Re: bells vs. voice.
So far we have people claiming that bells are easier to hear, and that the pitches of bells are easier to hear than the pitches of voices.
So ... one sound is "easier to hear"? In all conditions? Absurd.
And all bells have the same pitch, right? And so do all human voices?
We have a bell proponent (who is also a proponent of calling out ( @
ofajen )) admitting that older people don't always hear bell frequencies. On top of that, whether or not a person is in a conversation with another walker, on the phone holding it near an ear, or wearing headphones or earbuds (invisible until too late to know) all affect whether a bell will be noticed. (Shoot, with earbud wearers I have shouted at top volume repeatedly and gotten no response---walkers can be totally in personal worlds with zero awareness of anything not immediately ahead and exceedingly visible.)
Ofajen also says that most people know his bell and those who don't, he treats differently. How fast is he going then? Because I see no way to determine if a person has heard me before beside that person physically reacting .... if I am rolling up on a pedestrian, I have Zero clue who it is ... and even if I know them personally, I have no idea if they are listening to music or voice on earbuds.
I call out and I do it as early as possibly exactly because I want time to react if the pedestrian ignores me, or, as often happens, panics and moves in some unpredictable way (and if there is a dog (often loosely) attached, the possible bad outcomes multiply.) I don't want to have to slow to a crawl every time I am near a person, so I try to get a reaction far enough in advance that I have time to react---I can brake to a stop fairly quickly, or ride off the trail if need be, but that usually upsets everyone. Better, in my opinion, if pedestrians know I am coming and just keep walking in the same lane so i can pass without disturbing either of us.
And maybe in some countries, bells are the norm, and no one ever walks on bike paths wearing earbuds at 11, and everyone knows exactly what to do when they hear a bell ... . but what is it they should do? All a bell says is "Something is coming" (if anyone hears it at all.) A voice can say where someone is coming from and what they intend to do. If I see someone in the middle of the path and ring a bell .... now what? They might go either way. If I pick the direction and announce it, both of us have abetter idea of what to expect.
In any case, the issue isn't with people getting upset---even people I have startled badly (usually by passing slowly on the left, after repeated shouted warnings .... ) haven't gotten mad at me. I think that is an invention by people trying to support their own personal preferences over all other possibilities. How would those people know how people would react if they never tried calling out "Approaching on your left" in whatever language?
But ... whatever. I know the few times I have ridden MUPs, calling out has never been a problem, and I can guarantee my voice is louder and more piercing than your bell---and at max volume still hasn't been enough on many occasions.
But, if I were riding in a situation where everybody was using bells and all the pedestrians were behaving rationally and safely in response ... super. After all, what we want is Not to say "My way is better and therefore I am better and you are all stupid." What we want is to pass people safely for both rider and pedestrian (or other rider.)
Man, people fight over the silliest things.