Cyclists and zebra crossings - could you all stop please?
- Thread starter Agent Sparrow
- Start date
- Ok, you met a bad one.No. It doesn't. ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.slowjoe said:
Grrr... Cycle couriers... So far I've had abuse hurled at me from one that nearly hit me. I would've seen him except he was cycling the wrong way up a one way street... 
And another who nearly hit me, even though I saw him a 100 m away. Here's a hint: If you are going too fast to manouver or brake properly, you are going too fast...!
And another who nearly hit me, even though I saw him a 100 m away. Here's a hint: If you are going too fast to manouver or brake properly, you are going too fast...!
Agent Sparrow
AGENT TRAITOR; fools 8 year olds
Because they're straighter roads with generally only animals which end up as road kill crossing them? They're a completely different type of road to ones in built up areas. And of course when things do go wrong, they have the potential to go really fucking wrong.Cobbles said:
Have you got a link for that?
Surely one thing that has been realised time and time again is that speed will effect stopping distance, and in built up areas that can have disasterous consequences.
Agent Sparrow said:
Try http://www.safespeed.org.uk/trlfudge.html for a summary of the various TRL Reports and their interpretation.
Speed certainly affects stopping distances - all vehicles should be conducted so that at all times their circle of vision exceeds the capacity to stop safely.
This will never protect fully against the instantaneously appearing negligent pedestrian (nobody seems to maintain data on contributory negligence).
In any event, speed isn't necessarily the critical factor - yes we could do something insane like restricting all urban traffic to 10MPH, however being hit by a bicycle or car driving at that speed would be preferable to being hit by a bus at the same speed......
But some of them are quite fetching in all that lycra and Mad-Max style stuff ...jæd said:
No, they don't. And the statistics collected by the police on accidents is even more useless than their (generally held to be crap) crime statistics. No-one EVER told me how to fill in the statistics page of an accident report. To be honest I used to just make it up as I went along. There was no way of differentiating how much of a factor things were, just was it or wasn't it.Cobbles said:
The most important line in the TRL report link is "Injury accidents rise rapidly as average speed increases, if all else remains constant". It is the last bit which is forgotten in most "Speed Kills" simplistic thinking. A speed well within the posted limit can be (and frequently is) dangerous for the prevailing conditions. A speed outside the posted limit can be (and frequently is) safe for the prevailing conditions.
Major Tom said:
You should be cycling (or driving) at a speed that allows you to look out for potential hazards in the road ahead.
Mind you, if the Local Authority has filled up the street with multiple distracting signs plus street furniture that block sightlines then they should be held accountable.
You missed the word "reasonable" out. Pedestrians have responsibilities to use the roads with due care and attention for others. They do not have the right to suddenly run across a zebra crossing and expect all vehicles to be able to stop. They have a legal obligation (a duty of care) to consider others.Cobbles said:
Cobbles said:
I do - but some people seem to expect you to be able to react immediately when they run at a zebra crossing from behind an obstruction. Come on - there's a level of being reasonable even for pedestrains. They wouldn't expect a car to be able to stop as quickly as that would they?
i've never hit anyone on a crossing. I've always stopped even when it is dangerous for me to do so. Soemtimes stopping quickly would mean the arsehole in the car behind would mount the back of me - it's nealry happened on a number of occasions. These twats just don;t think stopping distance applies when they're behind a bike.
The main problem for me though isn;t that - it's the number of times I've stopped to allow people to cross, and they just stand there. That's taking the piss that is.
jæd said:Have you got Detective Boy on ignore...? Cyclists *and* pedestrians have a duty for reasonable behaviour... It just annoys me that couriers ignore this and think they are too important to even consider slowing down if they see something in front of them...
I was anserwing Cobbles. And I hadn;t read Detective Boy's post.
If you want to see the ultimate in bad behaviour by couriers go to Cambridge Circus on a friday evening. they're there drinking and racing each other around the block. Pedestrians and other cyclists just have to leap out of their way as they recklessly bowl down the roads AND pavement.
Arseholes
Agent Sparrow
AGENT TRAITOR; fools 8 year olds
As I said before, don't you think a reason that happens is because while you may have stopped the pedestrian in question might want to make sure that everyone else around has too?Major Tom said:The main problem for me though isn;t that - it's the number of times I've stopped to allow people to cross, and they just stand there. That's taking the piss that is.
You moan in the first part of your post about pedestrians running at the crossing without giving time to wait for people to stop, and then you moan that they might show caution before they cross. There's been a few occasions where if I hadn't have exerted caution I'd be a squashed sparrow by now.
Besides which, doesn't particuarly matter if you haven't hit anyone on a crossing - I've never been hit by anyone on a crossing. But I have been intimidated and shocked by both car drivers and cyclists who don't think you're worth stopping for.
Agent Sparrow said:As I said before, don't you think a reason that happens is because while you may have stopped the pedestrian in question might want to make sure that everyone else around has too?
