How Walking With Smartphones May Have Changed Pedestrian Etiquette 290
An anonymous reader writes The phenomenon of 'distracted walking' — pedestrians who walk while using smartphones — has raised civic attention in the last few years, with Utah issuing fines and cities in China creating dedicated 'smartphone lanes' for walkers who need to keep up with Whatsapp on the move. This article argues that smartphone users have become so accustomed to other people getting out of their way that they will no longer negotiate for sidewalk space even when not using their phones.
Take your space (Score:5, Informative)
Too many people period are idiots about not negotiating equitable space that I just bowl them down. I'm taller and large bigger than most, so if I think they're being oblivious or careless, down they go! Being a dick about sharing a laneway is a dick move and the only ONLY way to punish it is to not yield.
If you wanted to be an uber dick, you'd pick up their phone and throw it away, but that's too much for me =) Oh, that goes double for movie theatre texters! Die in a pit of hell assholes!
Re:Take your space (Score:5, Interesting)
Once she saw how much easier it is to navigate a crowd that way she has been a lot happier in crowded situations to let me go first. If she sticks close behind then she can follow easily and we end up where we want to faster.
Re:Take your space (Score:5, Insightful)
I am with you on this. If you have a place to go, walk with determination. Don't look like you are in a hurry, just go. If you are just aimlessly wandering around, pretend you are trying to get somewhere. Obviously I am not being a dick and running people over.
Being over six feet tall does help, but anyone of any size or gender can do it. Works great at concerts too.
Though sometimes the lady in red grabs my attention and I walk face first into an agent... doh!
Re:Take your space (Score:4, Insightful)
I am with you on this. If you have a place to go, walk with determination. Don't look like you are in a hurry, just go.
You left out the most important part: Don't look at anyone. You must look through them, as if they were below your notice entirely. Once you appear not just to have someplace to go but also to be completely oblivious of anyone in your path, that is when they tend to move out of your way of their own accord.
It doesn't hurt that I'm over two meters and twenty stone, of course. If you're small, prepare to be ignored even harder.
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They usually figure out to get on their side of the walk by the time we meet.
I like the look on their face when I stop, and they walk into shadow and then stop, and then look up... my nose.
However the city I live in is laid out rather dumbly with every store putting tones of shit all over the too-narrow sidewalk,
Futbol!
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They usually figure out to get on their side of the walk by the time we meet.
I like the look on their face when I stop, and they walk into shadow and then stop, and then look up... my nose.
This! So much this!
I've had people (usually college age girls) walk right into me; No clue that I was even there. The reactions are priceless.
Re:Take your space (Score:5, Funny)
But the female place is behind the male (except for the minefields etc) - everybody knows that, so why was she upset?
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What about the lady in the red you were distracted with? ;)
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Ha. Why didn't Neo or Mouse do this? ;)
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But that doesn't matter. [youtube.com]
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I found what you wrote to be Bitter Sweet. [youtube.com]
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That video was the first thing that came to my mind as well.
Re:Take your space (Score:4, Funny)
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That's fine with people on their phones, but it's people on mobility scooters who are the real menace. You can't just stand your ground, those things will injure you. Anyone can buy one with no training or test to see if they are fit to operate the damn thing.
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That's fine with people on their phones, but it's people on mobility scooters who are the real menace. You can't just stand your ground, those things will injure you.
That's why you need to always wear a cape. ÂToro!
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Except that in cities we have this concept of "keep right* except when passing." There is room for travel in both directions. If there isn't room, the obstruction is on one person's side, or the other person's side. The person on the side of the obstruction is expected to wait. Some people, mostly youngsters, haven't figured this out. But it is actually somewhat rare. Most of the people will sort themselves to the correct lane if you force them to. You're not in "their" way if you're on the right side of th
Re:Take your space (Score:4, Interesting)
Except that in cities we have this concept of "keep right* except when passing." There is room for travel in both directions. If there isn't room, the obstruction is on one person's side, or the other person's side. The person on the side of the obstruction is expected to wait. Some people, mostly youngsters, haven't figured this out. But it is actually somewhat rare. Most of the people will sort themselves to the correct lane if you force them to. You're not in "their" way if you're on the right side of the sidewalk.
