wolfchild

I always start ringing my bell when I am still a good distance away. Never had a problem, majority of people hear it, look back and step aside, many times I've had peds thank me for using a bell. I never ride up close and startle people.

tjspiel

Such a law would probably never pass unless horn honking became so rampant that most of it was essentially ineffective and did nothing other than add to the level of noise and stress. And that is what happened in places where there are laws like that.

Why do people in stop and go traffic honk their horns when it does absolutely nothing to make the traffic move faster?

Mr IGH

So, as a result, you blast 'em with an airhorn? Riiiiiiight. I've been to PDX, doesn't sound safe to me, we all make choices.

spare_wheel

I don't think I've ever heard an airhorn once in PDX. Orps, on the other hand, are popular and so far orp users have tended to be polite. Unfortunately brass bells have gotten to be quite loud and there is a dingaling minority in PDX that will ring their freaking bell non-stop in a clanging imitation of the "bike lane!" fakenger on portlandia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3nMnr8ZirI

spare_wheel

and i strongly believe that people riding bikes are guests on shared facilities and that pedestrians should not have to "step aside".

zonatandem

Geez . . . quit complaining about other folks on bikepath!
Ride the darn road!

Leebo

They don't have to step aside if they are already staying right like all users should. On my bike path, the Minuteman , each side is about 5-6 feet wide with a white line down the middle. It helps if everyone follows the same rules, ie staying right. Almost everyone plays nice and it usually flows well. Towards the end, there is a grade school with kids everywhere, plus a cross walk and a light nearby. Everyone slows down and gives space. When the path users, bikers, dog walkers and peds don't stay right, some issues may occur. Traffic flows much better for all if the peds stay right, and the bikers are closer to the white line. And I politely ring my bell to give peds notice I'm passing. And sometimes a " good morning "too.

jfowler85

Quote me this law which states that you are responsible for brake checking a tailgater. I am 100% it does not exist, and that you will not be able to produce a link which supports your claim. I am not advocating for tailgaters or any form of unsafe driving; for the most part I drive so mildly that my gasoline engine'd full size family car which has an EPA city mileage estimate of 25mpg regularly achieves over 30mpg in city traffic. If I coast on an open decline near my home I can get it up to 40mpg on a 10 mile round trip.

You are not an advocate for the law, you, like everyone else, just get pissed off at jackassery on the road and the way you express your desire to fight back is by brake checking and blocking the lane. Again, I do this as well, sometimes on my bicycle even, but stop trying to hide behind some pretend law which supposedly instructs you to incite an episode of road rage, just call it a spade.

10 Wheels

Amen

jimmie65

Some of the comments in this thread are ... let's just say interesting.

Most MUPs have clearly posted rules - keep right, pass on the left, use your voice or bell, etc. One rule I've always seen is "Share the path." Pedestrians who walk on the left, hog the entire path, and (intentionally or unintentionally) block other pedestrians or cyclists are the ones breaking the rules. Cyclists who ring a bell are following the rules. And any jackass dumb enough to step out in front of a cyclist because he doesn't like bells has no one else to blame if he gets plowed down.

I get tired of having to be polite to people who are being rude.

Cyclosaurus

I consider myself pretty militant with regard to the respect that drivers owe other users of the road. Drivers should not drive aggressively, honk, yell, etc. just because they are slowed down by a cyclist. I am pretty firm in that if a cyclist feels the need to use the lane, they have the right to do it, and should not be subjected to attacks or threats for doing so.

It's the same thing on the MUP, just the roles are changed. Cyclists should not ride aggressively, blow air horns, or yell at pedestrians. If pedestrians are obstructing your ability to maintain your speed, you slow down. Find a polite way to get the pedestrians to move, wait for an opening, etc.

kickstart

On the way to work yesterday, just after an intersection a car pulls right up on me, I look back making eye contact and inadvertently slow down. The driver starts making gestures, so I point to the left lane and then to my head implying think and change lanes. All it did was enrage him and he nailed the gas, blew his horn, and did a "punishment" pass.

