To ask how we stop dangerous cyclists

[Everythingisnumbersnow]

Why do the most dangerous ones wear those stupid little headcams too? YOU'RE the problem, guy.

Your question is ridiculous and discriminatory.

Most deaf people have learned to be more observant as they are aware their loss of hearing means they are at a disadvantage regarding awareness.

Not quite right

In the UK, electric bikes (e-bikes) with a maximum power output of 250 watts or less are legally classed as Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles (EAPCs).

E-bikes with a higher power output or that can go faster than 15.5 miles per hour (mph) are classed as motorcycles or mopeds.

E-bikes that are not EAPCs must be registered and insured like mopeds.

You must have a driving license to ride a motorcycle or moped, and you must wear a crash helmet.

for instance with a 750W e-bike

You can use it on private land with the landowner's permission.

You can get an electric bike license to ride it on public roads.

The problem is that e-bikes that are over 250W are being sold on sites with 250 W e-bikes and people often don't know the law.

Yes thanks for that clarification- you put it much better than me 😃

Where can I get my superhero powers?

I've got tinnitus and moderate hearing loss in the mid-highs. This means that whilst minding my own business walking on a path, I get all of the following amplified because they are in similar ranges;

Road noise. It's not all deep rumbling.
Bits of car stereos.
People speaking.
Any water on the road.
The wind across me, behind or towards me. The HA tries to allow for it, but it moves, as do I, so it's never coming in one fixed direction in relation to my position.
The leaves in the trees.
The tinnitus.
The sound of the HA itself. Slightly less annoying than the Tinnitus. But not by much.
The sound of my trousers, coat and bag as I walk.
My footsteps on the path. Worse with gravel or shared path textures.
My breathing.
Some birdsong. Which is quite nice.
The HA automatically switching to sounds in different directions and on/off depending upon what's going past, the weather, the predominant frequencies and whatever its programming deems appropriate.

And I'll add in something else that falls directly within the frequency range that the HA is already amplifying to an equal volume as all of those - a bicycle. The wheels, tyres and chain, like those other sounds I've listed, are slap bang in the frequencies that need to be amplified in order to understand human speech, particularly sibilance and voiced, unvoiced or where there's elision in consonants (plosives aren't too bad, but in fairness, they're also very easy to lipread). So they're drowned out by everything. Which means I'm unlikely to hear a bike coming, unlikely to hear a cyclist wittering behind me and the chances of actually being able to place a bell sound from behind as being behind and approaching is minimal.

I'm also walking forwards - walking backwards or repeatedly spinning around to see whether I can catch a cyclist I don't even know is there because of the rest of the noise is somewhat impractical. I do not have eyes in the back of my head, despite what my children and pets grew up believing, nor do I have rear view mirrors or glasses that give me the visual field of a rabbit.

You're approaching from an auditory dead spot and a visual blind spot but seem to think that none of that matters as somebody like me will have 'learned' to see more.

To become, as you so blithely declare in your repetition of the The Disabled Have Superpowers Ablelist trope, 'more observant' like 'most deaf people', is simply not true.

Moving out of the way as a pedestrian typically takes one step, possibly two, to the side.

Moving out of the way as a cyclist typically means coming to a stop.

That's quite different.

Also, cars cause far more irritation to me than bikes. Because I see more of them and they never move out of the way when I want them to.

If you are unable to move out of the way of a pedestrian you are going too fast.

Cyclist and pedestrian path side by side clearly marked differences in colour and BIG painting of a bike on the bike side bike rides on the pedestrian side rings his bell aggressively telling us to move move MOVE!

Cyclist at the traffic lights goes infront and crosses as a pedestrian

Cyclist overtakes a horse dings his bell nearly loses his face gets his arse handed to him on the Facebook group for using a BRIDLEWAY as a racetrack

The middle one is daily at the bottom of my road same guy he also likes to ride up the middle of a road so you can't overtake him I'm near a police station so I'm hoping they catch him at it

I think you misunderstood. I was responding to a poster comparing a pedestrian moving out of a cyclist's way to a cyclist moving out of a car's way. I can see how my comment didn't make that clear.

Actually this is true although I rely less on my HA when I'm driving but I am wearing my glasses I don't need my glasses when I'm walking so I'm disadvantaged further

This thread has reminded me that a significant minority of people dislike cyclists regardless of whether or not we obey the rules.

I’ve been shouted at for legitimately ringing my bell but also for using “excuse me please”. Pedestrians walking on the wrong side of a marked split path always think they’re in the right. Ditto if they have let their dogs wonder all over the path and I ask them to move.

I don’t think I’m morally better because I cycle. I obey signs and the Highway Code. Sod it- maybe I’ll just give up and start jumping red lights.

