Didn't your mother tell you to look both ways...

There's a select group of pedestrians who do not understand how to cross the street safely. It really requires looking in both directions and just having sense in general. They're like children diving into the streets to retrieve a stray ball without a single thought.

As a result, I believe at one point (if not several) most cyclists will hit a pedestrian. Sadly, sometimes it's just completely unavoidable. I find it terrifying but can also really see the humor at points. I've heard some awful stories and some that just were downright hysterical.

So lets hear 'em!

Last year I was going down Clark and I noticed this guy on the corner who had just come out of McDonalds with what looked like about 50 bucks worth of food. I kept my eye on him as I got closer to the intersection. He decided to run across before traffic caught up. I started yelling at him to move. Traffic whizzing by to my left, more people on the corner to my right. He didn't move, I had nowhere to go, boom. Time stood still for a second as we were both suspended in the air among a flurry of french fries and burgers. The cup of pop hit the ground and blew out in every direction. He didn't say a thing.

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Permalink Reply by Ron on December 15, 2008 at 7:40am
I understand much of what you're say'in ridedirty. The one thing I disagree with is the, not being responsible for the safety of others. We all run into jerks and idiots. I've certainly wanted to do bodily harm to some. But the innocent, well... we've got to give them a break.
I know Kate very well, she started this thread kinda tongue and cheek. She thought lying in the street with soda pop all over was hilarious. I'm sure she was happy that she didn't hurt the "deer in the headlights" pedestrian.

ridedirty said:
my opinion has never been a popular one, no matter where i've been. maybe if i had the words to explain myself better, it would make more sense. unfortunately, i can't seem to capture how it works in my head. i'll try though, because i don't want to upset any one or make enemies, especially since i'm new to chicago.

i've always rode bikes, racing bmx as a kid, mountain bikes as a teenager, and alleycats in portland when i lived out there. i love riding my bike more than anything, gave up my car 4 years ago since i didn't need it in portland, and started riding everywhere. eventually, i ended up working on my bike, delivering pizzas on a tricycle, then starting as a messenger, and now doing basically the same thing here in chicago.

i used to be really into community organization for anything and everything, especially when it came to bikes. i tried to encourage everyone to share the road and work together to make things better. then, there was the ordeal of dealing with cars and pedestrians every day...

i've hit a couple pedestrians because they didn't look, and they weren't lucky like the others who gave me enough room to stop. i've been run into the curb by a bus that came from behind, didn't get clear of me, and just pulled over to it's stop. i've been hit by 2 cabs. i've been chased 10 blocks down a supposedly safe "bike boulevard" by another. i've been doored a few times, and one of them even threatened to sue me for damage to his door. but the worst is the cars that just want to yell at you for no reason. the drunken frat boys who want to throw crap at you from their car. the huge black pickup truck that finds it amusing to buzz you as close as he can get while accelerating as fast as he can go. all of this happened in portland, oregon, which is supposed to be one of the most bike friendly cities in america. chicago's already started it's own list of annoyances and ignorant cars/pedestrians, but nothing too serious has happened yet. it's only been a month.

maybe it's my fault, and i shouldn't let it, but all this really gets to me. it doesn't matter how well your organizational awareness meetings go. it doesn't matter if you follow every single law, rule, and suggestion that the bicycling safety people can come up with. the people who are courteous and law-abiding will always be outnumbered by the idiots who don't understand "right of way", the oblivious pedestrians who can't even be bothered to be aware of their surroundings, the rage-filled work-aholic who just got chewed out by his boss, the alcohol-fueled twenty-somethings that find amusement in endangering your life.

that's why i'm responsible for my safety, and nobody else's.

one last thing: this is completely opinion. i don't expect it to be shared by others. i only wanted to attempt to explain my viewpoint better since a couple people had responded directly to my earlier posting.
Permalink Reply by Ron on December 15, 2008 at 2:36pm
cool, thanks Ridedirty.

ridedirty said:
i never want to hurt anybody. when i say that i'm not responsible for other people's safety, i meant more that i'm not going to feel bad for hitting that pedestrian who stepped out without looking and only gave me 2 of the 5 feet i needed to stop. i'm not going to be happy i hit them. i'm not going to laugh about it later. actually, it would most likely screw my head up for the next day or so. but ultimately, i'm not going to feel bad that someone else wasn't aware enough to watch out for themselves in a huge, extremely busy city like chicago. i do my part, i ride without distractions and do my best to be aware of everything going on around me, cars, people, whatever. but that's as far as my responsibility goes. if a walker puts me in a position where i don't have room to swerve or time to stop, then that's on them, not me. it's the same thing if i were to get hit by a car because i decided i could run a red light. in that situation, the car did nothing wrong and probably would've tried to stop if possible, so that's my fault for being an idiot.

and my apologies to the original poster. it wasn't my intention to hijack a fun thread and turn it into a debate over cycling responsibilities.
Permalink Reply by Danielle on December 15, 2008 at 5:57pm
I hit a guy a year ago or so. I was heading east on lake st, towards State st and I had the green light. At the time, there were no other vehicles on the road, and some pedestrians decided to make a run for it. As I got closer, I screamed, "Watch out! I'm not stopping! You don't have the right of way!". Most of them either kept running (because they weren't in front of me) or they turned back and waited for me to pass. This one guy, holding a briefcase and a fresh coffee from Starbucks, decided that he was going to go. I said, "Get out of the way!" and he turned back around. Then at the last split second, he jetted out in front of me! I knocked him a couple of feet, and went down myself. Coffee and papers everywhere. I felt bad, but when all the pedestrians that waited came out to see if I was ok, and ignored the guy, I knew I wasn't the one in the wrong.
Permalink Reply by Danielle on December 15, 2008 at 6:02pm
+1

