"DejaVU" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:Badger South <[email hidden]> scribed in
Quoted message said:I kinda expected a biking group to be on the side of the bikers. I guess it comes from long
experience and the inevitability of the issue.
hey, mate I'm on your side. pedestrians are hazardous!
There is a big difference between being on someone's side and just doing something silly. "Badger"
demonstrated a pattern of riding in a manner that was dangerous to himself and pedestrians. This
made him a poor ambassador for cyclists. The "us versus them" attitude only servers to further
ostracize cyclists. As another poster put it, we are travelling in borrowed space. Sidewalks and
paths are really the domain of the pedestrian. And though we usually have greater rights on the
roads, they have been redesigned to accomodate autos, not cyclists. If cyclists treat pedestrians
poorly on a path, will the pedestrian not treat cyclists on the road the same way when the
pedestrian gets into a car? These are the things we must consider when we have thoughts about "us
versus them." Sooner or later, we will be "them."
Quoted message said:here where I live, we drive our cars on the left always have. but pedestrians, walking pathways
(not roads), tend to walk on the right. why? I think that it is reasonably obvious to walk on the
left (side you drive your car) on pathways, in malls etc, to make the traffic flow nicely. most of
us drive cars or have driven in cars, and have been brought up knowing that cars drive on the
left. so why walk right? (answer/solution later)
Perhaps the answer you offer below has merit, but my experience is different. I found that most of
the students who came from countries where they drive on the left also walk on the left. It usually
takes several months for them to adjust their walking habits so they aren't face-to-face with
oncoming pedestrian traffic. But it takes much longer for them to switch when climbing stairs. I
suppose always using their left hand on the hand rail is a harder habit to break.
Quoted message said:I ride far left, at about 6km/h, a fast walk. what do they do? twice now, I've seen a lone walker
approaching. they were walking on their far RIGHT. they see me from far way, I see them, there is
no other traffic on the pathway. behold, about 4 meters from me they swerve RIGHT onto the grass
to pass me, yet there is a 3meter wide paved pathway available to the left.
This is probably because of what they were taught when they were kids. When walking along a road
with no sidewalk, you are supposed to walk AGAINST the flow of traffic (in your case, on the left
side of the road) so you have a better opportunity to see traffic and head for the ditch if you need
to. Now that you are in their domain, they see you as traffic and feel the need to walk against the
flow of traffic so they can head for the ditch where it is safe. They are used to cars passing on
their left when they walk down the road, so why wouldn't a bicycle do the same?
Quoted message said:... to suspect all pedestrians of being very vague and disconnected from the process of walking.
Now this is a true statement. Pedestrians are just unpredictable. I think it has to do with their
speed and their ability to switch directions on whim. Joggers are much more predictable, partly
because their attention is focused on moving forward, partly because it is harder for them to
quickly change directions.
The best solution is to move at the same pace as the pedestrians, make all of your moves as obvious
and predictable as possible, give pedestrians as much room as possible, and finally, avoid riding
where pedestrians are likely to be found (interpreted as, get your bike off the sidewalk).
-Buck
