Who gives a warning. . .

HausFinch
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Who gives a warning. . .

Postby HausFinch » Wed Aug 22, 2018 7:01 pm

. . .when passing another cyclist from the rear? I always say "passing on your right!" as I approach from behind, but almost no one ever alerts me. I'm getting tired of the faux racer (actually, commuter) surprise attack. Any one else have an opinion?

march83
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Re: Who gives a warning. . .

Postby march83 » Wed Aug 22, 2018 7:05 pm

I do a lot more passing than getting passed and I always ding my bell

AdelaidePeter
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Re: Who gives a warning. . .

Postby AdelaidePeter » Wed Aug 22, 2018 8:03 pm

I always ring my bell on a path, unless the path is very wide or the front cyclist is obviously keeping their line. I don't tend to ring on a road because there's lots of room.

Only tonight I saw two cyclists almost crash, because the slower front one veered off his line just as the other was passing. In my mind the passing cyclist was more at fault, because there's no law saying the front one must ride in a straight line. [EDIT: This was on a shared path, and the front cyclist was on a BMX].
Last edited by AdelaidePeter on Wed Aug 22, 2018 10:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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cyclotaur
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Re: Who gives a warning. . .

Postby cyclotaur » Wed Aug 22, 2018 8:08 pm

I say just keep left unless overtaking, and expect to be overtaken yourself occasionally - and don’t be a dick when riding up behind someone. Slow down a bit, say something, and only overtake when it’s safe to do so or if they are going too slow to sit behind for awhile.

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ironhanglider
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Re: Who gives a warning. . .

Postby ironhanglider » Wed Aug 22, 2018 9:08 pm

I appreciate a warning, however too much information is as bad as none. Generally "Passing on your right" comes out as "Right" because the first few words are lost in rousing consciousness. "Passing" is just as effective. If I hear a warning of whatever sort, I will typically hold my line and flick a wave as acknowledgement.

Whilst a bell can seem a little impersonal or even aggressive, the way it is used has a big impact. I find many people use the bell too late, and it only brings a startled response, which is at best unpredictable. If it is rung early enough, people have time to register its meaning and respond. IME people appreciate having time to do so.

I pass a lot of walkers (and an occasional cyclist) and I ping the bell from about 5s out and then say "Morning" or "Evening" as appropriate as I pass, particularly to those who have acknowledged with a gesture or movement that they have heard me. I get a lot of no-responses, but enough greetings and thank-you's for me to continue to do so.

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DavidS
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Re: Who gives a warning. . .

Postby DavidS » Wed Aug 22, 2018 9:38 pm

I tend not to as it can cause an unpredictable reaction. Bit of a toss up I suppose.

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AdelaidePeter
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Re: Who gives a warning. . .

Postby AdelaidePeter » Wed Aug 22, 2018 10:35 pm

ironhanglider wrote: Whilst a bell can seem a little impersonal or even aggressive, the way it is used has a big impact. I find many people use the bell too late, and it only brings a startled response, which is at best unpredictable. If it is rung early enough, people have time to register its meaning and respond. IME people appreciate having time to do so.
I completely agree. The trick is to ring it far enough back to not startle them, but close enough so they hear. This applies both for pedestrians, and cyclists who are much slower than me.

When overtaking a cyclist who is only slightly slower, there's less need to ring, because I'm inching past not whooshing past.

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Re: Who gives a warning. . .

Postby Jmuzz » Wed Aug 22, 2018 11:21 pm

Would just be nice if people would move into the righthand lane when overtaking on a deserted divided pathway.
You know, obey the rules like it's a real road.

Zero oncoming traffic, good vision, but still have to pass with a few inches gap in the same lane having some pro race peleton fantasy.
The same riders usually do the same to pedestrians which causes tension and gets them carrying sticks (I encounter one who carrys a red ski pole and makes a show of keeping it pointed backwards at 45deg protrusion) or walking on the wrong side.

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jaseyjase
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Re: Who gives a warning. . .

Postby jaseyjase » Thu Aug 23, 2018 10:54 am

I dont give a warning, but i do my best to ensure that i

- make sure the path is wide enough with no oncoming traffic
- look ahead of the rider to see if theres anything obstructing them which may cause them to veer into me when i do pass
- moderate my speed, if i feel i cant overtake quick enough i might hang back a bit.

alot easier when passing only one rider, bit trickier when its a bunch.

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Mububban
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Re: Who gives a warning. . .

Postby Mububban » Thu Aug 23, 2018 1:18 pm

One bell ring from a moderate distance away, hopefully informing them without startling them.

