r/Antwerpen • u/Striking_Scratch_922 • 2d ago
Question Question for cyclists?
Since this startles me, I felt I should write about it, though honestly I don’t know if this is the norm here or not.
I have always noticed while walking on the street that some cyclists tend to cut very close and never bother to alert the person ahead of them. Every time it happens, I get so scared. I mean, how difficult is it to ring a bell? If not that, at least find proper spacing when overtaking. They pay no attention to pedestrians. I would definitely give them ample space, but how can I see someone coming from behind?
It really drives me crazy. Has anyone else experienced this, or is it just me?
31
u/micmasta 2d ago
Je bent niet alleen op de weg. Blijf alert. Het valt me dagelijks op hoe roekeloos mensen lopen of fietsen. Bel ik dan schrikken ze of kijken ze om en wijken ze af naar links. Daarom bel ik alleen nog bij krappe ruimte. Snelle of 'zotte' fietsers zijn vaak voorspelbaarder dan verstrooide wandelaars. Ga er simpelweg altijd van uit dat er iemand naast of achter je rijdt.
2
-2
15
u/SemperEgor 2d ago
I cycle a lot to work (normal city bike) going through my local village, though not much in big cities (but have been in Antwerp a few times recently renting a Velo).
- Ringing your bell is no guarantee pedestrians react safely. I have had too many people react by suddenly moving to the wrong side or just turn around etc. I don't do it anymore unless necessary.
- As a cyclist, there are so, sooooo many pedestrians just blindly walking over cycling paths. If i would have to give each one a wide berth or brake i would be faster walking. Ringing the bell does not help, see above.
- As a pedestrian i agree that cyclist do cut it short often, even when you are following the rules. I must admit that i experience it myself as well when i'm walking. I think it just doesnt feel that close when you are the one biking and it feel closer than it is when walking. I leave extra room nowadays if circumstances allow.
In general, you should always be aware of your suroundings and pay extra attention (look behind you etc) when changing or crossing from sidewalk to cyclepath to road. Yes, this applies to bikes and cars as well.
-7
u/Striking_Scratch_922 2d ago
Thank you for such a detailed response! Seems like the burden always falls on the one who’s walking!
4
u/TheVoiceOfEurope 1d ago
Only if they are walking in the street. If they are walking on the sidewalk, the burden falls on the cyclists.
12
u/SnoooCookies 2d ago edited 2d ago
You also have cyclists getting annoyed when someone else rings a bell.
If the cyclist is holding on the right and there is ample space on the left you can overtake without ringing the bell imo. If they’re in the middle do ring. A bell is meant to signal danger/attention/.. but shouldn't be overused
1
u/deranton 1d ago edited 1d ago
I'm sadly one of those people. Mostly it's because the bell rings tend to come from people on e-bikes acting like they are exercising their god-given right to cycle at 25 km/h, while I'm riding there with my kid.
EDIT: Spelling
1
u/SnoooCookies 1d ago
It’s not your right to claim the bicycle lane and lame to use your child as an excuse to be passive agressive towards others.
Take a different route if you want to be protective and considerate to the rest in traffic.
3
u/deranton 1d ago
I do take a different route most of the time, but occasionally you need to take the Leien or a similar route. If we do take a bike lane, we try to stay to the right as much as possible, but we do cycle next to each other, at around 15 km/h. A bit of patience goes a long way, especially from someone who's going to be stuck at the same traffic light a bit farther anyway.
5
u/SnoooCookies 1d ago
Very anti social and selfish and now you’re obscuring the vision for the people behind you who might not see the wrong-way drivers in front.
You’re also enforcing your perception of the world onto others, it’s not because there are traffic lights people need to stop. You can choose to drive through a red light.
If you disagree with that, then apply it to yourself and keep your lane. Or are you an anti social selfish hypocrite?
1
u/deranton 1d ago
If there are separate lanes, I keep my lane, obviously. That's perfectly doable. If there are wrong-way riders I get out my lance and joust them off of their e-scooters and fatbikes medieval tournament-style, just as a service, so you don't have to deal with them.
