Using a whistle

[withm]

I've always associated a whistle as a call for help - scuba diving, kayaking, wilderness hiking - etc. It means that someone is in danger and needs immediate assistance. I would never want an emergency signal like that to be morphed into a "bicycle coming at you - get out of my way" not to mention the utter confusion with traffic cops blowing their whistles.

[pardes]

It's like breastfeeding. Why use a bottle when you have a breast? Or two.

I have a mouth that is always with me. A polite, "bicycle on your left" makes people smile and they usually say, "Thank you." or "You go girl!!"

[Eden]

This may have been posted here before - but a funny YouTube video about the how people in Japan are quite conditioned to bike bells....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_MphtzCOEc

I wouldn't use a whistle...... like others said, a bike isn't what people are expecting when they hear one, so though it may be loud their reaction may be quite inappropriate - like being startled into your path...

[Melalvai]

I've got a jingle bell on my handlebar. On very smooth pavement (like a sidewalk) I am silent but otherwise I jingle merrily along. Like Santa. It's ok that it's silent on a sidewalk, because the way I ride on sidewalks is to stay behind the pedestrians. I don't ride on sidewalks except for the last little bit to reach the bike racks.