Passing on the right.......

Pat wrote:
(snip)
I am always amazed that people will walk 4 abreast ...

Yes, 3, 4, 5 can be a pain. I continue to be amazed that just 2 meandering
peds. can, for all intents and purposes, completely occupy the entire 8-10 foot
width of the path.

I'm also amazed by how often two groups of peds traveling in opposite directions
meet just when I'm planning to overtake. Nowhere for me to go except the
rough! Gotta brake, lose pace and momentum.

(snip)
... two people with a 2 dogs will take up the entire width of the path.
(snip)

Yup. And what's with those 15-foot long, nifty-auto-retract dog leashes??!!
The dog can run off into the woods, catch a squirrel, go home for some water to
wash it down, and dash back without the master having to break her (usually it's
a woman; honest) pace.

Michael "a 4-foot lead is enough" C.

Michael wrote:
(snip)
99.9% of the time I warn "On your left" and pass on the left.

Thinking about this some more, I've decided to use "on your left" only when
overtaking a cyclist.

I'm gonna try using a friendly "Hello" when overtaking peds, the idea being to
let them know, without startling them, that I am behind them. If you don't see
any posts from me for a while, suspect that this idea is no good.

On Wed, 18 May 2005 02:54:12 -0700, Maggie wrote:

When we were doing our laps...I hear "ON YOUR RIGHT" in back of
us.....It was a husband and wife riding bicycles.......the scenerio is
bizarre. I move to one side, my girlfriend moves to the opposite
side....needless to say...the couple riding bikes did the same. The
woman riding the bike hit me, the guy fell over, I cut my knee and my
girlfriend stood there hysterically laughing.

Good that your friend had a sense of humor. I hope everyone else did, as
well.

There were several things that went wrong. First and foremost, the call
of "On your left/On your right" is totally meaningless to most
pedestrians, although most cyclists who ride on multi-use paths seem to
think otherwise. These paths are meant for everyone, not just those who
know the jargon. Try, first, slowing down, then calling out "I'm passing
on your left". That, at least, makes sense, and the pedestrian would know
what was happening -- as long as he/she speaks English and doesn't have
headphones blaring pop music.

The second thing I see was that even though the cyclists said they were on
the right, they did not do what they said. Maybe one did, but the other
didn't know what was meant, either.

Third is that cyclists in the US should always pass pedestrians on the
left, just as any other vehicle should, and just as they should pass any
other slower traffic. Imagine being in a car, and passing pedestrians
(walking with traffic) on the right. Even if there were room, it would
be criminally stupid to do so. I imagine things would be mirror-image in
the UK, but these days New Jersey is part of the US.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all
_`\(,_ | mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so
(_)/ (_) | that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am
nothing. [1 Corinth. 13:2]

"Roy Zipris" wrote in message
oups.com...
I usually call out, "Passing on your left." Gotta do it early enough to
give people time to react--that initial startled bewilderment--then
they look back, see you, and move over. I also slow down when the
situation looks a bit iffy for passing.

I'm toying with the idea of getting one of those little tinkly bells
like we used to have on our bikes when we were kids--it's a
recognizable, familiar sound that might have more impact than verbal
cues. --Roy Zipris


If you ride much on multi-use paths, I recommend using an "Incredi-bell".
It's small and unobtrusive (can be mounted on and below the handlebar stem).

The advantages of a bell are that:

1) the sound carries farther than yelling "on your left".

2) high-pitched sounds are much easier for people to locate in space using
just their hearing.

3) there's much less chance of a "startle reflex" with a bell.

4) it's more likely that the person hearing it will recognize that it
represents a bicycle coming up from behind.

--
~_-*
....G/ \G
http://www.CycliStats.com
CycliStats - Software for Cyclists

"Maggie" wrote in message
oups.com...
Last night my girlfriend and I decided to walk laps at the park track
instead of the walking at the actually "walking" track in our town.

What's a walking track?

On 18 May 2005 02:54:12 -0700, "Maggie"
wrote:

Last night my girlfriend and I decided to walk laps at the park track
instead of the walking at the actually "walking" track in our town.

She does not own a bicycle so walking with a friend won out over taking
a bike ride last night. (Even though I needed the bike time with the
charity ride coming up).

