Pedestrians

tpat3

Seems I am more likely to collide with a pedestrian on my urban commute than I am a car. I nearly went over the handle bars this morning avoiding a woman who stepped right in front of me, out from behind a parked truck in the middle of a block.

I'm only into this bike commute a few weeks now, but can't count the times hordes of people, waiting for auto traffic to clear a light but not, of course, waiting for the walk signal, will jump off the curb right into my path as though I were invisible or perhaps have some immunity to the laws of physics. I have come to expect it but still have close calls.

I did enjoy strafing a few this morning, not slowing much and coming fairly close to them but will need to learn patience.

peterm5365

I commute in an area with very little pedestrian traffic so the blindly turning car traffic is much more dangerous.

mgagnonlv

There are a few pitfalls in riding a bicycle:

- The bike is much more silent than a car, so you might need to warn off people.

- Many cyclists tend to ride too close to the sidewalk.

There isn't much you can't do against the first factor (except shouting at them), but I find that you avoid most pedestrians if you ride 1 m (3-4 ft) away from the sidewalk.

__________________
Michel Gagnon
Montréal (Québec, Canada)

bikeguy

Indeed, riding a bit further away from the curb makes you much more visible. It can be extremely difficult to see a cyclist that is riding on the extreme right hand edge of the road particularly if the road is curving right for a person on the inside edge of the curve and similarly the cyclist will have difficulty seeing the pedestrian. Also all vehicles on the right side of you will have more difficulty seeing you. It's called line of sight. It goes for all vehicles on the road.

Shreklookalike

Unfortunately, 3 feet from the curb will get you honked or yelled at quite a bit around here. Thankfully, I don't see too many pedestrians during my commute.

tpat3

You are probably right about my riding too close to the curb, but it's downtown Boston, Massachusetts, heavily congested streets with cars and people weaving all around. I sort of ride where I find space.

The curb jumpers I understand and try to guard against. It's the folks waiting for car traffic to clear intersections, but who seem to have no qualms about stepping in front of a bicyclist, who are a greater worry.