Gloucestershire cyclist breaks eye socket, cheek, nose and jaw after encounter with loose dog on cycle path

Sounds rather complicated to attribute blame. She must have been going pretty fast to suffer such a bad impact. But maybe the path design is an accident waiting to happen? And the dog-walker, it seems, _was_ breaking the rules of the path by not having the dog on a lead.

Mainly, I'm shocked at the severity of the cyclist's injuries. I've gone over the handlebars at speed twice (once due to stupidly trying to signal and brake at the same time, and once due to someone suddenly walking out in front of me while carrying a scaffolding pole that protruded across most of the road!). Both times led to nothing worse than bruised knees, grazes and minor cuts. She must have landed incredibly badly - maybe a matter of sheer rotten luck as much as anything?

busy shared paths feel more  dangerous than busy roads, because you have be even more aware of the unexpected.  Personally I would not let my dog of the lead on shared  paths that are used by cyclists. Actually i do not walk my dog on paths that are busy with cycle users. 

But some people whether they are cycling, walking their dogs, running are always going to care just about themselves.  Recently as a variation to my  commute I tried a canal path to Stretford to avoid the main  road going out of Altrincham. I do not like it.  That canal is busy with walkers and cyclists and I am amazed at people letting dogs of the lead and the in my opinion excessive  speed at which some cyclists go past other  users on a tight canal path.

My preferred route is back to taking the main road, at least I know what to expect from bad drivers.

Please be aware of the conditions on this cycle path before you wish to apportion blame. Surface: loose gravel, short descent (15 -20% gradient), immediately followed by short ascent (15 - 20% gradient). Slight curve throughout, undergrowth sufficienty high that there is no visibility. Width just sufficient to allow two cyclists to cross, but very tight.

So consider: what you would do here? If you are like me, you will approach carefully, then accelerate downhill sufficiently to get up the other side. Hands over the brakes the whole way. This sounds just what like the lady in question has done. Bear in mind that most of the traffic goes along the cyclepath, few people come from the footpath at the side. Gentle braking, e.g. for a pedestrain or oncoming cyclist, is possible, but if you do have to brake hard suddenly (e.g. for a loose dog) it is fairly likely you will come off. 

If you would do something diffferent here, you are welcome to criticise. If not, I suggest you remain silent.

I had a cyclist tumble himself onto the ground infront of me the other day.  He was coming round a tight blind bend on a narrow-ish bridleway, too quickly to stop and his efforts to safety involved ringing his bell and hoping anything round the corner would move. Sadly for him I was coming round the corner the other way 

I was on my left (outside), he was on his left (inside), perfectly fine to pass without thought. I had already slowed for the corner so when i realised there was a 'bell ringer' coming I slowed further. However his reaction to seeing me was pure panic, attempting to lock the front wheel and put his foot down at the same time, result, tangled in his bike on the floor across the whole width of the path, me gently rolling to a stop in front of him.  If he had just slowed down instead of ringing his bell he would have been fine, the track was wide enough to pass each other without any issue.

I dont know what he would have done if he had encountered a child or a dog, given its popular with both, probably why he was ringing his bell to shoo them out his path.

Blame blame blame. 

It's always somebody's fault ey? Seems the way the world works now, take some responsibility, accidents happen. 

The cyclist by their own admission was going too fast, the obstruction could have been anything, another cyclist, child or even debris.

But as a dog owner, I think she would have been better off making noise rather than braking too hard. Dogs aren't stupid, as soon as it was aware of the cyclist it would have moved.

Personnaly I would have braked but not so hard I lost control, shouted and aimed behind the dog - there is a risk it would turn back to it's owner but generally mine seem to start off forward when they are startled.

I think both parties share some element of blame, but without knowing the full details of the story it's impossible to tell.

Things like - “I think the lady came through from the field next to the path, and the dog was off the lead."  does that mean that the dog walker was not on the shared use path as the cyclist was on a clear path until the dog came out of the field?  Or was the dog on the the path and she was just using supposition to give cause for the dog not being on the lead?

I have near me a shared use path (former railway line) which is bordered in large parts by open fields and also housing estates.  There have been a number of "tracks" created from the fields/housing estates to the path, which are in general bounded by hedges, and despite the fact that I can see the best part of half a mile in front of me, I have at times almost been collected by people/dogs appearing on the path with little or no warning.

And by the way, the picture is completely misleading as it is of the cyclepath at the other side of Stroud, where the surface/conditions are much better.

As another local I know this cyclepath well and this dip is not something you would normally expect to find on a shared use path. Steep down then steep up, it wouldn't be out of place on a BMX track. Yes, you do have to be careful around it, and yes you do have to speed up on the drop to have a chance to get up the other side (the surface isn't great either and you'll be spinning the back wheel if you put in some power on the rise). Personally I regard it as a greater danger to come to an unexpected halt halfway up than to go a bit quickly through the dip, but as ever it is a balance of hazards. So I have every sympathy with this lady: she has ridden in what I regard as the safest manner for the conditions.

