I find that a minority, when hearing that, instinctively take a step left before realizing that they need to move to the right.
Pedestrians get the bell. Cyclists get “Passing on your left.” Immenent collision gets a super-loud, urgent “Heads up!!!”
Is "On your left" the best thing to say when passing someone on a trail?
Submitted 5 days ago by HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club to [deleted]
Comments
xylogx@lemmy.world 5 days ago
NotAnOtter@lemmus.org 5 days ago
I generally find it unhelpful. People’s reaction time sucks and and so many people hear ‘left’ and jump in that direction before their brain can process. It’s not an intelligence thing that some people try to make it seem, it’s just that the average person has this interaction like once per year thus don’t have muscle memory baked in.
I yell out ‘behind you’ from several feet back or ring a bell if I’m on a bike. Or more often just slow down as I normally don’t really care.
Vandals_handle@lemmy.world 5 days ago
A few thoughts; lack of infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists is what crowds us together and forces close passes, try to remember this and be patient and kind.
The individual being passed has the right of way, they have no obligation to make way. The individual passing is responsible for doing so in a safe manner, no passing on turns or where view is obscured, sometimes need to slow down and wait before passing. Always wait for opposing traffic to clear before passing, don’t dart out in front of opposing traffic making them slow or take evasive action.
A bell is the most effective and least startling method of alerting others to your presence. People seem to instinctively move right when hearing a bell. As mentioned by OP, calling out on your right sometimes makes people move right. (Not true on group rides with experienced riders, on your right is the correct method there)
Source, decades of cycle commuting and pleasure riding.
sem@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 days ago
Agreed, except in personal experience even a bell can be startling/agressive to some people, but what else can you do.
UnpoppedCorn@lemmy.world 5 days ago
They hear something, and turn in the direction of the noise to see what it was, in this case to their left.
As someone who walks the trails a lot, having someone say “on your left” every two minutes is annoying. Just don’t hit me and let me enjoy the trail in silence. The people who are walking need to treat it like the sidewalk that it is and not suddenly jump out where people are biking and running. With half of the people wearing earbuds, they can’t hear you anyway.
thebestaquaman@lemmy.world 5 days ago
I’ll only ever say “on your <side>” if I’m moving significantly faster than a person (e.g. I’m biking or running), there’s little space, and I have some reason to think they may not be aware that I’m coming up behind them and could move unexpectedly to the side.
Nighed@feddit.uk 4 days ago
You have to do it far enough back for them to process it. Or just ring your bell and let them choose. Headphones always get a repeated bell.
If your going too fast for that to work, then you are going too fast, slow down around other people if there isn’t space.
Kolanaki@pawb.social 5 days ago
Only if you’re passing on the left. It would be dumb to say it if you’re actually passing on their right.
HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 5 days ago
Passing is a two person affair.
daychilde@lemmy.world 5 days ago
A one person affair is just masturbation. ;-)
BradleyUffner@lemmy.world 4 days ago
If it looks like someone that may panic, I tend to go with “bike back” and let them figure out what they want to do, rather that try to give them an instruction.
TwodogsFighting@lemdro.id 5 days ago
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES.
Hanrahan@lemmy.world 5 days ago
do the Time warp with them as you pass ? and say vale Tim Curry?
It’ just a jump to the left and a step to the riighhttt 🗿
YetAnotherNerd@sopuli.xyz 5 days ago
Hello, fellow cyclist. “Passing on your left” works better than “on your left”. “On your left” makes people whip around for some reason, but adding “passing” helps
Bells are hit or miss due to ANC headphones, though there’s one with a Z in it that almost sounds like an air horn, and the video seems compelling. The Skoda seems cool but they also made it almost like a “hey, somebody else wanna make this”.
For moneybags, make an ultrasonic-speaker setup and just beam it into everyone’s skull at range. :)
Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 5 days ago
From the skiing world, this is a norm.
Problem is we instinctively turn to the left unless we intentionally counteract it.
I’ve been on both sides of this, so I’m as guilty as anyone.
HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 5 days ago
I understand the issue is likely psychological rather than an intended response. I’m just asking the question more to figure out if there is a better way.
zerofk@lemmy.zip 4 days ago
One time I was riding to work, a group came from behind me and one of them started shouting “left left left”. We were just coming up to an intersection and I still don’t know what he meant: did he want to pass me on the left, did he mean to tell his group to turn left, or did he want me to go left?
Get a decent bell - not one of those little ting-ting ones that you can’t hear - and use it. A bell is always clear: someone wants to pass on the left (right in the UK).
Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org 5 days ago
Why don’t you say something like “Good day”?
HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 5 days ago
I feel like that will only confuse people.
Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org 5 days ago
Try it.
Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org 4 days ago
Maybe you want to understand when foreigners start talking, then the first few syllables are usually not understandable. This is a natural thing. The hearing needs to adapt to the unknown voice, and then the understanding can start.
So if somebody yells at me from behind “xxx yyy left” I would first slow down a little (because yelling creates some feeling of alarm, and slowing down is simply the automatic way to increase safety) and then I would look to my left in order to find out what that person might have been trying to tell me.
A greeting formula like “Hello”, or whatever is common in your region, is helpful for this acoustic adaption. And of course it is the way to start any communication in a friendly and respectful way. Leave it away and you are rude, automatically.
If you don’t care being rude (like some of the comments seem to suggest), it is still a good idea to always speak a few more syllables. The last ones will be understood better.
communism@lemmy.ml 5 days ago
If you’re cycling and passing a pedestrian? I ding the bell with enough time to let them step to one side, and then I go through the gap they create. The gap can be on whatever side they want.
HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 5 days ago
Not everyone respects the ding.
YouTalkinToMe@lemmy.world 4 days ago
It’s a request, not an order
communism@lemmy.ml 5 days ago
Well, if they don’t, you’ll just have to wait until you both get somewhere where you can pass? The other option is running them over, which, whilst them blocking you is a dick move, running someone over is more unethical.
shalafi@lemmy.world 5 days ago
And here I sit, “Y’all see other people where you go!?” There are places I get into right by my hood and I’d be shocked to see another human there. I assume all noises are animals.
HubertManne@piefed.social 5 days ago
I kinda wonder how useful it is but I think the main thing is any warning and its kinda nice to know where it might be. I get you though. You don’t see them coming and so its kinda out of the blue and they are moving fast so by the time it even registers for me they have basically passed. Maybe everyone should just put a playing card in their spokes :)
ComradeMiao@lemmy.world 4 days ago
I just say the direction I am coming from, typically on the right. So I just yell out “RIGHT”
ivanafterall@lemmy.world 5 days ago
Only when you’re passing them on the left imo.
HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 5 days ago
Per the rules, I’m not passing them on the right.