Dexter St. Clair wrote:yoker brian wrote:A reminder from the Highway Code
https://www.gov.uk/rules-for-cyclists-5 ... w-59-to-71
64
You MUST NOT cycle on a pavement.
Laws HA 1835 sect 72 & R(S)A 1984, sect 129viceroy wrote:Yet another fat-arsed cretin on a pushbike nearly ramming me from behind on a public footpath.
Viceroy path to be shared or was it the pavement?
I have had to contend with this sort of thing on pavements, but in this instance it was in the Pollok Country Park on one of the tarmac paths through the North Wood (not the mountain bike track). It is particularly bad along the the path beside the White Cart which forms part of the National Cycle Route. I don't know how often I have just about jumped out of my skin because a cyclist has come up from behind at speed and gone whizzing past me with no prior warning whatsoever and with only inches to spare. Those who do ring their bell form a small minority (and are mostly female cyclists in my experience, but no surprises there, really). You mentioned that cyclists should call out when approaching a pedestrian from behind, but personally I think a bell is much more effective.
Bellahouston Park is another place where I have had the same experience. It is particularly dangerous there because cyclists come down off Bellahouston Hill on their way to the Boulevard and reach very high speeds.
My main concern is that I might sidestep without realising that a cyclist is right behind me and end up with a serious injury. As a fit and active 65 year old the last thing I want is an incapacitating back injury, or worse. I have of course been talking about my own experience, but I know that it is a common bugbear, particularly among people of my own age group and older, some of whom find it quite distressing.
I am not a fan of the shared space concept, but if it has to be used then clearly a great deal of work still needs to be done in educating cyclists to treat pedestrians with respect. After all, walking is the most natural form of locomotion and is beneficial not just from a physical but from a psychological point of view. While walking you can daydream, weave fantasies, work through problems, compose poems and music even. If it becomes an activity that can only be performed while being in a state of anxious alertness then we are in a bad place indeed.
And please don't get me started on the motor car and motorists in general.......