Modern Vespa

I just had lunch with my father and I was on my way back to work through Fisherman's Wharf/North Beach area when I almost hit a pedestrian! I was a good distance away from this man...and I saw him look in my direction then look forward, and proceed to cross the street! He didn't even look back to make sure, and continued to stroll...so I whaled on the horn and slowed down at the same time...the guy was surprised and jumped out of the way. I didn't fully stop to yell or scream obscenities so I just rolled on the throttle and scooted off. I think the horn and braking did its job today. I'm glad I didn't hit him or laid down the scoot.

This is the second occurrence that I've had in the city though. The other time was 2 weeks ago; a man was on the phone and looked in the opposite direction of oncoming traffic as I approached...so I whaled on the horn to alert him and another man trying to jaywalk. Both these incidents pedestrians were trying to cross but not at a crosswalk.

As a novice rider, I thought most accidents occur at intersections and such and I am extra vigilant there, but now I've come to be more alert everywhere. You just never know when a car or pedestrian will pop out. Man, we truly are invisible.

I had a guy walk right in to me and my bike on Haight St as I was cruisin down the street. I couldn't believe it.

watch out everyone!

I had a little kid run out in front of me in my appt complex. I jammed on the brakes just in time, kid didn't think anything of it. Just as i started to ride off her dad ran out yelling "watch where you're going next time!" I got off my scoot, (all 6'5" 225lbs of me) to have a talk about road (and personal) safety. He picked up his kid and ran back inside as soon as i got my bucket off.

I dont think anything bothers me more than pedestrians walking out into the street without looking. I cant imagine how bad i would have felt if i had hit that little girl. I would have felt pretty great hitting her father though.

As time goes by your aim will get better

Glad all is well.

We get a lot of those in Toronto,
The worst ones are listening to their MP3 players,
Some are even on bicycles.

If only my stebel could be made even louder.

Nothing worse than the ones that cross diagonally with their back to you,
I usually just let the buses deal with them and swerve around them.

Yea, unfortunately Muni here will get them for sure.

My experiences with pedestrians have been negative as well. Once, downright confrontational with namecalling.

If my parents had ever caught me wandering out into traffic, I'd have gotten a lick or two and they'd have apologized to the driver.

Pedestrians don't realize how fast a scoot can go and figure they can hoof it before you reach them.

I hit a pedestrian once, and knocked him down, way back about 1960.

It was on the Main Reef road in Johannesburg, near Crown Mines. Approaching a traffic light, the left lane was full of stopped cars and I was overtaking in the right lane, when this African mine worker dashed out between the cars into my path. I braked, but still knocked him down. He sat on the road facing me, looking a bit astonished, then got up and ran off on his way. No damage to him or to my scooter (GS150).

All the people in the adjacent cars, mostly African, were having hysterics!

Mike

I'm glad none of the stories on this thread had a sad ending.

I was driving through Hollywood Monday morning. At the corner of an intersection some guy was standing, talking on his phone and carrying a large piece of equipment. I had the green light for a good 30 seconds or so and as I approached the intersection, the guy just started moseying across the crosswalk. I blasted my horn and he turned around and scuttled back. he was just sooooo in another world.



(A pedestrian outside my office building was actually just hit by a truck three hours ago. So horrible)

Glad nothing bad happened.

Just as a precaution...whenever I'm in a situation where there are pedestrians, wheelchairs, runners, pets on leashes, etc. your "threat indicators" should go up to expect the unexpected.

The same goes for areas of potential mishaps...near the University campus...near schools....parking lots (have you ever been in a theater parking lot when the movie lets out?)

I make sure my thumb is ready to give a warning or if I simply have to come to a dead stop...stopping is usually a good thing until everything clears out...just don't get rear ended!

These are my favorite. I like to ride up to nearly touching them and blast the Nautilus. My favorite time doing this was about a year or two ago. Van Ness at 3 pm is BUSY. This guy makes it across the North headed traffic on the green. Light turns red as he's on the center divide. Glances up from his iPhone, STEPS INTO TRAFFIC again, against the light, and makes it across the first car. I'm sitting lanesplit, and wait till the guy goes back to clicking his phone and steps in front of me. AIR HORN. the cars on either side of me take their cue. The hipster screams the girliest scream and throws his phone into the air. He cowers, looking around stunned. The SUV next to me screams at him he's in moving traffic. He ran like a three year old back on the divide. It was priceless.
Now to be serious.
Pedestrians distractions are why NYC no longer allows you to legally cross the street while operating a device. This kind of person is a serious liability. Since you're in SF I'm going to suggest that you invest in an Air Horn, Nautilus prefferably. This has been the BEST most valuable upgrade on my bikes. You sound intimidating, so drivers and pedestrians who are admittedly not paying attention to begin with are jolted back to reality by thinking there might be a truck coming at them. It works, and it will save your bacon more than any other mod.
Even with this...you need to be careful.


