Phone zombies vs road users

Bear · 20 Jun 2019 at 12:49

Resident said:
The concept of riding a little slower and/or giving way to other road users is completely alien to most cyclists.

Cant win though can they, people will whine if they slow down as it holds up traffic. Speed up and they have no concept of riding a bit slower etc.

Sankari · 20 Jun 2019 at 13:08

Lock them up!

Psycho Sonny · 20 Jun 2019 at 15:24

FoxEye said:
(No, not another cute Pop Cap game)

There are many things in this world I don't understand, and here is another (e: added more links so both lefties and righties can read the story

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...epped-road-looking-mobile-phone-wins-damages/

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...-down-while-on-phone-wins-payout-from-cyclist

https://metro.co.uk/2019/06/18/cycl...on-woman-stepped-front-looking-phone-9996411/

Pedestrian walks into road absorbed in looking at phone, whilst traffic lights were green for traffic.

Gets hit by cyclist; sues cyclist for damages; wins.

Judge declares 50/50 liability and that "cyclists should expect the unexpected". Like, seriously, what the actual? Orders cyclist to pay her compensation.

Basically phone zombies can cross the road without looking and the law will allow them to sue anyone who fails to avoid a collision with them.

This seems decidedly silly.

Anyway besides this crazy ruling, I know from my own personal experience that more and more pedestrians are crossing the road (or otherwise behaving in an unsafe manner) whilst glued to their phones.

Not only are these people indefensible idiots, but extremely anti-social too.

Just the other day I had to stop my car as a runner - with attached dog - was running in the the road utterly unaware of my existence. She never looked up once from her phone. Never attempted to control the dog who was running slap-bang in the middle of the road, towards me.

And yes, of course I stopped, but mainly because I'm an animal lover Who knows what was on her phone - maybe her pal had eaten a really spiffy lunch - but it was clearly more important than either her safety or the safety of her pooch.

Does anyone else look at phone zombies and basically think, "This is how our civilisation ends. Slaves to social media and unable to function for the slightest moment without staring at our phones."

Sure I post a lot of inane, useless **** here - but from my PC, in the living room. Out and about, however, I like to actually look at the scenery/my surroundings; look both ways before I cross the road; avoid walking into people and objects as best as my aging senses allow. Phone zombies are a modern plague of biblical proportions.

And it's getting worse all the time. As in, more accepted. Expected. That people absolutely can't wait even a single minute to check their social media is slightly tragic. Even when their own safety is at stake.

Dog owners get off with murder. Pooing in peoples gardens, weeing all over driveways / pavements.

IMO dogs should only be allowed in their owners homes and gardens nowhere else.

Shadowness · 20 Jun 2019 at 15:31

Psycho Sonny said:
IMO dogs should only be allowed in their owners homes and gardens nowhere else.

haha good one!

(assuming the above is of course a joke)

Psycho Sonny · 20 Jun 2019 at 15:58

Shadowness said:
haha good one!

(assuming the above is of course a joke)

nope same goes for cats. they are even worse. they can go wherever they want. climb on top of your car and scratch it's paintwork all day long with no come back.

Akagi · 20 Jun 2019 at 15:58

Phwoarr.

Sorry what is this thread about?

Rroff · 20 Jun 2019 at 16:09

FoxEye said:
There are circumstances already mentioned in the thread where, yes, a child walking into the road (eg from behind a bus) and getting themselves run over/killed would be 100% nobody else's fault.

As a driver or a cyclist (I have been both), you cannot - despite some people assertions - guarantee that you will never collide with a pedestrian, unless you drive everywhere at 1mph. And hire an escort to clear the roads in front of you.

As a driver/cyclist you cannot reasonably be expected to make such accidents impossible, by virtue of your awareness and driving skill. It just isn't humanly possible.

People who claim they are such good drivers they can avoid accidents are frankly deluding themselves.

e: To clarify: regardless of how good a driver you are, there could arise a situation where there was nothing you could have done to prevent an accident. Short of giving up driving or driving everywhere at 1mph. The skill of th edriver can never reduce the chance of an accident to 0%. Never, ever, ever.

Some people do seem to think it possible to drive in a way that means you won't hit something

I had a deer the other night jump out of the hedge right in front of me - not even a chance of stopping and I wasn't going very fast at all - fortunately it moved just enough I was able to steer around it. Sadly looked like someone else hit it a couple of days later though - can't be certain it was the same deer but looked very similar.

