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Frozen pedestrians causing confusion


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I've been having an issue lately where a pedestrian is crossing or should be crossing, then they see me and completely freeze in the intersection even though they have plenty of time to make it through the crossing given the speed I am at. 

So I constantly have to wave pedestrians through and verbally ask/tell them to proceed. Or the other option is that I just keep going when they stop for me but I feel not so nice (especially because I ride in my neighborhood and these are essentially my urban neighbors). Plus, I don't like being responsible for pedestrians staying inside a crossing/intersection longer than they need to be.

I can tell you for a fact that these same pedestrians would walk right in front of cars with a valid sense of entitlement, but something about me being on an EUC wearing armor absolutely causes pedestrians to freeze up. 

What are your experiences or advices?

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Their brains are locked up.

I wave them through or give them a big thank-you as I pass.

Always be aware that because they're suffering from brain lock, they might actually do something you don't expect... be extra careful and give them a wide berth!

Edited by Tawpie
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Okay today at a stop, this lady ALMOST stepped out and then quickly recoiled her foot back to the curb when she saw me far away.

I gave her a wave through, but she insisted.

"You want me to go?" I asked. She responded, "Yes, please." As I proceeded forward on my favorite EUC, I told her I'd do it for her.

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If the pedestrians have the right of way, I wave them through. But if they see me and still choose not to cross, I thank them, and I continue through. Same with cars. In certain areas around here, some drivers are very accommodating, both men and women drivers. If they have the right of way, and stop and signal me to go, I oblige and thank them. On a motorcycle, I don't get that courtesy, at least not usually. 

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I get this ALL THE TIME in NYC. I think they see you coming on an EUC and it's hard for them to predict if you are moving forward or slowing down. Just got to deal with it and accept it.

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How about this:  Coming up from behind on 2 pedestrians walking on bicycle path - no room for others... never looking back, just doing their ego stuff: Picture #1 

You: Ring the bell, use wheel horn or shout out "ding ding ding".  Guess what happens next?  Yes.  Picture #2  Pedestrian B jumps to the left, while pedestrian A jumps to the right.    Collision unavoidable.   Been there :facepalm:

classical1.jpg

classical2.jpg

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  • 3 months later...

  

On 9/13/2022 at 4:59 PM, Robse said:

How about this:  Coming up from behind on 2 pedestrians walking on bicycle path - no room for others... never looking back, just doing their ego stuff: Picture #1 

You: Ring the bell, use wheel horn or shout out "ding ding ding".  Guess what happens next?  Yes.  Picture #2  Pedestrian B jumps to the left, while pedestrian A jumps to the right.    Collision unavoidable.   Been there :facepalm:

I don't see how a collision is unavoidable in a situation like this. You don't have to maintain your speed, you can actually slow down to pedestrian speeds for these types of passes.

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Totally avoidable.

Ride defensively.

Pedestrians have the right of way.

Don't pass until passing room is available.

You can wait, or you can ride up to them from behind, and politely let them know you are behind them wanting to pass.

When passing room is available, you can then ride pass them.

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Lols, yes, some do freeze don't they ?! Or fanny about with indecision, and THEN walk into your path :)

The answer, I have found, is 2-fold. Firstly, they have to see or hear you coming, and then they need to be issued instructions about what you expect them to do !

The first one is easy - cycle bell or similar rung well in advance usually gets them to look round or over at you.

Second one is harder, but I have developed a series of hand signals that I hope clearly signal what I am going to do and what I expect them to do as well, accompanied by some minimal, explanatory words if there is time, which seem to work on the whole. 

So, in the instance pictured above by OP I would be ringing my bell 50 yards behind the 2 people until they turn round to see what is making the noise. At that point I am going to form my hands into a wedged arrow, then move them apart and shout ''morning guys / girls - coming straight through the middle !'', which, in combination with the hand signals makes it obvious they need to move to the side of the path.

This sort of thing nearly always works IME, and especially so if you have moderated your speed down to allow them time to process the situation before you reach them, I find they usually do as instructed. A friendly wave and 'cheers guys' as I go past them restores any goodwill lost to the previous issuing of orders, as does a thumbs up if they did the right thing :)

Of course, real world variables apply. Sometimes they don't or can't hear the bell, or the words (muffled by the helmet as they sometimes are), sometimes they don't get the visual signals first time or at all, and very occasionally I find people that do hear and do get the signals, but deliberately disobey and don't change what they are doing, in which case I will slow to a snail crawl and ride behind them at their speed until they feel uncomfortable enough to move aside, or there is opportunity to pass them in a wider bit.

In the case of the REALLY obstinate, or people who change what they are doing to try and block you, I will just defer, and find a post to wait at, or simply dismount until they have left the scene, which is really all we can do in those situations where there is pedestrian right of way, and we ourselves are the ones with more questionable legality.

