[Travel] Teacher who was staring at her phone and hit by a cyclist win compensation.

Sussex Nomad said:

That is only a modern way for taxing, the reason it was originally called road tax was to fund the upkeep of roads, until the Govt's found it a cash cow for everything but roads.

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Thunder Bolt said:

I agree to a point. There has to be give and take. I have heard a cyclist shout coming through on your left, which also works on a shared pavement.



I agree. My husband loves cycling in France when we go on holiday, where everyone is more considerate on the road, crossings and pavement (Paris being the exception)

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CheeseRolls said:

I had a year of cycling in London from London Bridge to Charlotte Street for work and then down to Victoria in the evening. Three things made me give up;

1 My regular route along Cheapside was closed for roadworks forcing me along Cannon St, where this incident occurred. This route was considerably more hazardous.
2 My folding bike folded on me one day, when i hit a pothole along the Mall. I could of course have avoided it and swerved into the path of an impatient taxi overtaking me.
3 The clincher my office moved into the adjacent building and the showers were in the first building. I don't know why, but this was the thing that eventually put me off.

I wasn't really enjoying work at this time, so the adrenalin and the exercise, were welcome. Some of the near misses less so.
Packed pavements full of unpredictable pedestrians, who will push their luck and take risks at every opportunity. Inpatient car,lorry and taxi drivers and trains of cyclists.

As a cyclist, you have to sort of fall in line with the general pace of things. There are people who will overtake at every opportunity, but otherwise cyclists fall into a medium fast pace, often following each other in single file. This is not like cycling anywhere else where I have been. Slam the brakes on unpredictably and you risk a major pile up.

Ultimately the law will have to change for pedestrians and I predict that it will be the advance of driverless cars that will force the issue. Pedestrian crossings in busy cities are advisory only, you are free to risk crossing unless there are barriers to prevent you doing so. Stepping out in front of a vehicle, the pedestrian has to make a judgement call as to whether the driver has seen them and will stop and having stopped, will not jump out the car and lamp them. The dynamics are different for a driverless car, which morally has to stop. This completely changes the dynamics and will be a recipe for chaos in city centres.

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Thunder Bolt said:

I agree to a point. There has to be give and take. I have heard a cyclist shout coming through on your left, which also works on a shared pavement.



I agree. My husband loves cycling in France when we go on holiday, where everyone is more considerate on the road, crossings and pavement (Paris being the exception)

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The Clamp said:

It’s probably just me but I find it incredibly rude when cyclist ring their bells because they wish to get past pedestrians. How is that any different to someone who is walking faster then the person in front, getting behind then and yelling “OUT OF MY WAY”! ?

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Surely a polite “excuse me” or waiting for a gap to pass through is more appropriate.

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Triggaaar said:

A pedestrian walking a bit faster than you wouldn't have a right of way. A cyclist might do it because you've wandered onto the cycle lane, and you should get out of the way. The cyclist is also likely to be traveling a lot faster than someone who is walking.

If a cyclist is on a collision course with a pedestrian, a polite excuse me is only likely to get the pedestrian to turn around before they collide. Assuming it's the cyclist's right of way, they shouldn't have to constantly slow down and wait for a gap, it's a pain in the arse to keep stop-starting.

Of course if it's not the cyclists right of way, then I agree with you, they shouldn't be ringing their ****ing bell.

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The Clamp said:

Agreed. In most places on mainland Europe people are far more considerate on the roads and pavements.
At pelican crossings in cities such as Berlin, Amsterdam etc there is an understood etiquette; a few people cross and then let a few cars past, then the cars stop and let a few people across, it keeps things moving. Same in traffic, in heavy traffic they let a few cars out of sidestreets and let a few people go ahead as this keeps things moving and prevents all the backstreets getting clogged up as well. But in England? Nah, ****ing “me first and balls to the lot of you”.
No wonder we are treated with contempt by half the known world.

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The Clamp said:

Agreed. In most places on mainland Europe people are far more considerate on the roads and pavements.
At pelican crossings in cities such as Berlin, Amsterdam etc there is an understood etiquette; a few people cross and then let a few cars past, then the cars stop and let a few people across, it keeps things moving. Same in traffic, in heavy traffic they let a few cars out of sidestreets and let a few people go ahead as this keeps things moving and prevents all the backstreets getting clogged up as well. But in England? Nah, ****ing “me first and balls to the lot of you”.
No wonder we are treated with contempt by half the known world.[/QUOTE]

My experience is exactly the reverse and I don't know where you get this idealistic rubbish from. In Germany you are not allowed to cross the road as a pedestrian, when the light is red, unlike here, where few people take notice of this. There is no etiquette involved -just the law. Furthermore, motorists do not stop for you, nearly as often as here, when you use a pedestrian crossing - they are far more aggressive.in 30 km zones, priority is from the right, to keep speed down, not to let cars in specifically, though that is the outcome. British drivers tend to go on consensus far more than abroad - when you are trying to turn out on to a main road, you are for more likely to have a light flashed at you, offering you a way out here in England. And as for your assertion that we are treated with contempt, my experience is that the Germans envy us our willingness to be patient.

