[jnva]

@MCL1981 22925 wrote:

And your opinion is absurd, impossible, and irrational. Apparently your suggestion then is to simply stay home on the couch all day.

But I do that every day. Wow lots of angry people on this forum, I seem to have hit a nerve. I hope your not this angry while riding on the trails because you might run into someone.

Of course accidents happen. How I have managed to avoid hitting anyone on the wod/custis for the past 20 years must be a miracle then, huh?

[jnva]

I wish I could get rid of my car. Only use it on the weekends now. I have gone two weeks without getti g into a car, though and it felt great. I commute to work on my bike, and save about $20 per day doing this. That much saving is what motivates me to bike whenever I can.

[jnva]

Ok, you guys win. Kind of hard to type on this iPhone. You are putting words in my mouth and making it seem like I’m an idiot – so ok go ahead if it makes you feel better. Won’t change my opinion though.

Still I see cyclists do way more dangerous things than pedestrians on the mup. they have right of way. I have been yelled at and nearly hit while walking on the wod, this is where I am coming from…

[jnva]

@jabberwocky 22854 wrote:

Just because she was the person killed doesn’t mean she wasn’t at fault.

Again, its tragic and all, but every report and news article I’ve seen clearly stated that the cyclist called their pass (both with a bell and actually calling out) and the lady moved into his path.

My opinion is that on a MUP, if a pedestrian is hit and killed by a cyclist, it’s not the pedestrians fault. Sorry if that is not the opinion of others on this forum but that’s how I feel. Calling a pass is great and all but you also need to be in control of your vehicle in case something jumps out in front of you, especially if it’s a person, and especially if you see that person ahead of you in time to make multiple calls and bell rings.

[jnva]

@creadinger 22833 wrote:

I read the report. It is detailed and clearly shows a situation that was out of the cyclists control (not that he was out of control like the a-hole in CA). Maybe I’m being a little nit-picky, but your statements are a little less specific and imply guilt of the cyclist when this was just a tragic accident.

You mean she turned around into the path of the cyclist right? The way you said it makes it sound like she stuck to the right side of the trail leaving plenty of room for him to pass while turning around, instead of veering to the left as the report states. And also below you indicate that you think the cyclist is at fault for passing her going too fast when you have no idea how fast he was actually going.

To me it sounds like he did everything the right way (ringing a bell and calling out twice), plus his age (60s) and choice of bike (mountain) also says to me he’s not a TdF wannabe who rides way too fast. Sometimes simple little things can turn tragic. End of story. Why did the woman veer to the left into his path? No one will ever know. Maybe she stepped on a small rock causing her to lose balance and she stepped to the left as she looked back. Whatever it was, all we can do is speculate which does nothing but indicate your own opinions and is what I believe you have done above.

You just put more opinion in this one post than I have in all of mine combined ever on this forum! You can disagree with my opinion all you want, it won’t change the fact that the woman was the victim here. I am no noob to cycling and have lived in this area my entire life, so yes I have an opinion about use and misuse of the Mups.

[jnva]

@creadinger 22818 wrote:

Fortunately, you opinion about what you think the woman did or did not do, and your leading questions about the cyclist’s behavior (guilty in your mind) will not factor into the accident reconstruction or any type of police report. You don’t KNOW anything more than other people here about what happened, yet you think you do.

This is what I know. I don’t what I said that makes you think I am not stating anything but fact. The victim turned around moving into the path of the cyclist … That’s not my words…

(Updated at 9:25 a.m.) An 80-year-old woman has died after being hit by a bicyclist on the Four Mile Run Trail this morning.
The incident happened around 7:15 this morning (Monday) on the trail near the intersection of Columbia Pike and Four Mile Run Drive. According to police, an adult male cyclist was coming down a hill when he called out “on your left, on your left,” to the victim, who was walking on trail.
The victim turned around, moving into the path of the cyclist, and said “what? — at which time she and the cyclist collided, according to*Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. The woman fell backwards and her head hit the pavement, causing significant trauma.

[jnva]

wrote:

That gives you plenty of time to take evasive action if you get a squirrel response.
Bell Good.

Squirrel response is a good analogy! I like it… But what puzzles me about this particular incident is that I can’t see a 70 year old woman reacting like a squirrel. It sounds like she just turned around, not dashing in front of the cyclist.

[jnva]

@KLizotte 22430 wrote:

Shouldn’t we expect the same behavior from peds? They are walking in a roadway (call it a park or trail but it is essentially a road)

Wow. I couldn’t disagree more. It’s not a road.