* Some locations use a different side than this.
Some people find this keep right except to pass on a sidewalk a strange concept... I think it's even in our motor vehicle act. Even on a sparsely populated suburban sidewalk I keep to the right edge so if a runner or a faster walker comes up behind me, I'm predictable and they can pass with ease. It irritates me to see slow walkers erratically walking all over the sidewalk making it difficult to pass.
Sometimes people will walk two abreast, which is fine, but if you saw an oncoming walker you think you'd go single file. A surprising number of people (not just youngsters) fail to do this. I don't bowl them down, but I just keep walking till I'm a step from them, stop, then let them negotiate the fact that they can't just walk straight.
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Come to Baltimore and try that.
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I just bowl them down. I'm taller and large bigger than most, so if I think they're being oblivious or careless, down they go!
OK, so might makes right.
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I assume he's talking about people who are taking up more than a fair share of the space to walk (ie negotiating equitable space). Situations like people walking down the center of a busy sidewalk so that everybody else has to step aside or bump into them or people walking two or three abreast and taking up the whole sidewalk. They're either oblivious or abusing people's desire to avoid confrontation.
His approach is similar to what I've noticed, too. If people are occupying so much of the sidewalk that you
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He didn't say that. He said might makes win.
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I mostly agree. I refuse to negotiate over the last bit of the sidewalk on the right-hand side. If forced, I will simply stop and they can run into me, or go around. It is rare, maybe 1 in 250 people I pass, I have to stop. Maybe 1 in 50 waits until they're inside 5' before moving over. The vast majority identify that I'm in the correct lane, and move over. There is no need for negotiation unless you're doing it wrong.
Re:Take your space, except in Santa Ana (Score:2)
Knock down a homie and you could visit the morgue.
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Ah yes the 12 year AC in moms basement has come out to play.
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Really need to work on my proof reading.
12 year old.
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Over 40, 43 to be exact live in Atlanta. If you are top stupid to pay attention. you deserve to get knocked down. If you pull a gun out and end my life. Guess who ends up in jail.
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I can imagine the judge now. So you were not paying attention. With your face buried in a phone. You bumped into someone and you fell down. In self defense you shot them. Good luck with no lawyer. Heck, good luck with a lawyer.
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Re: Take your space (Score:5, Funny)
Re: Take your space (Score:5, Interesting)
Actually, it is the best way to get through a rough neighborhood. If you can walk tall, confident, but not swaggering or strutting, you can pass right through almost anything. You do have to weave around gang-bangers, you can't crash into them, but if you maintain the right walk they usually won't even see you, you're just background. If they're also walking, they always make room for me, I only have to weave around them when they're loitering. I've done that in most major American cities, and I've never had a problem.
In fact, the places I have had problems have been small towns, usually without sidewalks. Places where it doesn't matter how you walk, because there isn't enough traffic for it to matter.
As somebody who lived in rough neighborhoods as a teen, one thing I picked up on: You're actually less likely to get shot/stabbed or randomly assaulted there. A lot of people have some means of self defense. Picking a fight could get you shot, so people don't pick fights unless you're obviously walking scared. You're unlikely to get robbed in a drug neighborhood, for example, because most people either don't have anything to steal, or have a weapon, or will fight to the death over their last $2. There are people getting robbed, but the perp knows the victim, and knows they have drugs, or knows they have money that they're trying to buy drugs with.
The neighborhood where you might get stabbed over stupid shit is usually a University Neighborhood, the same place where you're likely to be assaulted by strangers. Those high crime neighborhoods, they're stabbing/shooting people that they know, and have a real dispute with. Don't borrow/loan money, don't borrow/loan drugs, don't arrange drug deals that might go bad, etc., and they probably won't involve you.