Sometimes though I just pass if the rider is way left and I can go wide right, and the speed differential is enough for me to pass quickly. If it's a closely matched speed, I always use the bell.
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P!N20
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Re: Who gives a warning. . .

Postby P!N20 » Thu Aug 23, 2018 4:09 pm

Firstly I arrange a community consultation meeting to gauge the concerns of the affected parties, then I put up a sign 30 days prior to the pass clearly stating my intentions and procedures for lodging an objection. If no objections are received I e-mail the passee with details and timing of the pass, followed up with a phone call to confirm receipt of the e-mail. Once the pass has been completed I request the passee to complete an anonymous survey on how I could have passed better.

HausFinch
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Re: Who gives a warning. . .

Postby HausFinch » Thu Aug 23, 2018 6:01 pm

Very funny. That sounds like an ethics application I filed recently to do research at ANU. You seem to know the drill. The best way to avoid accidents is to cease forward motion entirely.
I'm not against fast riding, and admit I can be as hard charging as anyone on wheels at times. But I never blow past people without giving them a heads up. Scrubbing sand out of flesh is not the outcome I'm after. Just last week I collided with a guy head on as we both came round a blind corner. He admitted he was looking in the wrong direction. He was fine. I had three deeply scored and bleeding knuckles.

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Re: Who gives a warning. . .

Postby find_bruce » Thu Aug 23, 2018 6:24 pm

I got passed by ~30 cyclists on my commute home tonight. Every one passed safely & not one rang a bell & that's the way I prefer it, in that order

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g-boaf
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Re: Who gives a warning. . .

Postby g-boaf » Thu Aug 23, 2018 7:20 pm

P!N20 wrote:Firstly I arrange a community consultation meeting to gauge the concerns of the affected parties, then I put up a sign 30 days prior to the pass clearly stating my intentions and procedures for lodging an objection. If no objections are received I e-mail the passee with details and timing of the pass, followed up with a phone call to confirm receipt of the e-mail. Once the pass has been completed I request the passee to complete an anonymous survey on how I could have passed better.
Perfect! :lol: Best response of all - exactly what was needed. :)

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Re: Who gives a warning. . .

Postby nezumi » Fri Aug 24, 2018 7:48 am

On topic - riding home late(ish) last night along the St Georges Rd shared bike path, I rang my bell twice and called out passing to a rider ahead who was on a decent looking bike and seemed to be having a bit of fun moving side-to-side on the path. Right as I was about to path, the side-to-side movements turned into a swerve into my side of the path.

I touched the anchors and called out at him - no response as I passed.

Further up the path I turned off and joined the road (one of the many intersections where the lights are painful to cyclists). As I did so, the lane I went into got a green light so I kept going and turned back onto the shared path - he called out at that point, yelling something about me not giving way(?)

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Re: Who gives a warning. . .

Postby AUbicycles » Tue Aug 28, 2018 3:20 am

Depends on experience (of the riders ahead)... the bell does put some people into a state of panic.
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twowheels
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Re: Who gives a warning. . .

Postby twowheels » Tue Aug 28, 2018 8:06 am

I check my mirror periodically so I know what is happening behind and take evasive action if I see a Jeep.

fat and old
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Re: Who gives a warning. . .

Postby fat and old » Tue Aug 28, 2018 8:09 am

Every pass is an exercise in "what now" for me. P!N20 sums it up well.

1Rowdy1
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Re: Who gives a warning. . .

Postby 1Rowdy1 » Fri Aug 31, 2018 5:08 pm

I'm trying to remember if I have ever been fast enough to pass someone.

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kb
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Re: Who gives a warning. . .

Postby kb » Thu Sep 06, 2018 7:33 am

1Rowdy1 wrote:I'm trying to remember if I have ever been fast enough to pass someone.
Join the folk who “give a warning” when others pass them ;-)
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g-boaf
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Re: Who gives a warning. . .

Postby g-boaf » Thu Sep 06, 2018 9:26 pm

HausFinch wrote:Very funny. That sounds like an ethics application I filed recently to do research at ANU. You seem to know the drill. The best way to avoid accidents is to cease forward motion entirely.
I'm not against fast riding, and admit I can be as hard charging as anyone on wheels at times. But I never blow past people without giving them a heads up. Scrubbing sand out of flesh is not the outcome I'm after. Just last week I collided with a guy head on as we both came round a blind corner. He admitted he was looking in the wrong direction. He was fine. I had three deeply scored and bleeding knuckles.

Fast riding isn't the problem, you've got to be really alert at all times. And even more so in a big group of riders (say 50 or more). All it takes is a narrowing road, road furniture or a sharp turn and if someone isn't paying attention it can result in a big accident.

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