PeteApr 8
So #BikeTooter seems very excited by this noise-cancelling headphone negating bell, but I don't get it. Pedestrians have priority. End of. They don't need to hear you. Many can't hear you even if they wanted to. Thinking that dinging a bell comes with an expectation of a clear run is no different to drivers honking a horn and expecting cyclists to get out the road. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
#Cycling #BikeTooter
Show threadPeter LudemannApr 8
@pete Meanwhile, in Japan, where riding a bike on the sidewalk is common (because bike lanes are uncommon), pedestrians are accustomed to stepping to one side when they hear a bike bell
https://youtu.be/k7oGk-ozhKI?t=26
Trolling people with a bike bell

YouTube
Show threadnwale
@PeterLudemann @pete
When I visited Japan my friend kept having to pull me aside because bikes wanted to pass. By the end of my three weeks, I was stepping aside automatically
Apr 8 at 10:37pmIceCubesApp
Show threadPeter LudemannApr 9

@nwale That was me stuck behind you, quietly cursing oblivious tourists. ;)

One thing I noticed on wide sidewalks in Tokyo was that western tourists had a tendency to spread out whereas Japanese residents would stay closer together and leave space.

I'm currently in Paris (so many more bikes and less traffic than a few years ago!) and most bikes (and cars) will patiently wait behind pedestrians until the pedestrians notice them and move aside. I seldom hear a car horn or bike bell. (And, as in Tokyo, bikes are allowed to go the wrong way on 1-way streets) The only vehicles that go fast are the garbage trucks (they seem to do multiple pick-ups a day on some streets)

[The above are broad generalizations, with no rigorous data to back them up]

@pete