Mastodawn

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

@pete ah it's more not scaring the shit out of people, even if you're passing responsibly with heaps of room on an explicitly shared trail sometimes people jump a mile and yeah maybe don't wear noise cancelling headphones if you're going to get spooked but ...

@nickzoic @pete speaking as both a pedestrian and occasional cyclist, it seems like a headphone-penetrating "on your left"/"on your right" would be more useful than just a bell.

Bruce D Porter 1d ago

@jtwcornell91 @nickzoic @pete and still they step Infront of you....
If they walked on the right (as per HWC #2, and applied that to shared paths, then we would have zero issue.
Especially when confronted by a group, who you pre advise with a ding and then half go left z half go right, followed by both sets thinking the other is right and swapping sides multiple times.
Mean while their short arsed dog dives between your wheels :⁠-⁠)

Jon PENNYCOOK 1d ago

@ytc1 @jtwcornell91 @nickzoic @pete pedestrians can do what they like on a shared use path, one of many reasons why segregated infra is important (see LTN 1/20 and its predecessors)

Allpoints 19h ago

@jonpsp @ytc1 @jtwcornell91 @nickzoic @pete a simpler word for "shared use path" is "sidewalk" (pavement). It's fascinating to me that cities freak out about people cycling on the sidewalk and then implement "shared use paths".

And to be clear, riding on the sidewalk is bad. Don't do that.
#Cycling

Jon PENNYCOOK 19h ago

@allpoints @ytc1 @jtwcornell91 @nickzoic @pete My local council used to regard cyclists as a danger to other road users, hence all the shared use paths and Cyclists Dismount signs (putting them up even after those signs were supposedly banned)

Bruce D Porter 17h ago

@jonpsp @allpoints @jtwcornell91 @nickzoic @pete I must admit, I treat a dismount sign as "go at walking pace, and get out of walkers way"

@ytc1 @jonpsp @allpoints @jtwcornell91 @pete I regard them as meaning "there are hazards, if you fall off here you've only yourself to blame"

@nickzoic @pete This is being explicitly touted as a response to "more ped/bike collisions".

Cycling_Liz 1d ago

@pete When you're on a shared cycle route and pedestrians are walking away from you in the middle of the path, if you can't be heard, you are stuck behind them until such time as they notice you there. It can take several minutes. It's not to do with priority, it's that often they do not share, and don't take notice of shouts, dings or anything else and when you eventually overtake them they have been known to shout at me because they claim I've not warned them by ringing my bell. 🫩🙄

Cycling_Liz 1d ago

@pete Noise cancelling headphones have their place, but their place is not on a shared cycle path.

Clinton Anderson SwordForHire 1d ago

@Cycling_Liz @pete

From my cold dead hands....

Cycling_Liz 1d ago

@ClintonAnderson @pete That's fine but if you're walking in the middle of a cycle path completely unaware of anything and everything around you, don't be surprised if people get a bit pissed off at you if you're preventing them from passing.

Clinton Anderson SwordForHire 1d ago

@Cycling_Liz @pete

Pedestrians have the right of way.

Calm down.... All you have to be is considerate. It won't hurt you.

Je ne comprends pas 1d ago

@ClintonAnderson @Cycling_Liz @pete You're absolutely correct, and that applies just as much to the person with noise cancelling earphones occupying the centre of a shared path. Having the right of way doesn't mean you don't also have to be considerate. As you say, it won't hurt you.

Clinton Anderson SwordForHire 1d ago

@zebulonmysterioso @Cycling_Liz @pete

The more vulnerable user is the least responsible.

A cyclist should ALWAYS give way to pedestrians, ANC headphones or not.

It doesn't hurt a cyclist to slow down to pass safely, on a shared path. If a cyclist doesn't, then the cyclist is the asshole.

Signed... A cyclist.

@ClintonAnderson @zebulonmysterioso @Cycling_Liz
🚶🏼️> 🏇🏼️/🚴🏼️ > 🏍️️ > 🚙️ > 🚌️ > 🚛️

Clinton Anderson SwordForHire 1d ago

@pete @zebulonmysterioso @Cycling_Liz

Children first.... But yeah!

I want that as a sticker for my bike! For my guitar cases...

Clinton Anderson SwordForHire 1d ago

@pete @zebulonmysterioso @Cycling_Liz

Also, I'd prioritize public busses (and other public transit) over private cars etc...

But that has more to do with efficiency, safety, and environmentalism

@ClintonAnderson @zebulonmysterioso @Cycling_Liz In the UK it's part of the Highway Code. https://www.motoringresearch.com/advice/hierarchy-of-road-users/

Clinton Anderson SwordForHire 1d ago

@pete @zebulonmysterioso @Cycling_Liz

In Ontario Canada it's part of the, get this, maritime code... But not part of the highway/road laws.....

