Ride with or against traffic flow? Which is safer and why?

[Master-Yoda]

On second thoughts: if I'm driving my car on this road and I encounter a cyclist riding against traffic, and an oncoming car, I'm going to treat the cyclist like a pedestrian, I.e. they better get off the road. (I will try give the cyclist as much room as possible, but there is not much else that can be done.)

 

But if I were to encounter a cyclist riding with traffic, I'm going to treat them like other traffic, so I will overtake only when safe to do so. So if there is an oncoming car, I will slow down to the speed of the cyclist's speed, in till it is safe to pass.

 

I know not everybody drives like this, but I believe that the majority do. And cyclists can encourage this by taking up the primary position when appropriate.

 

You'd be breaking an important traffic law as you're suppose to drive your vehicle at a speed that allows you to stop in time if situation presents itself whereas you may hit someone. What if the same happened but instead of a cyclist there was a youngster on his skateboard or a dog running out of the yard or a child running into the road to fetch his ball. These are all possible scenarios and as the driver, you need to anticipate and stop your vehicle in time to avoid the accident all together. But yes, you are also right in the scenario you've put forward but this may not be the case in other scenarios.

 

The 2nd part of your post is spot on. The problem is that the majority of drivers in SA do not respect a cyclist on the road and I'm sure that there's not a single cyclist that has once felt that a car/taxi/truck passed way to close for comfort and this is what worries me.

[Master-Yoda]

You can try to ride in my town on the right hand side, but you wont make it far. You will either end up in Hospital or in the River...

Why, are your roads any different? Are the drivers in your town any different than the rest of the drivers in SA? Do your drivers respect cyclist and give them enough space and/or never knock cyclists down from behind?

I've seen the roads in your town, looks like I would have no problem riding on one side or the other on certain roads..

 

https://maps.google....,320.03,,0,-1.4

Edited November 16, 2013 by 3dclaude

[Lexx]

Why, are your roads any different? Are the drivers in your town any different than the rest of the drivers in SA? Do your drivers respect cyclist and give them enough space and/or never knock cyclists down from behind?

I've seen the roads in your town, looks like I would have no problem riding on one side or the other on certain roads..

 

https://maps.google....,320.03,,0,-1.4

 

Nope, our roads are pretty good, and the people here respect the Cyclist. But if you want to come here and drive with your car on the right hand side of the road like in your previous comment:

"Now tell me where you live so that I can come a cause chaos on your neighborly roads by riding on the right "

The Locals would surely take you one side and give you a private lesson on how not to ride in our town.

['Dale]

 

 

Still much better than being a Judas Goat, leading other innocent cyclists to their death......

 

 

A Judas goat is a trained goat used in general animal herding. The Judas goat is trained to associate with sheep or cattle, leading them to a specific destination. In stockyards, a Judas goat will lead sheep to slaughter, while its own life is spared. ...

 

What an interesting bit of trivia.

Edited November 16, 2013 by ' Dale

[Bonus]

Is it wise to handicap yourself with a 'it must be legal' proviso, when every other person on the playing field isn't?

 

;-)

[MartinPV]

If this question is, 'how do we as cyclists best protect ourselves', there are several things we can do.

 

Firstly, try be as predictable as possible. People tend not to see what they don't expect, most drivers are not cyclists and have no feeling for the way we move in traffic, they expect us to react the way they would. This means abiding by all the same traffic regulations that cars and other road users typically follow. Stopping at stop streets, not riding between cars to get to the front of a queue, things like that. The same is true of the sidewalks, we are not pedestrians and should not be there unless it is designated as a cycle lane. A pet peeve of mine is cyclists selectively switching between being a slow moving road vehicle, and a fast moving pedestrian.

 

Now that we are all on the road cycling in the generally accepted direction, a popular idea for improving the safety of cyclists is to legislate a mandatory passing distance. This has been tried elsewhere in the world, the best documented cases are California and Australia. In both cases the regulations have been rescinded because studies showed that there was no reduction in the number of accidents involving cyclists. Furthermore the regulations are not enforceable in the spirit of protecting cyclists, in California only two people were charged with breaking this regulation, both only after they had hit cyclists.

 

The prevailing wisdom is to embrace the fact that we are slow moving road-going vehicles and ride in the traffic lane. The current recommendation is that a cyclist is safer riding 3 feet inside the lane than attempting to ride right on the edge of the lane. This allows motorists to recognize you for what you are and encourages them to reduce speed and wait for an opportunity to pass. This way they are less tempted to try squeeze between you and oncoming traffic, inadvertently pushing you off the road or clipping you.

[Master-Yoda]

Nope, our roads are pretty good, and the people here respect the Cyclist. But if you want to come here and drive with your car on the right hand side of the road like in your previous comment:

"Now tell me where you live so that I can come a cause chaos on your neighborly roads by riding on the right "

The Locals would surely take you one side and give you a private lesson on how not to ride in our town.

 

I said "riding on the right" and NOT "drive your car on the right hand side.." as you have incorrectly pointed out, there's an obvious difference.. :whistling:

[Lexx]

I said "riding on the right" and NOT "drive your car on the right hand side.." as you have incorrectly pointed out, there's an obvious difference.. :whistling:

My Bad

[Master-Yoda]

If this question is, 'how do we as cyclists best protect ourselves', there are several things we can do.

 

Firstly, try be as predictable as possible. People tend not to see what they don't expect, most drivers are not cyclists and have no feeling for the way we move in traffic, they expect us to react the way they would. This means abiding by all the same traffic regulations that cars and other road users typically follow. Stopping at stop streets, not riding between cars to get to the front of a queue, things like that. The same is true of the sidewalks, we are not pedestrians and should not be there unless it is designated as a cycle lane. A pet peeve of mine is cyclists selectively switching between being a slow moving road vehicle, and a fast moving pedestrian.

