Do you offer (friendly) advice?

cdaly_

So, yesterday I watched somebody turning left to the left of a left-turning truck. She didn't come to any harm but seemed oblivious of the risk. I chased her down and offered my advice on the topic. She seemed bemused to be accosted by this lycra-clad feller but hopefully she took my advice on board.

While I don't see much point in shouting at assholes, I will occasionally offer advice where I see somebody looking like they're unaware of the dangers (eg. going straight on in the cycle lane in the left-filter lane)

Anyone else do this kind of thing?

07Lapierre

Verbal abuse is FREE. Advise? that'll cost ya!

instinct

I like to play chicken with idiots on Dublin bikes going the wrong way on one way streets.

My friendly advice is "wrong way idiot"

Beasty

Entering the old N1 at the notorious Blakes Cross junction, there was a cyclist already on the N1 heading south. She kept in the lane she was in, completely oblivious to the fact there was now a lane on her inside and she could cut across to the left of the road. I tried to explain to her she would be safer without cars whizzing down both sides, but she chose to ignore me and continue on her merry way down the middle of two fast moving lanes of traffic ...

km991148

instinct wrote: »

I like to play chicken with idiots on Dublin bikes going the wrong way on one way streets.

My friendly advice is "wrong way idiot"

Same on pavements... but with me on foot otherwise that wouldn't work at all! Actually playing chicken on foot with a bike probably isn't very sensible either...

Lumen

Most people cycle/drive around in a defensive state of mind. It's just not possible to impart anything useful to someone in that state. There's also the possibility that they're right and you're wrong.

Sometimes I really want to tell those straight arm people that their BSO mountain bike is fifteen sizes too big, but I'm not brave enough.

I once tried to start a conversation about saddle height with a girl in a playground whose saddle was so high she couldn't even sit on it, but she acted like I was some sort of paedo. :pac:

Lemag

Lumen wrote: »

I once tried to start a conversation about saddle height with a girl in a playground whose saddle was so high she couldn't even sit on it, but she acted like I was some sort of paedo. :pac:

Was this her bike?

tomasrojo

I do occasionally. I generally regret it. I sometimes tell people wearing a helmet with the straps open that there's no point in wearing it like that. They look at me a bit odd, partly I imagine because I don't wear one myself, but if you think they're worthwhile, why not wear it in such a way that it can stay on if you fall off and so that it won't act as a distraction in the event of an emergency?

I told a postwoman once that her saddle was too low. She responded very positively and asked me what height it should be. She was almost rubbing her chin with her knees. I don't think I'd ever seen a more inappropriately low saddle.

When I see cyclists getting trapped to the left of left-turning traffic I sometimes tell them how to avoid that scenario.

Overall, it's probably not worth doing, because nobody likes being told they're doing something wrong. I'm not sure how I'd feel about a stranger giving me advice!

HivemindXX

I've been tempted many times but I've never given unsolicited advice to a cyclist. Occassions which have tempted me are:-

+ Saddle waaaay too low
+ Stick hand out and turn right without looking (Dublin Bikes riders are particularly bad for this)
+ The people who are out of the saddle sprinting for 30 seconds followed by sitting down and coasting for 30 seconds

I have knocked on the window of a car to ask him if he knew his rear left tyre was flat (he didn't). The driver looked like he was ready to start a fight when I knocked so I'd be less likely to do that again.

justo

cdaly_ wrote: »

So, yesterday I watched somebody turning left to the left of a left-turning truck. She didn't come to any harm but seemed oblivious of the risk. I chased her down and offered my advice on the topic. She seemed bemused to be accosted by this lycra-clad feller but hopefully she took my advice on board.

While I don't see much point in shouting at assholes, I will occasionally offer advice where I see somebody looking like they're unaware of the dangers (eg. going straight on in the cycle lane in the left-filter lane)

Anyone else do this kind of thing?

I think you did the right thing. If I'm not mistaken, that manoeuvre is the single most dangerous; my friend's father was killed by a left-turning truck about 4 years ago at the East Link bridge.

I understand your akwardness as it's a bit funny to give advice to strangers who don't ask for it but in this case, the potential benefits are too great.

mcmoustache

HivemindXX wrote: »

+ The people who are out of the saddle sprinting for 30 seconds followed by sitting down and coasting for 30 seconds

I'm curious about this. What's wrong with it? In Dublin City Centre, I always sprint between lights to keep the same speed as the traffic. When approaching the next light, I sometimes slow down and coast before braking if it's red. My routine for city cycling is more or less:

sprint from the lights
sit down and pedal when up to speed
slow down before stopping

doozerie

I tend not to, mainly for the same reasons already mentioned. I have informed people on bikes about things like their pannier bag being on the verge of falling off, or them having dropped something, but even then you can get some weird reactions amongst the grateful ones. I've tried indicating to cars when they are stopped short of a traffic sensor that would trigger the right-turning light for the lane we are both waiting in but some of them took offence at a cyclist seemingly telling them what to do so these days I generally let them sit there and I make the turn when I can.

