"I was knocked over by a cyclist" complaint

[mangaman]

I don't get agitated in my obstructive ways. I just don't get out of the way in a very calm, non-agitated way. If they care to slow down and say excuse me please, I will move. If they ride straight at me I'll stand my ground.
I'm big on having the right of way.

I agree.

I was hit by a cyclist while walking on a Ped only urban path from behind.

He didn't fall off as the path was so narrow he hung onto the hedge.

I got a bruised hip/side where his handlebars hit me, and swore a bit and told him this was not a cyclepath. He mumbled an apology and rode off and I was a bit sore for a few days. No big deal really.

Now, if I hear an oncoming cyclist on that path (it is way too narrow for a ped and cyclist to share) I continue oblivious in my normal position down the path at normal pace.

The alternative would be to press myself against the hedge so he could pass, which I'l loath to do.

I've never found this to be a problem - the cyclists have always got off and walked or cycled very slowly.

They know they're in the wrong as there are no cycling signs everywhere.

On a pavement, I tend to get out of the way if there's room.

 

[400bhp]

Such as what ? Because your too scared of the road at some big road junction ? Fine I can understand that, I'm no highway hero, hop off and walk round it then ride on. You are going into your drive ? Fine get off and push across the 1.5 mtrs of pavement to your gate. If a grown adult can ride [and I do mean ride] on the pavement then we may as well say it's ok to park on it or drive your car on it or ride your horse down it.

He gave you a reason from personal experience.

Exactly the same situation for me too.

 

[sidevalve]

If we accept that adults can ride on the pavement then we simply accept that there are no rules at all that apply to cyclists.
Because the roads are poor and some drivers are bad lets all ride on the footpath, stuff the highway code, [or any other "laws that only apply to other road users but not cyclists"].
TBH I did expect there to be lots of excuses. The OP has been answered, yes it does happen and not as rarely as it seems a lot of people would like to pretend.

 

[summerdays]

You are going into your drive ? Fine get off and push across the 1.5 mtrs of pavement to your gate.

Out of interest - do you get out of your car and push that into your drive?

I'm lucky in that respect my front gate opens directly onto the road so there isn't a path to cross.

 

[Banjo]

Trouble is that idiots give us all a bad name. Walking along a narrow pavement next to a busy road I come across a man in his 30s telling off a young mother whos daughter stepped in front of him forcing him to brake.

She looked frightened by the encounter so I stopped and pointed out to this idiot that the pavement in this location was purely for peds so he shouldnt be on it in the first place.

He bravely gave me a load of four letter word type abuse but first (wisely) he took the precaution of pedalling 20 yards further and shouting back over his shoulder.Scruffy individual on knackered mtb with almost flat tyres,you get the picture.

 

[Arjimlad]

There are idiots who cycle on the pavement & wonder why pedestrians get upset or hit.

I sadly hit an idiot pedestrian whilst cycling about 20 years ago. I was cycling uphill on campus, on a road, and there were a lot of people waiting to cross the road from the car park to the buildings.

As I ground up past these folks, a lecturer looked me squarely in the eye and then stepped out right in front of me. I could not avoid hitting her leg with my front wheel. I fell off, rather theatrically and she fell over too. No harm done, thankfully. I was going very slowly.

 

[subaqua]

Trouble is that idiots give us all a bad name. Walking along a narrow pavement next to a busy road I come across a man in his 30s telling off a young mother whos daughter stepped in front of him forcing him to brake.

She looked frightened by the encounter so I stopped and pointed out to this idiot that the pavement in this location was purely for peds so he shouldnt be on it in the first place.

He bravely gave me a load of four letter word type abuse but first (wisely) he took the precaution of pedalling 20 yards further and shouting back over his shoulder.Scruffy individual on knackered mtb with almost flat tyres,you get the picture.

could have been the twonk that rode into me yesterday

 

[Linford]

About 3 months ago, me sat on a set of lights, bloke walking to the corner, 15/16 year old kid on a mtb comes banging around the corner for the other direection. Bang both collide and go down. Kid gets up, hops back on the bike and scarpers. Bloke looks hurt, and posts up in the local paper a couple of days later than he had broken his collar bone or similar type of injury, so the answe is yes.

 

[on the road]

I don't get agitated in my obstructive ways. I just don't get out of the way in a very calm, non-agitated way. If they care to slow down and say excuse me please, I will move. If they ride straight at me I'll stand my ground.
I'm big on having the right of way.

I'm the same. Cyclists seem to ride on the pavements a lot round here, often I'm walking past a bus shelter so there's barely room for two people to walk past but no room for a cyclist to get past a pedestrian, but they expect me to stop and let them past.

