4 ms·

Why not use a bike bell instead? Also, why do pedestrians need to notice you?

by ericd 5y ago

sudosysgen 5y ago
A bike bell is not going to work, I don't see them. If I saw them I could always talk to them. Pedestrians need to notice me because a lot of people walk on bike paths and because a lot of people jaywalk. Since I'm much closer to the parked cars and much smaller than cars they're going to realize there's no cars, think it's all clear, and when they advance I'll be there. It happened to me often. It's not loud enough that people on the sidewalk will hear me clearly - in traffic I often can't even distinguish my own music - but people that are on my way or about to walk in front of me will notice and that's good enough. Also in my city when there's an underpass the law is to go on the sidewalk, so I like to be noticed by pedestrians so they know I'm here without ringing my bike bell non-stop or speaking to everyone and trying to get them to notice me.
- rglullis 5y ago
  Your behavior is not that different from asshole car drivers that think they own the street and are aggressive towards cyclists. It is on you to ride defensively and make sure you are on an appropriate speed to avoid accidents with pedestrians, not on them to avoid you. > when there's an underpass the law is to go on the sidewalk So, get off the bike and walk.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - sudosysgen 5y ago
    It's not possible to ride defensively against a person popping out of a car. There is also no safe speed which is reasonable for actually using the road where this doesn't happen. I'm also not going to slow down to 12km/h on protected bike paths because people want to walk there. I think being noticed is part of driving defensively in those situations. >So, get off the bike and walk I am not supposed to and I frankly just don't have the time to walk every time there is an underpass, and there are 6 on the way to my university. I think I'm very different from those car drivers because I'm not endangering or pushing away anyone, or being aggressive.
    - hammyhavoc 5y ago
      So people who "don't have time" and jaywalk = bad, but cyclists who "don't have time" and don't do what is expected of them = good. Hmm.
      - sudosysgen 5y ago
        What do you mean? I am doing exactly what is expected of me. I am allowed to cycle on sidewalks when it's an underpass, that's the law in my city, because many cyclists were killed. There are even signs on the entrance of every underpass where there is no protected bike lane indicating that bicycles should go on the sidewalks. I haven't made any judgments of value, mind you. I'm just saying that this is the only way I have of averting this issue.
        rglullis 5y ago
        "Bicycles going on sidewalks" != "supposed to cycle along pedestrians"
        sudosysgen 5y ago
        That's the compromise in my city. I am allowed and expected to cycle in the sidewalk along an underpass. That means inevitably that I'm going to pass pedestrians. There are signs before warning pedestrians that there will be cyclists, but many seem not to get the memo.
        rglullis 5y ago
        It's not about what you are legally allowed to do, it's about the basic traffic principle that those inside bigger/heavier vehicles are responsible for the safety of those outside. The same principle that applies to cars -> cyclists applies to cyclists -> pedestrians. You can try to justify reckless behavior however you want, but saying "I had the speaker blasting on high to warn pedestrians" is never going to be a valid excuse if you get to run over an elderly person with hearing problems or a distracted child.
- skoskie 5y ago
  Bike bells work really well. It drives me nuts when bikes ride up on me and make zero effort to ring the bell right there on their handle. If they did this, I would be out of the way by the time they got to me. I have no problem jumping out of the way.
- ericd 5y ago
  Thanks for explaining, I’ve always wondered why so many people seem to use boom boxes on bikes. I wonder if there’s some happy medium - some noise that the bike could make periodically that’s less annoying than blaring music, but also doesn’t require you to actively initiate it.
  - goguy 5y ago
    Is it really that annoying? Appreciate someone sat in a park blasting music could be, it's generally stationary for a long period of time. With a bike travelling at say ~10mph the noise is out of earshot in a few seconds.

Why not use a bike bell instead? Also, why do pedestrians need to notice you?

by ericd 5y ago

Why not use a bike bell instead? Also, why do pedestrians need to notice you?

A bike bell is not going to work, I don't see them. If I saw them I could always talk to them. Pedestrians need to notice me because a lot of people walk on bike paths and because a lot of people jaywalk. Since I'm much closer to the parked cars and much smaller than cars they're going to realize there's no cars, think it's all clear, and when they advance I'll be there. It happened to me often. It's not loud enough that people on the sidewalk will hear me clearly - in traffic I often can't even distinguish my own music - but people that are on my way or about to walk in front of me will notice and that's good enough. Also in my city when there's an underpass the law is to go on the sidewalk, so I like to be noticed by pedestrians so they know I'm here without ringing my bike bell non-stop or speaking to everyone and trying to get them to notice me.

rglullis 5y ago
Your behavior is not that different from asshole car drivers that think they own the street and are aggressive towards cyclists. It is on you to ride defensively and make sure you are on an appropriate speed to avoid accidents with pedestrians, not on them to avoid you. > when there's an underpass the law is to go on the sidewalk So, get off the bike and walk.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- sudosysgen 5y ago
  It's not possible to ride defensively against a person popping out of a car. There is also no safe speed which is reasonable for actually using the road where this doesn't happen. I'm also not going to slow down to 12km/h on protected bike paths because people want to walk there. I think being noticed is part of driving defensively in those situations. >So, get off the bike and walk I am not supposed to and I frankly just don't have the time to walk every time there is an underpass, and there are 6 on the way to my university. I think I'm very different from those car drivers because I'm not endangering or pushing away anyone, or being aggressive.
  - hammyhavoc 5y ago
    So people who "don't have time" and jaywalk = bad, but cyclists who "don't have time" and don't do what is expected of them = good. Hmm.
    - sudosysgen 5y ago
      What do you mean? I am doing exactly what is expected of me. I am allowed to cycle on sidewalks when it's an underpass, that's the law in my city, because many cyclists were killed. There are even signs on the entrance of every underpass where there is no protected bike lane indicating that bicycles should go on the sidewalks. I haven't made any judgments of value, mind you. I'm just saying that this is the only way I have of averting this issue.
      - rglullis 5y ago
        "Bicycles going on sidewalks" != "supposed to cycle along pedestrians"
        sudosysgen 5y ago
        That's the compromise in my city. I am allowed and expected to cycle in the sidewalk along an underpass. That means inevitably that I'm going to pass pedestrians. There are signs before warning pedestrians that there will be cyclists, but many seem not to get the memo.
        rglullis 5y ago
        It's not about what you are legally allowed to do, it's about the basic traffic principle that those inside bigger/heavier vehicles are responsible for the safety of those outside. The same principle that applies to cars -> cyclists applies to cyclists -> pedestrians. You can try to justify reckless behavior however you want, but saying "I had the speaker blasting on high to warn pedestrians" is never going to be a valid excuse if you get to run over an elderly person with hearing problems or a distracted child.
skoskie 5y ago
Bike bells work really well. It drives me nuts when bikes ride up on me and make zero effort to ring the bell right there on their handle. If they did this, I would be out of the way by the time they got to me. I have no problem jumping out of the way.
ericd 5y ago
Thanks for explaining, I’ve always wondered why so many people seem to use boom boxes on bikes. I wonder if there’s some happy medium - some noise that the bike could make periodically that’s less annoying than blaring music, but also doesn’t require you to actively initiate it.
- goguy 5y ago
  Is it really that annoying? Appreciate someone sat in a park blasting music could be, it's generally stationary for a long period of time. With a bike travelling at say ~10mph the noise is out of earshot in a few seconds.