When we were doing our laps...I hear "ON YOUR RIGHT" in back of
us.....It was a husband and wife riding bicycles.......the scenerio is
bizarre. I move to one side, my girlfriend moves to the opposite
side....needless to say...the couple riding bikes did the same. The
woman riding the bike hit me, the guy fell over, I cut my knee and my
girlfriend stood there hysterically laughing.

It was so ridiculous. "ON YOUR RIGHT"...ended up causing more
confusion than if they had just yelled. THERE ARE BICYCLES IN BACK OF
YOU.

This same thing used to happen to my friend and I when we would roller
blade...cyclists or roller bladers would yell...ON YOUR RIGHT...or ON
YOUR LEFT....and it never worked out.

TRULY, DOES IT EVER WORK OUT? It may sound like a cool thing to
say...but in our society...YELLING.."ON YOUR RIGHT"..does not ensure
that the person will move in the right direction...or even STAY STILL.


I decided if I am in the situation of riding in back of someone....I
will just yell. "OLD BROAD ON BIKE...COMING UP BEHIND YOU." That
will make them turn around and look.

All Good things.
Maggie.

In the USA, the usual phrase is "on your LEFT", just like you would
pass a slower moving car.

It does work most of the time, and as someone else mentioned, it is
often just for courtesy. If you are walking, jogging, running, biking,
etc on a MUP [multi use path] you should stay to the right. Treat it
like a two way single lane road.

I generally call out early enough, so that if they flounder, or are
confused, I can tell them "your other left".

I also say thank you, as or after passing. Very often the people thank
me too.

The woman shouldn't have hit you, she should have had control of her
bike, but it sounds like either you or your friend, went the wrong
way.

Once again, because it is important, for you to know, it is
"ON YOUR LEFT".

Or you could shout "INCOMPETENT OLD BROAD ON BIKE", that would be a
fair warning.

Did you get your cyclocomputer installed?



Life is Good!
Jeff

Paul R wrote:

What's a walking track?

We have a track in our town that has the lanes painted on it. You know.
A track. A place where they hold track and field events. The track has
lanes, in the center is a field. You know. Like you see at the
olympics.

The track is made from something that is kind of rubberized or
something, so its easier on your feet. There is a board that tells you
how many miles you walked if you are in lane 1, 2 , 3 and so on. I
think it has 6 lanes.

You can't go on this track with shoes..you must wear sneakers...and no
animals are allowed on the track. It is gated and there is a field
house.

The track teams from the school practice there. Other sports from the
school use the field. It has certain hours that it is open. Certain
hours the public cannot use it. Does that explain what it is. It's a
track.

It is a place to walk or jog and not be run over by a bike. ;-)

Maggie

Maggie

I would never ride my bike on the situation such as you have now described.
Just wouldn't do it.

Pat in TX

: Last night my girlfriend and I decided to walk laps at the park track
: instead of the walking at the actually "walking" track in our town.
:
: What's a walking track?

In Texas, that would be the running track going around the football field at
the high school or junior high school. It's probably the same in New Jersey.

Pat in TX
:
:

Claire Petersky wrote:

"Maggie" wrote in message
oups.com...

It was so ridiculous. "ON YOUR RIGHT"...ended up causing more
confusion than if they had just yelled. THERE ARE BICYCLES IN BACK
OF YOU.

I have three stages of calling out to pedestrians:

A. "BICYCLE behind you", from as far back as I think will still be
audible. I have a voice that cuts through ambient noise like a hot
awl through butter, so that's still at some distance.

B. "I will be passing you ON YOUR LEFT": this so they know what I'm
planning to do. Simply ON YOUR LEFT, as many have noted, causes
people often to turn to their left, increasing the chance of
accident. I know the whole phrase is wordy, but it seems to be more
effective. Since it is relatively long, it has to be blurted out in
time for the pedestrian to react.

C. "Thank you" just as I am passing.

Since a major portion of my commute is on the I-90 trail, a multi-use
facility I have the opportunity to use these every day.

The usual "on your left," etc., seems to work fine around here. I'm sure the
"thank you" helps too!

There are enough bikes on the paths around here that everyone seems to know the
routine. I know it isn't the same everywhere though.

Matt O.