George Riches wrote:david143 wrote:Personally, whenever I come across peds on the pavement, I automatically adopt primary wherever possible.
I always assume a ped will walk out on me.
So on a busy urban road with plenty of pedestrians on the pavement and cars on the carriageway, you would adopt the primary position?
Putting the onus on the vehicle driver to avoid colliding with pedestrians is a good idea in spaces defined as shared. E.g. shared pedestrian/cyclist ways, homezone streets, but typically urban main roads need to have space reserved for pedestrians and space reserved for vehicles. Pedestrians should be expected to exercise care before entering the vehicle space.
One point about drivers on British roads. Many British roads are crowded. The authorities have squeezed too many lanes on many of them making it impossible for drivers to overtake cyclists, allowing an adequate 150cm clearance, without encroaching significantly into another lane full of traffic.
Please see wherever possible bit I did write. When it is not possible, the only other options are to slow down and to make your presence known by ringing your bell (or shouting).