In answer to the other point: there are a few Strava segments along this path: I really don't know if any include the dip as, given the conditions, I wouldn't try for any of them.

Although dogs have to be "under control", it sounds to me like the accident was more the cyclist's fault as she was going too quick for her to be able to safely stop. It's not clear exactly what happened, but she doesn't mention a lead getting caught in her bike or the dog running into her bike, so I'm not sure how the dog "caused" the accident (presumably by just being there which I don't consider to be out of control).

Its fair to question the appropriate nature of the woman's riding, however lets not remove any sense of responsibility from the dog owner.

You can turn this right around. On a narrow, shared use track, letting your dog run wild when there is very poor visibility and likely to be cyclists.

Truth is, shared use paths do not work... no one has the social responsbility and care to look out for each other.

And again, you can look at this either way... easy to moan about cyclists not riding slowly on their side / part of a track... and yeah, they are not being considerate... but then neither are the people letting their kids or dogs, or fuck it, themselves bumble about on the designated cycleway. 

You can cut it up anyway you like, people are not considerate enough to make these paths work.

I cycle along a shared use path every day and there are some very good and some very bad dog owners - I have found dog walkers to be a bit more switched on than joggers/pedestrians though, the dogs normally hear the bell first! 

However, the highway code does say... 

Rule 56. Dogs. Do not let a dog out on the road on its own. Keep it on a short lead when walking on the pavement, road or path shared with cyclists or horse riders.

Which seems fair enough. As a dog owner/love I'd be gutted if I hurt a dog as a result of it's owners incompetence.

A dog, on a path, not on a lead, is not (at least not necessarily) "out of control".  

On a mixed path, the dog (or the owner- or a small child who happens to be there) is not obliged to give way to or get out of the way of a cyclist who is giving it the beans to get up a slope on the other side and who admits she could not see the whole of the track in front of her.

I ride loads of mixed use paths with bikes, adults, kids and dogs.  You have to ride at a pace to be able to avoid the forseeably random movements of the pedestrians and dogs.

And frankly, leads, especially long leads, are much worse than no leads.  Dogs usually have the wit to get out of the way.  If there is no lead, no problem.  If on a lead, you can have a tripwire situation.

Obviously, this poor woman has suffered horrible injuries, and all sympathy must be (and is) extended for those injuries.  But, to be brutal about it, not for the circumstances leading to them.

that dude in the TdF watch advert is clearly riding sensibly in a shared space then. It's been bugging me.

I'm a local so I know this path and it's not in a park, it's an old railway line converted to a standard that would make sustrans blush. The bit in question is terrible imagine a 5m drop and rise in a 10m hole with a t junction at the bottom (to a dirt path) whist turning a corner. 

You have to give it some beans or get off and push it'd make most mountains seem easy as pish.

All this in a path about a metre maybe a metre and a half wide.

I mean you could go on the road if your idea of fun is being close passed by wagons driving on narrow cotswold roads at speed.

There's also the hilarious bit with a set of steps.

D.

Sounds like six of one and half a dozen of the other; dog owner wasn't in control of their dog and rider was going faster than they should have been given the situation, panicked when they saw the dog, grabbed too much brake and went over the bars.

Quote:

If I was in a rush I would be on the road.

STRAAAAAAAAVAAAAAAAA!!!

Maybe my views are shaded by having a shared use bike/peds path near my house that is a fantastic bit of infrastructure but spoilt by people on bikes riding too fast on 'their' side. 

Whilst I understand the view thats this is for cyclist etc its a shared use path used by people relaxing and walking to the shops, the pub, parks they have kids, dogs, pushchairs etc. 

When I use these paths I ride barely above walking pace and a dog straying into my path wouldnt be a drama I could stop and have a chat with the owner. 

If I was in a rush I would be on the road.

Definetly not trying to pass judgement on these incidents but if you are using a shared path please show consideration for other users. X 

Aristotle had the answer, as is so often the case.

Some people are twats.

Some people own dogs.

Therefore, chances are there is some tosser no properly managing a mutt in the park when you are riding Socrates.

I have been bitten twice this year by a dog and another one near I nearly fell when stray dogs entered my course. I also step oftenly on big juicy pieces of ...road cake and I may lose my sleep from dog barking.

I guess you can imagine my thoughts about dog ownership that is not intended to be used by the police or visually impaired, can't you?

It is a legal duty to control a dog in a public space.  Perhaps the cyclist was going a little fast, but that does not absolve the owner of the dog of responsibility.

As far as I know, the dog owner is responsible for this collision and would be liable for damages, but I'm no legal expert, so am willing to listen to those who are.