"A pedestrian made me crash... but I must foot the bill"

[GrumpyGregry]

I'm afraid that I'd extend it to stepping out of the way of people whose minds are on something else while I'm walking too, though

Often all but impossible peak times on the streets of that lahndahn, City or West End anyway. If you step out of the way for the phone bearer you effectively cut across the person behind you who, inevitably, is in the process of overtaking you and thus get shoved barged or tutted at, or you collect someone coming the other way from behind the on-coming phone zombie who is in the act of passing them.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

An unfashionable view perhaps, but within reason, pedestrians should be free to wander as they like (if memory serves, they have absolute priority among all road users, a priority that is already shamefully abrogated by the hostility and entitlement of motorists). When I cycled through Rusholme (a hotbed for young people afoot whose minds are on other things) I slowed right down, and kept an eye on them. I managed not to hit any of them in 7 years of daily commutes taking in shared paths and roadside cyclelanes into which they would, occasionally, venture.

We don't improve Britain's hostile, selfish road culture by being hostile and selfish ourselves.

Slowing down for, and when around, and sharing space with, other, more vulnerable, road users?

That will never catch on.

 

[jefmcg]

Often all but impossible peak times on the streets of that lahndahn, City or West End anyway. If you step out of the way for the phone bearer you effectively cut across the person behind you who, inevitably, is in the process of overtaking you and thus get shoved barged or tutted at, or you collect someone coming the other way from behind the on-coming phone zombie who is in the act of passing them.

Well, if that's true, then if the phone zombie put away their phone and tried to step out of your way, wouldn't they have the same problem?

 

[Leaway2]

[QUOTE 4594104, member: 45"]That's Steve Berry the motorcycle journalist who is fighting his slide into journalistic worthlessness with regular rants against cyclists.[/QUOTE]
I was listening to this idiot, spouting the "no road tax" mantra. 50% of the motorists in my office do not pay VED as they are exempt.
No one challenged this on the Vine program though.

 

[Drago]

Radio 2? Ugh, how common.

 

[srw]

[QUOTE 4597582, member: 45"]Vine tried to, but then backed off as he recognised that even though he was a cyclist he needed to be impartial.[/QUOTE]
He's confused impartiality with his job as a journalist. Even on a soft magazine programme he ought to be challenging obvious nonsense.

 

[Starchivore]

Often all but impossible peak times on the streets of that lahndahn, City or West End anyway. If you step out of the way for the phone bearer you effectively cut across the person behind you who, inevitably, is in the process of overtaking you and thus get shoved barged or tutted at, or you collect someone coming the other way from behind the on-coming phone zombie who is in the act of passing them.

I cough very loudly when a collision is risked and they generally jump and look up and move out of the way. I think it's a nice reminder for them that they exist in a physical world.

 

[ufkacbln]

I mulled this over in my mind and I do feel that the cyclist is at fault

Putting yourself in the situation without all the facts is prone to error, but to me the logical direction for the pedestrian to travel would be forward to their destination, and speed up

The logical conclusion is to travel behind, something that this cyclist did not do

 

[ufkacbln]

I cough very loudly when a collision is risked and they generally jump and look up and move out of the way. I think it's a nice reminder for them that they exist in a physical world.

AirZound ............... they dance the "Funky Pedestrian" as they panic and their limbs respond differently

 

[ufkacbln]

That's really big and clever...

I know a joke about that, but it is Dwarfist!

 

[GrumpyGregry]

AirZound ............... they dance the "Funky Pedestrian" as they panic and their limbs respond differently

alright if drivers use their horns as weapons too?

 

[ufkacbln]

alright if drivers use their horns as weapons too?

Never used an AirZound in hand to hand combat.....

 

[al78]

alright if drivers use their horns as weapons too?

I'm not sure how a horn can be used as a weapon, unless it was loud enough to damage hearing, but I would not complain if a driver used a horn towards me because I had done something careless. I would put it down to experience and take it as a lesson to be more careful and more aware of what is going on around me, not take an I-am-a-cyclist-so-I-can-do-no-wrong-don't-you-dare-tell-me-what-to-do-*excessive-entitlement-complex* attitude. Like it or not, if you live and go about your business in an area where other people exist, we all have a duty to look out for each other and take responsibilty for our own and other peoples safety. The visible universe does not end at the two meters of personal space surrounding your body.

 

[PK99]

I'm not sure how a horn can be used as a weapon, unless it was loud enough to damage hearing, but I would not complain if a driver used a horn towards me because I had done something careless. I would put it down to experience and take it as a lesson to be more careful and more aware of what is going on around me, not take an I-am-a-cyclist-so-I-can-do-no-wrong-don't-you-dare-tell-me-what-to-do-*excessive-entitlement-complex* attitude. Like it or not, if you live and go about your business in an area where other people exist, we all have a duty to look out for each other and take responsibilty for our own and other peoples safety. The visible universe does not end at the two meters of personal space surrounding your body.

Brilliant! Sums up so many cyclists!

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I'm not sure how a horn can be used as a weapon, unless it was loud enough to damage hearing, but I would not complain if a driver used a horn towards me because I had done something careless. I would put it down to experience and take it as a lesson to be more careful and more aware of what is going on around me, not take an I-am-a-cyclist-so-I-can-do-no-wrong-don't-you-dare-tell-me-what-to-do-*excessive-entitlement-complex* attitude. Like it or not, if you live and go about your business in an area where other people exist, we all have a duty to look out for each other and take responsibilty for our own and other peoples safety. The visible universe does not end at the two meters of personal space surrounding your body.

When you use a horn to intimdate, frighten, scare or otherwise bully another road user you use it as a weapon. Horns are there to make other road users aware of your presence, whether their lack of awareness is due to carelessness, or for other reasons, not to enable you to deploy an audio bludgeon. Using an AirZound to alert a pedestrian to the prescience of a cyclist is idiotic overkill.

So you are on your bike, and do something careless. OK if the driver sounds their horn whilst driving along behind you for, well, how long before it becomes overkill?