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You know what startled people? I said "hi". A white guy walking through the bad part of the projects, most adults went inside and locked the doors. No good in their lives has ever come from a white person. But they kept an eye out as I passed, making sure that I passed. The neighborhood kids ran up and made all sorts of odd and racist comments. I just sai
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quarter of a second
Say no more, say no more [youtube.com]....
You should have a passenger verify the time you take looking at the phone, because personally, I don't believe it.
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I'm going to be 100% honest here and say the situation shown in that video has never applied to me. When my phone beeps or rings and it isn't already in my hand, I don't bother with it, even when I'm not driving (probably because 99% of the time those beeps ore rings are events or people that I don't care to deal with right at the moment.)
That said, I use my phone the same way somebody would use a map or a GPS unit that is sold for the express purpose of being used while driving.
Re: Take your space (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm a special snowflake just like you. It's okay for us to use cellphones when driving but not anyone else. We are special and know how to do it safely. Rules are for other people.
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So a dedicated GPS unit is ok (I mean shit, they actually sell them as standalone devices intended to be used while driving,) but using my phone for the same purpose is not?
Fuck you. With a red hot iron poker in the ass.
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So a dedicated GPS unit is ok (I mean shit, they actually sell them as standalone devices intended to be used while driving,)
WRONG. The devices explicitly tell you not to use them while driving on every boot. Your inability to read is not the responsibility of the manufacturer. It does speak to your general inability to use the devices ever, let alone while driving. You're unqualified. You should give up GPS technology immediately. Its use is restricted to those who can read.
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I just hate bullies even more.
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Good luck with that when you have a policeman as a witness about who walked into whom.
You'd have as much chance of getting a refund from DeVry on their JD program. Which you should try.
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I doubt he's in the USA, so no longer being able to carry a firearm is likely not a deal breaker.
Re:Take your space (Score:5, Interesting)
If they maintain their lane, and just follow the traffic rules robotically then there is no problem. When I was a kid I'd walk and read a book at the same time, no problem. The problem is that people aren't following the traffic rules when they are paying attention, so when they're not paying attention they're just sortof stumbling into the street without knowing what the state is. If they're practiced in following the rules, they can do that on autopilot and they'll wait for the light to change before crossing without consciously even realizing they had stopped for it. And they'll maintain their lane, too.
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There's plenty of time when "lanes" on a footpath dissapear and you have to be more dynamic in your pathfinding. People looking at their smarphone arent doing this to the point that it's rude.
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Funny you say that. i have noticed that this depends on the size of the city. For example, I currently live in a medium sized European city (Karlsruhe, Garmany). This is the largest city in the area and as a result many people "go to town"; which results in quite a chaos in down town on a Saturday. The average person is incapable of negotiating a crowded area. In contrast, cities like Paris, Berlin or Munich this was never an issue. The flow of people is almost always running quite smoothly... until a Touri
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I have given up on theaters except for the Alamo Drafthouse here in Austin. Where other theaters have the constant people prattling and tapping on their devices, I have seen the ADH ushers be pretty proactive at tossing the texters and the yakkers out.
Long term, with people's tempers already raw, I wonder how long it will take until brawls start happening because people end up just sick and tired of the phone zombies, be it the cretin with one finger in his ear, screaming into his phone, or the people expe
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I do that already, and they really do move after you stop. They'll only crash into you when you're both in motion and it is no-fault.
Cellphone morons (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Cellphone morons (Score:4, Informative)
Use more force to ensure success.
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Leave a few banana peels around.
Re:Cellphone morons (Score:5, Informative)
Learn from hockey. Lead with the shoulder, if you are a bit taller crouch down a bit to catch them in the chest. If you are short, jump a bit right at the moment of contact, the refs will never call charging on the short guys.
Learned to drive where... (Score:3)
One very real issue is where someone grew up
and learned the rules of the road. Phones and distracted
walking make it all worse.
There are nations with left hand and right hand auto driving.
Pedestrian bias is shaped by these early days and parents.
Many communities now have a large enough community of newcomers .... India, Japan, Indonesia,,.... all nations now have a large enough
that these habits collide on the sidewalk. Mericans in Stralia, Brits
in France,
influx of newcomers that this is important.
