More on ‘Rogue Cyclist’ or Hell’s Bells

(A brief response to Preston Schiller’s piece, in the July 2012 issue of Whatcom Watch.)

Hi, Preston.

While I did not read Bob Keller’s piece in the June Whatcom Watch, I can easily understand that it caused a reaction in you (and others) — it’s my impression that Bob usually takes a perspective that is a little askew from most everyone else (he doesn’t much allow himself to be ‘bound by conventional attitudes’).

Having said that, I pretty thoroughly enjoyed your contribution to the dialogue (though I could make a few counter-arguments on a few points), but I fairly strongly disagreed with your assertion that “bells are for cattle, sheep, and goats!”

I have walked on a number of trails, and experienced both the tinkle of a bell from a cyclist behind me, and the voice of a cyclist behind me, alerting me that they are “on the left.” Personally (and it would be nice if others could report their personal experiences), I much prefer the ‘bell.’

Using a ‘voice’ for alerting pedestrians almost necessarily calls for a ‘loud and forceful voice’ (especially as the voice-warning needs to be done from a sufficient distance to allow for reaction-times), and this is easily interpreted as ‘aggressive.’ Whereas the small ‘tinkle bell’ seems like a ‘civilized’ and courteous way of alerting of the bicycle approaching from behind.  

Of course, the bell can be made more ‘aggressive’ by ringing it fast and long (“insistent”), it generally is less ‘startling’ than a loud human voice.

Further, for some of us ‘older folks,’ the yelling of “on your left” (or “right”) delays our reactions, as we have to stop and think about which is our “left” and which is our “right,” and our brain functions (am I speaking mainly for myself?) can generally be a little slower than a younger person’s (and this fact tends to be little known or appreciated). This reaction can be compared to that from a ‘bell’, which (in my experience, anyway) tends to cause one/me to stop and turn to see what is coming from behind (and to step to one side if appropriate).

I can’t help but wonder why you, Preston, made an issue of ‘bells’? (By the way, someone once told me that such bells are legally mandatory in Germany.) I can try to speculate, but I can’t really get very far. Might there be a bit of the ‘rogue’ in you, after all? Have you ever been a pedestrian, on the ‘receiving end’ of both ‘voice’ and ‘bell’?

Anyway, that’s my sense of this tiny matter.

Kerry Johnson