rubber ducky as pedestrian avoidance

On Feb 17, 2:28*pm, wrote:
On Feb 17, 2:24*pm, Jay Beattie wrote:





On Feb 17, 11:13*am, Henry wrote:

I commute along narrow paths every day, which I have to share with
pedestrians.
When I'm walking I find bicycle bells quite "alarming"; and I see a
lot of people wetting their pants when I ride up behind them, no
matter how slowly.

I've seen someone in the past with a rubber ducky on their MTB/
commuter, which I think is an excellent idea; I think people are going
to respond much more favorably than shouting, changing front
dérailleur noise or bells/whistles.
Anyone got experience with mounting this sort of thing on MTB handle
bars?

TIA

I've also considered air-assisted truck horns but that seems rude ;P

I think bike bells are a better idea because they are associated with
(drum roll please) . . . bikes. * A rubber ducky is less alarming, but
it is also non-specific. *Maybe you could get a bell that is not so
loud. *Is there any way you can avoid these paths?

I ride a path along a river sometimes that is popular with runners --
with dogs, baby strollers, five abreast, etc. *There is no winning.
Twenty percent go left when you say "on your left." *Ring a bell and
some stop and turn. *It's like dealing with giant squirrels. It is
somewhat better at night because my light signals my approach and
location. -- Jay Beattie.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

you need to change your phrase; try saying in a calm clear voice well
in advance of passing "I am passing you on your left/right" it works
well without causing fear- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I usually say, from a reasonable distance back, "Coming around on your
left" or "Passing on your left". Then, when I'm close, I say "thank
you". By the time I say thanks I'm close enough that they can easily
distinguish that I'm to their left, which I hope helps avoid them
stepping left.

I usually say, from a reasonable distance back, "Coming around on your
left" or "Passing on your left". Then, when I'm close, I say "thank
you". By the time I say thanks I'm close enough that they can easily
distinguish that I'm to their left, which I hope helps avoid them
stepping left.

I, too, am a stickler for politeness and non ambiguity when I' m passing
pedestrians, skaters, etc. The problem is, here in New York, I'd say 90
percent of the people on foot or skates are lost in their iPods and cannot
hear a gentle voice warning. When you pass them, they get startled and look
at you as if you're a despicable human being.

I once very cautiously passed a skater on a bike path after attempting
unsuccessfully to alert her that I was coming up from behind. Her ear buds
were wedged so far into her head that they must have been rubbing her brain
every time she took another stride. Once I safely passed and made eye
contact with her, I mouthed "thank you," as I usually do. With that, she
ripped out her ear buds and yelled back "f-ck you, too, a-hole!"

I kept riding...

On Feb 18, 10:17*pm, "Papa Tom" wrote:

I once very cautiously passed a skater on a bike path after attempting
unsuccessfully to alert her that I was coming up from behind. *Her ear buds
were wedged so far into her head that they must have been rubbing her brain
every time she took another stride. *Once I safely passed and made eye
contact with her, I mouthed "thank you," as I usually do. *With that, she
ripped out her ear buds and yelled back "f-ck you, too, a-hole!"

I kept riding...

You shoulda stopped and taken up the lady on her explicit offer...

Andre Jute
Always charming

PS I agree with you about courtesy to pedestrians and drivers. I thank
them for waiting for me at the pedestrian crossing. Hell, I train my
pets, why not the motorists in my environment. But I must tell you
that several of the ladies who walk the lanes where I cycle, often in
pairs or threesomes, but sometimes alone, would rather hear you
calling or ringing the bell well behind them than suddenly just ride
past and startle them, especially if your bike is very silent, as all
mine are now that I have only internal gear hubs -- not that I think
derailleur gears are loud enough for a proper warning either. I said
to a pair of obviously startled ladies one day, "I didn't want to be
rude and ring the bell when there is ample space for all of us." And
one replied, "Rather rude than give us a heart attack, sir." So now I
just call out from way back, "Fine day, ladies! Coming by." I very
rarely use the bell as it is common here to address strangers and in
the countryside and on the pavements to hold conversations with them,
so it isn't considered rude to call out to strangers from a distance.

On Feb 18, 5:17*pm, "Papa Tom" wrote:
I usually say, from a reasonable distance back, "Coming around on your
left" or "Passing on your left". *Then, when I'm close, I say "thank

you". *By the time I say thanks I'm close enough that they can easily
distinguish that I'm to their left, which I hope helps avoid them
stepping left.

I, too, am a stickler for politeness and non ambiguity when I' m passing
pedestrians, skaters, etc. *The problem is, here in New York, I'd say 90
percent of the people on foot or skates are lost in their iPods and cannot
hear a gentle voice warning. *When you pass them, they get startled and look
at you as if you're a despicable human being.

I once very cautiously passed a skater on a bike path after attempting
unsuccessfully to alert her that I was coming up from behind. *Her ear buds
were wedged so far into her head that they must have been rubbing her brain
every time she took another stride. *Once I safely passed and made eye
contact with her, I mouthed "thank you," as I usually do. *With that, she
ripped out her ear buds and yelled back "f-ck you, too, a-hole!"

I kept riding...

The upside to the earbud crowd is they're unlikely to be spooked by
the sound of your bike and jump unpredictably into your path. It can
happen randomly but that's less likely. My technique works pretty
well for me overall. Only 943 pedestrian collisions per year on
average.

On Feb 17, 10:28*pm, Michael Press wrote:

I use the brass Incredbell, single ding, and do not
shock pedestrians.

Well of course. You need the handlebar-mounted Taser
for that.

I ding once from way back, and
possibly one more time. I do not ding from directly
behind, but from behind and laterally displaced on
a course that will pass them safely.

I similarly try to pass them laterally displaced,
but skip the Incredibell and attempt to ding them
with this instead:
http://madrone.equestrianguild.org/A...ting_lance.htm

Ben

Michael Press wrote:
I use the brass Incredbell, single ding, and do not
shock pedestrians.

wrote:
Well of course. You need the handlebar-mounted Taser
for that.

I ding once from way back, and
possibly one more time. I do not ding from directly
behind, but from behind and laterally displaced on
a course that will pass them safely.

wrote:
I similarly try to pass them laterally displaced,
but skip the Incredibell and attempt to ding them
with this instead:
http://madrone.equestrianguild.org/A...ting_lance.htm

Maybe I missed something, but if you get a solid hit at the hepatic
artery, wouldn't the cardboard tube crumple before a fatal wound?
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Feb 18, 2:17 pm, Eric Vey wrote:
Henry wrote:
I commute along narrow paths every day, which I have to share with
pedestrians.

Does your city not give you perfectly good streets to use?
I prefer the street to paths since I prefer to share with autos than
pedestrians.

no, otherwise I wouldn't have asked