The next time you are out on a bike path that has slower riders and/or pedestrians, please consider your verbal "On Your Left" warning to "Coming Behind".
If you think about this situation a bit more closely, you may realize that the person being passed is in his/her own world of thought or music and may not hear your full warning. The only word heard is "Left"... and they turn or go LEFT... .
Think of this bicycling situation much like the training received at grade school or a command shouted out by some officer in the military. We all have been somewhat "trained" to react, both quickly and without much thought. Here's the reality:
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| Typical: |
" On Your Left " |
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Person immediately goes or turns LEFT |
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" On Your Right " |
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Person immediately goes or turns RIGHT |
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| Better: |
" Coming Behind " |
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Person stays in the same line until figuring out what the rider said. Often,
the slower person will have already
gotten passed without any incident. |
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