Safety on the Trails is Everyone's Responsibility

With warmer weather (hopefully) returning soon the trails in and around DC will soon be crowded with walkers, bikers, joggers and others. This leads to greater chances for mishap as indeed happened last Tuesday, according to these first hand accounts from a passerby and the "victim" herself. I put the quotes around the word victim because it's not clear from the account what actually happened, only this much is clear:

A pregnant woman had an encounter with a cyclist that knocked her off her feet and resulted in a nasty head wound, broken ribs and multiple bruises. Nasty stuff, but she (and baby) are okay. Apparently she was wearing and listening to an Ipod while on the trail.

Other than that, we don't know what happened. The cyclist that struck her says he gave an audible warning. We don't know whether she moved in his way, he veered into her or what happened.

But if she were listening to Itunes, failed to move to the right after (not) hearing an audible warning, then she is possibly just as much to blame as the cyclist.

Cyclists get a lot of complaints from peds. But as someone who is on the Rock Creek Bike Trail every day and the Capitol Cresent Trail I can say this:

Most bikers I see are wearing helmets, are not listening to Ipods, ride single file and give audible warnings before overtaking and passing another cyclist or ped. What's more, they are always riding on the right side of the trail.

Not so most peds - they tend to walk two or three abreast, almost all single walkers or joggers are listening to an Ipod, and, when I give a warning I'm passing -- even if the walker is alone and in the middle of the path -- they won't budge an inch. And, worst of all, some walk on the wrong side facing traffic, a move that invites a collision on a blind curve which are plentiful in Rock Creek.

While cyclists do need to slow down especially on crowded trails, peds have just as much responsiblity to ensure safety as we cyclists. That means get your butt on your side of the trail, listening out and being alert.