I've told a car driver once when I noticed that one of their tyres was almost entirely flat and they gave a very peculiar reaction that suggested they hadn't yet grasped the concept of the inflatable tyre and its relevance to their driving experience. I declined to point out to another driver that their very loud car alarm was going off every few seconds as they seemed quite content to drive along with that happening, presumably with their brain slowing dribbling out through their ears (it lifted the top of my head off each time the alarm kicked in and I was a few metres away from the car).

Having said that, I do consider it important/useful to point out extremely dangerous or reckless behaviour to the culprits, as I think the power of the threat of public embarrassment can influence peoples' behaviour for the better. It can be a risky undertaking though as some people can react very aggressively when their mistakes are pointed out to them. To be honest though my motivation in pointing it out to them is less to do with concern for their well-being and more to do with concern for my own well-being as their behaviour can directly impact on me (quite literally at times!).

tomasrojo

doozerie wrote: »

I've tried indicating to cars when they are stopped short of a traffic sensor that would trigger the right-turning light for the lane we are both waiting in but some of them took offence at a cyclist seemingly telling them what to do so these days I generally let them sit there and I make the turn when I can.

It's worse when you're at the top of the queue and unable to trigger the sensor yourself. If you try to persuade the car behind to come closer to you it causes no end of confusion.

Come-hither gesture. Confused look.
Point at outline of sensor in the tarmac. Confused look.
A light cycle passes without a right turn signal.
Repeat.

niceonetom

The other day I saw a middle aged woman attempting to get up the left hand side of a articulated truck that was stopped at lights and had its left indicator on. She was rolling on the bike with one foot on the foot path trying to negotiate the ~12 inch gap between the rear corner and the kerb.I couldn't believe what I was seeing and got that sickening, prickly feeling that I was about to see something very, very bad.

She was 50ish, on a BSO many sizes too big, and was wearing highviz jacket and helmet (perched jauntily on the back of her head).

She'd only got level with the hindmost axle when I shouted at her. I think I said something like "PLEASE DON'T DO THAT! Seriously. That's how cyclists get killed." She just looked at me like I was saying BANANA JUJU MONKEY POO BANANA JUJUJJUU!!! and adopted that wide-eyed slow nod we reserve for dealing with slow children and the harmlessly mentally ill.

Anyway, the lights changed and the truck pulled off, its four rear wheels rolling over the spot this lady had been resolutely making for. I don't know if she absorbed any of what I was trying to get across to her. She clearly thought I was a bit touched.

petethedrummer

I gave a fella a lesson on how to lock his bike once. He was locking it by the rear wheel and I couldn't let it lie. He was open to the advice, so it was all very civil. I didn't give him an actual 'D-' but I felt like it.

macken04

saw a middle aged many trying to undertake a dublin bus today as it was taking off, you couldnt have fit a rat through the gap. I yelled please stop, honestly though the bus would have clipped him. But fair play to the bus driver for checking his mirrors. Stoped at the next lights asked if he was ok and said he should have waited. Was told to mind my own business.

Hail 2 Da Thief

cdaly_ wrote: »

She didn't come to any harm but seemed oblivious of the risk.

Beasty wrote: »

She kept in the lane she was in, completely oblivious to the fact there was now a lane on her inside and she could cut across to the left of the road.

Lumen wrote: »

she couldn't even sit on it, but she acted like I was some sort of paedo. :pac:

tomasrojo wrote: »

I told a postwoman once that her saddle was too low.

niceonetom wrote: »

The other day I saw a middle aged woman attempting to get up the left hand side of a articulated truck that was stopped at lights and had its left indicator on.

Has anybody else noticed the pattern here?












I'll get my coat..............................runs out door

tomasrojo

Maybe hurt pride. Let's hope he actually considers why you said it to him, however sour his response might have been.

HivemindXX

mcmoustache wrote: »

I'm curious about this. What's wrong with it? In Dublin City Centre, I always sprint between lights to keep the same speed as the traffic. When approaching the next light, I sometimes slow down and coast before braking if it's red. My routine for city cycling is more or less:

sprint from the lights
sit down and pedal when up to speed
slow down before stopping

What you describe is normal behaviour in my opinion. I'm talking about people (rare people I admit) who will be on a long flat section (like the canals) with no reason to stop or slow down anywhere near who get up out of the saddle and sprint up to 35kph or so for a while, get knackered and sit down and coast while their speed rapidly reduces to 10 kph or so and then they repeat. There is no reason to slow down like an upcoming junction, they just slow down because they are tired from the sprinting. Having got their breath back they start to sprint again. They don't seem to have any setting between sprinting like they're in the TdF and complete inactivity. It's very inefficient, they would be far better reaching their optimal speed and maintaining it like most people. It's also very annoying to be stuck behind someone doing this in heavy traffic.

cdaly_

petethedrummer wrote: »

I gave a fella a lesson on how to lock his bike once. He was locking it by the rear wheel and I couldn't let it lie. He was open to the advice, so it was all very civil. I didn't give him an actual 'D-' but I felt like it.

macken04 wrote: »

saw a middle aged many trying to undertake a dublin bus today as it was taking off, you couldnt have fit a rat through the gap. I yelled please stop, honestly though the bus would have clipped him. But fair play to the bus driver for checking his mirrors. Stoped at the next lights asked if he was ok and said he should have waited. Was told to mind my own business.

