Hit a dog when cycling today -- advice?

[athena]

I'm not even sure exactly what happened, but I feel pretty horrible...

I was on the local bike trail tonight, going about 16 mph or so. I saw people cross the trail in front of me and a dog following behind. I unclipped my pedals and prepared to stop, but when I saw the dog turn in the other direction (away from the trail), I decided to not stop. The owners saw the dog turn too and called for him to come, which required him crossing in front of me on the trail. By that time, I had no time to stop and did what I could by slamming on the brakes and jumping off my bike. Neither me nor the dog (as far as I can tell) were hurt. The chain got knocked off my bike, but it was easy to fix and everything else appears fine.

The owners apologized profusely and continued to ask if I was okay. I am definitely okay physically, but really shaken up mentally. I keep replaying the accident in my head and thinking that I should have never trusted an unleashed dog to not make abrupt turns. I feel like a horrible cyclist that should have had faster reflexes, better bike handling skills, something. I am really nervous about getting back on the trail again after this incident, which is probably a good thing for all of the dogs out there, I suppose.

I would appreciate advice in how to handle situations like these though...

[VeloVT]

It's completely irresponsible for pet owners to take unleashed dogs on a multi-use trail. This is a pet peeve of mine.

So part of my advice to you is to recognize that it's mostly the fault of the dog owners, so you should not feel like a horrible person.

HOWEVER ---

you should be looking "four cars ahead" too (like I'm sure you do when you're driving your car). if you see someone who *might* cross the path *around* when you might possibly be nearing the intersection, it's usually best on a multi-use path to cede pedestrians the right of way even when you rightfully have it (in my opinion). So when you see them coming up, slow way down to a roll and be prepared to stop without having to slam on your brakes. If there is a "who goes first" dance, stop and wave them through, with their dog too. This means that you need to slow to a 3mph roll. To be clear, if they're crossing and you have the right of way, they SHOULD yield to you, but since you are faster, more alert and more dangerous, it's smart and considerate to assume they won't, and especially to assume dogs or small children won't. So to the extent that the error was yours at all, it was not an error of reflexes or bike handling skills, but a failure to slow down soon enough given the road conditions -- kind of like people who zoom up to intersections all ready to roll through the stop sign, only to have to slam on their brakes because lo and behold, there's an oncoming car, or people who don't slow down in marked work zones until they almost hit a flagger (I was guilty of this once, luckily no one actually got hit but I had a VIP from work in the car whom I was speeding to the airport, and I was pretty darn embarrassed so I haven't made that mistake since).

Some people may consider this approach too passive, and maybe it is, but it keeps everyone safe and hopefully doesn't damage the reputation of cyclists too much.

When I started riding, I used the bike path a lot. Now that I've gotten more experienced and faster, I rarely use it because I feel like I spend most of my time slowing down for other people. I suppose I could be one of those renegade riders who will pass you with no verbal warning at a six-inch distance, but that's just not really my style.

[VeloVT]

Oh, and eye contact and verbal communication that clearly signals your intent are very important. So, "go ahead" if you are going to wait for them, or if you absolutely can't stop, something like "bike coming through", voiced as early as is reasonable, will help you take control of the situation (to everyone's benefit).

[jesvetmed]

Glad you are both ok. I can totally see that happening -- especially on trails, I tend to keep my eyes glued to the ground.

I had a dog come into the clinic who had been run over and rolled by a cyclist coming down a large hill in a multi-use trail area -- and no, it had not been on a leash. It ended up seeming to be fine, also. The owner was ranting about the cyclist going too fast on public trails... when in fact, had he paid attention and had the dog on the leash, he could likely have gotten everyone out of the way.

[Chickpea]

Happy to hear that you are both ok. I know being a dog owner myself sometimes it is a reflex to call the dog to come to you if you know a bike is approaching. Our dog will often come with us on rides & has learnt to stay behind the bike but we've also found that if we hear other riders or pedestrians & sometimes horses approaching & she has happened to run in front of us if we don't call her she is less unpredictable & will make her own decision to get out of the way. But of course the safest way for all involved is to keep the dog on the leash if there's other traffic around.

[Mr. Bloom]

liza +1, but don't beat yourself up too much...you cannot prepare for all forms of irresponsibility from others