Why do so many people not signal when passing on trails?

[baiskeli]

@GreyBear 4230 wrote:

I think the answer is similar to the answer to the question, why don’t drivers use turn signals?

Yes! Glad you connected the two. I have noticed in recent years that lots of drivers don’ t use turn signals and lots of cyclists don’t warn when passing. Both annoy the hell out of me, at least when such warnings would have been useful to me.

[acc]

Last New Year’s Eve I crashed and immediately two cyclists came to my aid. The guy that caused the crash, not so much. One man helped me up, the other patched Spartacus together enough for me to limp him back home. They were genuinely concerned and helpful, one even followed me for awhile to make sure I was steady enough to make it.

In the last two weeks I’ve stopped twice to help other riders, once to adjust a saddle that slipped out of position and once to offer my tool to fix a pedal. As I was working on the saddle, at least five people asked if we were ok and finally a young man stopped, identified himself as a bike mechanic and finished the job.

I notice the trail has a different personality on weekends. Every time I’ve ever had a problem with iffy behavior it’s been on a weekend and generally not from the guys in the matching outfits 😮 To me the scariest rider is the person who rides once a week, they have a tendency to cut me off, fail to yield, ride close to the yellow line, and push to the front of a line of people waiting to get across a busy intersection.

ann

[CCrew]

@skreaminquadz 4245 wrote:

1/8 has a point. I”ll bet that the majority of the people on this forum do abide by the rules. I’ll bet the majority of the “buzzers” do not participate in any cycling forum, member or not.
.

I’ll cop to not always doing it. If I can pass with a wide margin, and it’s something like a lone jogger with earbuds obviously in I frequently don’t bother. Mom with a kid? I’ll slow long behind and announce. It’s more about the specifics of the pass, but I can admit that I don’t always call it out. I’ll NEVER buzz someone close.

I can’t buy into a lot of the behavior I see out there… most recent that comes to mind was a cyclist spitting on a guys hood that was partially in the crosswalk at Wiele & W&OD, nor will I open up on speed in areas like Vienna or Herndon, but I will cop to not *always* abiding by calling out passes nor stopping at all stop lights/signs.

[Mark Blacknell]

@CCrew 4252 wrote:

I’ll cop to not always doing it. If I can pass with a wide margin, and it’s something like a lone jogger with earbuds obviously in I frequently don’t bother. Mom with a kid? I’ll slow long behind and announce. It’s more about the specifics of the pass, but I can admit that I don’t always call it out. I’ll NEVER buzz someone close.

This is my approach. (I feel like we’ve had this discussion before . . .). I just try to avoid MUTs in general, but they’re often the only way to get across the Potomac, so I’ve spent many miles and hours on them. The utility of calling out varies greatly from season to season, and even by time of day. Mid-winter when it’s just me and the hardcore runners? You’ll get a ding (tho’ I suspect it’s mostly superfluous). Spring mid-week mid-day, and you look like a regular runner and there’s plenty of room to pass? Probably no call out. Summer, along Memorial Drive? Call out every time, even though it won’t matter a whit – it’s like navigating a herd of buffalo.

I’ve also spent a lot of time (tho’ fewer miles) as a runner on Arlington MUTs. Aside from the occasional incompetent cyclist who buzzed me, never really found a warning useful (tho’ I usually tried to acknowledge them with a wave). Don’t really understand how a lack of a warning can inspire so much annoyance.

[Dirt]

@OneEighth 4240 wrote:

The only thing any of us can really do is lead by example.

Good point. I’ve tried many different techniques for getting people to increase the frequency that they announce their intention to pass with no avail. Sarcasm and rudeness have been particularly unsuccessful, though they sometimes feel good for a few moments. The one that was really effective was the “Honk if you’re horny” sign on the back of my bucket panniers. I had a lot more people warning me of their intent to pass…. or they were just laughing at me. Not sure.

I’ve been running on local MUTs a bit more often these days. It is DANG scary sometimes. It is really good for me to do that now and then to remind me how obnoxious we are as cyclists. I’m a firm believer in spending a bit of time in someone else’s shoes. It reminds me that I need to slow down when I’m in an area with a fair amount of traffic of any kind. Do I really need to get to work any earlier? It is much better if I dial it back a little and be safe and polite. This has had an interesting effect. Last week I had three times where I almost got rear-ended by cyclists when I slowed, rather than make a dangerous or impolite pass. I was polite and kind to the loved and valued members of society who almost killed us all.

I’m actually pretty good about announcing my intent to pass. I pretty much do it all the time. On a rare occasion I’ll forget that I need to vocalize the warning… I guess that I just assume that people can hear the noises in my head. I think most of the regulars have heard my schtick for announcing my intent to pass. I’ve found that insane, psycho-babble singing (best when out of tune, off key and with the wrong words) alerts the world that I’m coming by. (This morning it was the Chicken Dance song.) People are not exactly sure what is going to pass them, but there’s little doubt that they don’t want it to be behind them.

Thanks for the great discussion.

