Riding on the wrong side of the road

[hagar]

i often ride on the wrong side of the road when leaving saldanha and heading out to vredenburg before turning right at the jacobs bay intersection and then go back to the left side.

 

my reason is this :

there is a dual carriageway ie 4 lanes two out and two in. The two out is the old road that was resurfaced and has a shoulder of no more than 1/2 a metre and this is the outbound lane to vredenburg.

 

the incoming one is a new road that was built recently and has a 2m shoulder with a yellow line which will allow two cyclists to pass each other with ease.

 

i used to ride on the narrow shoulder until i was almost taken out and thought to myself hell life is so short and riding here is just not worth it so i switched to the other side where i have a clear view of the oncoming traffic and what they are doing and thus feel far safer.

 

so all in all there are times when it is necessary to ride on the wrong side and i dont give two hoots who says what but its my life and i will do all to make sure i come home in one piece and not end up in a body bag !!!

  

[kamikaze]

it makes no difference which way you face, you occupy the same amount of space.

the difference is that on the right you have control over moving out of the way if some moron in a car is chatting on the phone, not paying attention, and about to kill you.

this is because you can SEE what is coming your way.

riding on the right hand side saved my life the other day when an impatient taxi suddenly jumped out from behind a car to overtake on the left (as they always do).

he couldnt see me from the drivers side, but i could see his taxi and which way it was suddenly coming.

 

i just narrowly managed to get out of the way and avoid getting klapped at 60+km/h!

 

if i was facing the other way, would not be typing this.

 

no argument against riding on the right hand side holds water.

again, you occupy the same amount of space, no matter which way you face.

 

i dont ride in the road if i can help it, but if i must, i ride on the right.

the left is a lottery.

kamikaze2009-07-15 07:10:23

[Slave]

For what it's worth (and no, I haven't read al 5 pages) this is my take on it.

When I ride, I get an average of say 30 k's an hour over most training distances and rides. Some places, I can get up to about 50 or so and others only about 15, depends on gradient.

Assuming that motorist stick to the speed limit (Which we all know, mpostly they don't) youhave your 30 kph plus their 60 kph and if you are hit by one of them, it's a combined speed of 90.

That is going to hurt a lot more than a speed differential of 30 if hit from behind. 

My SO and I were discussing this point of view on the weekend and that was the reason why I thought the idea was a bad one.

 

Simple as that. We can also add to the pot, that on the wrong side of the road, a motorist is not expecting you to be coming from that direction and is more likely to run into you.

 

Your choice. It is not what I am about to do. I will take my chances in the hopes that they can see me.

 

Generally speaking, either way, motorists are blind and inconsiderate.

 

If you are running, you have less speed and more agility to try and avoid a collision. Slowing a bike down and trying to get out of the way is a recipe for certain disaster in my opinion.

 

 

[kamikaze]

flesh vs metal,

it doesnt matter which way you're facing, which way you're going, or what your combined or deducted speed is - you're buggered.

 

that's why there's merit in seeing what's coming towards you, it give's you a fighting chance.

 

i dont see how riding towards a motorist increases your chances of getting hit?

you are pretty much stationary compared to him, so avoiding a collision from his side should not depend on which way you are facing.

 

that's why i dont get why some motorists freak out at you for being able to see them coming.

 

obviously riding towards traffic is not always a good idea, like bombing down a hill at 75km/h on a road with no verge and a steep kerb.

 

kamikaze2009-07-15 10:36:12

[Go Slow]

Kamikazi, I do agree with you Flesh vs Metal - bad idea, period. I speak from experience.

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Salve ? as for all your calculations the day that this is going to happen to you will be day you are doing 0 or just about and the car 120 ? Murphy?s law. Exactly what happened to me. I was slowing down to stop at traffic light, cop was accelerating to jump light.

 

So I will continue to take my chances and have some sort of control of being hit by something I can see and react to.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

One thing wrong with the argument for going against the flow of traffic, on a public road.

 

IT IS ILLEGAL!

 

If you were my friend and you got knocked down, I'd tell your mother/brother/wife or daughter that you were an idiot for breaking the law, and riding on the wrong side of the road. Just the same as if you jumped a light or a stop sign.

 

On the flip-side, think of the motorist if he hit you while you were on the wrong side... Sure, he'd be gutted he's just keefed a guy. But, at the same time - he wasn't breaking the law, was he? So he should have a clear conscience.

 

It's willful endangerment, which will most probably nullify any insurance payouts unless you have a helluva good financial advisor and legal counsel. How are your wife and kids going to survive then? 

 

[droo]

People do all manner of stoopid things, with or without the approval of the law, society at large or the International Society of Confirmed Poephols. Telling them it is stoopid won't change their minds, it'll just convince them that they have a unique idea that nobody else has thought of before.

 

 

 

Leave them be, Darwin always wins.

[Guest Big H]

 

flesh vs metal' date='

it doesnt matter which way you're facing, which way you're going, or what your combined or deducted speed is - you're buggered.

 

that's why there's merit in seeing what's coming towards you, it give's you a fighting chance.

 

i dont see how riding towards a motorist increases your chances of getting hit?

you are pretty much stationary compared to him, so avoiding a collision from his side should not depend on which way you are facing.

 

that's why i dont get why some motorists freak out at you for being able to see them coming.

 

obviously riding towards traffic is not always a good idea, like bombing down a hill at 75km/h on a road with no verge and a steep kerb.

 

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As I said in an earlier posting...... from the front you will at least see the car coming and you WILL experience the *** taste in your mouth!!!!!!!

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