SexyGreyFox · 21 Jun 2019 at 20:50

I've been fetched off my bike 3 times because of pedestrians - two cracked ribs on one, broken finger on another, badly cut knee on the 3rd - all 3 just walked straight into the road.
I have become so self aware now of all pedestrians/vehicles that it's like a super power.
On Monday a mother with a pushchair and 3 kids in tow just stepped out between cars but because I was high up I saw it happening, if I'd been in a car I imagine it could have been nasty,
I broke hard, said nothing, just had a vacant look on my face and she told me to **** ***.
Kids are the worst and on my way to work I have kids going to Thistley Hough Academy and they have zero road sense, virtually every day I have to be cautious when they're walking on the pavement.

Malevolence · 21 Jun 2019 at 21:43

I had a good one earlier. Was slowly peddling along here when I was accosted by some dumb harridan and her spawn who decided to jump in front of me and start shouting and screaming at me to get off the pavement before she phones the police. Even after I'd politely, and slightly sarcastically, pointed out the easy to see markings that quite obviously denote a cycle path she was still ranting and raging. Thing is, if I was going just a tad quicker I doubt I'd have been able to stop before slamming straight into her, as one moment she was standing on the pavement and the next she just jumped right in front of me.

I felt sorry for the poor kid with her, he looked mortified and embarrassed.

SexyGreyFox · 21 Jun 2019 at 22:53

Malevolence said:
I had a good one earlier. Was slowly peddling along here

Aargh, I spent 4 years of my young life in that building - Michelin Apprentice School.

I hate that road with a passion, every now and then I will cycle down to Halfords from the hospital and it's as though the road is never ending.
I then go down to Campbell Road, up to Bet 365 and home.

Malevolence · 21 Jun 2019 at 23:45

SexyGreyFox said:
Aargh, I spent 4 years of my young life in that building - Michelin Apprentice School.

I worked down the other end of the complex, just inside the Chester Gate in the IT department. Was great, vacuum fed tape drives and hard disks the size of washing machines.

Jean-F · 22 Jun 2019 at 12:55

SexyGreyFox said:
Aargh, I spent 4 years of my young life in that building - Michelin Apprentice School.

I hate that road with a passion, every now and then I will cycle down to Halfords from the hospital and it's as though the road is never ending.
I then go down to Campbell Road, up to Bet 365 and home.

I clicked on that link, and saw A34 on the road, I thought hmmm, Newbury?, then I saw the green road sign, and enlarged it, and saw that the shot was of one of those places marked on old maps with “here be dragons.”

VoG · 22 Jun 2019 at 15:00

Rroff said:
Some people do seem to think it possible to drive in a way that means you won't hit something

Yup, & the only way to do that would be to bring back the bloke with a red flag walking in front of motor vehicles, still top way to bring down the unemployment stats, improve the health stats thru exercise & reduced road accidents, & on top of all that cut down on pollution, so win win all round!.

On the subject of phone zombies i've just got to share this clip, i love the way she just picks her self up, makes her excuses, & then rushes off because she's got a bus to catch, i can't help but think she was immensely lucky it wasn't a car following the van other wise she wouldn't have been rushing any where, maybe next time she'll actually look up before walking out into the road, tho probably not...

StriderX · 22 Jun 2019 at 15:09

Just ban cars, job done.

Nasher · 22 Jun 2019 at 15:48

VoG said:
Yup, & the only way to do that would be to bring back the bloke with a red flag walking in front of motor vehicles, still top way to bring down the unemployment stats, improve the health stats thru exercise & reduced road accidents, & on top of all that cut down on pollution, so win win all round!.

On the subject of phone zombies i've just got to share this clip, i love the way she just picks her self up, makes her excuses, & then rushes off because she's got a bus to catch, i can't help but think she was immensely lucky it wasn't a car following the van other wise she wouldn't have been rushing any where, maybe next time she'll actually look up before walking out into the road, tho probably not...

If it was a car she'd have broken legs.

Even on a crossing if you step out infront of someone like that you will take the blame. But ofc she fled the scene (an offence in itself) and left the biker semi-traumatised.

SexyGreyFox · 22 Jun 2019 at 18:20

VoG said:

Blimey, I'd be very surprised she wasn't hurt.
Back in 1974 when I was 16, I was cycling to get to Stoke Train Station because my Mum & Dad were going to be leaving me home alone for 5 years while they buggered off to Nigeria.
Witnesses said that as I was cycling down the road a bus hit me head on that was turning (not full speed) and knocked me a distance down the road.
I got up, got on my bike, got to the Station and waved my parents and baby sis away.
I cycled 4 miles home and the Police were waiting for me, I remember being asked if I was OK then waking up in hospital