‘On your left!’ When should a bicyclist really call it out?

A bicyclist passing walkers, runners or other bicyclists on a bike trail should always call out “On your left!” Right? It turns out it’s not always so simple.

The matter has been debated a little. More often, people being passed have gotten irritated at bicyclists whizzing by unannounced and shocking them. Or the bicyclists have gotten annoyed at people who don’t stay to the right. As always, it really comes down to respect and communication.

A 2020 column by Jerry Davich in the Post-Tribune of Northwest Indiana cites the confusion he encountered among those being passed. Some people misunderstood what “on your left” meant. “I thought you said, ‘Get on your left!’ one woman told Davich. Indeed, when I called out “on your left” to a boy looking at his cellphone and wandering aimlessly on a path as I was riding to work one day in 2013, he did dart left and knocked me over; I shattered my collarbone, and he was a little shaken.

So is it best to not say anything and just evade? “Sometimes I skip the ‘On the left!’ trail etiquette and instead try to navigate around people to avoid scaring them into my path,” Davich wrote. “It usually works, though I likely startle them after I cruise by.”

The funny video here by Daniel LaBelle portrays the different reactions bicyclists may encounter after calling out “on your left.” Meanwhile, a humorist writing for The New Yorker documented a dialogue between her brain, telling her to stay right, and body, which tends to do the opposite.

Davich cites the common and dangerous problem I also see of people walking dogs and letting them extend that leash across the trail. Or there can be families in which the kids wander across that yellow line. Or sightseers just stop maybe in the middle of the trail, and you’re not sure if they’re about to move one way or the other.

The Forest Preserve of Will County addressed the problem head-on in 2020 with a video (posted here) that’s a bit harsh on the trail users — like those families hogging the trail. But its post on the subject aims more at the bicyclists, with the headline, “Don’t Be a Jerk: Announcing ‘on your left’ as you pass slower trail traffic is the right thing to do.” “One of the most important things you can do as you are traveling along on a path is to announce your presence with a shout of ‘on your left’ or ‘passing on your left’ or even ringing a bike bell to alert other trail users you are approaching them and plan to pass,” the post reads. “Slower traffic should always stay to the right and faster path users should pass on the left.”

“Slowing down also is crucial as you wait to make sure your announcement was heard and the slower path users have time to react,” it continues. “It can mean the difference between a collision or a clean pass, Forest Preserve police say.” Other tips the post offers are travel at a slower pace when the trails are busy, don’t wear ear buds in both ears (that’s for anyone on the trail, be it passer or passed), groups should stay single file and take up only half the trail, owners should keep pets right at their side, and bicyclists should yield to horses.

I would add that if you’re any kind of speedy cyclist, you should just avoid a bike trail when it’s busy. That’s especially true on Busse Woods in the northwest suburbs on weekends, and to a pretty good extent on the North Branch Trail in Chicago and the North Shore.

Some bicyclists, instead of saying “on your left,” announce, “Passing!” to avoid any of that brain-body confusion on which way to move. And yes, many just use a bell (though Davich finds it obnoxious).

I myself definitely get frustrated by dog walkers who don’t keep the pet on their half of the trail, and groups of people including children wandering all over. I’d be happy if people stayed solidly to the side — preferably the right, but if you’re consistently on either side, then bicyclists at least know they can safely go either direction around you.

Meanwhile, I vary my “on your left” tone based on the circumstance, or occasionally might not call anything out. Sometimes a person is solidly staying to the right, so I don’t need to scream. Many people appreciate a calm, courteous “on your left” and even thank me for it. I’ll be more curt if the person is veering to the left or zigzagging. I won’t announce anything if the person is solidly to the right and in big headphones. And if it appears a person might be startled, I may or may not call out, and I’ll slow down and do it gently if I do. Unfortunately, it can be complicated.

It turns out that in all my GoPro videography in 2024, I found many instances of myself calling out “on your left,” or not. You can see my varied approach in action.

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