The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

[uart]

Keep on running into groups of idiot teenagers while going around Cootha

I find that a lot of young teens, mostly pedestrians but sometimes also on bikes, behave like they're living in a little bubble where nothing exists outside of their immediate group. Like almost zero awareness that anything even exists outside of that.

Had a classic a few weeks ago on a shared path here in Newcastle. Big group of about 14 year old's taking up the entire path width and busily talking among themselves. I'm approaching head on from a few hundred meters away in broad daylight, only going slow (15kph) as it's a busy pedestrian area. As I approach them I slow more, 10 kph then 5 kph, and finally a dead stop about 5m away from them. One young girl, enthusiastically flapping her hands and her gums as she prattles away with her friends, walks straight into my front wheel, one leg going either side! (And that's after I had been fully stopped for about 3 to 5 seconds). I nearly pissed myself laughing, and then all her friends started laughing at her as well, as she stood there for a moment in shock completely straddling my front wheel.

[Mr Purple]

Keep on running into groups of idiot teenagers while going around Cootha

I find that a lot of young teens, mostly pedestrians but sometimes also on bikes, behave like they're living in a little bubble where nothing exists outside of their immediate group. Like almost zero awareness that anything even exists outside of that.

Pretty much. This was on 'Cootha Front' which is a divided road and had about 3m of shoulder plus the car lane and four of them managed to occupy essentially the entire width of this while wobbling erratically. I called 'bike up' and picked my way through and they decided to have a go at me.

I imagine they thought they were the fastest people on the mountain because of how fast they were suffering and being passed at a ridiculous speed (it was during the fastest overall Cootha Front this month so far) probably just brought home how unfit they actually were. Probably didn't help that I'm a little guy and was wearing my brightest pink jersey with matching socks to really threaten their masculinity!

I think we were all dumb teenagers at some stage so try to take that into consideration. But in this situation maybe mocking the person flying past you wasn't the best idea - I had full freedom to say whatever I like in reply (and I did) because it's pretty obvious you're not catching up.

[bychosis]

I find that a lot of young teens, mostly pedestrians but sometimes also on bikes, behave like they're living in a little bubble where nothing exists outside of their immediate group. Like almost zero awareness that anything even exists outside of that.

You sound surprised by that! Teens are well known to be not aware of their surroundings and having very little risk awareness. They think they are bullet proof but can only see what's going to hit them from directly in front.

[antigee]

I'm fairly forgiving of packs of teenagers - coffee carrying adults full width of path taking no notice of what is going on gets me - and I know they drove there with similar awareness level

[Andy01]

Keep on running into groups of idiot teenagers while going around Cootha

as she stood there for a moment in shock completely straddling my front wheel.

And these are the same people going out and getting driver's licences and being let loose on society in a 1,600kg lump of metal at speed

[Mr Purple]

And these are the same people going out and getting driver's licences and being let loose on society in a 1,600kg lump of metal at speed

It's interesting, isn't it?

Have you ever looked directly at a driver who's done a particularly stupid and/or careless move while you're either riding or driving? I find more often than not they're some combination of morbidly obese, extremely old, or young and covered in tattoos with an extreme attitude problem.

Often they're the sort of person who seems unlikely to be able to walk down a narrow hallway without causing some sort of incident. And yet we trust them with driver's licences? To make it worse the older, more obese and more infirm they are the more likely they feel they 'need' some sort of enormous SUV because they're incapable of getting into or out of a smaller car. To many people 'driving' is the most exercise they'll get most days, and you do have to wonder how good their spatial awareness, reflexes and co-ordination are.

People absolutely need transport, and this is especially important for people with significant disabilities, but at what point do we admit that some people just make the roads more dangerous for everyone? Personally I'd like to see some sort of schedule for retesting literally everyone with a driver's licence - even five yearly would be fine for most. At the moment you get your licence when you're 18 and are assumed to be safe for the next 57 years until you start needing annual medical certificates.

[duncanm]

I find that a lot of young teens..behave like they're living in a little bubble where nothing exists outside of their immediate group..

breaking news at 11!

[AdelaidePeter]

And these are the same people going out and getting driver's licences and being let loose on society in a 1,600kg lump of metal at speed

It's interesting, isn't it?

