Bicycle, crash hat and accident

[Vir Campestris]

No (except after dark) and yes.

OK, no, and no.

It's changed. My bike is now legal! (I've always reckoned "Excuse me" or OI! as appropriate is better...)

Andy

[Tim+]

*yawn*...

[Tim+]

We all see what we expect to see. Behave unexpectedly and you risk not being seen.

Tim

[Mal]

Law in most of Australia is that helmets are compulsory and bells should be rung to warn pedestrians. Bloody good idea. I've warned a few loony tunes on shared footpaths that they are at the gtreater risk if we choose the right moment to totter sideways so ring their bell.

Without publicity as in Oz, though, many feel it rude to ring etc.

[Tim+]

That is a problem. British diffidence about drawing attention to oneself (and just losing the habit) has meant that a lot of people are too shy to ring a bell.

When I'm a pedestrian I much prefer cyclist to ring a bell early that whiz by unannounced or wobble around waiting for a gap if I haven't heard them coming.

Tim

[Tim Streater]

No, a bell is better, as it's more distinctive. And not being obliged to have lights is just pandering to the lycra brigade.

[Mike Barnes]

As a pedestrian I often draw attention to myself by shouting "use your bell" or "where's your bell" as appropriate.

IME as a cyclist, a bell is more likely to get a positive reaction when rung early, as opposed to late and demanding immediate action from a pedestrian who needs time to come to terms with the situation.

[Mike Barnes]

I disagree. A bell communicates its message immediately, but someone hearing a voice has no idea what it's about or whether it's coming from a cyclist or a pedestrian.

And if you use your voice in good time (as you should) you'll need to shout, and generally speaking people don't like being shouted at.

[Clive George]

Which bit of "There seems to be no difference in the reaction between using a bell and using a suitable greeting" didn't you understand?

[Clive George]

You don't need to shout, you just need to make yourself heard. I believe it's called projecting.

Works when running too - you still get the same "ooh, what's that? Somebody is approaching on this narrow path. Mmm, why are they calling? Ah, maybe they want to get past. You go to the left, I'll go to the right. No, I'll go to the left, you go to the right. No, that's still not working, let's both go to the left." at which point you pass. Which is why you need to call in plenty of time.

When going fast on a bike, having a squeaky brake works well - the back one on the tandem can be heard quite a long way off if I do it right. Going fast is likely to be downhill, hands are already on the brakes, so it's way faster than a bell would be.

The tandem also has the advantage that it's a fairly uncommon sight, so people like to see them, and it's obviously big, so people know they are going to have to get out of the way. If I'm squealing the brake there's the message that I'm not going to be able to stop either, though actually the brakes are really rather good.

For those people who like to infer the wrong thing, I should add the above two paragraphs generally apply to riding on roads rather than shared-use paths, and the people I'm warning are those 5 abreast across the road.

[mcp]

Only if it can be proved that it would have made a difference. Insurance companies like to try it on but it's never stood up in court.

[alan_m]

You reverse into a driveway and drive out forwards with full view what is on the pavement.

[alan_m]

Around my way it appears that cyclist believe that they always have right of way especially when riding in the dark, wearing dark clothing and without lights.

[Richard]

Really!? If there are hedges or walls obscuring the view, the front end of the car may already be on the pavement in cases where the pavement is against the property border.

[harryagain]

No we don't. Never heard of defensive driving? It's a very bad practice to reverse out on to any road. Something basic you are taught while learning to drive. I expect there's plenty of thickos here don't know it.

[dennis]

Cut the hedges and/or the wall.

[dennis]

There are a lot of people taught to drive by their parents/friends and others that don't know how to drive in the first place. They will never have seen the highway code or Driving and will only have learnt the answers to the test without knowing anyone that knows what the answers mean.

[stuart noble]

Cycling in London seems to be more about racing and wiggling your arse about in bright colours than getting from A to B. Like all hobbies (golf, fishing, photography etc) you need to buy a huge amount of

*stuff* and that almost becomes more enjoyable than doing it. Parts of East London, particularly towpaths, have become hostile environments for those of us who just want to stroll along them. Cyclists won't have bells because of the extra weight. They just seem like a bunch of anti social brats to me I know two cyclists who have commuted into London (45 mins each way) for several years, and neither wears a helmet, but they don't have anything plugged into their ears either

[Tim+]

Yes we do. Our brain makes assumptions and takes shortcuts to lessen the amount of data it has to process. What you really don't expect to see is much more likely to escape your notice. Well known psychological phenomenon.

Of course I have. It doesn't prevent your brain from trying to take shortcuts sometimes though. Just lessens the chance of you getting it wrong.

I agree. I don't do it. Millions of people do though.

Tim

[Tim+]

Not driving related but the principle holds true.

Tim