Pedestrian Menace!

Ryan Cousineau wrote:
In article ,
Helmut Springer wrote:

Ryan Cousineau wrote:
struck the steel post in the center of the path at an
intersection designed to keep cars off of the bike path,
flipped over the handlebars and was killed instantly.
[...]
As an amateur grammarian, I'd say that the construction "was
killed [by hitting the ground] instantly" is acceptable.

It's ambiguous: "flipped over the handlebars" can also read "turned
them hard as he struck the post with them" thus going uncontrolled
and unexpected into the main road where chances are high that some
unlucky car ran him over. I won't call a car driver in that
scenario a "murderer" if he kept a reasonable distance to the bike
path...

An acquaintance of mine really was killed by hitting the ground, on a
multi-use path, after a collision with a rollerblader. The 'blader was
injured but survived.

Helmet? Yes...

The answer is simple - stay off the paths and ride on the roads.

A cyclist usually loses in a cyclist to pedestrian collision, since the
cyclist goes over the bars and lands on his/her head. That is why I
prefer a bicycle that puts the chain wheels and my feet out front in
pedestrian infested areas.

An air horn is a good accessory to get the attention of the clueless.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful

Tom Sherman wrote:
....snip...
The answer is simple - stay off the paths and ride on the roads.

A cyclist usually loses in a cyclist to pedestrian collision, since the
cyclist goes over the bars and lands on his/her head. That is why I
prefer a bicycle that puts the chain wheels and my feet out front in
pedestrian infested areas.

An air horn is a good accessory to get the attention of the clueless.


Good advice. However, on my daily commute (4Km each way, through the
heart of Winnipeg), I've come to the realization that even though I ride
on the road, I'm at greater risk from pedestrians than cars. Pretty
well every day I have to jam on the brakes and stop while I have a green
light because some pedestrian decides to cross against the light in
front of me. I"m really enjoying disk brakes.

Pedestrians do not give bikes the same respect they give to cars. Be
careful around them.

In article ,
Tom Sherman wrote:

Ryan Cousineau wrote:
In article ,
Helmut Springer wrote:

Ryan Cousineau wrote:
struck the steel post in the center of the path at an
intersection designed to keep cars off of the bike path,
flipped over the handlebars and was killed instantly.
[...]
As an amateur grammarian, I'd say that the construction "was
killed [by hitting the ground] instantly" is acceptable.

It's ambiguous: "flipped over the handlebars" can also read "turned
them hard as he struck the post with them" thus going uncontrolled
and unexpected into the main road where chances are high that some
unlucky car ran him over. I won't call a car driver in that
scenario a "murderer" if he kept a reasonable distance to the bike
path...

An acquaintance of mine really was killed by hitting the ground, on a
multi-use path, after a collision with a rollerblader. The 'blader was
injured but survived.

Helmet? Yes...

The answer is simple - stay off the paths and ride on the roads.

A cyclist usually loses in a cyclist to pedestrian collision, since the
cyclist goes over the bars and lands on his/her head. That is why I
prefer a bicycle that puts the chain wheels and my feet out front in
pedestrian infested areas.

Usually, but if you sideswipe a pedestrian you will not go down.
An oddity of bicycles that is under-appreciated. The pedestrian
will feel the full force of the collision.

It is always good to call out when approaching an intersection
with pedestrians dithering on the curb. I do.

--
Michael Press

"Tom Sherman" wrote in message
...


The answer is simple - stay off the paths and ride on the roads.


Heh,

Now why then do the cops usually tell us car drivers that the
simple answer is to -SLOW DOWN- and that you can be
given a ticket for not going at a safe speed for the conditions,
regardless of the posted speed?

Something doesen't compute, here... ;-)

Ted

On Jul 5, 3:44*pm, Tom Sherman
wrote:

The answer is simple - stay off the paths and ride on the roads.

A cyclist usually loses in a cyclist to pedestrian collision, since the
cyclist goes over the bars and lands on his/her head. That is why I
prefer a bicycle that puts the chain wheels and my feet out front in
pedestrian infested areas.

An air horn is a good accessory to get the attention of the clueless.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful- Hide quoted text -
Normally I would agree 100% - but just 2 weeks ago I had a young
person, 13 or so, stop at the edge of the street, look both ways for
CARs coming but not my bike, insert her iPod ear buds and step right
out in front of me - no crosswalk, just where she felt like crossing.
It was fortunate that her check for cars worked better than for bikes
as I was able to cut in front of her as a car would have hit both of
us otherwise. As others said, even the street isn't safe from
pedestrians and other bikes, although safer than a crowded path at
least.

Rick

Rick B? wrote:
On Jul 5, 3:44 pm, Tom Sherman
wrote:
The answer is simple - stay off the paths and ride on the roads.

A cyclist usually loses in a cyclist to pedestrian collision, since the
cyclist goes over the bars and lands on his/her head. That is why I
prefer a bicycle that puts the chain wheels and my feet out front in
pedestrian infested areas.

An air horn is a good accessory to get the attention of the clueless.

The weather is here, wish you were beautiful- Hide quoted text -
Normally I would agree 100% - but just 2 weeks ago I had a young
person, 13 or so, stop at the edge of the street, look both ways for
CARs coming but not my bike, insert her iPod ear buds and step right
out in front of me - no crosswalk, just where she felt like crossing.
It was fortunate that her check for cars worked better than for bikes
as I was able to cut in front of her as a car would have hit both of
us otherwise. As others said, even the street isn't safe from
pedestrians and other bikes, although safer than a crowded path at
least.