I first encountered this at airports. Then the powered walkways seemed
to make it go away but.. no it is still there....
Worse or perhaps more importantly Mericans have highly controlled cross walks
for K-12 students. Students do not learn to look all ways for traffic. They simply
step out -- many will wait for a light but many not. No officer blows a whistle and
hollers get yer butt off the road. No one hollers get a move on you are blocking
traffic. Entitlement like turtles goes all the way down...
Universities have always had pedestrian accidents as egg heads oblivious to the world forget that
they have left the safe roads of the school and stepped into townie roads. This and the
localized communities of H1B visa holder make this obvious in some parts of the US.
Other nations have the same problems with clusters of expats.
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There are nations with left hand and right hand auto driving.
Yep we drive on the left in Oz, the first time I went to Europe I wondered why I was having so much trouble walking around the shopping mall.
Apparently it depends on where you live (Score:2)
Apparently the issue depends on where you live, because while I used to see such wankers in Regina, Saskatchewan, I've never had the problem in the smaller community of Yorkton. Not only will people both walk through the snowbank on the side of the tromped-down path here, they'll actually say "Hi" to you while you're passing them.
New App! (Score:4, Funny)
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Last week ... (Score:5, Interesting)
Last week when I was driving to work as was approaching a traffic light that turned from red to green as I approached. I noticed a youth crossing the other side, head phones in and face down in his phone, slowed down in anticipation of him walking out in front of me. He did, I braked and blew my horn in warning and stopped and stepped backwards onto the central refuge and launched into a tirade of abuse and offensive gestures. Despite the fact I'd just saved him from serious injury at minimum as a result of his own stupidity.
You just cannot help some people.
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You might be right or you might be wrong: Most places, traffic entering an intersection on the green must yield to traffic already in the intersection. That would include yielding to a pedestrian who got half-way across unless the crosswalk was clearly two-phases (London), usually with railings.
Of course smart pedestrians expect aggressive drivers. And smart drivers know better than to blow through fresh greens.
Re:Last week ... (Score:5, Interesting)
I am not the gpp you responded to...
I am a native Californian who was taught both that pedestrians have the right of way in crosswalks and that it would be shameful to walk out into one against the lights, including entering with the flashing don't walk sign that is equivalent to a yellow light for drivers. People who crossed randomly in mid-block would be ticketed for jay-walking if observed by a cop, and found at fault if they were run down by a car. As a bicyclist I was taught that I should ride in the roadway and follow vehicle rules including direction of travel, signaling turns, and observing traffic control signals and right-of-way rules.
Continuing to live in California now in my forties, I observe so much behavior that is counter to what I was taught and obeyed. I don't know if it is all immigration with newcomers having learned different rules. Or, it might just be a general erosion of a sense of civic responsibility. Or I might just be turning into a cranky old man who complains about kids these days.
I frequently bicycle to work using a circuitous route that links scenic paths and bike lanes to minimize my time sharing lanes with cars. I have seen more close calls in the past few years than I saw in my entire life before, with cars clearly running red lights, overtaking and swerving across bike lanes with no concern for cyclists occupying the lane, etc. I have also seen so many cyclists and pedestrians doing equivalently careless things like crossing against lights, ignoring direction of travel rules, and mindlessly entering and leaving the roadway without looking.
Re:Last week ... (Score:4, Informative)
I am not the gpp you responded to...
I am a native Californian who was taught both that pedestrians have the right of way in crosswalks and that it would be shameful to walk out into one against the lights, including entering with the flashing don't walk sign that is equivalent to a yellow light for drivers. People who crossed randomly in mid-block would be ticketed for jay-walking if observed by a cop, and found at fault if they were run down by a car. As a bicyclist I was taught that I should ride in the roadway and follow vehicle rules including direction of travel, signaling turns, and observing traffic control signals and right-of-way rules.
