Bicyclist blames Pedestrian...
A man on a bike hit an 81-year-old woman walking on the Four Mile Run trail, ARLnow reports, and the woman subsequently died of the injuries. Do we need better consensus on how to alert pedestrians to passing cyclists?
The 62-year-old cyclist was heading down a hill and shouted “on your left” to warn the woman. Instead of either moving right or just being alert, she apparently turned around in a way that moved to the left, while exclaiming “what?” The cyclist then struck her, she fell, and her head hit the ground.
Update: ARLnow is now also reporting that the cyclist rang a bell as well as calling out. (and that means the bicyclist has no culpability says our resident vegan bicyclist)
Whether or not this particular cyclist did something wrong, the first rule always must be that people riding bikes need to be careful around pedestrians. Daniel Hoagland, WABA’s Bicycle Ambassador, wrote in an email:
Pedestrians are unpredictable and vulnerable, which is a bad combination (and doesn’t even get into things like pets and children and the mobility-impaired), and bicyclists should be prepared to slow down to whatever speed is necessary to ensure that they can react safely to whatever a pedestrian does.
Last edited by OldmanoftheSea; 03/20/24. Reason: Commentary from Paul "Spandex" Been aide Sauce
