Out: Me shouting, at woman who leaves dog cross the road ahead of her on the end of an extensible leash, me doing 30 km/h in pouring rain. Visions of a dog with a broken neck and me sliding on my back through the intersection.
Back: I'm the recipient, the shouter a 50-ish guy in lycra with aero-bars: "Good man, ride right in the middle, don't let them pass, that's the way to do it", as I come around a roundabout with body language hinting "pull out and I'll t-bone you".
Pleased to feel I'm not the only cyclist around here with a taste for the primary position.
Out: Me shouting, at woman who leaves dog cross the road ahead of her on the end of an extensible leash, me doing 30 km/h in pouring rain. Visions of a dog with a broken neck and me sliding on my back through the intersection.
Back: I'm the recipient, the shouter a 50-ish guy in lycra with aero-bars: "Good man, ride right in the middle, don't let them pass, that's the way to do it", as I come around a roundabout with body language hinting "pull out and I'll t-bone you".
Pleased to feel I'm not the only cyclist around here with a taste for the primary position.
I'm shouting, or at least grumbling loudly (and the odd blasphemy) almost every day now. Pedestrians just not seeming to be aware of my approach. They walk out on to the pedestrian crossing when I have the green. This is in daylight too. South London, of course. Perhaps I do not appear threatening enough. Or is it in revenge for the pavement cyclists and red light jumpers?
I'm shouting, or at least grumbling loudly (and the odd blasphemy) almost every day now. Pedestrians just not seeming to be aware of my approach. They walk out on to the pedestrian crossing when I have the green. This is in daylight too. South London, of course. Perhaps I do not appear threatening enough. Or is it in revenge for the pavement cyclists and red light jumpers?
What we need is trolleybuses: the one-step cure for pedestrians who walk in front of you without looking.
Mind you, they also cure cyclists of relying on their ears.
-- Sue ];(🙂
Bicycle helmets are really a bit of a scam. They make most cyclists slightly less safe but there's money in selling them.
I'm shouting, or at least grumbling loudly (and the odd blasphemy) almost every day now. Pedestrians just not seeming to be aware of my approach. They walk out on to the pedestrian crossing when I have the green. This is in daylight too. South London, of course. Perhaps I do not appear threatening enough. Or is it in revenge for the pavement cyclists and red light jumpers?
What we need is trolleybuses: the one-step cure for pedestrians who walk in front of you without looking.
Mind you, they also cure cyclists of relying on their ears.
....which provides a neat segue back to the iPod thread.
<[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Brendan Halpin said:
Shouting on both legs of my commute today:
Out: Me shouting, at woman who leaves dog cross the road ahead of her on the end of an extensible leash, me doing 30 km/h in pouring rain. Visions of a dog with a broken neck and me sliding on my back through the intersection.
Back: I'm the recipient, the shouter a 50-ish guy in lycra with aero-bars: "Good man, ride right in the middle, don't let them pass, that's the way to do it", as I come around a roundabout with body language hinting "pull out and I'll t-bone you".
Pleased to feel I'm not the only cyclist around here with a taste for the primary position.
I'm shouting, or at least grumbling loudly (and the odd blasphemy) almost every day now. Pedestrians just not seeming to be aware of my approach. They walk out on to the pedestrian crossing when I have the green. This is in daylight too. South London, of course. Perhaps I do not appear threatening enough. Or is it in revenge for the pavement cyclists and red light jumpers?
So when ever did pedestrians ever obey the lights at their crossings? On the whole I find that I am more invisible to peds than I am to car drivers. Or they are totally unable to assess the speed at which I am travelling and blithely assume that I will stop for them ( and |I don't -- a shout is far more effective than any bike bell and my "bulb horn" is also a useful alerting device. I also find that if my brakes are in a "squealing mode" a quick touch of the brakes brings a sudden awareness of my approach)
They walk out on to the pedestrian crossing when I have the green. This is in daylight too. South London, of course. Perhaps I do not appear threatening enough. Or is it in revenge for the pavement cyclists and red light jumpers?
No, just a reminder that sanctimonious pedestrians don't have the monopoly on self-righteous attitudes towards other road-users. ;-)
So when ever did pedestrians ever obey the lights at their crossings?