Continuing to live in California now in my forties, I observe so much behavior that is counter to what I was taught and obeyed. I don't know if it is all immigration with newcomers having learned different rules. Or, it might just be a general erosion of a sense of civic responsibility. Or I might just be turning into a cranky old man who complains about kids these days.
I frequently bicycle to work using a circuitous route that links scenic paths and bike lanes to minimize my time sharing lanes with cars. I have seen more close calls in the past few years than I saw in my entire life before, with cars clearly running red lights, overtaking and swerving across bike lanes with no concern for cyclists occupying the lane, etc. I have also seen so many cyclists and pedestrians doing equivalently careless things like crossing against lights, ignoring direction of travel rules, and mindlessly entering and leaving the roadway without looking.
Police used to issue tickets for these things. But sitting in a speed trap maximizes more revenue. I have never heard of anyone in my lifetime (30 years) getting a ticket for actual unsafe driving, despite seeing it every day. Everyone I know has gotten a speeding ticket however.
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I don't know if it is all immigration with newcomers having learned different rules. Or, it might just be a general erosion of a sense of civic responsibility.
It's that one. I notice that most of the fatality accidents, especially the ones where a person runs over a whole bunch of people, tend to involve old men or young girls. Whereas most of the ones where everyone in the car dies involve young men. None of these are groups which tend to value others highly. (Hey, let's face it, most of the people really shitting up the planet are old wrinkly white men)
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Yeah, here we have both rules, if there was a cop there who cared about giving out tickets, they'd both get tickets, and the driver would be paying more. :)
Some places the details are hyper-technical, too; if you're required to yield to the person already there, there is no emergency, and there is no cause for the horn. This is true even if he was in violation of the crosswalk rules. And if he was scared back onto the island by the actions, that could actually be "criminal mischief," which often includes an
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Too many idiots got their driver's license out of a cracker jack box and don't realize pedestrians and cyclists have every goddamned right to be where they are
Actually, I commonly see both where they explicitly do not have a legal right to be, like cyclists who can't be arsed to ride on the shoulder because it might harm their precious tires. Well, I'm not allowed to pull into the oncoming lane simply because I might damage some rubber. Get the fuck over, you spandex dildo.
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What you did was your job.
Right. Part of which was blowing the horn and getting the inattentive pedestrian to shit himself.
WTF is up with that web page (Score:2)
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Did you try moving your mouse down 3 inches? As soon as you're off the collapsible part, it *gasp* collapses back out of the way!
The obvious solution: STOP (Score:3)
All these replies, and not one person has said that they would stop.
I always stop if someones coming at me with a phone. 9 times out of 10, for whatever reason, they process a static object in-front of them differently and look up before collision. Most likely also apologizing to me at the same time.
If 2 walkers collide, it could be said that they were both negligent. If someone walks into you though, they look like a complete dumbass and cannot possibly blame you (after all you are simply standing there, already staring at them angrily)
Anecdotes from Germany ... (Score:3)
Germans are sort of polite, but they have some anoyingly stupid habits that I've only seen here:
1.) When a train stops, those wanting to get on will group around the doors and give those wanting to get of a hard time in doing so. It's a site like from a Monty Python sketch. Like sheep you often have to shove them aside. I've resolved to boldly stepping straight out and onto the feet of anybody standing smack in the middle of the way and making loud suggestions on how to organise things so the people getting off can do so quickly for the benefit of all.
2.) Blocking the left side of escalators. Really annoying! I recently was to belgium and was astonished how orderly people standing on an escalator would move to the right side, so that people could walk on the left side. I was so astonished I pulled out my camera and took a series of pictures of this "phenomenon". ... Not so in Germany. Regularly people will stop and stand wherever they like to, no matter if they're blocking the way or not. I've resolved to the habit of just about stepping on peoples heels and breathing into their ear if they're unneccessarily blocking the way. Stupid remarks are riposted with witty "... or you could just stand on the right side just like everybody else in every other country on the planet." ... Usually shuts them up. I've actually seen people embarassed because of this. Good.