One time when I was walking on the pavement I seen a cyclist heading right towards me, it seemed like he was trying to intimidate me to get out of his way, realising I wasn't going to budge he started moving over so I delibrately moved over to get in front of him at almost the last minute, he panicked and had to suddenly swerve which meant him going on to the road, he wasn't happy with that considering the names he called me

 

[cyberknight]

About 35 years ago ...
Another kid decided it would be fun to ride into me so i sidestepped and clotheslined him , sorted

 

[mickle]

'Right of way' differs from 'priority'.

Some humans are peanuts. Some humans ride bikes, therefore some bike riding humans are peanuts.

'Bad' cyclists don't give all cyclists a bad name any more than 'bad' drivers give all drivers a bad name - they just provide more ammunition for the haters. And haters are haters however much ammunition they have.

The last person who rode at me on a pavement expecting me to jump out of his way got his back wheel kicked to death. It helps immensely in situations like this that I am a large and skowly (spl) man.

 

[BikeLiker]

As far as I'm aware you are allowed to ride on the pavement if you feel it is safer to do so, unfortunately too many people are afraid of all traffic and therefore will always ride on the pavement.

It’s an offence to ride your bike on any footpath or causeway which is by the side of any road and which is set apart for the accommodation of foot passengers. (HA 1835, s. 72)
It’s an offence to ride your bike on any footpath or causeway which is by the side of any road and which is set apart for the accommodation of foot passengers. (HA 1835, s. 72)

If you commit this offence a constable in uniform can give you a fixed penalty of £30. This is one of the very few offences for which a community support officer can also hand out £30 FPNs. (RTOA ss. 51, 54; Sch 3; FPO Sch 1; PRA02 ss. 38, 38A; Sch 4 para. 1(2), (3); PRA(CSO) artt. 2, 3, Schedule)
Alternatively you can be prosecuted in the courts, in which case the maximum penalty is a fine of £500 plus liability for any damage you cause. (HA 1835 s. 72)

As for driving into your house:
HC
145

You MUST NOT drive on or over a pavement, footpath or bridleway except to gain lawful access to property, or in the case of an emergency.

 

[Paul_L]

I once hit a pedestrian and she came off much worse.

When i lived in London and cycling down Edgware Road. A woman stepped right out behind a parked transit van right into my path. Didn't even have time to touch my brakes let alone use them. She went down like a sack of spuds and i went tumbling down the road. Bike was a bit scratched but otherwise ok and i suffered nothing more than a grazed hand which swelled up over the next few hours but them settled down over the next 24hrs. She suffered a pretty badly broken leg. Someone called an ambulance and the police also attended. Her son was ranting and raving at me accusing me of being everything under the sun. Fortunately lots of witnesses came to my defence and the police took no further action. I decided on not pursuing her for damage to my bike, putting it down to experience and being generally sympathetic to her injuries.

The very next day i joined CTC for the 3rd party insurance and i've been a member of CTC or BC ever since.

 

[trampyjoe]

It’s an offence to ride your bike on any footpath or causeway which is by the side of any road and which is set apart for the accommodation of foot passengers. (HA 1835, s. 72)
It’s an offence to ride your bike on any footpath or causeway which is by the side of any road and which is set apart for the accommodation of foot passengers. (HA 1835, s. 72)

If you commit this offence a constable in uniform can give you a fixed penalty of £30. This is one of the very few offences for which a community support officer can also hand out £30 FPNs. (RTOA ss. 51, 54; Sch 3; FPO Sch 1; PRA02 ss. 38, 38A; Sch 4 para. 1(2), (3); PRA(CSO) artt. 2, 3, Schedule)
Alternatively you can be prosecuted in the courts, in which case the maximum penalty is a fine of £500 plus liability for any damage you cause. (HA 1835 s. 72)

As for driving into your house:
HC
145

You MUST NOT drive on or over a pavement, footpath or bridleway except to gain lawful access to property, or in the case of an emergency.

My bad for believing this:

However the Home Office issued guidance on how the new legislation should be applied, indicating that they should only be used where a cyclist is riding in a manner that may endanger others. The then Home Office Minister Paul Boateng issued a letter stating that:
“The introduction of the fixed penalty is not aimed at responsible cyclists who sometimes feel obliged to use the pavement out of fear of traffic and who show consideration to other pavement users when doing so. Chief police officers, who are responsible for enforcement, acknowledge that many cyclists, particularly children and young people, are afraid to cycle on the road, sensitivity and careful use of police discretion is required.”

http://www.bikehub.co.uk/featured-articles/cycling-and-the-law/

 

[ufkacbln]

Cyclists seem to ride on the pavements a lot round here, often I'm walking past a bus shelter so there's barely room for two people to walk past but no room for a cyclist to get past a pedestrian, but they expect me to stop and let them past.

THat is one of the many design features of the cycle farcility along Southampton Road in Portsmouth.

Only they decided to go that extra mile and install a rubbish bin at the opposite side to narrow it even further, then ice the cake with a lamp post and a road sign

A design classic