I may be wrong, but I have a hunch that unlike car drivers, pedestrians are not obliged to obey crossing signals.
In fact, they can cross where and whenever they like, except on roads where pedestrians are forbidden.
(Someone please correct me if I am wrong.)
Quoted message said:
a shout is far more effective than any bike bell and my "bulb horn" is also a useful alerting device.
I keep meaning to get an Air Zound but never get round to it (bike budget is usually already gone on other things, eg ~£280 this week for new wheels - ouch! though one of those wheels did come with a SON hub)
So when ever did pedestrians ever obey the lights at their crossings? On the whole I find that I am more invisible to peds than I am to car drivers.
Most pedestrians take no account of the lights at all. If you watch them trying to cross they don't even glance at the lights. They're only watching for a gap in the traffic. A cyclist of course counts as a gap in the traffic.
Most pedestrians take no account of the lights at all. If you watch them trying to cross they don't even glance at the lights. They're only watching for a gap in the traffic. A cyclist of course counts as a gap in the traffic.
That's if they look. Today I was descending Park St in Bristol past stationary queued traffic. Steepish hill, wet road when from the far side of the road a pedestrian set off assuming, because there was nothing coming on his side and the other side was stationary, he didn't need to look at all. The back wheel of the B was lifting under braking and the Mk I human voice on loud was having no effect so I let go the brakes to give me control to steer round him now he was close enough I could predict his path and where to steer to miss him. Except he chose that moment to look up and initiate the dance of death by stepping back into my new trajectory. The back wheel came right up (didn't fold under this time) and I stopped with my front wheel resting against his jeans. Whereupon he walked away without a word.
-- Tony
"The best way I know of to win an argument is to start by being in the right." - Lord Hailsham
"dkahn400" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Pinky said:
So when ever did pedestrians ever obey the lights at their crossings? On the whole I find that I am more invisible to peds than I am to car drivers.
Most pedestrians take no account of the lights at all. If you watch them trying to cross they don't even glance at the lights. They're only watching for a gap in the traffic. A cyclist of course counts as a gap in the traffic.
Thinking back to my childhood, my mother unwittingly gave me excellent instruction on the importance of being aware of one's surroundings. Mother was a repeat offender when it came to attempts to get a Darwin Award. She was *oblivious* to any form of traffic and whenever she needed to cross a road, she'd do it immediately. No looking for a safe place to cross, no using zebra crossings, no checking for traffic. Just march straight out into the road.... She was saved from injury and possible death on many occasions by a combination of my Dad, my brother, me or total stranger grabbing her by the arm and yanking her back on to the pavement as she was just about to step under a bus/car/van... The absolute stupidity of some of the things she did stay with me even to this day. Especially when if it Dad, my brother or yours truly, she'd immediately launch into a stream of long & loud invective about how she was alright and the car would have stopped in time... Total strangers were always courteously thanked for their aid, though. Possibly because she was soooo stupidly inattentive it has made me attentive in this matter! Lord how I drilled the Green Cross Code into Nathan (read: went on about crossing the road safely to the point of paranoia...)
davek <[email hidden]> wrote: | In fact, they can cross where and whenever they like, except on roads | where pedestrians are forbidden. | | (Someone please correct me if I am wrong.)
I think you're right; I am less sure about cycling across a road.
I know it's illegal to cross a light-controlled cycle-only crossing when the green cycle aspect doesn't show; and I know it is illegal to cycle across a pedestrian-only crossing; but is it illegal to cycle across a toucan when the green cycle aspect isn't showing?
So when ever did pedestrians ever obey the lights at their crossings?
I may be wrong, but I have a hunch that unlike car drivers, pedestrians are not obliged to obey crossing signals.
In fact, they can cross where and whenever they like, except on roads where pedestrians are forbidden.
(Someone please correct me if I am wrong.)
No, I believe you are correct.
Of more interest, I believe that the enabling legislation for pedestrian crossings is such that actually a pedestrian between the rows of metal studs used to mark pelicans has priority at _all_ times - irrespective of the state of the lights. That is, when the red man is lit, and the traffic lights are green, pedestrians have priority between the studs.
Motorists seem to have forgotten this at some point. So has Pinky, apparently.
regards, Ian SMith -- |\ /| no .sig |o o| |/ \|
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