@ClintonAnderson *mounts fog horn on front rack*

Clinton Anderson SwordForHire 1d ago

Don't laugh

A friend of mine who cycle commutes along a very busy road (has to, there's no other way to get to and from his work) has a compressed air horn on his bike.

Ngl it sounds like a semi truck the first few blasts.

He doesn't use it on peds, but cars are fair game!

@pete @ClintonAnderson @zebulonmysterioso @Cycling_Liz

This image does not illustrate what you (or I did until recently) think it means

https://westyorkshirecycling.co.uk/2026/04/04/why-pedestrians-dont-have-priority-on-shared-paths-and-shared-spaces/

Why pedestrians don't have priority on shared paths and shared spaces

Every time a video of a cyclist and a pedestrian on a shared route appears online, the same comments flood in.

West Yorkshire Cycling

Clinton Anderson SwordForHire 1d ago

@Pionir @pete @zebulonmysterioso @Cycling_Liz

I will continue to give pedestrians far more leeway than I will ever expect them to give me, especially on shared paths, where families, and kids, and dogs, are out enjoying life.

Me, having to slow my roll for a few seconds to ensure I pass children playing safely in no way impinges on my life negatively.

If I'm blasting my bike down a shared path and clock a kid who was just running around with their new puppy, I'm the asshole.

Don't be the asshole.

@ClintonAnderson @pete @zebulonmysterioso @Cycling_Liz

Agreed, but this was not the point of my post.

Clinton Anderson SwordForHire 1d ago

@Pionir @pete @zebulonmysterioso @Cycling_Liz

It's all I took from your post, given the dearth of information you chose to include.

If you had a different point to make, that was your opportunity

@ClintonAnderson @pete @zebulonmysterioso @Cycling_Liz

I usually slow down if I shared spaces, and most pedestrians will move to the side of paths and bridleways, so it's rarely an issue that I encounter, but I've had pedestrians shout at me variously:

Use a bell
Stop ringing that effing bell
Get out of the road
Get out of the cycle path (!)

Being a pedestrian doesn't absolve people from "don't be an arsehole"

Clinton Anderson SwordForHire 1d ago

@Pionir @pete @zebulonmysterioso @Cycling_Liz

No one said it did

Pedestrians being assholes doesn't give cyclists the right to be equal or even bigger assholes

Cycling_Liz 1d ago

@ClintonAnderson @Pionir @pete @zebulonmysterioso I suggest you read my comments again. I'm not repeating myself and I believe some of these responses are made in bad faith. It's not Twitter and people are behaving like it is. Wrong side of bed? 🙄🫩😫

Clinton Anderson SwordForHire 1d ago

@Cycling_Liz @Pionir @pete @zebulonmysterioso

Right...

"Everyone else is responsible for my bad communication" is not the defence you seem to think it is.

Have a nice life eh

@ClintonAnderson @Cycling_Liz @Pionir @pete @zebulonmysterioso the flip side of that is

"i can explain it to you but i can't understand it for you"

Alexander 1d ago

@pete I'm shocked there is no graphic for dog walkers. I was of of the understanding that they can ignore everyone else with impunity.

@BongoTwisty Funnily enough, while slowing for them, I always tell (the nicer) dog walkers that their beasties will always have priority no matter what the Highway Code says. I reason that many people hates dog walkers as much as they hate cyclists so we should stick together.

Alexander 1d ago

@pete Quite right too.

@BongoTwisty @pete

Isn't the last one just "dogs"

Alexander 1d ago

@Pionir @pete Because rules are rules in the absence of consideration and common sense...

Jon Roach 1d ago

@BongoTwisty @pete ok this is getting triggering 😃

Bruce D Porter 1d ago

@ClintonAnderson @pete @zebulonmysterioso @Cycling_Liz buses do. #HWC223

Je ne comprends pas 1d ago

@pete @ClintonAnderson @Cycling_Liz

Are we discussing the same thing? I thought we were sharing perspectives on a bike bell that could cut through NC to help alert someone unaware of a bike's approach (from behind them) so that the cyclist could initiate a safe and respectful overtake?

Right of way doesn't really factor in, it's sharing situational awareness.

@zebulonmysterioso @ClintonAnderson @Cycling_Liz

> … it's sharing situational awareness.

Perhaps technically yes, but the reality is that too many cyclists (and in turn car drivers) think that letting someone know they are there is necessary, and then ought
to lead to the more vulnerable road user ceding the space.

@zebulonmysterioso @ClintonAnderson @Cycling_Liz … remember when we (as cyclists) rightly lost our shit when the Ineos Grenadier SUV included a button specifically for tooting it's horn at cyclists?

Clinton Anderson SwordForHire 1d ago

@pete @zebulonmysterioso @Cycling_Liz

I THINK it was Not Just Bikes who suggested that Car Horns need to be as loud IN the vehicle as they are outside the vehicle.