Hey Patrick? Can you post those pics of your foot and tell the story about your idiot pedestrian? I forget how it goes...

TB you are the voice of reason.

I can't believe the color blind, illiterate, idiots that cross the street at a crosswalk, with the red "Do Not Walk" Sign, blinking away!
Almost hit one with my truck, in the dark, with dark clothes, walking against a Green light....the only two things that gave him away, was the other cars facing weren't going on a green light, and their headlights blinking, as the idiot walked across them.....
Then, there's the idiots driving cages, that don't yield for me, as I walk across the street, in a marked crosswalk....they even honk, and curse at me!
Too many people in a hurry!

Almost is only sufficient in horseshoes and hand grenades. Next time, line him up better.

Hahahahahaha sooooooo great!!!

think in general people do not see scooters as powerful machines had people walk out in front of me as well as well as cars at roundabouts thinking they can be quick enough to get out in front of you at when they are clearly not


pees me off big time glad you and the scoot had no mishaps pity you didn't run over the idiots toes that would soon teach them to mess with you and your scoot grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Yeah people give me just enough room on the scoot. Peds will step out from the curb and cars edge into an intersection. Really annoys me.

On the guzzi everyone kept well out of the way.

Pedestrians have the right of way. Even when they're jaywalking.

Just sayin.

Yes, the ones who know this and look you in the eye as they step out are particularly annoying.

While this may be true in places like the US, it's not so clear-cut where I live now.
A few years back when i was living in NY i was hit by a taxi while crossing a busy street in brooklyn. broke my leg in 2 places plus all kinds of bruises and nerve damage and such. now im ok, but ill never forget it. makes me look 3 times every time i think of crossing.
I sued and won, even though i wasn't in the crosswalk. Pedestrian right-of-way.

Drivers in Israel are known to be notorious overtakers. noone has any patience here and everyone's got the feeling if they dont push themselves ahead (everywhere, not only on the roads) then they wont get anywhere in life.
I almost hit a cupla jaywalkers the other day - i guess they simply didnt think i was gona get there before they did ...i was cruising up to the light at around 50/kmh... they were in the crosswalk but crossed with the red man flashing. my green. thank G-d there were no other vehicles nearby as i had to slam the brakes!
anyway, there's no such clear rules in this country about pedestrian right-of-way. if someone gets hit crossing where or when they shouldnt have been, its usually too bad for them..

Hit a guy who ran out from behind a bus I was passing in stationary traffic once at about 25mph - he looked really shocked, got up and ran off!

Peds are okay - and we should be doing appropriate speed in town that it isn't huge issue. I do cringe when I see speeds by scooterists/bikers in central London. Okay you have great reactions, but the ped may not or be looking the wrong way etc.... slow down.

And remember that the City is a tourist city and even though illegal, expect a lot of jaywalking.

That's a good point. I was almost hit by a speeding bicyclist in Chicago and had to grab my Dad's arm to keep him from being hit. We had the light btw.

Jaywalking is considered a civil right here in New York. It keeps you on your toes. Of course I can't complain, since I'm a typical New Yorker: I figure I own the road whether I'm riding a scooter, riding a bicycle, driving a car, or walking.

Brendan

What's worse than pedestrians are pedestrians on the phone. Whenever you see one, expect anything, including them walking into you while they look at you.

BTW, same goes for drivers on the phone.

We get a lot of Brit tourists here and when I see one standing on the curb looking to his right I know he is going to step off in front of me. I london they have signs painted on the street saying "look right" to help keep absent minded Yanks out of the bus grills.

Many years ago i was riding my motorbike down a suburban street when a kid on a skateboard came flying out of a side street looking the wrong way.i hit him and layed my bike down cracking the engine case,oil forming a large puddle.
All of a sudden i saw this irrate woman come marching down the street towards us a bystander said she was the kids mother.i was bracing myself for a confrontation as i'd just run over her kid.She walked straight up to us and started belting the kid across the legs and wailing about not riding skateboard on the road.
I was really relieved it was'nt me she was laying in to but felt a bit sorry for the kid.anyway she drove me home paid for all the damage and a few days later I got an apology note from the kid.

Was it the pedestrian's fault? If so, absolutely no sympathy from me.

Like others I've had the situation occur where the pedestrian will look at you and then cross anyways. But I also found myself on the opposite side of this with a bicyclist.

I was downtown Chicago heading to the train. It was a Saturday or Sunday so there were hardly any cars on the street. On one corner I was waiting for the light to change and looking to see if I could cross. There was a bicyclist heading down the street but no cars. It looked like the bicyclist was pretty far away so I thought it would be a good time to jaywalk.

Not a second after I stepped onto the street the bicyclist was there and swerving to avoid me. He didn't run in to me but had to break hard. He gave me an earful which I rightly deserved.

All I could think after was "why the hell did I just do that?" It didn't register until he took off that the bike was moving faster than I thought.

Some years later when I took the MSF course they talked about this phenomenon where people can have a difficult time judging your speed and to be aware of that.

