Pedestrian Collision

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Dommo

Veteran
Location
Greenwich
I guess in I'm line with most people on this. The ped is obviously at fault, but 19mph feels fast for the situation described. It all comes down to judging how likely the lemmings are to pop out, which comes from riding the same road repeatedly. My morning commute takes me up King William St and Moorgate and they might as well be called Psygnosis Alley - I rarely exceed 10 mph up there, but instead I get my morning enjoyment out of sarcastic comments and insults to phone zombies. Other places I ride regularly, for example CS7 down through Clapham and Balham I would be going quicker alongside stationary traffic. It would be nice to live in a world where peds took more care about how they cross but sadly it's not the real one....
 

biking_fox

Guru
Location
Manchester
Would a pedestrian even have been aware of a cycle lane? In most places outside of London bikes on the road are normally few and far between,
Have you ever ridden outside London? In Cambridge perhaps, or Oxford, or Bristol, or Manchester? or anywhere that isn't remote countryside and even there you get a lot of riders out for weekend and evening rides.
 

EthelF

Rain God
Location
London
I once had a similar incident to the OP. Riding in a cycle lane, with a hatcheded area separating it from the main traffic lane where all motor traffic was stationary. A pedestrian walking along the pavement to my left with her back to me stepped out to cross without looking. Straight into my path. I tried to swerve round her, clipped her ankle and went down like a sack of spuds, hitting the ground hard with my head & shoulder. I ended up with concussion, she with an injured ankle. She immediately took full blame as she hadn't looked. Yet I still felt bad about hitting her even though I came off worse. I reckon I was going too fast. Probably about 16mph.

I now go more slowly in such situations. I also no longer complain about the lack of attractive young ladies hurling themselves at me!
 
Barrelling along at 19mph into a series of blind corners is reckless.

It's fast enough to beat a pedestrian's left/right glance.

But were I the ped I would have stuck my head out from in front of the lorry for a look.

And probably been clouted by your elbow as you whizzed past.

There were no blind coners involved, the cyclist was going in a stright line. If a ped chooses to walk into the roadway without looking they are at fault. This like suggesting that in any bike lane you should haver go faster than 3 mph in case a ped decides to jump into the middle of the lane.
 

glasgowcyclist

Charming but somewhat feckless
Location
Scotland
[QUOTE 3592504, member: 45"]Do other people not make motorbike noises?[/QUOTE]

Only when the ice-lolly stick has broken in the spokes.

GC
 

boydj

Legendary Member
Location
Paisley
Have you ever ridden outside London? In Cambridge perhaps, or Oxford, or Bristol, or Manchester? or anywhere that isn't remote countryside and even there you get a lot of riders out for weekend and evening rides.

OP is in Wigan, I ride in the Glasgow area. There are not many places where the volume of cyclists on the road is enough to raise awareness of pedestrians. Cyclists are more likely to be a problem on pavements if my experience of cycle commuting in Glasgow is anything to go by.
 

jonny jeez

Legendary Member
Sorry to say...but you did ask.

I think this is as much your fault as the peds. There's nothing wrong with your speed just your hazard perception.

If I am bowling along a clear lane with stationary traffic at my side I am always looking for crossing vehicles and peds.

If this person had been a motorcycle, the outcome would not have gone in your favour.

If you see a large vehicle like a bus or van that restricts your view over the top of cars, the you HAVE to slow down and move to secondary position, for your own safety.

Ditto if you spot any gaps in the stationary traffic.

Sorry to be a downer.

If it helps I have nearly done the same when on my motorbike.(within an inch) the shock of it perhaps makes me more cautious.

Trick is to maintain progress and not become timid ir nervous because of this incident.

Good luck
 

Tynan

Veteran
Location
e4
He must have been in secondary if he was riding in a marked cycle lane up the inside of traffic

The cyclist is not at fault at all, the only advantage in slowing is to minimise damage to both parties, even 19 is slower than the general traffic will go if it gets the chance, any pedestrian stupid/unthinking enough to step across a road without being able to see what's coming deserves what they get as a result, I've not hit a pedestrian in a long time but they can step/sprint off a pavement without warning and without looking, you don't need a high sided vehicle (although it helps)

To this day my memorable accident with a pedestrian was a long time ago, in the dark, coming fast down the top of Essex Lane, all on my own, in primary, three women in dark clothing sprinted out from between two buses on the other side of the road, as I shouted a warning they all stopped in a line across my path at which point I hit one absolutely plumb and stopped a rather heavy MTB and 15st of me dead.

I was asked if I'd seen them, they all in black, me in a yellow Nightvision top with lights, I thought that rather rich
 

Cyclist33

Guest
Location
Warrington
You sound like you actually enjoyed the whole episode.

So let me just confirm, you were going fast downhill in the dark in an urban environment where there were multiple stationary large road vehicles, and you think that your anticipation and judgment skills were unquestionable in the circumstance?
 

Dan B

Disengaged member
This like suggesting that in any bike lane you should haver go faster than 3 mph in case a ped decides to jump into the middle of the lane.
Only if walking is like jumping, which in my experience it tends not to be.
 

Dommo

Veteran
Location
Greenwich
[QUOTE 3592504, member: 45"]Do other people not make motorbike noises?[/QUOTE]

Oh yes! Especially after watching the South Park episode "The F-word" with the Harley riders :smile:
 

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