[jnva]

@DOS 22219 wrote:

This is why I have for the most part stopped using trails. One of cardinal rules I follow as a cyclist riding in traffic is to be predictable so the cars can anticipate what I might do. Pedestrians simply are not predicatable; while cars, to a much greater degree, are. They tend to stop at signs and lights, signal tuirns, etc (not always, of course). What it comes down to is that, because I am significantly less confident in my ability to anticpate the behavior of pedestrians than I am of automobile traffic , I am way more afraid of running into and injuring/being injured by a pedestrian than I am of getting hit by a car.

Yep, I feel the same. That’s why I am so carefull on the trails but I try to stick to the roads as much as possible. Pedestrians step into the trail not realizing that it’s a “transportation corridor”. They don’t read this forum nor do they care about cyclists rights or rules. Most of them are just out for a walk and there’s nothing wrong with that.

[jnva]

@MCL1981 22094 wrote:

This is impractical and unreasonable. Hitting a pedestrian with a moving bicycle is going to knock both of you over regardless and both are going to get hurt. Assume a walking pace of 3mph. So you want everyone to slow down to 4mph to pass every pedestrian?? Sorry. Not happening. If someone is going to do something to cause a terrible accident, then there is nothing you, I, or anyone else can do about it.

I have had people jump in front of me many many times, and i have never hit anyone becuase yes, I slow down to just above walking speed when passing people. especially elderly and young kids.

You have the right to go whatever speed you want, I prefer to make sure I dont hit someone.

[jnva]

@KLizotte 22018 wrote:

A MUP first and foremost is a *transportation corridor*.

Really? I’m not trying to be sarcastic here, but I thought the wod/custis/ 4mr trails were recreational first and foremost. If its a transportation corridor then why aren’t motorized vehicles allowed?

[jnva]

@5555624 21981 wrote:

I admit that one reason I do it is because some people don’t move, even when it’s clear that they heard or saw me before the pass, so I think that by saying “Thanks,” they might move the next time.

I thought pedestrians have the right of way on a multiuser path – why do you want them to move? This is the problem I have with this situation. I have a hard time believing this 80 year old woman was ignoring the cyclists warnings. If you as a cyclist can not stop in time to avoid hitting a pedestrian on a mup, then you are going too fast.

[jnva]

@TwoWheelsDC 21236 wrote:

What do you mean by “time to react”? If you are running/walking in a predictable fashion, it seems that you shouldn’t need to “react” to anything. I don’t say this to imply that cyclists don’t really need to call out passes, but I think the problem extends beyond cyclists not announcing, particularly with trail users who don’t know why cyclists call out passes and users with headphones on and/or who are oblivious to their surroundings. Yesterday, for example, I was approaching a woman pushing one of those SUV strollers. I saw her look over her shoulder, so I assumed she saw me, as right after that she started moving to the right of the trail. I also slowed and started moving to the left and just as I got out “on your…” (when I was probably 25 feet behind her, going maybe 10mph) she quickly pulled a 180 with the stroller across the whole path. Because I had slowed, I was able to stop in plenty of time, but it seemed pretty clear to me that it wouldn’t have mattered how well I called the pass, because she just was too absorbed with entertaining her kid that she had no idea of what was going on on the trail.

Well, I always assume that no matter how well I call out, ding my bell, or whatever there is a chance I won’t be seen or heard. Maybe that lady was deaf and had bad eyesight? Pedestrians have the righ of way on the wod…

[jnva]

I went for a 10 mile run yesterday west of Vienna on the wod. Must have been passed by 100 bikes and only 5 called out passes, and only 1 did it correctly calling back far enough to give me time to react. The others called out when they were right on me and already passing. No bells at all which I found interesting. It doesn’t really bother me that bikers don’t call because I can hear them coming. I just wonder at what point they will learn their lesson and begin calling passes.

When on my bike I always always always ding my bell and slow down. It has saved me from hitting people many times. And it needs to be done far enough in advance so that the runner has time to react. This is why a bell is better than calling out IMO. It can be heard farther away.

[jnva]

@mstone 19269 wrote:

the question is whether it’s a good idea to have your preferred kind of vehicle on the trails. you obviously have your opinion, others obviously have theirs, and the thread is just looping at this point.

Looping – ok whatever… My preferred vehicle on the trail happens to be no vehicle. I do most of my running on the wod. My second preferred vehicle is a bike, just like most others on this forum. For commuting, it’s my ebike. I don’t think I’m alone here, like I said before I’m just trying to add some sense to some of these posts that may be discouraging people from bike commuting who could easily do it with an ebike.

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