B0ll0cks- Not again!

[dan_bo]

I thought things came in three's.
Not so-riding home through rusholme last night a pedestrian stepped out into the road, about 10 yards in front, enough time, you would think, for a polite but firm 'oy!' to sink in and be acted upon. Did he hurry up and carry on across the road? No. Did he quickly reverse back onto the pavement? no. He stood there like a rabbit in the headlights with me skidding towards him en route to headbutting him at speed, and then the pair of us being sprawled in the middle of the road in rusholme in rush hour traffic.

That's four times in a month now- more times than I've had an off in the last five years. To his credit, he apologised profusely, accepted responsibility and offered to buy me a pint.

 

[domtyler]

It's funny, I very, very rarely get any problems with pedestrians.And this is despite the fact that I am riding into the City of London every morning and out again in the afternoons. Why? Most likely because I always give them enough room to be pedestrians and anticipate that they are going to do the kind of things that pedestrians do.

Sorry dan_bo, but I think you need to rethink your strategy on the roads.


PS, shouldn't this be in commuting?

 

[John the Monkey]

Rusholme can be a bloody nightmare - the creative approach to parking adopted there alone makes it a nightmare to ride through.

Glad you're ok.

 

[dan_bo]

To be honest dom it's the first time in a long long time i've had any problems with a pedestrian and I consider myself to be attentive, considerate and careful (apart from being a plank with that plank)..........I think It was just one of those silly incedents.


It's in here 'cos I posted the other day about coming off. as a follow up, if you like.

 

[John the Monkey]

Dom, I know the area Dan's talking about - it can be very difficult to get a decent distance from the kerb here, and the appalling parking many motorists use, particularly if the vehicles are MPVs and 4x4s, can screen the pavement from traffic.

 

[domtyler]

Dom, I know the area Dan's talking about - it can be very difficult to get a decent distance from the kerb here, and the appalling parking many motorists use, particularly if the vehicles are MPVs and 4x4s, can screen the pavement from traffic.

Yeah, sorry, don't want to be down on you dan_bo, but you should really take the parking situation into consideration when you decide what speed to be going on that road. If I had knocked four people down in my car in the past month what would you guys be saying about me now?

 

[dan_bo]

bit strong innit dom? A ped stepped out, I hit him, no-one got hurt, I shouted at him, he apologised (and offered me a pint, as it happens) end of. If you had knocked four people down in your car in the past month I'd probably be calling you a bit of a twunt but I don't see how that applies to my OP.

 

[PrettyboyTim]

Unfortunately there's only so much you can do. If you're two meters out from the side of the road or parked cars, a person walking across the road can cover that distance in less than 1.5 seconds. Assuming you're not checking over your shoulder or something else when they first step out, you've got just over a second to stop or avoid them.

My right shoulder is still giving me trouble after hitting a woman who crossed the road without looking over two months ago. I have been thinking of making a noise generator on my bike (or perhaps just some playing cards hitting the spokes) to get people to notice my approach. (Not that it would have helped with the woman I hit; she was listening to her iPod before stepping out from behind a van without looking. Luckily for her I hit her rather than the impatient car driver who had been revving his engine behind me)

 

[Night Train]

What you need is something at the front of your bike that makes a lot of noise and maybe a bit of smoke to make you more noticable.

That will add to the weight of your bike so you might want to add an extra wheel at the front.

To power the noise and smoke maker you might need a supply of energy. That could go on the back where another wheel could be added to help with the weight.

Then to ease the load on your poor legs the noise and smoke maker could be adapted to help propel its own weight, and if you get it right you might not need to pedal much yourself.

To make sure all this extra kit doesn't injure anyone you may need to cover it in something, metal sheeting would be good wrapped around the front. Also don't forget to do likewise at the back around the fuel supply. Here you can add a box to cater for the loss of space for your panniers.

The metal sheeting at the front would probably divert a lot of airflow towards your face so some sort of clear screen would divert this airflow over your head. It would be worth connecting this to the metal work over the fuel supply to stop it flapping around. You might want to add some sort of wiping system to keep thes screen clear of water and dirt while cycling.