Have you ever looked directly at a driver who's done a particularly stupid and/or careless move while you're either riding or driving? I find more often than not they're some combination of morbidly obese, extremely old, or young and covered in tattoos with an extreme attitude problem.

Really? I reckon that in my experience, most dangerous drivers fit none of those categories. Instead they are ordinary looking people who do dangerous things because they are on their phone, or don't know give way rules, or can't wait a couple of seconds to go around a cyclist (or slower driver), etc.

Mind you it could be skewed by the fact that most of my riding is commuting, when most of the people driving are "respectable" people on their way to/from work.

[Mr Purple]

I'm also probably talking about only the most ridiculous, dangerous and ill-considered maneouvres which are the cases I look at the driver to see exactly why this has happened.

Almost inevitably it's someone who looks like they shouldn't be in charge of a vehicle.

From the bike I usually don't get a look at the driver at all. They're long gone after causing whatever chaos they caused.

[Shred11]

I find more often than not they're some combination of morbidly obese, extremely old, or young and covered in tattoos with an extreme attitude problem.

We desperately need regular re-testing for all drivers.

I’ve also observed that the more trouble someone seems to have moving under their own power, the more aggressively they seem to drive. Not so much for the elderly, but certainly for the young to late middle aged individuals with a high BMI. It’s like they use the car to compensate for their lack of mobility on two legs.

[ningnangnong]

Yesterday I was minding my own business, riding along a main road in the shoulder which isn't a proper bike lane, but does have a separate broken line and bike symbol, as you can see here - https://maps.app.goo.gl/aXky2aJ7seciqgK78

Anyway, as I'm powering along (quite slowly mind you as I was going into a brutal headwind haha), all of a sudden some girl on a bike riding on the wrong side of the road, against the traffic pulls out from the front of this parked Hilux - https://i.imgur.com/nGiAM3t.jpg

I had all of maybe a second to react, if that, and unfortunately we both turned in the same direction, so I went straight into her, head on. I came off into the middle of the left hand lane - I'm not sure if she even hit the deck, as she was almost immediately up and about and moved my bike off the road, while I was still processing what the hell had just happened.

I was absolutely fuming once I had got myself up - I asked what she was doing riding on the wrong side of the road against the traffic? She claimed she was allowed to as it was a 'bike lane' and she's seen other people do it. No matter what I argued, she would not accept she was in the wrong. I was incandescent.

I asked for her details in case my bike is damaged (which it is, of course) and she didn't want to give me those. I had to threaten a call to the police, before she would give me her first name and a phone number... who even knows if it's correct, I haven't tried it yet.

Two motorists pulled over to check we were okay and were there while I was talking with her, but unfortunately neither of them reckon they saw what happened.

I only had the Varia on the back, which captures the impact and the ensuing disagreement about who was in the wrong. No camera on the front (I'll 110% be buying a Fly12 now).

I'm mostly okay, though my jaw/left side of my face is giving me some discomfort. Can only eat soft foods at the moment - tried to chew some harder foods and it's too painful.I have no issue opening and closing my mouth, there's no swelling or anything, so I'm hopeful it's just the impact that's made the muscle sore or something? Who knows. Will give it a few days.

I'm at a loss on what to do, might just write it off and not bother trying to contact her. She was only early 20s and riding a beat-up old ladies Repco Exodus, and on her way to work apparently. At a guess, I'd say she's a student or something. I don't envisage her being very co-operative if I do contact her.

If there is a proper issue with my jaw though, I guess I will see the police.

I don't know, I just find this whole experience incredibly frustrating and demoralising. I tried watching the video back from my Varia again last night, and I started feeling so angry at her absolute refusal to admit or try to understand why she was in the wrong, I had to switch it off.

[jasonc]

geez. ningnangnong. i wouldn't let it go. if you let these things go, then they don't learn. choices have consequences. she impacted your physical health and your property. she needs to pay for it

[warthog1]

Agree with Jason.
She needs to take responsibility and change her behaviour. No consequence for her and she is lesss likely to.

[Andy01]

At the very least report it to the police so that there is a record. Much harder to deal with if you have a real issue in a week's time and then try to report it - they will ask why it wasn't reported at the time. The police might have the official verdict on whether she was legally in the wrong as well (the rules are strange sometimes).

Are you covered by insurance ?