3.) As for people mindlessly tumbling about with their smartphones and earplugs: That annoys me greatly, especially in public spaces that are crowded and where you have to expect frequent social interaction, like on a crowded trainstation during rush-hour. ... Take out your f*cking earplugs and put them in when you've found your place on the train, for goodness sake! Nowadays, whenever I try to address someone and he doesn't listen because of earplugs and/or audio cranked up to max, I usually just push or pull them aside gently. Some are so zoned out they're actually OK with that. ... Guess electronic escapisim is shaping our social interaction in that way too.
Re:List of folks with permanent rights of way (Score:4, Insightful)
3. Bicyclists
You haven't ridden a bike since you were 16, have you?
Do you think cyclists feel entitled to their right of way to the point where they are oblivious to oncoming collisions? If that were true, don't you think after, say, six months, there wouldn't be any cyclists left because they had all been run over?
Walking down the street with a screen attached to your face and being oblivious to the world around you is a lot different than riding a bike through a busy intersection and dodging every third car driven by someone with a screen attached to their face.
Re:List of folks with permanent rights of way (Score:4, Insightful)
Do you think cyclists feel entitled to their right of way to the point where they are oblivious to oncoming collisions?
Yes.
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You haven't ridden a bike since you were 16, have you?
Do you think cyclists feel entitled to their right of way to the point where they are oblivious to oncoming collisions? If that were true, don't you think after, say, six months, there wouldn't be any cyclists left because they had all been run over?
You haven't driven a car through a city since you were 16, right?
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What are you saying? Please elaborate.
Re:List of folks with permanent rights of way (Score:5, Interesting)
He's saying the truth. 8-9 / 10 asshats on bikes don't follow the rules of the road that they are legally required to. Just a few things:
1: don't stop for stop signs... many times not even slowing down, then expecting traffic to magically not hit them. I have personally witnessed several tickets being handed out to them since my city is FINALLY starting to crack down on them, they will even do it right in front of a cop....
2: riding on sidewalks instead of using the apparently wasted bike lanes, and hitting people walking ( you know the ones that belong on the sidewalks ). Happens with different asshats several times a month in my city alone, and I doubt it is a fluke since you see all the other asshattery anywhere you go. Hell because of #1 I have been hit by a stupid ass biker in a fucking crosswalk with the light in MY favor.
3: they observe speed limits worse than 4-wheel car drivers. School zone? Still going as fast as possible, on the sidewalk where they don't belong. They should be ticketed just as if a car was speeding ( this does occasionally happen, just needs to more often).
There you go, took mere minutes to come up with just a few things that 80% of the observed bike riders do to make everyone look down on bike riders. Sucks for the last 10-20% that actually are courteous, but then maybe THEY should start bashing heads of the rest if they want their image to look better.
Re:List of folks with permanent rights of way (Score:5, Informative)
In Idaho bicycles can treat stop signs as yield signs. When a bike does a "rolling-stop" through a stop-sign, it is called an "Idaho stop." Many states are legalizing it. It passes most places it is considered. Expect it to be the norm in 20 years. Just like, there was a time where only a few states allowed a right turn at a red light; now it is nearly universal. Because it works. My dad told me a story about driving in the midwest when he was a kid, and they didn't have that rule yet. He made a right turn on red, and had people shouting at him for just brazenly running a light! lol "it just seemed so natural"
In my State bicycles are allowed to use the sidewalks. Also, vechicles with 3-or-less wheels that are hardware limited to 15mph or less are considered bicycles, and can also use the sidewalk. (this was to allow Segways without going into the weeds and endorsing specific wheel configurations) Luckily, pedestrians have the right-of-way and the bicycles are required to always yield.
The speed limit applies to the street, not the sidewalk. They'll beat that ticket. However, many places have a rule that bicycles on the sidewalk have to go walking speed, so there might be a different non-speeding ticket they can get. Most cyclists don't actually go over the 20MPH of a school zone, certainly not over 25 which is the normal real speed. (limit+5 is standard for cars, except in places where it is limit+8)
There are real problems with cyclists that ride poorly and don't follow the rules, but I'm not convinced you know the rules well enough that you're driving according to them. ;)
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Expect it to be the norm in 20 years.