I've been very mindful of pedestrians and basically ride like I expect that to happen whenever I see people standing near a crosswalk - and of course it has happened.

The trick is to hit them hard enough to disorient them, then shout "Gotcha Bitch!" and speed off. If they get your license plate number, you didn't hit them hard enough.

A month ago I was driving my CAR to work and almost plowed a guy in his wrangler. It was early morning and I was going east into the sun, he was opposing me at the intersection on a 4 lane road, and I could not see that he was on his F%^&*() phone with having the sun in my eyes. I had right of way approaching the intersection, the car ahead of him had time to zip through in front of me then he starts his turn! I'm in a white 2 ton sedan and he can't see me? I jacked the brakes, laid on the horn, he has to cross 2 lanes to get to me and he still almost nailed me. I had to swerve at the last second to still avoid him. When I finally stopped the car just past his door I turned to see him gesturing as if he was cursing himself for his stupid inattention and I screamed at him to get off that phone (of course my window was UP). I was going well under the speed limit at the time and just a few seconds away from work. When I arrrived I was shaking for a good 5 minutes. Had I been on the bike I'm sure the ending would have been less than fortunate for me. I only hope I made that guy dump a nice squishy load in his unders knowing that he would have eaten the bill for all the repairs anyhow.

Sometimes no matter what we drive, we are still invisible to the oblivious ones.

The jaywalkers in LA seriously just mosey along and act like they have all the time in the world. I don't think I'd dare cross Beverly without a crosswalk, I rarely even attempt it in the car without a signal. Every drive to and from work I see pedestrians on their phones standing in the road or leisurely strolling through the jam packed street. I was knocked over as a pedestrian in a crosswalk along Wilshire some years back, no serious damage to myself but I'm always on the lookout for pedestrians. Haven't had any close calls with hitting them on the scooter but I'd just like the jaywalkers to have some sense of urgency when crossing illegally and just get out of the street! Melrose is also pretty bad! The weekends the amount of people crossing in traffic not 20 feet from a crosswalk with a signal is astonishing. Also what's with the peds just standing in the street off the curb for the light to change? I've seen strollers fully off the curb and in the right turn lane, perhaps someone is having second thoughts on parenting?

Yes, you'll scare the crap out of yourself if you accidentally bump the horn button! But I agree, it's the best and most crucial mod you can do. You also have to be careful to avoid using it too close to anyone who isn't wearing ear protection, it has a 139 dB blast that can potentially cause hearing damage. But it's very, very effective in any traffic situation you might find yourself in, even at full speed on the freeway. I share your frustration, but could I ask a favor? Please don't condemn color blind people due to the actions of these fools. No one can help that they're color blind, and in fact they can read traffic signals just fine, since they use distinct shapes and are arrangements. The idiots who don't even *look* or *think* are the ones who are to blame, plain and simple. Like the way I always respond to that tired old line, "I didn't even see you!" - "Yeah, it's hard to SEE when you're NOT LOOKING!!!" Yep, this is especially true in California, whether there's a crosswalk or not. It's very important to keep scanning on all sides, including well past the edges of the road, especially in a high pedestrian environment. People can be inattentive and ignorant, and you have to be ready to dodge them at a moment's notice. The best thing is to ride defensively and be prepared for the unexpected, in whatever form it might come at you.

A scooterist after my own heart.

Is "jay-walking" some sort of offe3nce in some places? Here pedestrians have right of way, regardless, except on motorways... (But even then, they'd better be given it!)

Heh... reminds me of the time I was approaching a truck in the left turn lane, who suddenly decided to turn right just as I was about to pass (two lane highway, minor side-road intersection crossing the highway, no stop or signal present). If not for my swerving into the opposing lane, I would have t-boned this idiot at about 55mph.

Also reminds me of the time I was at a major intersection, one with two left turn lanes. I was in the right left turn lane, this old guy in a beat-up old truck was in the left left hand turn lane... meaning, he could only turn into the far left lane of the intersecting street, while I had right of way to the center and far right lanes after my turn. Only this guy decided he had right of way to all three lanes, and almost sideswiped me. Funny thing, but, from his "perch" in the far right lane, I could see him yelling at me in a right fine stink, as if I was the one at fault. Go fig... guy probably didn't realize there were two left turn lanes, and so thought I'd made an illegal left turn from a non-turn lane. Only thing I can figure.

Oh, both times, I was in a cage... still don't have two-wheels, yet.

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Ahhh...Jim...I was waiting for a response from you...

Pedestrians (at least in Hawaii) are expected to abide by some precautionary behavior...but not always...hence you always need to be on the look out.

Personally I take the approach of just looking out for them...unless they attempt to do something like walk against the light and I'll give them a little toot. Overall I would not attempt to hurt them under the guise of "being right"...avoidance is primary. If there is an issue with property or physical injury to myself and pedestrian is at fault then I'll go down that path of resolution but again primary and foremost is avoidance...that's the way I see it...