This could cause a wind tunnel effect from side winds so side panels could be fitted to prevent the wind whistling through. This would stop you using your arms to indicate your change in direction and so some lights could be fitted to flash showing that you intend to turn left or right. You could also add ones to say you are going to stop while you have the electrical tool kit out.

At this point you might need some wider tyres to help with the extra load

The noise and smoke maker could then be upgraded to cope with this extra weight of metal work. As a by product of this upgrade you may find that you needn't pedal at all so the removal of your pedal and crank set would make the bike a bit lighter.

As you now need not pedal you could fit some running boards under your feet to give them something to to rest on. Join these to the side panels and the metal work at the front and back to stop them flapping about. This would reduce the airflow to your body and so some sort of system to keep you cool (or warm given that you are now not pedalling) may be helpful.

Of course, some sort of carpeting inside would prevent condensation and those nasty cold spots from all that sheet metalwork.


With a bit of extra work tidying up this idea you could end up with the ultimate in pedestrian safe bikes!

 

[red_tom]

Don't worry guys, I'm based in the City as well and am going to be starting a 'ninja leap and boo' campaign against Dom today.

 

[domtyler]

Unfortunately there's only so much you can do. If you're two meters out from the side of the road or parked cars, a person walking across the road can cover that distance in less than 1.5 seconds. Assuming you're not checking over your shoulder or something else when they first step out, you've got just over a second to stop or avoid them.

My right shoulder is still giving me trouble after hitting a woman who crossed the road without looking over two months ago. I have been thinking of making a noise generator on my bike (or perhaps just some playing cards hitting the spokes) to get people to notice my approach. (Not that it would have helped with the woman I hit; she was listening to her iPod before stepping out from behind a van without looking. Luckily for her I hit her rather than the impatient car driver who had been revving his engine behind me)

That is my whole point, we always try to tell car drivers to slow down to a safe speed, why shouldn't we, as cyclists, slow down where it is not appropriate to go fast? If visibility is poor and there are pedestrians about I will always slow and cover my brakes and coast along the road making sure I can avoid hitting a person if they happened to walk out from behind an obstacle. It's no big deal, I can speed up again once I am on a clear road.

We don't need to put playing cards in our spokes, we need to appreciate the fact that pedestrians wander out onto the road willy nilly with out looking, listen to iPods and generally make life difficult. Also factor in the fact that bikes make very little noise when making the decision of how fast to ride. It's called good cycle craft.

 

[domtyler]

Don't worry guys, I'm based in the City as well and am going to be starting a 'ninja leap and boo' campaign against Dom today.

I have a large metal spike sticking out the front of my bike to discourage this kind of thing!

 

[Night Train]

That is my whole point, we always try to tell car drivers to slow down to a safe speed, why shouldn't we, as cyclists, slow down where it is not appropriate to go fast? If visibility is poor and there are pedestrians about I will always slow and cover my brakes and coast along the road making sure I can avoid hitting a person if they happened to walk out from behind an obstacle. It's no big deal, I can speed up again once I am on a clear road.

Defensive driving springs to mind, something all road users, from pedestrians upwards, should do.

 

[PrettyboyTim]

I think maybe I'll just get a recumbent instead.

 

[magnatom]

It's funny, I very, very rarely get any problems with pedestrians.And this is despite the fact that I am riding into the City of London every morning and out again in the afternoons. Why? Most likely because I always give them enough room to be pedestrians and anticipate that they are going to do the kind of things that pedestrians do.

Sorry dan_bo, but I think you need to rethink your strategy on the roads.


PS, shouldn't this be in commuting?

Dom, if this little girl had been walking a little faster, and hadn't stopped I am not sure I could have missed her.

View: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=PZnsw3bIzu0


I was probably a metre and a half from the parked cars. There can be situations where, no matter how much care you take, someone jumps/runs/skips out in front of you.

Should I be cycling slower her? I don't think so.