TBH the parts of the path where they can see you coming are not the problem ones for me. It's the sharp corners you can't see round, and what might be coming round them the other way. On a road, where there are properly delineated sides of the road that works, but on cycle paths and footpaths people can be anywhere on them, so for those bits there is a lot of bell-ringing approaching the blind corner, I have slowed to that crawl again, and I have a plan for where to swerve or stop with least negative consequences should I meet anyone as I go round them.

Oh, and people standing in the ride path having a nice chat on the cycleway, wrapped up 100% in their conversation and utterly oblivious to their surroundings, or lost in space staring at their devices. On smaller wheels where directional control is absolute and instant, that's fine, but on larger wheels, where 'diplomacy riding' is required (in which I make a suggestion to the Master about where we should go, and it agrees to some extent or other in its own sweet time and a 'compromise path' happens) that has been slightly more problematic recently ;)

Edited by Cerbera
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1 hour ago, Cerbera said:

they need to be issued instructions about what you expect them to do !

There can be many scenarios that can happen. But I agree that there are situations in which things would work better if one party makes clear which direction he or she will take.

However, in the diagram shown, if the width of the sidewalk is occupied, then the rider doesn't have the right of way, at least around here.

All bicycles, skateboards, inline skates, scooters, and PEV's are are illegal on sidewalks around here.

On shared sidewalks, pedestrians have the right of way.

I almost never ride on sidewalks. And when I do, they are usually unoccupied. 

And if they are occupied, I would be walking.

More likely scenario around here is that the bike path and walkways are separated. Otherwise, I would be riding on the road.

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Yes, quite right @techyiam on pavements and whatnot we have to defer. On cycle ways it is polite to defer, but for some reason I feel less like I am morally obliged to ! :)

In my town there is a lot of shared / dual purpose cycle / footpaths, that are all nice and wide most of the time, and on those I am expecting pedestrians there to be aware that there will be cycle speed traffic going about, and to be fair most of them are. And because of that I can still find myself getting irritated with the ones that aren't, even though I have no actual right to be so until we have achieved full legality, so I am constantly holding back, and trying to reduce that irritation, and instead try and focus on making every encounter I have with a member of the walking public one we both feel good about, so lots of cheery waves, thank you's and the occasional apology when needed !

Edited by Cerbera
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As someone who only ride pavements - which are shared by all. Heck even front yards of apartment building cars/humans share road.. Yes people and cars share/use one road.

Further away we have real streets and sidewalks. I still choose to ride sidewalks and have never once ridden on street with cars. (Aside from small distances, while passing people, etc..) Luckily i live is very non busy, small city, so people have never really given me any trouble. Most sidewalks are wide enough to pass them and so on. If need be i sometimes ride to people asses and politely ask them could i pass - thank you. Most people hear my coming and they let me pass without second taught themselves. As i see them going on one or other side of sidewalk. While passing i say thanks. 

Idk, but i personally like riding sidewalks. Maybe because most times i can ride any speed i want on them. And rarely encounter people.. And don't risk getting hit by a car. We even have less cars on so called streets.. But we really don't ride with cars here. In my eyes EUC have no place in street anyways. And most people will say the same.

Never had anyone froze up on me. And we don't really have many euc riders here. In my city there's 3-5 maybe. (2 of them our family.) :D 

Edited by Funky
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Urban riding is like driving a car in the city. Read the "road or sidewalk!" The only difference I find is that on a wheel, I am definitely much more nimble than a driver in a car; also more nimble than pedestrians I usually would manipulate around pedestrians instead of waiting for them to respond because I'd never really know what they are thinking. It is much faster and easier for me to act first and work around them than vice versa. Like you say, they freeze. So that gives me time to act. There seems to be a latent law of giving way to a bigger or more forceful objects. Small cars give in to big cars. As wheelers, we usually give in to cars. By this latent law, pedestrians usually give in to wheelers. Of course, as a wheeler, if you don't see pedestrians giving us way, you stop! 

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9 hours ago, omuretsu said:

  

I don't see how a collision is unavoidable in a situation like this. You don't have to maintain your speed, you can actually slow down to pedestrian speeds for these types of passes.

I know i know i know ...and jump of and walk myself too.. :P    The point is and was; You never know what these "walkers" will do. And sometimes it's better to ride by slowly in silence.  No panic, no stupid behavior.   Regarding my example;  They where walking in a bike (only)  lane, not giving a damn about others... 

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Can't really call it freezing up.. But people who suddenly stop in place.

One time while i still was learning to ride. About 400 km where under my belt. I was riding upwards on one of those drive on curbs places. And in front of me was walking old granny. She went upwards and 1 meter away from that drive on place stops in place... Luckily i was riding at walk/run speed. I was like WTF - by that time i was like arms length away from her. I started to brake. (I knew in that instance that i will not stop in time..) I used my both legs and twitched whole wheel ~90 degree sideways (You know that move - where you whitch/pull euc around in place..) I don't know how i did that, but it worked out. :D Didn't even touch her.

Lesson learned - don't ride to people asses, because they can stop at any given moment. (Even when i ride to people asses and politely ask them to let me pass - i'm ready to stop and hop off.)

Edited by Funky
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