by "Honeybunchesofgoats" (honeybunche0fgoats)
Published 03/25/2017 at 14:04
by "Honeybunchesofgoats" (honeybunche0fgoats)
Published 03/25/2017 at 14:04
No Tags
STARS: 6
Dear People in semi-rural suburbs:
Biking and running is a great, healthy thing to do, and good on you for doing it.
I also applaud your desire to look death straight in the eyes when it comes for you. But please, please, follow the fucking direction of traffic.
Look, I know you think that in the event I wanted to murder you, you’d take evasive action and dodge my car. I promise you, if I wanted to run you over, that would not save you.
But here’s the thing: I am not the jogger/bicycle version of the Zodiac Killer. I actively want to avoid turning your dumb asses into a hood ornament.
If you’re running or biking away from me, I will slow down or even stop until it’s safe to go around you in the oncoming lane. That’s a lot harder to do safely when you’re coming straight at me. Also, in the event that an accident is unavoidable and I had to choose whether to run you over or hit a car in the oncoming lane head on, try and guess which of you two is going to draw the shorter straw in that scenario.
If you’re traveling in the same direction as me and you go around a corner, I will take extra care when I go around that corner. But if you’re coming around that same corner oncoming in my lane, I don’t even know that you fucking exist, because I am not a psychic.
Also, think back to before you dropped out of middle school. Remember that question about two trains heading towards each other and what speed they were traveling? It’s like that. If I’m traveling at 25mph around a curve, and you’re traveling towards me at 10mph, then the distance between your bike and my 4,000 pound sedan is closing at 35mph. If, however, you’re following the direction of traffic, then that becomes 15mph, which makes it significantly easier to brake or avoid killing you.
"Viggen" (viggen37)
03/25/2017 at 14:17, STARS: 2
Way to go Saab driver in the picture! Way to make us look bad.
"Berang" (berang)
03/25/2017 at 14:30, STARS: 4
Aren’t you supposed to walk against traffic? That’s what I was taught in school. Although at this point that’s probably anachronistic data.
On a bike though, always ride with traffic.
"Honeybunchesofgoats" (honeybunche0fgoats)
03/25/2017 at 14:32, STARS: 2
I don’t have any context for the photo, but assuming that guy was going the wrong way in the bike lane, I can blame the Saab for not expecting him to come from that direction.
"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove)
03/25/2017 at 14:32, STARS: 3
All the stars for this post. As a cyclist, my hatred flows freely for all the cyclists around me that never stop at a light, signal a turn, yield right of way, or fail to [insert any traffic law here]. They make it less safe for the rest of us on bikes and make the public hate us all.
Where I live, I think I see maybe one or two people a year stop at a stop sign.
"facw" (facw)
03/25/2017 at 14:34, STARS: 2
Yes, pedestrians (runners/joggers/walkers) are supposed to go against traffic rather than with it. They are also supposed to be on the sidewalk if there is one, but often aren’t, which is understandable as many sidewalks are terribly maintained and aren’t really safe for use.
"Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)" (bman76-4)
03/25/2017 at 14:41, STARS: 1
Yeah, no. Pedestrians in the street can walk opposing traffic.
"Honeybunchesofgoats" (honeybunche0fgoats)
03/25/2017 at 15:20, STARS: 0
I know that this is the prevailing advice, but I so strongly disagree with this. Firstly, if there’s a shoulder, it causes the same problem for bicyclists, but at a slower speed. Secondly, it still makes curves dangerous. If someone is walking with traffic, there’s a much better chance that I will know they’re there before they go around the curve. I just don’t accept that it’s at all safer to travel in a direction where I won’t see someone on my side of the road early.
"Frenchlicker" (frenchlicker)
03/25/2017 at 15:48, STARS: 1
In many places bikers are obligated to go with the flow. However runners and joggers etc are supposed to go with the flow. It’s a safety recommendation from many different governments.
Edit: oops, I know this is going to lose my star but the runners and joggers bit was supposed to say against the flow.
"Berang" (berang)
03/25/2017 at 16:16, STARS: 1
Yeah but curves are relatively rare. It makes sidewalks safer at intersections, which is a more likely place for pedestrians to be than a blind corner out in the middle of nowhere.
"Honeybunchesofgoats" (honeybunche0fgoats)
03/25/2017 at 16:22, STARS: 0
I definitely don’t have a problem with people walking whatever direction they want on sidewalks. The problem is that where I am in rural South Jersey, there are a lot of twisty roads with soft shoulders, which causes a lot of problems, not least because many of these roads barely qualify as being wide enough to be two lanes, so leaving space on the right at blind corners is not a safe option.