Originally Posted by
rekmeyata
If a moron has earbuds on and they can't hear me it's their fault for not being able to hear me. If they don't have earbuds on then they're in the wrong for not riding or walking on the right. There are other issues to that can be brought up too.
Actually It's your responsibility to control your bike ( and follow path rules ) no matter what the circumstances. Even if you see someone who is highly distracted or otherwise impaired ( be they blind with a seeing-eye dog, hearing impaired ( with earbuds or hearing aids ), deaf, weaving as on drugs, chatting with someone else present or on a phone, walking a dog with too long a leash, walking with little kids who are all over the place or just being distracted for whatever reason )...it doesn't matter, run them down and it's your fault if you aren't following common safety guidelines for riding on a paved commuter pathway. Last time I checked, pedestrians ALWAYS have right of way. You can rationalize your actions all you want and do whatever you think makes sense
to you but if you hurt someone by being careless you might have to answer for it if you end up getting sued. Not to mention if a good lawyer finds your postings it won't bode well for you if it goes to court.
About two weeks ago I had to walk to a rent-a-car office because my car was in the shop. ( about 1.2 miles ) Luckily for me most of the walk was on a paved commuter path. Been years since I've walked a commuter path. I got passed several times either by runners or by cyclists. Nowadays my hearing ain't what it used to be so a couple times I was jumping out of my shoes when suddenly buzzed. Thankfully most of the people passing me gave audible warnings. Sometimes when you put the shoe on the other foot it will give you a different perspective of a given situation. You might try going for a walk sometime on a heavily used commuter path and see what the people walking have to deal with.