Lol this

This is everything and more

I wouldn’t expect a pedestrian to move out my way if there isn’t space to do so. What I’d like is on a wide shared use path is that when a bike approaches they take one step to the side allowing both themselves and the bike to pass/continue. I don’t think that’s too much to ask and all the pedestrians I pass seem very happy to do this. I slow down to pass safely and say thanks to them. They smile and often say thanks. Everyone is happy.

if a pedestrian didn’t do this and blocked a path by continuing in the middle of the path this would be the equivalent of two or three cyclists riding side by side, centred on the white line and not allowing cars past in either direction. Never seen it. Can’t imagine it happening.

yes at some times cyclists may be two abreast on their side of the road but there is still space to pass when there’s no oncoming traffic. The same as if overtaking a car. Drivers don’t seem to realise the important safety aspect of cyclists staying two abreast. If we went single file a car behind could try and squeeze past even when there’s oncoming traffic. It’s not safe and puts us at risk. It’s also quicker and easier for a car to pass 3 pairs of cyclists than 6 bikes in a line, the car is overtaking for a shorter distance when the cyclists are in pairs.

Cyclists are the main problem on shared paths here, thinking they own it and the pedestrians shouldn't be on it. Barely any stick to their marked side, and they travel at significant speed too.

I tried sticking to the marked side yesterday and some woman had a go at me.

TBH anyone in dark clothing at night.

Decades ago there was a govt. ad on TV - ‘Wear something light at night!’ Time to revive it? - not that I expect many would take any notice…

I get cycled straight at when I'm on my side. I stand my ground as much as possible though.

People need to learn what bloody signs mean. Drives me mad!

The worst is when you are walking in a narrow pedestrian marked lane and a cyclist wants to overtake another cyclist, or pass head on. The number of cyclists who think you should just get off your side of the path to let them do so, rather than them wait until the path is clear, is frustrating.

Not even night time. All low cloud days, late morning and afternoon particularly in the countryside when you are passing in and out of tree canopies. Goes for dog walkers and runners as well.

I'm pretty sure that the drivers complaining about cyclists, would complain just as loudly about the traffic congestion caused if all the cyclists were driving instead.

I work in London and most cyclists are great, they even call our other cyclists but the ones who aren't are awful. I have to cross Oxford street and it's mainly the food delivery bikes and people on the Boris bikes that ignore the lights I cross at. To be fair twice I have seen the police pulling over every cyclist going through a red light.
I have more of a problem with the bikes being on the pavement. I can't hear well and I am not expecting a bike behind me on a busy Oxford street. Most of them seem to be tourists, too scared to ride on the road or thinking it's legal to ride on the pavements.
The police don't have enough resources for everything and I think pedestrians have their part to play to get off their phones and be aware when crossing a road. A green light isn't a guarantee nothing will be there.

"Too scared to ride on the road"

And why might that be ?

Could it be that the chance of a cyclist being injured or killed by a car is much higher than the chance of a pedestrian being killed or injured by a cyclist ?

Until we control the car drivers better cyclists will be forced to chose - illegal or dead

I always stick up for cyclists, as I have upthread, due to their vulnerability on the road. But my experience as a pedestrian with cyclists has not been good. My partner was hit very hard by a cyclist on the towpath near us. He shouted for us to move at the last minute and we panicked a bit. DP went one way and I went another, so the cyclist ended up ploughing into DP. DP's leg had a huge gouge out of it. There was no apology. He said he had warned us. Yeah, when he was practically on top of us. I am normally very passive but was absolutely raging. The Tour de France might have been mentioned. And how the council had made it very easy for him to understand the rule to give way to pedestrians - by providing a FUCKING SIGN. Grrr. Still pisses me off years later. We have had many near misses too. One man nearly smashed into us when we had our children with us. DP shouted after him and he came back for a confrontation. Turned out to be a man DP was in the next bed to in hospital a couple of years before. So they were all happy and blokey with each other and I had to zip it or look like a killjoy spoiling their reunion😆

I was in stop start traffic the other day, moving and a cyclist going much faster than all of us cars came out of nowhere and tried to squeeze past my car on the left as I was moving. He then had the audacity to bang on MY window and scream "you nearly hit me!". I didn't. I was simply driving at about 5mph in a straight line keeping up with the rest of the traffic and he wanted to get past. admittedly there was not enough space for a bike to squeeze past but that's because traffic was moving on the other side of the road so I couldn't leave a 1.5m gap for bikes to squeeze past (no cycle lane). I didn't say to him that it was also his responsibility to not try and squeeze between the curb and my car from behind but he didn't seem to think that was his issue at all. Ultimately it wasn't dangerous just so annoying to be told I was doing something wrong when an aggressive cyclist couldn't be bothered to wait in traffic like everyone else so tried to push through.

I couldn't disagree more, by far the most annoying vehicles on the roads are cars - lethal, dangerous, noisy, polluting, dominating, and aggressive