I think the pedestrian has right of way at all times . That makes sense because the pedestrian must cross the ‘bike lanes’ which go through things like bus stops. There’s also kids and animals.
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When a hot chic is going to sit next to me looks at me then changes her mind and is replaced by a middle aged businessman who then says “Hi where you from”
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this one annoys me a lot
Wait, what? Ringing the bell is an offence?! I do this pretty regularly because people are either walking or riding abreast on the riverside paths, and there’s no way to get by them.
God save us from those aggressive bell ringers. Won’t someone please think of the children?!
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You could try talking to them, a polite “excuse me” in any language usually works, what would you do if you were walking?
if they are dedicated bike lanes then why are they on the pavement with the pedestrians(who also walk in them basically 95% of the time)? they are half assed bike lanes at best. dedicated should not be the word used to describe them.
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I use the term “dedicated” aspirationally, not descriptively.
Guy
Well, walking I’d nudge up the side and walk slightly off the path, but I’m not going to do that on a bike. Walking isn’t the same as cycling. I’ll do an excuse me or 不好意思 if I’ve gotten close to them and they still haven’t moved. But cycling speed is different - I’ll be ringing the bell when I’m, I dunno, 10 or so meters away from them to let them know I’m coming. If I wait until they’re in speaking range, I’ve already had to slow down a lot. If they’re cycling and talking to each other, I may have to shout pretty loudly for them to even hear me. A bell cuts through that.
Of course it depends on the situation. If the cycling paths are busy, I’m not going to be ringing my bell at everyone. But typically I ring the bell if I’m coming up on two or three people abreast, blocking the whole pathway. And I’m worried about this now: is that an offense?! Am I going to be getting written up for that?
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The horror!
Yes, and you could be. The same as sounding a car horn when it’s not an emergency to avoid collision or for more than 2 seconds is an offence. You can’t sound a horn or ring a bell because you want someone to move out of your way, how would you feel if you were walking and someone behind you started ringing a bell or sounding a horn at you?
By that token the next time I see cyclists ahead when I’m driving a car or riding a scooter should I start sounding the horn from 10 meters back to let them know I coming fast and they should get out of my way?
Depends on the situation. People have honked their horn when I’m at the side of the road and there’s nowhere else to go, and that pisses me off (although I think sometimes they’ve been trying to do a “Hi, just letting you know I’m here so don’t swerve left” toot that comes across as a “Get off the road asshole” honk). But if I’m obliviously blocking the way, no problem with a honk. Once or twice I’ve been cycling in the middle of the road, and haven’t heard a car behind me, and in that case I react to a brief toot of the horn with “Oh crap, didn’t see you, sorry I didn’t meant to block you, I’ll get to the side.”
I think we may be misunderstanding each other. If you’re driving a car, and ahead of you, you see five or six cyclists riding abreast, blocking the entire road, then yeah, you’re well entitled to toot your horn to let them know you’re coming and that they should realign themselves somewhat - are you really saying you’d just slow down to 20kph and follow them forever, rather than briefly pressing your horn and asking them to move out of your way? I am not for a moment suggesting people get off the road to let me pass. I am suggesting that ringing a bell to let someone know there’s someone behind them, and they shouldn’t block the entire road, should be totally fine. Although apparently it’s not legally fine, which has me worried.
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It is fine. SuperS54 is being ridiculous and extreme. You won’t get ticketed for ringing your bell to warn and alert people to your presence.
If someone is standing, waiting, loitering in a bike lane, they are in the wrong. Yes, pedestrians have the rightaway, but can also be fined for obstructing traffic. Just because you are a pedestrian does not give you the right to stand wherever you want.
If you are in a bike lane or road and an incoming bicycle or vehicle rings or honks at you to move, then move!
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You won’t get ticketed for a polite ding to warn people of your presence, you may get fined for starting to ding people from 10 meters back to get out of your way.
Not on a sidewalk or shared sidewalk/bicycle lane which is where the conversation started. Due to aggressive cyclists Taipei city government have been considering removing shared sidewalks and reverting to pedestrian only.
Should be fine, polite ring of a bell to let them know you’re there. They can decide themselves how they want to deal with the situation given that they have priority. Ringing a bell doesn’t mean everyone has to get out of your way.
In Europe a bike lane is a bike lane, if you stand in a bike lane and get hit you are responsible for all damages. They WILL ding you if you are in the way.
Either they get rid of bike lanes, or they have to do it like the EU. Why have bike lanes if people just stand in it or even sell stuff on bike lanes?
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in europe a sidewalk is a sidewalk and if you ride your bike on a sidewalk you will get a ticket from the cops.
Haha… surprised at all the debate on sidewalks/bike path
Anyway, the gist of my annoyance is really more about personal space. Yes, different cultures have different preferences and the close personal space preference really annoys the f* out of me. Have learned to deal with it in general… my original gripe was that even when there is PLENTY of open space, people still move up close to you and simply can’t be bothered to move say 2 feet to the left or right
As for standing in the bike lane… as I said, I was trying to hail a taxi. Should I do this on the sidewalk behind the bike lane where the taxi might not see me? Or should I stand in the road and risk getting hit by a car?
When I bike, I prefer riding on the road. Easier to try keeping up with car traffic than biking at pedestrian pace. And it’s really sort of funny how if I’m jogging on the sidewalk, I generally keep pace with most of the bikes.
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A lot of bikers in Taiwan bike annoyingly slow. So slow they’re better off just not biking.
It’s possible that they just like having that hard seat up their crack LOL
can you blame them with all the shit on the pavement? i prefer riding on the road as i can go in straight line…when there isn’t cars parked that is.
Yeah, there is a significant group of people here who are (for reasons that frankly elude me) completely nonrelational. They pick a spot that they want, or that is perceived to be advantageous to them—and to hell with anyone else who happens to be present!
Compare this to Japan, where such behavior would be alarming, disturbing, the sign of a deeply deranged individual.
The great director Tsai Ming-liang plays on this point in his brilliant film Goodbye, Dragon Inn, which as some forumosans will know is set entirely in an old movie theatre in what is now New Taipei City, on the last night it is operating. During a sparsely attended final screening, a Japanese patron goes to the theatre’s washroom, where there is a long row of urinals. As he does his business, a second patron enters the washroom and picks the urinal right next to the Japanese character, whose face is filled with alarm!
I think this awkward scene nicely encapsulates the spatial reasoning of some (of course not all) people in Taiwan, on the MRT, commuter trains, and elsewhere.
Guy
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