Pete

PS: If you look carefully at the photo of my bucket panniers, you’ll see the black smudges at the bottom of the bucket. That’s where I actually was rear-ended by a cyclist who a) couldn’t believe that I would actually stop at a stop sign; and b) was texting while riding. I was polite and helpful in getting him back on his bicycle. I had to fix his front wheel and brake lever. I did laugh at him openly though. Sometimes it is hard to resist the “holier than thou” attitude. Gotta work on that.

[JimF22003]

I’m sure I announce my passes way more than the average user, but I won’t if 1) the trail is plenty wide, and I’ll be passing completely on the left side of the trail, 2) the person is wearing earbuds, 3) it’s a Mom/Dad with a wobbly kid on a bike. 99% of the time, the poor kid will be startled, look back, and just swerve right into the lane in front of me. I just coast on by with my hands on the brakes ready to ditch if I have to.

Basically I’m not an “always” person. I’ll do it when it makes sense, and when it is actually helpful.

[CCrew]

@acc 4247 wrote:

Every time I’ve ever had a problem with iffy behavior it’s been on a weekend and generally not from the guys in the matching outfits 😮

*sniff* I guess I’m going to have to mix my clothing so it doesn’t match so that I don’t get lumped in with the others. After all that time spent getting matching stockings and high heels for my kits too….

LOL. Seriously, I know exactly what you mean. Seems like the testosterone fueled stupidity runs high on the weekends.

[eminva]

@Dirt 4257 wrote:

I’m a firm believer in spending a bit of time in someone else’s shoes. It reminds me that I need to slow down when I’m in an area with a fair amount of traffic of any kind. Do I really need to get to work any earlier? It is much better if I dial it back a little and be safe and polite.

I think this is a good point and it bears repeating. Yes, we have had this conversation on this forum before and yes, we are somewhat preaching to the choir, but I think it is incumbent on those of us who use the trail A LOT to look out for the more vulnerable trail users, whether they be runners, pets being walked, small children, or even adults who are new bicyclists and may not be familiar with all the etiquette yet.

Tomorrow we’ll be back in the 90’s so I bet the trail quiets down a bit again. 😎

[acc]

LOL. Seriously, I know exactly what you mean. Seems like the testosterone fueled stupidity runs high on the weekends.

Heh, heh, heh.

I like using the multi-use trails because the odds are in my favor. I feel certain that even if everything goes wrong, I will survive the incident and live to ride another day. I don’t have the same soft fuzzy feeling out riding with short-fused, anger-prone drivers of multi-ton vehicles. Even if I play nice, obey all the traffic laws, and deck myself out in every neon color never found in nature, if bad things happen, I’m going to get hurt worse than the car every time.

On days like today, I can go long stretches on the W&O without seeing a single soul. Lots of baby ducks though.

ann

[Mark Blacknell]

@acc 4266 wrote:

On days like today, I can go long stretches on the W&O without seeing a single soul. Lots of baby ducks though.

And right now, somewhere on the Duck Internet, one of them is posting about some strange bird who flew by without even politely dropping off something to eat.

[acc]

Like I’m going to share my bugs. I caught them fair and square. The crunchy ones are quite tasty.

[baiskeli]

@JimF22003 4260 wrote:

I’m sure I announce my passes way more than the average user, but I won’t if 1) the trail is plenty wide, and I’ll be passing completely on the left side of the trail, 2) the person is wearing earbuds, 3) it’s a Mom/Dad with a wobbly kid on a bike. 99% of the time, the poor kid will be startled, look back, and just swerve right into the lane in front of me. I just coast on by with my hands on the brakes ready to ditch if I have to.

Basically I’m not an “always” person. I’ll do it when it makes sense, and when it is actually helpful.

Agree with this. I don’t expect EVERY pass to be called. But damn, I’ve had some close calls.

[Joe Chapline]

Here’s a thread from last March on this subject.

[Dirt]

@Joe Chapline 4294 wrote:

Here’s a thread from last March on this subject.

It’s good to know that I’m just as much of an idiot now as I was 3 months ago. The “Tie Me Kangaroo Down” days bring back fond memories for me.

[brendan]

@CCrew 4220 wrote:

Airzound for the win

I’m a fan of the double bell…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnL4fjMzsSU

Of course, everyone needs a bit more training.

I’ve followed pedestrians slowly on the bike when coming upon a congested area (or a complex tactical mix w/ kids/dogs/etc.). If I follow too long with my (noisy) bike, sometimes they move off the trail and I have to tell them “no, keep walking, I’m waiting for oncoming traffic to clear” or “it’s my responsibility to wait”.

Generally, no matter how wide the trail, I find passing folks while oncoming traffic is also passing them to be utterly moronic and won’t do it (often to the annoyance of cyclists behind me).

I’ve screwed up a couple of times, though. What happened was that I thought I was clear to pass (and belled/called it out) until I got closer when I realized I couldn’t really do it safely. I called out “stopping” or “slowing” (just in case someone is tailing too close) and hit the brakes. This inevitably alarms the folks I’m trying to pass (darn squeaky brakes). Then I apologize for the sudden noise. And get a tongue lashing. Which I deserve.

Brendan

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