I feel the same way. Sometimes accidents actually do happen, but in many cases, a bad decision that could have been avoided was the deciding factor. I feel bad that I probably ruined that guy's day, but at the same time, he wouldn't have been hit if he waited for the light to change. I followed the law, it wasn't my fault, and the witnesses that helped me off the ground most likely agreed.

ridedirty said:
i never want to hurt anybody. when i say that i'm not responsible for other people's safety, i meant more that i'm not going to feel bad for hitting that pedestrian who stepped out without looking and only gave me 2 of the 5 feet i needed to stop. i'm not going to be happy i hit them. i'm not going to laugh about it later. actually, it would most likely screw my head up for the next day or so. but ultimately, i'm not going to feel bad that someone else wasn't aware enough to watch out for themselves in a huge, extremely busy city like chicago. i do my part, i ride without distractions and do my best to be aware of everything going on around me, cars, people, whatever. but that's as far as my responsibility goes. if a walker puts me in a position where i don't have room to swerve or time to stop, then that's on them, not me. it's the same thing if i were to get hit by a car because i decided i could run a red light. in that situation, the car did nothing wrong and probably would've tried to stop if possible, so that's my fault for being an idiot.

and my apologies to the original poster. it wasn't my intention to hijack a fun thread and turn it into a debate over cycling responsibilities.
Permalink Reply by yellow jello on December 16, 2008 at 11:35am
Wrigleyville. Clark. Post Cubs game. Mayhem. I wish I could just plow the heaps of bros in the bike lane. Even on unbusy days in some other parts of town, I don't understand why some pedestrians like to take the bike lane instead of the sidewalk?
Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on December 16, 2008 at 3:01pm
I HATE going down Clark before/during/after a Cubs game. Hate it with a passion. It unfortunately is the only straight shot I have down to CCM from where I work, but wow are there more than Wrigleyville's fair share of idiots down there then.

My friend Kelly jokingly said that it should be ok to plow into them if they're in the way because they're too drunk to know and would just bounce around like Jello.

Oh, if only that were allowed...

And yes, that's intentionally in caps and bold.

yellow jello said:
Wrigleyville. Clark. Post Cubs game. Mayhem. I wish I could just plow the heaps of bros in the bike lane. Even on unbusy days in some other parts of town, I don't understand why some pedestrians like to take the bike lane instead of the sidewalk?
Permalink Reply by justJason on December 16, 2008 at 3:08pm
Yep. Agree 100%. And during the balmier times of the year, I like to ride through this area after work so I can hit the lake for an extended stretch back home. But one solution: take Damen around the offending area and save yourself one fuck of a headache!

RJB said:
I HATE going down Clark before/during/after a Cubs game. Hate it with a passion. It unfortunately is the only straight shot I have down to CCM from where I work, but wow are there more than Wrigleyville's fair share of idiots down there then.

My friend Kelly jokingly said that it should be ok to plow into them if they're in the way because they're too drunk to know and would just bounce around like Jello.

Oh, if only that were allowed...

And yes, that's intentionally in caps and bold.

yellow jello said:
Wrigleyville. Clark. Post Cubs game. Mayhem. I wish I could just plow the heaps of bros in the bike lane. Even on unbusy days in some other parts of town, I don't understand why some pedestrians like to take the bike lane instead of the sidewalk?
Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on March 5, 2009 at 2:34pm
On my way home tonight, I was riding down a street that had all its lights out, and 3 or 4 people were crossing the street at the alley. One of them is observant enough to see my light and points me out to the other people.

When going past them, this guy goes, "a little horn" to which I reply, "a little eyes." Oh, how I would've loved to have had this.

Does anyone else enjoy crossing blacked out streets without looking whatsoever?

Btw, I don't have a horn, but I do have my voice, ie. "HEY! Weren't you taught to look both ways?!"
Permalink Reply by mike w. on March 5, 2009 at 5:15pm
As satisfying or comical or tempting it may sometimes be to run over/into a ped there are things to consider (in no particular order):

1) To the Law, the ped is always ALWAYS right, no matter how wrong s/he was. You are the one who'll get the ticket 99 times in 100. Exceptions are very very rare.

2) you could get done for Vehicular Assault if someone thinks it was a deliberate hit. You have now entered into the realm of criminal law.

3) you are every bit as likely to get hurt/crashed and your bike may be roached as well.

4) Someone could be killed (yes, as in dead,) or worse, crippled for life. If you maim a ped, you could be held liable for all medical expenses incurred for the rest of his/her life.

5) you could be sued... the legal torture can last YEARS...

Extreme examples? Well yeah, but it's an extreme world out there. ANYTHING can happen.

Basically, if you hit a ped, you're screwed.
Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on March 6, 2009 at 4:42am
I agree pedestrians (especially on the lake shore parh) don't feel the need to look both ways. And here is a great reason as a cyclist not to go down one way streets and/or red lights...
Permalink Reply by heather s on March 6, 2009 at 6:30am
mike w. said:
As satisfying or comical or tempting it may sometimes be to run over/into a ped there are things to consider (in no particular order):

It's hardly comical to run over or into a pedestrian. I ran into someone once (on accident, and by any measure of reality it was her fault) and it was truly terrifying--and I still feel badly about it, six years later. Not tempted to repeat that experience.
Permalink Reply by root on March 6, 2009 at 7:21am
this guy takes a hit like a champ

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