 

Now that we are all on the road cycling in the generally accepted direction, a popular idea for improving the safety of cyclists is to legislate a mandatory passing distance. This has been tried elsewhere in the world, the best documented cases are California and Australia. In both cases the regulations have been rescinded because studies showed that there was no reduction in the number of accidents involving cyclists. Furthermore the regulations are not enforceable in the spirit of protecting cyclists, in California only two people were charged with breaking this regulation, both only after they had hit cyclists.

 

The prevailing wisdom is to embrace the fact that we are slow moving road-going vehicles and ride in the traffic lane. The current recommendation is that a cyclist is safer riding 3 feet inside the lane than attempting to ride right on the edge of the lane. This allows motorists to recognize you for what you are and encourages them to reduce speed and wait for an opportunity to pass. This way they are less tempted to try squeeze between you and oncoming traffic, inadvertently pushing you off the road or clipping you.

 

Well said and I agree that if it's law that there must be a 1.5mt safe distance between the vehicle and the cyclist AND that it's properly enforced by law enforcers, then I'd definitely feel safer riding on the left. There's no doubt about that and I assure you that I'm not the only one that feels this way.

 

Hasn't this been passed in CT? I'm sure that I read somewhere that it was?

Edited November 16, 2013 by 3dclaude

[MartinPV]

Well said and I agree that if it's law that there must be a 1.5mt safe distance between the vehicle and the cyclist AND that it's properly enforced by law enforcers, then I'd definitely feel safer riding on the left. There's no doubt about that and I assure you that I'm not the only one that feels this way.

 

Hasn't this been passed in CT? I'm sure that I read somewhere that it was?

 

I am not sure how far the new regulations have come, I know they were being reviewed a few months ago, and I really hope that they have not been passed in the state they were in then.

 

Yes, they new regulation was trying to impose a mandatory passing distance, but they are only looking for 1m, not the 1.5 that most cyclists are looking for. The real problem comes in with an additional clause in the regulation that will force cyclists to remain as far left as possible.

 

Also, don't get me wrong. I am very much opposed to the mandatory passing distance.

 

It is not enforceable in any way. All that new regulation will do is open the door for cyclists to be harassed by traffic police for not keeping completely to the left of the road. This will severely limit our ability to avoid things like gravel and glass and will also encourage motorists to pass us without slowing down, which is the real problem.

Edited November 16, 2013 by MartinPV

[Skylark]

I think we may have found ClintZN's long lost father!

Slightly tamer(still early days) but no less eager to show the world his formidable intelligence and debating skills. Seeing he has been an internet guru for 15yrs already and previously was a moderator in a public forum it's going to be interesting to see how this develops, watch this space!!

 

 

Edited November 16, 2013 by Skylark

[Master-Yoda]

I think we may have found ClintZN's long lost father!

Slightly tamer(still early days) but no less eager to show the world his formidable intelligence and debating skills. Seeing he has been an internet guru for 15yrs already and previously was a moderator in a public forum it's going to be interesting to see how this develops, watch this space!!

Your attempt to accomplish whatever it is that you think you're accomplishing is pitiful to say the least. To bring up the nick of someone that is not part of this discussion in an attempt to try and get peepz on your side or to simply back you up shows only how incapable you are of having an intelligent conversation. In case you haven't noticed, I'm open to dialogue with anyone that has a brain instead of a peanut.

 

I feel sorry for you, I really do but as we all know, there's a time in our lives when we need to suck it up and take it like a man. In other words, don't try and be smart ass with me and leave comments to try and get people to back you up, in a sneaky or should I say snaky way. Are you a boy who needs his buddies to agree with him or a man that's able to say what he thinks directly at the person that he is speaking to/about? Is it support that you require, will that make you feel better?

 

And WTF is this "watch this space" all about? Don't tell me there s PPC or CPC campaign going on here that I'm unaware of and that you're getting returns on? Rofl... , ok seriously now...cough cough..., do you want to carry on playing this game because trust me, there's plenty rounds left in these chambers

Edited November 16, 2013 by 3dclaude

[Butterbean]

 

do you want to carry on playing this game because trust me, there's plenty rounds left in these chambers

 

Empty vessels make the loudest noise.

 

 

[Bonus]

I do like these users who's pictures show characters carrying 'swords of justice' or similar . . Lol

 

A sense of humor is important in life, none of us should take ourselves too seriously.

 

:-)

 

[Master-Yoda]

But I've got a special sword, it's green and will slice through Dragon Ball characters like a hot knife through butter

[Butterbean]

But I've got a special sword, it's green and will slice through Dragon Ball characters like a hot knife through butter

 

I hope you take this in jest:)

 

If your "special sword" is green, I recommend seeing a doctor as soon as possible...

 

And the character is from thundercats. You know. When cartoons were still freaking awesome.

 

Look mate, the problem people have here is that you started a thread wanting opinions. People gave them to you, but instead of acknowledging them, and moving on, you've continued to make exceptions to the original post and situation. This leads to frustration as your special circumstances don't really matter. There are arguments for and against your thoughts, and hey, that's okay. You're a big boy (although I'm not sure, if you don't know who thundercats are), and you'll be ok that people disagree.

 

Now I've been as properly civil as possible here. Please just stop the nonsense as you've made it clear you don't actually want opinions on the matter, instead you want to see post after post of people who agree with you. This is the hub. That's not going to happen. Welcome.