Close call (pedestrian)

 

Accidentally posted this to rec.motorcycles.tech
Reposting to reeky mostly because it shook me up
a little and seemed worth the cautionary note.

I was in S.F. visit my son. I wrong turn had put me off
in a bunch of narrow one way streets on the east end
of Chinatown.

I was making a left turn from a one way street into another,
cutting close to the curb when this guy stepped off the
curb right into my path.

I stamped my left foot down, brought the bike up a little,
steered hard right and managed to swing wide around him.
I don't think I could have stopped if I'd been unable to
swerve.

Unfamiliar surroundings, way more full of people than I'm
used to. This was way too close and I'm really thankful
I was able to avoid hitting him. Resolved to be a lot more
cautious in seriously crowded urban settings.

 



Heh. In Central London, specifically Oxford Circus in the West end,
where all the tourists converge, they have big signs telling them which
way to look before stepping into the street, and they station policemen
to bellow instructions and/or warnings at them.

They are just not used to traffic coming at them on ther 'wrong' side of
the road, and look the wrong way before trying to cross (either with or
against the lights).

It's one of the best places for a killswitch backfire: come down hard on
the overrun in gear, with the engine killed, aiming to pass just behind
the arse of a particularly fat one who's wobbling across, looking the
wrong way, and then flick the switch just as you pass him. Score extra
points if he falls over in shock.



--
BMW K1100LT  Ducati 750SS  Yamaha XT600E  Honda CB400F & SH50
GHPOTHUF#1 chateaudotmurrayatidnetdotcom
Nothing is more dangerous than an ignoramus with a workshop
manual, a 'can-do' attitude and a cheap set of tools

 

On Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:59:03 +0100, The Older Gentleman
 

    I hear the Brits do that in France, too.  Especially ging-as!
 

Ivan Reid, School of Engineering & Design, _____________  CMS Collaboration,
Brunel University.    Ivan.Reid@[brunel.ac.uk|cern.ch]    Room 40-1-B12, CERN
GSX600F, RG250WD         "You Porsche. Me pass!"   DoD #484     JKLO#003, 005
WP7# 3000   LC Unit #2368 (tinlc)   UKMC#00009   BOTAFOT#16    UKRMMA#7 (Hon)
        KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".

 Thus spake Dr Ivan D. Reid (Ivan.Reid@brunel.ac.uk) unto the assembled
multitudes:


I've done it in Germany a couple of times and lived to tell the tale. I
also used to get the filthiest looks from people if I dared to flout the
law by walking across even an empty road against a red light at a
pedestrian crossing.   Gosh, I was such a rebel ;-)

--
                                 Andy Clews
                            University of Sussex
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