Safety is a big issue in cycling, and rightly so. Any sport where you are regularly zooming along at 30+ mph in the midst of giant four-wheeled hunks of metal with only a few scraps of lycra and foam to protect you is going to have serious discussions about how to stay safe.
One of the questions I hear talked about frequently is the best etiquette to use when passing other cyclists or pedestrians (or cars?) on your bike. The question is, bell or yell? Ring your bell when passing someone, or shout out ‘On your left!’. There isn’t one ‘right’ way of doing things, but here are some arguments why you might use one or the other.
Why Bell?
In favour of the bell ring, is a very loud, distinctive noise that can be easily heard over city background noise. You can ring it repeatedly very quickly, and (with the right bell) it can be heard from very far away. Unfortunately, there are still people that have no idea what a bell means, and will turn directly into your path on hearing a bell. And on crowded trails with a lot of bell ringing, people might tune the noise out, or be unsure where it is coming from.
Why Yell?
The advantage of a shout is that it can convey more information than a bell ring – the fact that you are indeed passing, which side you are going to pass on, or any other pertinent nuggets (i.e. GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!). People are more likely to hear and respond to a human voice than a mechanical bell. A shout though, doesn’t have the same range as a bell, and people with headphones on are less likely to hear it. Sometimes people might hear it too late.
What’s Best?
In reality, the debate shouldn’t be asking either bell or yell – but rather, when is it appropriate to use one or the other before passing traffic. I personally always have a bell on my bike – and I will ring it if people don’t appear to react to a shout, or there is a lot of background noise from cars, etc. Often, though, I won’t use either (sacrilege, to some people, I know) because I think it is safer. If I have a lot of room to pass, alerting people might only cause them to move into my path, instead of continuing on as is. Ultimately, neither a bell nor yell is a substitute for cautious riding, and anticipating the stupid things people around you might do. Safe riding!