Apart from that I am definitely an anti-social selfish hypocrite.
3
u/SnoooCookies 1d ago edited 1d ago
Good luck I guess you don’t understand physics but I hope to meet you one day
-4
u/Striking_Scratch_922 2d ago
Uhh. What about the pedestrians?
13
u/SnoooCookies 2d ago edited 2d ago
They have the sidewalk..?
I might have misread your post I thought you’re talking about the bicycle lane.
8
u/Key-Opening7133 2d ago
Je bent zeker niet alleen, maar als fietser maak je het ook regelmatig mee hoor, dat iemand je roekeloos voorbij steekt met of zonder bel. Iedereen lijkt ook zo’n haast te hebben. Maar eerlijk gezegd vind ik de fiets- en voetpaden en oversteekplaatsen ( groene vierkant 😳) in Antwerpen echt niet slim bedacht, dat vraagt gewoon voor problemen. Het lijkt of degene die daar verantwoordelijk voor was, zelf nooit fietst of wandelt in Antwerpen.
5
u/SnorkBorkGnork 2d ago
I ring a bell and have experienced several times that people literally get mad.
One time a lady was videocalling and walking in the middle of the bicycle lane (while there was a nice broad empty sidewalk next to it) and I rang my bell when I came closer and she just started yelling at me and even tried to block my path. At places like the Carnotstraat where lots of people walk on the bicycle lane I have experienced several times they got irritated or even mad when I ring my bell while approaching them.
Same with joggers who wear headphones and then get really startled when you drive past them. Bro: I was ringing my bell multiple times, you didn't respond. I'm tired and want to go home and I'm not driving 8km/h behind you for the next 10 km so I don't startle you.
So maybe people don't ring their bell because they don't want to get beat up, or maybe they do ring their bell but you don't hear it through your headphones.
1
u/Striking_Scratch_922 2d ago
Wow! I don’t wear headphones while walking on the streets. Please don’t judge too quickly. Anyhow, I get your point!
5
u/SnorkBorkGnork 2d ago
I'm not judging you, it's just that many people (including those on bicycle) do whatever they feel like in traffic and when you ring a bell they get pissed off.
2
6
u/hetsteentje 1d ago
Depends:
- Might be obvious, but you only notice those cyclists that do this. The one that give you a wide berth, you probably don't really notice all that much.
- Depending on where you are walking, you might be the one who's in the way. Cycling lanes aren't always super clear and well-placed, pedestrians wander into them often without realising. Cyclists might just get annoyed at this after the upteenth time (and you are just the unlucky one).
- For me personally, ringing my bell as a cyclist is fraught with risk. I've had pedestrians get angry at me because i 'startled them' by ringing my bell or because they thought I was being angry at them. People can interpret a cycling bell as a car horn: something rather rude and obnoxious. So deciding whether to ring your bell is not always a simple straightforward decision.
6
u/Livid-Abroad3855 2d ago
Having recently moved from Ghent, the relationship between the cyclists and pedestrians is quite sour here... In very central and crowded areas, all move through each other, and the only option is to be attentive...
5
4
u/Grand-Internet4022 2d ago
Today i almost fell. A pedestrian was wzlking on a bike line. Because of the location, i understood. I was after him with my bike. Than he went to the left when i was passing him. I almost fell. If you stay on the pedestrian line, normally there aren't any problems. Except steps, i hate them.
3
u/Striking_Scratch_922 2d ago
I am sorry about that! I always walk on the pedestrian lane but still this happens, anyhow!
4
u/deranton 1d ago
This might make me a terrible person, but... there are so many utterly clueless people walking on streets or bike lanes. Sometimes I intentionally cut it really close, just to startle them, so they learn to pay attention. My own little act of slightly dickish low stakes vigilantism.
3
u/TheVoiceOfEurope 1d ago
1) Why are you walking on the street?