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Hastings gull said:

The Clamp said:

Agreed. In most places on mainland Europe people are far more considerate on the roads and pavements.
At pelican crossings in cities such as Berlin, Amsterdam etc there is an understood etiquette; a few people cross and then let a few cars past, then the cars stop and let a few people across, it keeps things moving. Same in traffic, in heavy traffic they let a few cars out of sidestreets and let a few people go ahead as this keeps things moving and prevents all the backstreets getting clogged up as well. But in England? Nah, ****ing “me first and balls to the lot of you”.
No wonder we are treated with contempt by half the known world.[/QUOTE]

My experience is exactly the reverse and I don't know where you get this idealistic rubbish from. In Germany you are not allowed to cross the road as a pedestrian, when the light is red, unlike here, where few people take notice of this. There is no etiquette involved -just the law. Furthermore, motorists do not stop for you, nearly as often as here, when you use a pedestrian crossing - they are far more aggressive.in 30 km zones, priority is from the right, to keep speed down, not to let cars in specifically, though that is the outcome. British drivers tend to go on consensus far more than abroad - when you are trying to turn out on to a main road, you are for more likely to have a light flashed at you, offering you a way out here in England. And as for your assertion that we are treated with contempt, my experience is that the Germans envy us our willingness to be patient.

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I think this is more a case of you not understanding how they operate abroad. They don’t need to legislate manners. You are clearly a typical Brit abroad. Crass, brash and with a jowl wobbling attitude of “well, this is not how it’s done in Engerland, out of my way, Thingamejiggy”!

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The Clamp said:

I’m talking about on the footbridge or towpath, the pavement and the square.

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Triggar, you’re not a bad poster by any stretch but you don’t half have trouble understanding the point someone is making.

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Hastings gull said:

The Clamp said:

Agreed. In most places on mainland Europe people are far more considerate on the roads and pavements.
At pelican crossings in cities such as Berlin, Amsterdam etc there is an understood etiquette; a few people cross and then let a few cars past, then the cars stop and let a few people across, it keeps things moving. Same in traffic, in heavy traffic they let a few cars out of sidestreets and let a few people go ahead as this keeps things moving and prevents all the backstreets getting clogged up as well. But in England? Nah, ****ing “me first and balls to the lot of you”.
No wonder we are treated with contempt by half the known world.[/QUOTE]

My experience is exactly the reverse and I don't know where you get this idealistic rubbish from. In Germany you are not allowed to cross the road as a pedestrian, when the light is red, unlike here, where few people take notice of this. There is no etiquette involved -just the law. Furthermore, motorists do not stop for you, nearly as often as here, when you use a pedestrian crossing - they are far more aggressive.in 30 km zones, priority is from the right, to keep speed down, not to let cars in specifically, though that is the outcome. British drivers tend to go on consensus far more than abroad - when you are trying to turn out on to a main road, you are for more likely to have a light flashed at you, offering you a way out here in England. And as for your assertion that we are treated with contempt, my experience is that the Germans envy us our willingness to be patient.

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First time I went to Amsterdam, have to say it scared me shitless, need 4 pair of eyes to keep a lookout for bikes and pavement driving mopeds. Took me quite a while to get used to looking absolutely everywhere when walking around the city.

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Sussex Nomad said:

First time I went to Amsterdam, have to say it scared me shitless, need 4 pair of eyes to keep a lookout for bikes and pavement driving mopeds. Took me quite a while to get used to looking absolutely everywhere when walking around the city.

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Triggaaar said:

How was I to know where you were talking about? I can only recall a cyclist ringing their bell at me once in the last decade - it was just a few months ago - I wandered on to the cycle lane by the seafront, so someone rang their bell. It got my attention, I got out of the way and apologised. Are cyclists even allowed to cycle on a footbridge? I'm likely to swear at one ringing their bell at me there.

You and I tend to disagree with each other most of the time, so I'll take that as your opinion, rather than a fact.

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GT49er said:

Sounding the horn to warn other toad users (who might not have noticed your presence) is correct use of the horn. If that is not the correct time and place to use it, when is?

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GT49er said:

Sounding the horn to warn other toad users (who might not have noticed your presence) is correct use of the horn. If that is not the correct time and place to use it, when is?

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Triggaaar said:

You'll be in the 1% of people who has any ****ing idea what the Highway Code says.

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hans kraay fan club said:

Warning someone who looked like they were about to step INTO the road, I'd agree. 'Warning' someone who was already IN the road, and 'about to step onto the pavement' (his testimony), is nothing but rude unnecessary aggression.

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GT49er said:

As well as sounding his horn it was also stated that he braked and swerved to try and avoid her, but she jumped back into his path. Terrible judgement by the ....err...judge, IMHO.

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hans kraay fan club said:

Suggesting that had he just concentrated on braking, rather than reaching for his horn first he'd have had a much better chance of avoiding the collision. I'd really like to see video of the incident. His own testimony, tbh, makes it sound as though the horn was unnecessary, and the very thing that panicked the woman into spinning back into his path.

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GT49er said:

Yes, I agree that in this case VAR would be useful (unlike in most cases in football matches!). But, if as it seems, he took steps to avoid her, but she then jumped back into his (avoidance) path she bears much, if not all, of the blame. Still IMHO, like.
If she jumped in front of a car or lorry, there would have been no suggestion of blame on the driver, or any come back for her, unless they were speeding or drunk or committing other road traffic offences (or on their mobiles!) - so why shouldn't the same rules apply to a cyclist who is not committing an offence?

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