Maybe then CarBrains wouldn't use their horn as a licence to drive like assholes...

,-)

@ClintonAnderson @pete @zebulonmysterioso @Cycling_Liz since moving to Lisboa I've been intrigued by the combination of (i) very frequent horn honking for no apparent purpose and (ii) incredibly high levels of respect for pedestrians by drivers - they usually stop when someone is anywhere *near* a crosswalk entrance, much less actually stepping into it.

It may not come as a surprise that most of the few dangerous encounters I've had here as a pedestrian were with Tesla drivers.

Clinton Anderson SwordForHire 1d ago

@zebulonmysterioso @pete @Cycling_Liz

It is NOT the pedestrians responsibility to give way to the cyclist.

Bruce D Porter 1d ago

@ClintonAnderson @Cycling_Liz @pete no, they have priority.
It's different.
There is no right of way in the highway code

@Cycling_Liz @pete Annoying people are annoying, but this is being explicitly touted by Skoda as a response to "more ped/cycle collisions".

Eric Goodwin 1d ago

@pete yeah. The whole discussion seems to be “get out of my way”. There are points in there and the video shows crowds of less blocking dedicated bike lanes… but still. My bell is there for compliance with the law and rarely used. An “on your left” or “behind you” also cuts through noise cancelling algorithms because they (somewhat) let human voice ranges through

That's a very narrow mindset - there are also cases where you wish to make people aware of your approach so that they can adjust or control their dogs or kids, so that everyone can equally enjoy the pathway equally safely and equally considerately.

You may also wish to gain their attention to, say, alert them that their crying baby has thrown a dummy, a shoe, and a bottle out of the pram over the past 100m - unnoticed because of the headphones.

If a headphone-wearing, middle-of-the-path jogger who you've been trying to pass, suddenly drops and starts doing pushups in middle of the path, would it be OK to use a bell then?

Bill Hulley 1d ago

@pete also, deaf people exist.

Frank O'Dwyer 1d ago

@billhulley @pete 100% - plus (in my experience) most people’s reaction if they do hear a bike bell is sheer terror and scrambling to get out of the way.

Instead I think cyclists (and I am one) should slow down behind the pedestrians, maybe say something, and wait to be noticed. (But assume we haven’t been until proven otherwise)

Megan Lynch (she/her)1d ago

@pete These things tend to get picked up by social media and people post about them. Doesn't mean people are necessarily subscribe to the idea that pedestrians can be run over.

For me, I'm in the market for a bell or horn anyway so I'd rather have one that doesn't get blocked by ANC. Also, pedestrians are not the only ones using headphones... Drivers and other cyclists do, sadly.

My use case is Albania where it is much more of a circus than any urban area I've cycled in before.

Sieva 🚴🚇🏙️🌹1d ago

@pete Something is telling me that the venn diagram of people who find this bell a good idea and those not yielding to pedestrians in croswalks is a circle.

Je ne comprends pas 1d ago

@pete Cyclists who expect a clear run like you're describing are a real problem, but I think most of us just want to be able to let those ahead of us know we're approaching. We're effectively the car on the country lane in this context so we have a responsibility to make the danger of our presence clear and behave safely, the same way that a pedestrian has a responsibility to share that space.

plookington 1d ago

@pete
On the shared path, pedestrians tend to take up the entire path, failing to consider faster traffic behind. They forfeit their "priority" when disregarding other path users.

Twobiscuits🚴‍♂️

@plookington @pete what does that mean though, "forfeiting your priority"?

SamuelJohnson 1d ago

@pete > pedestrians have priority. End of.

Not in the bike lane they don't. Try it in the Netherlands, you'll get it quickly.

The issue isn't simply a matter of entitlement in any case, but of safety. Pedestrians walking in or potentially about to step into a bike lane can and often do endanger others as well as themselves. Sure, some are deaf. Some wear bone conducting headphones so they can hear ambient sounds. Some are absent minded. Others think they can do what they like with impunity.

Jay Blanc 1d ago

@samueljohnson @pete Afaik, this isn't true. Pedestrians have presumed priority over *all* other traffic, including Cyclists. And that means both the explicit pedestrian paths, and implicit priority when it is not. Being required to use the cycling lanes does not mean you have priority in those lanes over pedestrians, and should show just as much caution where pedestrians can step into the lane as car drivers have to on roads. Don't repeat the mistakes of car drivers.

SamuelJohnson 1d ago

Entirely wrong

https://nlforbeginners.com/rules-for-pedestrians-and-dutch-bike-lanes-for-those-about-to-die-we-salute-you/

Rules for Pedestrians and Dutch Bike Lanes: For Those About to Die, We Salute You! – NL for Beginners

Jon PENNYCOOK 1d ago

@samueljohnson @jay @pete > "If you must cross a bike lane, do so quickly and with purpose—think of it like Frogger or as an Olympic sprint rather than a leisurely stroll"