Hail 2 Da Thief wrote: »

Has anybody else noticed the pattern here?

Errm, no...

I've challenged/advised both men and women on things like left of left-turning, subliminal hand signals etc.

Lemag

niceonetom wrote: »

I saw a middle aged woman..

I shouted at her. She just looked at me like I was saying BANANA JUJU MONKEY POO BANANA JUJUJJUU!!! and adopted that wide-eyed slow nod we reserve for dealing with slow children and the harmlessly mentally ill.

FWIW

mcmoustache

HivemindXX wrote: »

I'm talking about people (rare people I admit) who will be on a long flat section (like the canals) with no reason to stop or slow down anywhere near who get up out of the saddle and sprint up to 35kph or so for a while, get knackered and sit down and coast while their speed rapidly reduces to 10 kph or so and then they repeat.

Ah, I get it now. That seems pretty damned retarded.

On the topic of offering advice, I generally don't bother. I tell people that they're going the wrong way if they are on the wrong side of the road or in the wrong cycle lane but it's a very abrupt conversation.
I'll occasionally advise people loudly that they're in the cycle lane when they shouldn't be. I might also advise people on their locking as well if I see them doing something silly.

monument

I'm fairly selective in handing out advice like this, but will always do it if there's clear and present danger as with turning trucks etc.

The main other things I've warned a few people about is to try to look behind them and not to swing in and out of the inside lane, into and out of loading bays etc.

Lumen wrote: »

Most people cycle/drive around in a defensive state of mind. It's just not possible to impart anything useful to someone in that state.

That's why bar the clear and present danger things, I'm more selective. If you don't wait for the right time you easily come across as a raving loon. In the right conditions and with the right type of person, first asking something like "do you mind if I give you some advice"... then again I think I've only said that once or twice.

cdaly_ wrote: »

While I don't see much point in shouting at assholes,
Anyone else do this kind of thing?

As I'm sure many of you read my thread on asking salmon cyclists why don't they replace their helmets with a brain... just to be clear: I don't shout at them, or at least I try very hard not to. And the lack of shouting may just enrage them more.

poochiem

Who am I to give advice? I do tell/show people how to lock the bike properly, theyve always been nice about it. Ive even left notes on bikes to warn them that locking through the wheel will leave them with ...a wheel. Oh I told my friend a few basics about survival when he started recently, you know left foot up near footpaths, consider your safety before the rules of the road etc.

Oink

I tried to explain to my girlfriend why her saddle was too low, etc.

Yeah. That worked out well. meeh, leave me alone blah bla.

:rolleyes:

(EDIT:crap... Forgot the missus joined boards recently. Hey pumpkin, lookin' good today :-) )

doozerie

tomasrojo wrote:

It's worse when you're at the top of the queue and unable to trigger the sensor yourself. If you try to persuade the car behind to come closer to you it causes no end of confusion.

Come-hither gesture. Confused look.
Point at outline of sensor in the tarmac. Confused look.
A light cycle passes without a right turn signal.
Repeat.

Yeah, that has mostly been my experience alright. Mostly I think the drivers interpret such gestures as me saying "Drive forward and run over me. Yes, yes, drive forward and run over me. I'm wearing a helmet, I'll be fine. No, it's fine, just RUN OVER ME DAMMIT!". In fairness to them they struggle with the moral dilemma of whether to do it or not, well most of them anyway.

Hail 2 Da Thief

cdaly_ wrote: »

Errm, no...

I've challenged/advised both men and women on things like left of left-turning, subliminal hand signals etc.

It was only a joke!

blorg

I've only done so if I see something wrong with their bike (something about to fall off, that sort of thing.) I've had others do the same for me when something was loose on my rack and I appreciate it. I've knocked on a car window when the driver had their coat trailing out the door, they were grateful for the heads up. But routinely doling out advice, no. Saddle height tips etc. I'd reserve for people I know. As for cyclists breaking the rules of the road, that's their problem, I am not a Garda last time I checked.

tomasrojo

blorg wrote: »

Saddle height tips etc. I'd reserve for people I know.

In an attempt to justify myself, I'll say the postwoman I spoke to was a special case, because the saddle was so comically low and because I assumed she was cycling this way for a few hours every day, which eventually would cause knee damage, or so I've read. I wasn't concerned that she wasn't maximising efficiency!

But you're right. I don't often do it, but when I do it I know I shouldn't.