Human Traffic Observations
Comments: 11
I try to stay well off the sidewalks when I’m cycling, but sometimes it can’t be helped. When approaching people, there are some behaviour patterns to watch out for. A few gross generalisations from today (and my responses):
- 3 or more women tend to cluster and are sometimes unsure of which way to go (wide berth)
- Business men spread out to take both sides of a thoroughfare because neither wants to walk in front of or behind the other (through the bottlenecked middle, added complication of oncoming traffic)
- Couples need to be assessed for romantic entanglement, the lack of which can create a situation where you’re dealing with two independent, unpredictable elements rather than a single binary configuration (wait for them to negotiate their moves and then act accordingly)
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Posted to General Rants • 2003.06.25 (Wed) • 17:51
Comments
Posted by gomichild 2003.06.25, 20:49
I get driven crazy here - whether I’m walking or cycling. I try not to collect anyone, but I’ve taken a few people out in my time.
People tend to stop right in front of me. It’s so bad that people who walk with me often even remark on it.
Cycling wise I’m guaranteed to have someone pull out their bicycle from where it is parked right into me.
I think the issue is one of space. Living in this crowded city you’d think it would make you more aware desho? But it seems more that people fight to claim their space more - often in disregard for others.
Posted by niji 2003.06.25, 21:16
great thread. i have a japanese friend. he also likes to walk very fast. when we are both together, there is no one in all of tokyo who can keep up with us. we do this pace while carrying on normal conversations. we complement each other on how we can read the person ahead of us and make our appropriate turnings on a dime at the slightest initial movement either left or right of the person in front of us. reading crowds is great sport. sizing up individuals in front of you is very interesting to do. guess wrong, and you walk on their heels.
japanese people in general exercise less caution at intersections than in people from europe. europeans exercise less caution than usamericans. i believe it comes from japanese people thinking that when your time is up, its up. and from usamericans having a propensity to always think they can change the world.
Posted by Jeff 2003.06.25, 21:24
I have a little bell on my bike to alert those ahead on the bike/walking paths I ride. These are not city streets and are not heavily used. However, on the weekends (when I mostly ride) they can be crowded.
Sometimes people are like deer. At the sound of a bell or the bikese: “On your left,” they freeze and can’t seem to move in either direction.
People wearing headphones are often a problem as are children on bikes (often with parents close behind.
Posted by Jim 2003.06.25, 23:35
Use your bell, but take a tip from me on a weird phenomenon: The quieter you use it and the farther back it is, the more effective it is. If you do it loud right behind someone, they never move. Ever. But give a little “ting” from 10 meters behind and they’ re sure to move. Probably turn to look, too. I’m sure there’s some fascinating psychology behind this…
Posted by Travis Morgan 2003.06.25, 23:37
I never stop, I just run over anybody and anything in my path. Hell, I’ll even try to take you out… no warning or anything.
Posted by Joel Sanda 2003.06.26, 00:07
The last time I said “On Your Left”, about 20 feet behind an elderly couple, the old man jumped right and his wife (?) jumped right. Both nearly hit the ground and in swerving I just missed clipping a cyclist from the other direction.
Now? At about 40 feet, more or less depending upon my speed, I say “Good morning/afternoon/evening”) if the person looks old enough to be my parents. If not I say “On your left”.
Posted by Chris 2003.06.26, 01:53
When I’m biking the worse thing for me to come up on from behind is a jogger with headphones with a dog. Usually when I encounter this person (usually a woman), it is on a trail. I try to slow down as much as possible and make noise. But it never fails that I always scare the crap out of someone. And those dogs. Those damn dirty dogs!
Posted by Travis Morgan 2003.06.26, 03:37
I hate it when I come up on a dog wearing headphones walking his owner… usually its a pug with a loose leash on his owner. The owner takes a poopoo next to the bike path and as the dog puts on his plastic gove to pick up the owners crap, I ring my bike bell to warn them and ram them both in the rear and they both fall head first into the owners poopoo. Yuck!
Posted by Hans 2003.06.26, 04:52
Oh you are stirring up one of my few irritations about bicycle commuting. A portion of my commute takes me across the Golden Gate Bridge. In the morning bikes must share the east walkway with the pedestrians. Not just your everyday pedestrians, but the awestruck, look at this, look at that, wander to and fro pedestrians. Many times I have rode towards a group of them spread across the path, all having eye contact that I am approaching, and none of them will move! Then there are the days when the tourist buses disgorge their stumbling masses. They fill and travel the walkway like a grande carne burrito passing through your guts. Avoid that mess!
Funny a friend of mine has a site Humancargo - in which he wrote about this very same thing yesterday.
How very odd.
Posted by Jeff 2003.06.26, 21:55
Jim, thanks for stating the tip about warning people while you’re still about 10 meters back. I agree. And I failed to mention that that is exactly how I work.
Hans, anyone who rides their bike over the Golden Gate has no right to complain —about anything! -grin
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