The air horn is for the ear bud/headphone set, while a bell is good for
pedestrians with normal hearing. I prefer a bell with a longer ring, and
not the "single-ding" type.

The most stupid creature in the world is the college undergraduate
pedestrian, and is one of the greatest menaces the cyclist will ever
face. They get even worse after ingesting mood altering substances.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful

On Jul 7, 3:18 pm, Rick wrote:
On Jul 5, 3:44 pm, Tom Sherman
wrote:

The answer is simple - stay off the paths and ride on the roads.

A cyclist usually loses in a cyclist to pedestrian collision, since the
cyclist goes over the bars and lands on his/her head. That is why I
prefer a bicycle that puts the chain wheels and my feet out front in
pedestrian infested areas.

An air horn is a good accessory to get the attention of the clueless.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful- Hide quoted text -

Normally I would agree 100% - but just 2 weeks ago I had a young
person, 13 or so, stop at the edge of the street, look both ways for
CARs coming but not my bike, insert her iPod ear buds and step right
out in front of me - no crosswalk, just where she felt like crossing.
It was fortunate that her check for cars worked better than for bikes
as I was able to cut in front of her as a car would have hit both of
us otherwise. As others said, even the street isn't safe from
pedestrians and other bikes, although safer than a crowded path at
least.

Rick

For months I've been riding with my flashing LED headlight on even in
broad daylight. I've seen pedestrians and other cyclists do a double-
take when it's caught their peripheral vision, at least some of whom
were about to walk or ride into the street in front of me.

Part of it is that here essentially all motor vehicles have daytime
running lights (they've been mandatory on new cars in this country for
well over a decade) and I'm convinced that an unlit vehicle is at a
real disadvantage. I think road users have gotten into the habit of
not even looking for cars, but just looking for lights.

I also run my taillight too, but I'm much less convinced it makes any
difference.

Chip C
Toronto

In article ,
Tom Sherman wrote:

Rick B? wrote:
On Jul 5, 3:44 pm, Tom Sherman
wrote:
The answer is simple - stay off the paths and ride on the roads.

A cyclist usually loses in a cyclist to pedestrian collision, since the
cyclist goes over the bars and lands on his/her head. That is why I
prefer a bicycle that puts the chain wheels and my feet out front in
pedestrian infested areas.

An air horn is a good accessory to get the attention of the clueless.

The weather is here, wish you were beautiful- Hide quoted text -
Normally I would agree 100% - but just 2 weeks ago I had a young
person, 13 or so, stop at the edge of the street, look both ways for
CARs coming but not my bike, insert her iPod ear buds and step right
out in front of me - no crosswalk, just where she felt like crossing.
It was fortunate that her check for cars worked better than for bikes
as I was able to cut in front of her as a car would have hit both of
us otherwise. As others said, even the street isn't safe from
pedestrians and other bikes, although safer than a crowded path at
least.

The air horn is for the ear bud/headphone set, while a bell is good for
pedestrians with normal hearing. I prefer a bell with a longer ring, and
not the "single-ding" type.

The most stupid creature in the world is the college undergraduate
pedestrian, and is one of the greatest menaces the cyclist will ever
face. They get even worse after ingesting mood altering substances.

Even bicyclists overestimate the time the pedestrian has
to locate a closing bicycle, and underestimate the time
the pedestrian's faculties need to locate the bicycle.
Sound your bell a half-block ahead of the pedestrian so
they have time to register the bell and locate it. At
bicycle closing speeds you can still be on top of them
before they know what is going on.

Single ding is good. A single ding can be sounded more
than once. Two dings gives the pedestrian's direction and
ranging apparatus adequate information to pin-point the
moving bell. Three for insurance.

My rule is that if I am on top of a pedestrian without
their knowing, then it is all my doing. (Yes, I sometimes
deliberately get right on top of an oblivious specimen.
When they protest I say, "Well, I saw _you_." They are
usually too busy thinking of getting to a bathroom to
argue much.)

Be safe.

--
Michael Press

"Michael Press" wrote in message
...

Single ding is good. A single ding can be sounded more
than once. Two dings gives the pedestrian's direction and
ranging apparatus adequate information to pin-point the
moving bell. Three for insurance.

Nothing even comes close to comparing with the old French style ching-a-ling
circular bell. Everyone knows what it is and only has to look for the
bicycle. Other bells churn around in their subconscious trying to be
identified first.

Tom Kunich wrote:
"Michael Press" wrote in message
...

Single ding is good. A single ding can be sounded more
than once. Two dings gives the pedestrian's direction and
ranging apparatus adequate information to pin-point the
moving bell. Three for insurance.

Nothing even comes close to comparing with the old French style
ching-a-ling circular bell. Everyone knows what it is and only has to
look for the bicycle. Other bells churn around in their subconscious
trying to be identified first.

Agreed. I have that type of bell [1] on the bikes I ride around town the
most. The single ding bells sound like someone dropping a tool on the
floor and do not indicate a bicycle.

[1] Reich brand - similar to this
http://store.bicyclerevolution.com/resabibe.html.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful