The Chainlink

Please yield the right of way to pedestrians!

Sorry for the soapbox PSA, but... I have some non-cycling friends who live around Lincoln Park and have witnessed a number of incidents lately involving cyclists plowing through red lights and hitting or nearly hitting pedestrians.

One of my friends reported today seeing two pedestrians hit by two cyclists in separate incidents while she was waiting for the bus. Both cyclists had red lights.

I don't ride like that, and my friends don't ride like that, but when other cyclists do, it really creates bad blood between pedestrians and cyclists. If you know of someone who blows through red lights and stop signs when pedestrians are present, please educate them about the law and yielding the right of way to pedestrians.

I am well aware as cyclists we often get put in dangerous situations by vehicles, and yes, sometimes by stupid or inattentive pedestrians, but that doesn't excuse us from doing the right thing and riding safely.

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Permalink Reply by cutifly on October 20, 2010 at 10:18am
Peds always give me the right away not even knowing why ...

Permalink Reply by Will on October 20, 2010 at 10:30am
Really? I'd like to see you learn how to read.
http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/please-yield-the-right-of-...


Duppie said:
I'd be interested to see your comments backed up by a quote from Illinois/Cook/Chicago laws or ordninances
Permalink Reply by Will on October 20, 2010 at 10:43am
Here's the reference straight from the GA:
http://ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=096-1165

The only thing pedestrians are prohibited from doing is entering an intersection (crosswalk) without giving vehicles an opportunity to slow down. But in reality, if you hit a ped who jumps out into the intersection, it may not be your fault, you're going to have a hard time proving that.

Anyway, my original post was more about courtesy, and that we as cyclists should strive to exceed the (sometimes) low expectations pedestrians have for our behavior. If I yield the right of way to a pedestrian when that pedestrian expects me to cut him or her off, and that pedestrian walks away thinking I'm a courteous cyclist, that's a good thing.

If you don't give a shit, that's fine. I know we get the short end of the stick a lot, mostly from stupid drivers. Sometimes from stupid peds. But that doesn't give us carte blanche to act like jerks.
Permalink Reply by Jason W on October 20, 2010 at 11:03am
ActiveTrans who pushed for the ped crossing law addressed this misconception here:

http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/police-step-up-crosswalk?i...

And another
http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/police-step-up-crosswalk?i...
Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on October 20, 2010 at 11:04am
Same here, because by that reasoning (cyclists' fault for hitting someone who steps out in front of them), there's no reason I couldn't go jaywalk my ass across Lake Shore Drive and rightfully get mad at the driver that hits me.

It's worth a minute of your time to not get avoidably injured.

Duppie said:
I'd be interested to see your comments backed up by a quote from Illinois/Cook/Chicago laws or ordninances

Will V. said:
Peds certainly should watch for bikes and cars if they know what's good for them, but the law is clear, it doesn't matter. Peds have the right of way. Regardless if you have a green light, regardless if the ped looks right at you and sees you coming, if you hit the ped, it's your fault.


Tim S said:
Any pedestrian that walks into a crosswalk with out looking is kind of asking for it non?

Not excusing some of the amazingly boorish behaviour of some fellow cyclists but come on... Ped's have to watch for Bikes and Cars.
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on October 20, 2010 at 11:20am
Like I said, it really should work both ways.

We've had an escalation of everyone vs. everyone else in the Loop for years, and it's reaching the breaking point. Peds cross anywhere anytime, so the city sends out more traffic aides to keep the cars moving. Traffic aides often give away large chunks of the walk signal to turning car traffic. Peds get pissed off and cross anyway, giving the finger to the traffic aids (literally and/or figuratively). Bikes get caught in the middle - screwed by cars and peds. I keep seeing more road rage in the Loop and more games of chicken, with a LOT of near misses.

If we had cops at random locations in the Loop writing tickets on right of way violations against ALL types of violators for a while, maybe some semblance of order and courtesy could be restored. Or maybe not. Are we too far down the rathole of rudeness to ever emerge?

Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:
Same here, because by that reasoning (cyclists' fault for hitting someone who steps out in front of them), there's no reason I couldn't go jaywalk my ass across Lake Shore Drive and rightfully get mad at the driver that hits me.

It's worth a minute of your time to not get avoidably injured.

Duppie said:
I'd be interested to see your comments backed up by a quote from Illinois/Cook/Chicago laws or ordninances

Will V. said:
Peds certainly should watch for bikes and cars if they know what's good for them, but the law is clear, it doesn't matter. Peds have the right of way. Regardless if you have a green light, regardless if the ped looks right at you and sees you coming, if you hit the ped, it's your fault.


Tim S said:
Any pedestrian that walks into a crosswalk with out looking is kind of asking for it non?

Not excusing some of the amazingly boorish behaviour of some fellow cyclists but come on... Ped's have to watch for Bikes and Cars.
Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on October 20, 2010 at 11:30am
Will V. said:


But that doesn't give us carte blanche to act like jerks.

Agreed, but there's a major difference between acting like a jerk while on a bike and hitting someone who wasn't even visible as a second ago because it's 'too inconvenient' to walk to a crosswalk.
Permalink Reply by Duppie on October 20, 2010 at 11:30am
Yes, I did read and that and no, nowhere does it state that pedestrians have the right of way regardless if you have a green light. (which was your original statement that I was questioning)

The incorrectness of your statement has been previously addressed by Active Trans (see Jason W's post in this thread)

So, who really needs to learn to read?


Will V. said:
Really? I'd like to see you learn how to read.
http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/please-yield-the-right-of-...


Duppie said:
I'd be interested to see your comments backed up by a quote from Illinois/Cook/Chicago laws or ordninances
Permalink Reply by Will on October 20, 2010 at 12:06pm
What I meant by that is this: If a cyclist can avoid a collision with a pedestrian, it's the cyclists obligation to do so, even if the pedestrian is in the wrong. That's what I mean by pedestrians always have the right of way, even if you have a green light. It's not OK to play chicken with them, run them over, or otherwise make contact with them when you pass by.

My post was originally motivated by multiple stories of cyclists hitting pedestrians when the pedestrians clearly had the right of way (they were walking in a walkway in accordance with the signal). I'm not here to defend stupid people, pedestrians or otherwise, natural selection has a way of taking care of them anyway. Capisci?



Duppie said:
Yes, I did read and that and no, nowhere does it state that pedestrians have the right of way regardless if you have a green light. (which was your original statement that I was questioning)

Permalink Reply by Duppie on October 20, 2010 at 12:37pm
Will V. said:
It's not OK to play chicken with [pedestrians]

It's not? What a bummer. It's the highlight of my morning commute. Playing chicken with the endless flow of pedestrians streaming out of Ogilvie and Union Station: Routinely I get them speed up their pace. Occasionally I get them to jump.. Nirvana occurs when they jump and put out a little squeak!

jk
Permalink Reply by Glenn on October 20, 2010 at 11:43pm
I make sure to mind were I walk, but I'm not shy to knock a cyclist to their ass when they come barreling at me (when I have the right of way). They always give me that "watch where you are going" or "I'm a poor cyclist who cant get respect" routines. From someone who walks, bikes, and used to drive I have learned this: Every one needs to watch where they are going and have some respect for those who have the right of way.

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