Originally Posted by
JW Fas
Your last line is true, but generally speaking a person plus a bike will be heavier than a person alone. I rather like the marine Rules of the Road, because hierarchy is situationally dependent on the size and maneuverability of the vessel. A small sailboat under wind power, for example, usually has priority over a power-driven vessel, but that isn't true around large power-driven ships over a certain length due to the fact the large ship can't maneuver quickly.
Also, since kinetic energy is a function of weight AND speed, both should be considered in creating the hierarchy. But, yeah, braking distance and maneuverability really does need to be considered if you're trying to figure out who to yield to in the real world. I don't care what the rule is on paper, I'm going to yield to the moving train and I'm certainly not zipping out in front of a semi..