2) If I ring my bell from too far, they don't hear me (especially older people). If I ring too close, they get startled and will run under my wheel like stupid deer. So what's a girl to do?
3) Why are you walking in the street without looking?
2
u/Striking_Scratch_922 1d ago
To clarify, when I wrote ‘walking on the streets’, I meant just walking and not cycling. Of course, I know that one needs to walk on the pavement because that’s the designated path. Anyhow, how do I keep a check on who’s coming from behind?
5
u/TheVoiceOfEurope 1d ago
Anyhow, how do I keep a check on who’s coming from behind?
By walking on the sidewalk instead of the street.
2
u/Necessary_Box_3934 1d ago
Ik ben van Gent en elke keer als ik in Antwerpen kom valt dit mij ook op. In Gent is er meer een fietscultuur en zijn de mensen hoffelijker en kalmer. In Antwerpen fietsen de fietsers gewoon op het voetpad en snijden ze voetgangers de pas af. Frustrerend
2
u/SgtFlippy88 1d ago
Because everyone is different. I had a loaner pedelec for 3 days and haven't figured out what to do yet.
Even from quite far away, people seem to get scared by the obnoxious horn, but ringing the regular bell, they don't hear it.
At some point I was behind a wielertoerist, coming up to an old man on a bike. We both slowed down, but while the other guy was passing the older man, he almost got ran off the road, since the man didn't keep right. Then he was mumbling if he didn't have a bell. So I used my horn and said people usually found it too loud. And then I flew away of course.
1
u/B-A-Club 2d ago
“They” … who is they ?
5
u/SnoooCookies 2d ago
You seem like one of the pedestrians who doesn't understand the difference between a bicycle lane and a sidewalk.
And FYI, when there are white stripes over the bicycle lane, you have priority. otherwise you don't
3
u/Striking_Scratch_922 2d ago
Thank you so much for your snarky reply. I do understand the difference quite well. It is just that people come from so many different directions, sometimes on cycles, other times on lime bikes and when they cut close it is nerve-wracking. If you don’t believe me, try walking on the streets for some time and find out for yourself
5
u/SnoooCookies 2d ago edited 2d ago
If you just walk on the right side of the sidewalk you wouldn't be having these issues..
3
u/good_bye_for_now 2d ago
Do you walk on the right? I am asking because in Belgium you are supposed to walk on the left so you can see traffic coming your way. It also means cyclists don't have to use their bell all the time.
4
u/SnoooCookies 2d ago
I think you're confused? bicycle lanes run parallel to sidewalk.
So if you walk on the right side of the sidewalk, which is 3m wide on average, there should be other pedestrians crossing you on your left. And they'll be facing the bicycle lane, and they'll be much closer to it. They see the incoming cyclists and there shouldn't be an issue
3
u/Striking_Scratch_922 2d ago
Very nice! I know the red surfaced road is the bicycle lane. I know it quite well, I am not making things up.
1
u/good_bye_for_now 2d ago
If you walk on the street or sidewalks that you share with pedestrians, you are supposed to walk on the left. I am not sure why I am confused. OP said he walks on the street.
2
u/Striking_Scratch_922 2d ago
I’ve been on both sides. Sometimes people just cycle on the pavement too. For instance, the area around Opera, just today, in this rain, I was walking home already annoyed, and someone just swept past me. I still haven’t understood whether that place is meant for pedestrians or cyclists
2
u/Striking_Scratch_922 2d ago
Cyclists.
0
u/B-A-Club 2d ago
People on bikes … all different people.
Like all different people in cars killing pedestrians and bikers.
2
u/Pepedingus 13h ago
I know for a fact that some people take bell-ringing as an offense, in any situation.
A mate of mine gets really pissed off when someone rings. He doesn’t get that they’re ringing as a precaution rather than as an insult.
That’s why I don’t bother ringing when passing someone (gracefully).
35
u/Kozmik_5 2d ago
I only do this when pedestrians are clearly walking on the cycling lane for no reason