You moan in the first part of your post about pedestrians running at the crossing without giving time to wait for people to stop, and then you moan that they might show caution before they cross. There's been a few occasions where if I hadn't have exerted caution I'd be a squashed sparrow by now.
Besides which, doesn't particuarly matter if you haven't hit anyone on a crossing - I've never been hit by anyone on a crossing. But I have been intimidated and shocked by both car drivers and cyclists who don't think you're worth stopping for.
I know very well why they don;t cross - they're too bloody cautious by half. Are you one of these? I haven't got time frankly to stop and wait for these people. If they haven;t got a foot on the crossing and are ready to cross when I stop, I don;t stop. It's not a legal requirement UNLESS these people are intending to cross.
Please remember I'm a pedstrian too - so I know about using pedestrian crossings. I'm really not worried about cyclists tbh. Why don;t you try cycling and see it from the other side before whinging.
Look at it this way - if I stop and they wait for the cars to stop too, then I might as well have kept going. I'm not the problem on the road, frankly.
Go to Amsterdam and see how it works there, you'll probably have a heartattack.
Donna Ferentes
jubliado
You didn't wait very long before posting that.
I was cycling down Clapham Park Road and this idiot pedestrian just walks straight up to the zebra crossing and starts walking. Some pedestrians think cyclists can do an emergency stop within a space of 5 yards without falling off or crashing into them! There was no way I could stop in time so I carried on (obviously he thought that pedestrians have an automatic right of way!) As I went past the cunt stuck his arm out and slapped me. I was so shocked I didn't say anything but now I'm still angry - the fucking cunt!!
sorry just had to get that off my chest [starts to breath]
sorry just had to get that off my chest [starts to breath]
jæd said:Grrr... Cycle couriers... So far I've had abuse hurled at me from one that nearly hit me. I would've seen him except he was cycling the wrong way up a one way street...
It's a hard living to make, work all day, eat an industrial sized plate of food in the evening and then pass out. Then yer knees go and thats that.
Nickster said:I was cycling down Clapham Park Road and this idiot pedestrian just walks straight up to the zebra crossing and starts walking. Some pedestrians think cyclists can do an emergency stop within a space of 5 yards without falling off or crashing into them! There was no way I could stop in time so I carried on (obviously he thought that pedestrians have an automatic right of way!) As I went past the cunt stuck his arm out and slapped me. I was so shocked I didn't say anything but now I'm still angry - the fucking cunt!!
sorry just had to get that off my chest [starts to breath]
Um... Don't have pedestrians have right-of-way on a pedestrian crossing...?
And isn't it a good idea to be going across them at a reduced speed if there's someone nearby...?jæd said:Um... Don't have pedestrians have right-of-way on a pedestrian crossing...?
Yes they do have right of way, but what I meant is that they shouldn't assume that all traffic can grind to a sudden halt. He appeared out of fucking nowhere and obviously assumed that he was armour-plated. If I had been a car, his front leading foot would be flat now!
Nickster said:I was cycling down Clapham Park Road and this idiot pedestrian just walks straight up to the zebra crossing and starts walking. Some pedestrians think cyclists can do an emergency stop within a space of 5 yards without falling off or crashing into them! There was no way I could stop in time so I carried on (obviously he thought that pedestrians have an automatic right of way!) As I went past the cunt stuck his arm out and slapped me. I was so shocked I didn't say anything but now I'm still angry - the fucking cunt!!
sorry just had to get that off my chest [starts to breath]
My worst experience wasn't on a zebra crossing. Some cunt got off the back of a Routemaster in the middle of a street, right in front of me. I managed to stop by cycling into the kerb and falling off my bike. He came at me and called me a cunt. Smashed me in the face and I've still got the fucking scar today.
Once he'd hit me he scarpered. I spent the rest of the day sititing in A&E waiting to get my lip sewn up.
Major Tom said:My worst experience wasn't on a zebra crossing. Some cunt got off the back of a Routemaster in the middle of a street, right in front of me. I managed to stop by cycling into the kerb and falling off my bike. He came at me and called me a cunt. Smashed me in the face and I've still got the fucking scar today.
Once he hit me scarpered. I spent the rest of the day sititing in A&E waiting to get my lip sewn up again.
Blimey! That's terrible. One good thing about big brother society now is that stuff like that gets caught on CCTV more now (and ends up on "When Pedestrians Attack" on Channel 5!)
Nickster said:
Maybe they could have got the cab driver who kicked the shit out of me when I complained after he ran over a woman cyclist's back wheel.
Or the cab driver who tried to run me over about 4 times after nearly killing me on a roundabout - I was signalling right. He put his foot down and overtook me. His cab actaully hit rubbed alonside me as he passed.
When I compalined he spent the next 20 minutes pursuing me thorugh the streets of Paddington trying to run me over.
I keep my mouth shut these days.
