Road cycling, which side?

[GLuvsMtb]

I worked for a guy once. It was around 2002 when he went off for a cycle after work one day. He lives in Camps. Bay and would cycle with his friends over Kloof Nek to Noordhoek and back. This day a group came from the opposite (ie riding into on coming traffic) around a bend close to the 12 Apostles. My boss' group was unsighted with only a fraction of a second to take evasive action. He swerved to miss the oncoming cyclists and got hit by a car. He had multiple scull fractures, lost his peripheral vision, was away from his business for 6 months and could not drive his car for more than a year. The cyclists riding against the traffic wanted to avoid the wind and selfishly thought it was ok to break the law. I get so angry when I see cyclists behaving irresponsibly and with no regard for others and sometimes get the urge to point my car straight at them, but two wrongs doesn't make a right.

[Capricorn]

yo GLuvs: that's a horrible outcome.

[GLuvsMtb]

yo GLuvs: that's a horrible outcome.

Yip Capricorn. The business suffered, his wife had to drive him around for more than a year, he may no longer cycle (loss of peripheral vision) and he very nearly died. I would have preferred it id the offending cyclists rather left their helmets at home than endanger other road users.

[Rotiringer]

On a more serious note to the current tone of this thread.

 

Why on earth does every runner in the world feel that they can run on the wrong side on the road. I nearly got run over twice on my morning ride today when groups of runners were running on the wrong side of the road and wouldn't move to let me through. 

 

I'm not saying they have to get out of the way because I am a cyclist, but surely if you are going to run in the wrong direction you should at least give way. This has become a recurring annoyance for me. 

 

Would like to know what the rest of you think about this...

You've lost me here Stew. What side do you think you are meant to run on?

[Skubarra]

 

I will try to make a positive contibution in a thread, which has obviously deteriorated in a mudslinging contest.


I would allways, when riding alone, cycle in the yellow lane on the wrong (right hand side) of this road. My one and only reason for this is my own safety. On this particular road 2 cyclists, that I know of, have been killed while cycling in the left (law abiding) yellow lane. What's more I know of another fatal incident on a similar road in the Kroonstad area where the cyclist had also been taken out from behind while cycling in the left yellow lane. On the one occasion it was a taxi overtaking a lorry on the left of the lorry, and thus in the yellow lane. The other was due to a driver falling asleep, and in the last instance it was a car that swerved to avoid something falling of a lorry.


While cycling against traffic, even in the yellow lane, do not expect oncoming traffic to avoid or yield to you. The driver of the slower vehicle in the yellow lane might, at that moment, have nowhere else to go. Even though you are doing this for your own safety, you are in the "wrong". Be prepared to hop off on the gravel shoulder or to even dump yourself in the grass. Broken collarbones can heal, but if you are taken out from the back you have little chance of survival.

 

 

Sniffie, I get that in the scenario you are showing here it makes sense to ride on the wrong side of the road, but even you admit that in most cases it doesn't work so I don't quite get the point you are trying to make.

 

The 3 accidents you mention I think it's debatable whether riding on the wrong side would have saved them, a car suddenly swerving to avoid something or someone overtaking where he shouldn't would generally happen too quickly for you to avoid and in the case of overtaking you are still at risk of being hit from behind by someone overtaking recklessly.

 

My viewpoint, a key to road safety is using the road in such a way that other road users can predict what you would be doing next (and of course being able to predict what other road users will likely do next)

 

If you ride on the wrong side of the road, you create doubt in the road users around you because they cannot predict what your likely reaction would be to any scenario. If something (crosswind, obstacle whatever) pushes you into the path of an oncoming car, are you going to continue swerving until you get to the correct side of the road or are you going to swerve back into the yellow line? There is no way the oncoming car can anticipate how to avoid you.

 

I think riding on the wrong side of the road is more dangerous than you realise.

 

[Bonus]

If the choice is to ride on the correct side of a particular road and face certain death or ride on the wrong side of that road and face possible death, I'd avoid that road entirely.

 

8-)