livedarklions

I already posted the Illinois "written statute.". No thanks on the car rule.

OldTryGuy

I found the following that you posted and was wondering if it is what you are referring to?

... Sec. 11-1512. Bicycles on sidewalks. (a) A person propelling a bicycle upon and along a sidewalk, or across a roadway upon and along a crosswalk, shall yield the right of way to any pedestrian and shall give audible signal before overtaking and passing such pedestrian....

The statute states " ... shall yield the right of way to any pedestrian and shall give audible signal before overtaking and passing such pedestrian... " but does not mention coming upon another bicycle.
Is that reference elsewhere and I just did not see it?

TIA

billridesbikes

You would need a new BT protocol where you add an extra mode to allow emergency broadcasts or something like that with a opt-in/out option.

livedarklions

It also states that bicyclists on sidewalks have the same rights and responsibilities as pedestrians. As a cyclist on a sidewalk, therefore, you have a right to have other cyclists announce their passes. I already laid this out once in this thread (post 117), so I'm going to pass on any more cross examination from you on this. If you have further questions, read my previous posts. I'm done.

ShelterIslJoe

Rather than trying to assign blame, think about accident avoidance. Whenever I approach another cyclist, they know I'm there maybe 20-30 feet before. Then I give wide bearth. It maybe a bit overkill but roadrash and destroyed equipment are preventable with some heads up riding.

njkayaker

​​​​​Sounds like a terrible idea.

No one would opt-in and it's too easily abused.

Imagine what "fun" it would be to be able to use this feature in an airplane.

You'd also have no idea where the noise originated from (making it mostly useless).

​​​​

mwaldin

You are very much at fault. Rules of the road are to announce to the rider in front that you are passing them on the left. Not good. That said, you are not in a group by yourself. I am often passed by experienced bikers that don't practice this.

billridesbikes

Are you saying people are basically jerks? How disappointing.

njkayaker

You only need a few jerks to spoil things.

I-Like-To-Bike

Prime example - the hassle required prior to boarding a commercial airplane as a result of the actions of an infinitesimally small number of jerks. It used to be flying was an enjoyable way to travel; now not so much.

c_m_shooter

You were going too slow. If you passed him at 20mph, you would have been long gone when he did the u turn.

Lawrence Rhodes

I agree and it is the law. A bell gets attention. Courtesy would be to say which side you are on. Also breaking the I am silent and invisible rule. Which is: Always consider that you are always silent and invisible.

stephr1

^^^^ This....

...plus I always slow down and use caution anyway. I always assume I'm about to encounter someone who's about to do something dumb.

I've had joggers pull that crap on me. On an MUP/MUT very recently there was an older couple I was coming up on from behind as I was coming down off a freeway overcrossing (so my speed might have been up above a bit over normal). About 10 yards away I announced my presence ("On your left" or, maybe, it was "Bike on your left!"). They appeared to move to the right...for a moment. The husband (I assume), moved across the trail in front of me to get over to a side trail. Unsafe move but not critical. If that wasn't bad enough, at the last possible moment he reached over, grabbed his wife and pulled her across right in front of me. If I hadn't assumed this guy was about to do something stupid I wouldn't have swerved at that last moment and all 3 of us would have gone down. Someone(s) would have been severely hurt.

This was in the SF Bay Area where people are supposed to be intelligent. However, doesn't matter race, color, religion, gender, etc. etc. people do stupid things and lack the common sense to avoid creating risky and hazardous situations.

Like I imply (or is that "infer") in my signature...always assume the worst possible thing and make alternate plans to avoid that outcome.

Lawrence Rhodes

Consider that anyone on a bike with at least one foot on the ground is a pedestrian. They automatically have right of way.

Trakhak

Constantly complaining about things that will not change is pointless.

1984trek760

The other guy did a u-turn in front of you without looking. He’s at fault.

I had the same exact thing happen to me on a motorcycle and a car decided to do a U-turn with a fake to parallel park. He was 100% at fault.

charlie_boy

Tricky.

Brian Marshall

I have been riding long enough to know that you can't always trust that other riders or even pedestrians:
1 )hear you
2) understand you
3) know what you want them to do
4) will do it in a timely manner
So always slow down when approaching others, be verbal with your intentions, give plenty of time for others to react and always expect the worst. It is both parties responsibility to avoid a collision

Brian Marshall

A bell is a good thing to have, but it does not let someone in front of you know your intentions, just that you are behind them. Being verbal is a must!

ShelterIslJoe

In any accident there are always two at fault - the lug who did the unexpected, as well as the other rider who did not anticipate, prepare, or leave enough time or space to avoid it. Conclusion: Be Smart . . . or be sore! Right or wrong doesn't mean much after you are down.

livedarklions

That's simplistic. There are actions that can't be predicted at all, and that leave no room for avoidance at any speed. The only way to be 100% safe would be to never pass anyone on a path. I don't think "never pass anyone" is a reasonable precaution to expect people to make.

ShelterIslJoe

OK, you got me! Trail riding, especially steep narrow paths are problematic. Recognize then for what they are -DANGER, A HUGE RISK AHEAD. If you are racing, assess the risk. But if you are pleasure or group riding, think about what you can do to be safe.

livedarklions

So, just to be clear, the incident described in this thread occurred on a paved rail trail, not a steep narrow path. There is literally no way to position yourself or a speed at which you can definitely avoid a collision with an unexpected u-turn. It is why I always announce my passes, and even then I'm subject to the problem of the headphones wearing pedestrian or rider. I had a near miss last night with a jogger in just this situation and fortunately I had slowed my speed enough for the pass so I was able to stop within inches of where we would have collided. I was also at the far edge of the passing lane, but she had managed to cut me off anyway. Had she done this while riding a bike, I would have no idea how fast she was going to make the uturn and would not have been able to gauge ahead my speed to reduce to in order to preserve enough braking time.

I will say that my impression of the OP incident is that it occurred at a time the OP thought the other rider was ending her ride. I've found through experience that these are the people it's most important to announce my presence to because people tend to let their guard down when they're going very slow or idling and act like they're on a regular sidewalk.

WinterCommuter

yes! I totally agree.

GhostRider62

Is there another way to turn? Plus, MUPs are usually narrow.

I ding my bell when passing other cyclists but many have music in their ears and do not hear me. MUPS are dangerous.