Quote Originally Posted by PscyclePath View Post
Pedestrian Reactions
The first principle in dealing with pedestrians from a bike is that they don't know how to deal with you, either. Unlike automobiles, which can be directed by the bicyclist into proper action, pedestrians are less likely to react to a bicycle even if they see them.

Remember, a properly tuned bike is almost silent; those on foot may be listening rather than looking for trouble. Bells let people (including non-English speakers) know a cyclist is coming. But to get the attention of drivers and peds, nothing beats the human voice. "YO!" "Stop!" "Coming through!" or even a loud "Excuse me!" do the trick. The goal: Let them know where you are, where you are going, and what you want them to do. What I’ve found to work for me is a simple greeting as I approach from the rear, reinforced by a bike bell for the ones who don’t respond to a voice.

Still, don't count on people responding. The law calls for using extra caution to avoid pedestrians, regardless of right-of-way. If things get dicey, hit the brakes. Hitting a ped will stop you just as quickly as hitting a solid object, and the repercussions are far more serious. Riding unnecessarily close to peds ("buzzing" them) scares them and endangers both of you and is the worst publicity cyclists can get. A slight miscalculation or last-minute move can cause a serious (and seriously stupid) accident.
I'll add one little tip to this, one that I picked up from Bicycling magazine and have found makes a huuuge difference on the multi-use trails that I frequent:

Whether you're using your voice or a bell, you need to warn people far enough in advance to give them time to be startled and then figure out what to do. I usually whistle or yell "Bicycle behind you!!" when I'm a few hundred feet from pedestrians or slower cyclists and the response is pretty much always the same: They'll generally turn around and see me, swivel their head around while they assess the situation, make a decision, then move to one side or the other. I will then steer towards the side that they've left clear for me and say hello or thank you as I go by.

It's also worked a few times ("Bicycle ahead of you!") for people taking up too much space coming towards me. The one thing it doesn't work on is those doofii who insist on wearing earphones