That's OK. Quite a few aftermarket suppliers are doing a brisk business selling 'Idaho Stop' bars for trucks and SUVs. These used to be called 'bull bars', used to protect the trucks grill and radiator from damage from wandering livestock. They work for bicycles just as well.
But seriously; cyclists already blow through stop signs without looking. And that's fine if you know what you are doing. But some kid is going to see a skilled adult doing this and follow the example without the experience. Result: squ
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a traffic maneuver that increases safety for the vast majority of users
[citation needed]
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You either have absurdly low speed limits, a bunch of extreme athletes, or perhaps you've mistaken something motor-assisted for a bicycle.
He did say "in a school zone", which is not uncommon to have a speed limit of 15-20 at the start and end of the school day, when the sidewalks and streets are going to be lousy with buses, cars, and pedestrians.
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after, say, six months, there wouldn't be any cyclists left because they had all been run over
If only.
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It depends on the location. In the Pacific Northwest there are clear rules for sharing the road, and if you don't share it with bicyclists you will hit them, because they really do use the space allotted to them. You'll probably lose your license, too, if it was your fault. Vehicle-on-bicycle or -pedestrian is taken seriously. If your phone records show you were distracted, and you kill them, you'll go to prison. Real prison.
As a pedestrian, if it is my turn, I can walk. They *will* yield. I understand, in
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Yep, cyclists aren't passive. They will scream abuse as pedestrians who dare use the hiking trail in front of them, and bang on the side of my car to make sure I don't turn suddenly.
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3. Bicyclists
You haven't ridden a bike since you were 16, have you?
Do you think cyclists feel entitled to their right of way to the point where they are oblivious to oncoming collisions?
You haven't ridden a bike since you were 16 have you.
Cyclists will happily turn into traffic without as second thought and expect everyone else to get out their way. I've got a nice highlight reel from my dashcam of cyclists behaving badly. Some of my favourites are people riding right at me the wrong way down the road... and they're all on the road because they hate slower pedestrians getting in their way the same way cyclists get in the way of motorists (oh the irony).
People walking with their heads
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All but 1 of those things are the correct, legal way to ride in most places.
Re:List of folks with permanent rights of way (Score:5, Insightful)
3. Bicyclists
That one goes both ways. I see plenty of entitled cyclists asserting right of way when they don't have it, but I have also seen a number of times where drivers are either oblivious or malicious to bicyclists, nearly running them down. This includes cases where there are bike lanes and the cars feel the need to cross into said lanes for nothing more than getting around another car or running through crosswalks despite the signal and despite having a red.
tl:dr: people are dicks, especially on the road
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Re:Maybe Not (Score:4)
seriously if you're trying to get someone arrested/fined/sent to court just because they accidentally bumped into you on the sidewalk, then you have a much bigger issue than they do.
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It is more effective to stop and give them a really nasty mean-face. Pretending to tie your shoes is so passive-aggressive you've lost the aggression, and any potential influence on their future behavior.
If you whack them in the head they'll just learn there are evil people who will assault them. It wouldn't work. But dirty looks in a context where they have to modify their behavior and go around, it can have deep psychological impact on their subconscious attitudes.
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Nasty face isn't required, just the dead stare. Relax face completely and stare directly into the eyes of the other. Let them move. And don't look back, but they will.
I'm not imposing but move with purpose. And I'm not aggressive or passive, just standing there, staring at you. I've walked into larger drunk guys with their chick who initially start to act aggressive but stand down once they meet my eyes. The dead stare says "I don't care."
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It's a great idea to wear loafers and stop periodically to tie your shoes; people will go out of their way to avoid your personal space. No one wants to collide with a crazy person.
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I gotta go with, when in Rome do as the Romans do, and the person who doesn't know the local customs should be proactively staying out of the way of the locals passing by them.
You're a real "piece of work" to be calling somebody names over that one, wow.