon to be revamped into a mega-multi-modal center) connecting bus/train/subway, where I believe 1 or 2 bike routes do or will connect cycists with the Metro and MARC trains. So yes, there are frequently cyclists and pedestrians mixing it up in that area.

Pedestrians have the right of way here. Unless i have a lot of room i don't tell them passing on the left anymore because a lot of them just move to the left when you say that. (My stepfather got hit by a bike doing that very thing, no one was hurt lucky lucky)

I say HELLO! or Excuse me! and they turn, look, and move.. (this is not on a bike trail)
on the bike trail i am more apt to say "on your left" because people there are expecting bikes..

I've seen a number of pedestrians trying to cross, mid block, planning to dart out between cars. I yell, as a combination warning/magic spell, "Do NOT walk in front of me! Do NOT walk in front of me!" It gets their attention, and may work as a command, as well! :p Some snotty little teenagers decided to amble out anyway, and I yelled, "YOU DON'T WANT TO DO IT!" They stopped. Sometimes I just yell, "DON'T DO IT!", usually at cars wanting to turn left in front of me. I've also taken to waving my right arm up in the air to alert them to my presence.

It's a tight spot, the little lane where I ride between traffic and parked cars. If I jerk (or fall) to the left, there's an excellent chance of getting hit/run over. To the right, I'll collide with a parked car. If you walk out in front of me, I'll collide with you! :eek:

Last ride I was on the multiuse trail and came up behind a threesome of schoolkids with and without bikes, totally oblivious to me, standing in a sort of spread-out huddle all across the trail. You're right, there's no Norwegian version of "on your left" and I didn't think of "hepp". Don't know if they were old enough to know that one anyway. It's something my students in their 20's say that means just about whatever you want it to mean. Anyway, these were younger kids with streamers and bells on their handlebars so I called out "pling pling" (which is what bike bells say in Norwegian), and they not only scooted over but called out "pling pling" back at me happily. It worked.

"Hepp!" "Pling Pling~" like 'em both... I usually say "Coming around!" if my bear bell on the frame hasn't alerted them. One of the guys on the week-long tour I was on crashed when one of the joggers he called "on your left" to moved left (and the other moved right)- it's just not anything like universal.
If I'm in the mood, I'll break into song... I have been thanked profusely more often than I can say.
I, too, though, basically yield to peds on "multi-use" paths, which for me are on the last stretch of my trip so I'm ready to slow down a lot. Except for the 200 yards coming up to & from the college, I stay off the sidewalks (and I stay off that one if there's conflict on it - I can see it all before I commit) generally. The roads are much safer for all concerned.

A few years ago, I bought a totally cool old Schwinn Cruiser (with coaster brakes and big balloon tires) at a yard sale. A friend of mine gave me a bell for it as a joke, saying it would be the perfect accessory for it. Ha, ha. Well, I never put in on the bike - in part because I hardly ever ride the Schwinn - it weighs about the same as a Sherman Tank - and also because the bike is red and she gave me a purple bell. Oh, the color clash! I just couldn't stand it! :p
So, just tonight, in response to this thread, I stuck the bell on the bar end of my commuter (which is blue - not crazy about the color options there, either, but better than on red!). Maybe, when I'm on a MUT or other ped-heavy area, they will respond to the bell where they ignore or move left to "On your left".
The experiment begins....
p.s. DH and 99% of everyone I know would be rolling their eyes in disbelief at my comments re: color coordination, so you can too! I am!

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Originally Posted by Regina

p.s. DH and 99% of everyone I know would be rolling their eyes in disbelief at my comments re: color coordination, so you can too! I am!

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All of my jerseys, shorts, skorts, bike pants, gloves and shoes coordinate (pale yellow and grey). But not with my blue bike.

All of my husbands shorts, jerseys, bike pants, and gloves coordinate (yellow with black) -- with the bike too. And he's not the only yellow/black male I've seen. ;)

You can't convince me guys don't care about this stuff. If it's not color coordination, it's team coordination (the Disco jersey and shorts and gloves and ...).

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Originally Posted by Geonz

If I'm in the mood, I'll break into song... I have been thanked profusely more often than I can say.

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A recent article about hybrid cars said that the electric motors are so quiet at the low speeds that are usual in parking lots, that some drivers blast the radio (in the lots) to prevent pedestrians from wandering in front of them.

We don't need iPods, we need boom boxes.

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Originally Posted by susiej

A recent article about hybrid cars said that the electric motors are so quiet at the low speeds that are usual in parking lots, that some drivers blast the radio (in the lots) to prevent pedestrians from wandering in front of them.

We don't need iPods, we need boom boxes.

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My friend calls her Prius her "stealth car" for that very reason. Folks can't hear it as she's prowling the parking garage looking for a spot.

And, Susie....does your helmet match your outfits or your bike??? :D

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Originally Posted by Regina

And, Susie....does your helmet match your outfits or your bike??? :D

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Outfits, of course. ;)

S.

"on your left" confusion...

Just add one word to make it clear;
"PASSING ON YOUR LEFT"

Silent cars driving around in parking lots full of blind spots. Pretty scary for both bikers and pedestrians...

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Originally Posted by KnottedYet

"on your left" confusion...

Just add one word to make it clear;
"PASSING ON YOUR LEFT"

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To me, riding with the wind in my ears, it would just mean I hear
"(mumble mumble) LEFT!" instead of "(mumble) LEFT!".
Most people simply don't call things out clearly or loudly enough.
I prefer something like "Bicycle passing you!" or "bike coming" along with my bell.
I find people don't have time to interprete instructions dealing with right and left. But most people do instinctively guess that you are going to pass them on their left side, just like with cars.

..well, a few days with my bell in my commuter.
So far, the experiment has failed. Peds seem to ignore the bell as much as "On your left" (or "Passing on your left" or "Hi, I'm coming up behind you!" or any myriad other phrases I'll call out). Of course, folks with earbuds crammed in their ears can't hear anything, so it's all rather pointless. Just extra care and slow speed around peds seems to do the trick.

so me yelling "heads up!" probably isn't a good idea but it gets me the exact same results as "on your left!" - they step in front of me or stop dead in their tracks......

I want a bell, anyway.

On the Seattle TE ride, someone up ahead (Salsa?) had a bell. It was great, cuz I was riding sweep and if I heard her bell I knew there was something up ahead for me to watch out for.

'sides, they're cute!

I yell "bike back"

I think pedestrians just dont expect bikes to be going as quickly as we do... we are like the stealth bomber - silent and swift!