Even when not done intentionally to not "rewarded or enabled", it can be construed as as an escalation, doing it intentionally is road rage.

spare_wheel

How you went from driving more slowly to brake checking is completely beyond me. Seriously.

spare_wheel

This!

spare_wheel

You must really hate EV drivers like me.

jfowler85

Given the fact that you are making up laws, I took the liberty of assuming that you are exaggerating about a benign decrease in speed, but rather that you brake check those behind you when you don't like how they are driving. You still have yet to produce a reference to this law which instructs you to control others who are driving unlawfully.

spare_wheel

Tailgating is dangerous. It is prudent to decrease speed when there are road hazards. HTH.

Some basic statutes:
ORS 811.100 - Violation of basic speed rule - 2013 Oregon Revised Statutes
ORS 811.425 - Failure of slower driver to yield to overtaking vehicle - 2013 Oregon Revised Statutes
ORS 811.105 - Speeds that are evidence of basic rule violation - 2013 Oregon Revised Statutes

kickstart

Not really, on the bike I'm the slow one, driving I'm on the clock and its money in the bank.

jfowler85

None of the above laws give any indication that a driver who is experiencing a tailgater, speeder etc has any responsibility to attempt to control the aberrant vehicle. At no point have I ever contested anything contrary to your referenced laws.

Neither do any of the laws state that you should decrease speed in the instance of a road hazard. Now we have gone from you stating that the law gives you the onus to brake check a tailgater, to you saying that it is your opinion to do such. Just call it dude, you're brake checking tailgaters. You're not enforcing a law, and slowing down for a road hazard which is behind you makes no sense. You're a brake checker. Just own it.

tjspiel

I guess I make a distinction between intentionally rude and those who do something because they don't know any better. The paths are often long and people can get on them at multiple points. Around here a pedestrian is pretty unlikely to see any rules explaining proper use and etiquette. Even though pedestrians and cyclists have separate paths in most places, it is pretty easy to end up on the wrong one.

A little courtesy goes a long way. If you're trying to go fast, a busy MUP is the wrong place to be for a cyclist.

I've had enough drivers honk at me because I was rude enough to be on the road slowing them down. I don't want to extend the same treatment to pedestrians on MUPS.

kickstart

We must be honest about our actions, slowing down in a way that minimizes the hazard posed by a tailgater is not the same as slowing down to punish them. The former is done to defuse the situation by accommodation, the latter is done to control them. The law only defines our own actions, it doesn't grant us the right to do that for others.

Cyclosaurus

No doubt all the other rude people feel the same way.

jimmie65

I agree that a MUP is no place for high speed cycling. And a cyclist should yield to pedestrians, even if it means slowing down or even stopping. I think a cyclist should treat pedestrians the way he expects to be treated by cars and trucks.

But it works both ways. The MUPs around here are just that - paths for cyclists and pedestrians. Rules are clearly posted. And there's often a yellow line down the middle of the path. Pedestrians should give cyclists the same respect that a cyclist gives to cars and trucks. I see little excuse for pedestrians intentionally impeding a cyclist. I've had an old man step out in front of me and assume a linebacker position to force me off the path. I've had families let their kids run out into my side of the path (luckily for them, I was paying attention). I've had dog owners spread their leash all the way across a 12' wide path. And quite often, I have groups of people take up the entire path and refuse to move over so I could pass. I won't run over an old man (though he and I had some heated words), a kid (again, some words were exchanged with the parents), or a dog. But I have no problem letting my handlebars bump some rude idiot. Amazingly enough, I usually get an apology from the person I bumped - they know they're in the wrong.

spare_wheel

LOL! Is driving 21 mph in a 25 mph zone brake checking? If so, then guilty as charged.

wolfchild

If peds are walking 2-3-4 abreast in the middle of an MUP and they see a cyclists approaching then yes they should make room and let the cyclist pass. Peds and dog walkers don't own MUPS, they are shared paths. Cyclists have as much right to be on those paths as peds... There are countless times when I pass people by getting off the path and riding my bike on the grass or dirt, sometimes I don't even ring my bell.