[elantra]

^^^ Crikeys - I suspect that being an experienced bike rider you would be aware of about 101 different types of hazard that you might face.

And getting hit by another bike rider travelling on the wrong side of a semi-major road is not one of them !

It’s a disheartening experience

[g-boaf]

If there is a proper issue with my jaw though, I guess I will see the police.

I don't know, I just find this whole experience incredibly frustrating and demoralising. I tried watching the video back from my Varia again last night, and I started feeling so angry at her absolute refusal to admit or try to understand why she was in the wrong, I had to switch it off.

I hope you get through it okay. These days you have to be on the watch for everything.

[elantra]

If there is a proper issue with my jaw though, I guess I will see the police.

I don't know, I just find this whole experience incredibly frustrating and demoralising. I tried watching the video back from my Varia again last night, and I started feeling so angry at her absolute refusal to admit or try to understand why she was in the wrong, I had to switch it off.

I hope you get through it okay. These days you have to be on the watch for everything.

And if your jaw is not getting better by Monday morning you will need to get XR done to make sure that there is no crack in it near the Temporo-Mandibular joint.

I used to work near the University of Queensland and I used to occasionally see students doing very silly things - like what happened to ningnangnong.

Then one day I had a first-hand experience.
I left my motor scooter parked at the ferry terminal near UQ to catch up with friends at a cafe in the city on a Friday night.
Left the motor scooter there overnight but when I returned next morning it was all pranged up.
In my case the person (who crashed into my parked motor scooter) did leave a note with her contact details.
I contacted her and she told me that she was an international student from SE Asia.

For various reasons (including the fact that it was on its last legs) I decided to not take any further action. The fact that the vehicle driver left her contacts and was prepared to accept responsibility for the incident sort of made this decision easier.

[mikesbytes]

I’m wondering if the reason for riding on the wrong side of the road is so you are facing the motorists and therefore can react to any poor driving decisions?

[ningnangnong]

Thank you all for your concern and replies - I really appreciate it!

My jaw wasn't feeling much better at all today, and after a couple of big yawns I could hear a clicking type sound. Fortunately I managed to get myself a GP Access/After Hours appointment after I finished my shift at work.

Whaddya know, elantra got it in one - a mandibular fracture.

Got told to fast just in case, and have a referral for tomorrow morning to see the specialist at the main hospital here in town.

Guess I will be making a police report now! Just not sure when I'll get to do it. Will see what happens tomorrow morning.

Thanks again all! I'm pretty peed off this has happened.

[foo on patrol]

It should be reported for one major reason........What would have been your feelings if there had of been a car close behind you and hit you whilst on the road?

Foo

[Shred11]

I used to work near the University of Queensland and I used to occasionally see students doing very silly things - like what happened to ningnangnong.

I used to work for a university and had to contend with all sorts of madness being displayed by people who were used to riding and driving on the right hand side of the road.

I have a video clip somewhere of an international student coming at me on the wrong side of the road as I was riding home. I moved to my left, he moved further to his right to maintain his collision course with me. What tha?..

[uart]

I have a video clip somewhere of an international student coming at me on the wrong side of the road as I was riding home. I moved to my left, he moved further to his right to maintain his collision course with me. What tha?..

Yes, I was going to make the same point Shred11. And it doesn't have to be just people who are from countries that drive on the right. You look at anyone who regularly rides their bike against the flow of traffic, and what do they do if a car is coming towards them? They move closer to the gutter of course, which is to their right! So it kind of becomes ingrained in them, if it looks like a head on collision is imminent, you move to your right. I've had exactly this same issue when encountering these "salmon".

[Retrobyte]

Guess I will be making a police report now!

I believe you are required to report a traffic accident to Police if someone is injured.

[redsonic]

Cyclist on trial for murder after allegedly stabbing a driver through his window after the driver dragged the cyclist's bike under his car:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4nglg7pp2xo

The journo's couldn't help themselves:

The cyclist, wearing dark clothes, was then said to have taken a large knife from a sheath and made a stabbing motion through the car window.

I wonder if the cyclist was wearing a helmet and had lights on? No mention of what the driver was wearing

[Duck!]

Guess I will be making a police report now!

I believe you are required to report a traffic acincident to Police if someone is injured.

This is correct.