I might be crazy, but I have been using my powers of empathy recently to understand why, exactly, without fail, I see people cycling on the left side of the road, going against traffic. Haven't they the privilege to spend valuable time surfing the web and stumbling upon this essay? Haven't they seen the dozens of bloody wrong-way bicycle accidents that happen every day in Hartford? Okay, maybe there aren't dozens in Hartford, but here's one in Norwich.
Ken Kifer clearly isn't crazy (amazing!), and he thoroughly discusses why cycling on the left side of the road is much more dangerous than cycling on the right side of the road, although I wonder where he got his charts from (No citation or explanation Ken!). If you don't want to link to the page, here's his summary of the dangers:
"when cycling on the wrong side, the chances of not being seen by motorists who are turning or pulling out increases, the number of passing vehicles increases, the time needed to avoid an on-coming vehicle decreases, the chance of finding a safe place to pull off the road decreases, the speed of impact increases, the braking distance decreases, and the liability lies with the cyclist."
As with our chances of electing somebody sane for president, the problem, as my crazy friend Joe Barber puts it, is that "Unfortunately Joel, our country is full of crazy people".
My understanding increased dramatically in one conversation with a crazy young man who used to be in my care at a 24-hour supervision youth facility. I ran into him recently, five years after our respective stints in "the joint".
I was excited to hear him say that he had been bicycling everywhere to get around, "on account of not being able to drive a car." I excitedly told him about critical mass, thinking he would love the feel of solidarity with other crazy cyclists...
I was mildly disappointed with his blank look, thinking perhaps I hadn't explained it well enough.
"No, no, Joel, I get it," he replied slowly. "I just could never do that because I ride on the other side of the road."
I reacted dramatically: "On the LEFT side?! Why do you do that?! That's super-dangerous man!" Obvious unspoken subtext: "As a cyclist on the right side of the road, you are entitled to all the rights and responsibilities of a motorist! Isn't that glorious!"
He replied again with his quiet, deliberate manner of speaking: "Well, yeah, but you know, I have a small problem with people sneaking up behind me. I get totally freaked out."
Completely understandable. What do you tell somebody who has this problem and chooses to bicycle anyway?
Don't feel bad, my man, even powerful British politicians, obviously sane, love breaking laws on their bike and getting caught on camera!
6 comments:
Crazy must be in the air today. I was going to write a post about this, but instead I'll just comment:
I was walking about from lunch on Main Street and saw this guy with a white bike coming towards me. I thought, "There's something missing from that bike. It looks unfinished." It had brake levers, but... no cables or brakes. This man rides on the sidewalk and uses pedestrians to stop him. Crazy!
You know, I ride on the right side of the road these days, but when I was a kid I was taught to ride against traffic because drivers were more likely to see you.
This from my father, a cop.
I also remember being taught to walk on the wrong side of the street - the reasoning was that drivers would see you better.
Are left-side cyclists just prudent pedestrians?
No, you're right Bianca, if you have to walk on the street, you're supposed to walk on the left side of the street, against traffic.
This is the old "pedestrian rule" that is part of the reason why some bicyclists think they should ride over there. One major difference is that it's not as easy for bicyclists to "step off" the road. Thanks for the comment!
Obviously if it's possible to walk off the street on any side, that's best.
To be honest I sometimes wonder if i'm the only one who finds it much more frightening to ride on the left side of the road. Regardless of the fact I know that it is correct for me to do so, traveling on the right side makes me feel more comfortable. I wonder whether the people who ride on the left simply don't feel this way or if they are riding on the other side because they think they are supposed to?
this is a rippin good post. i see a ton of people riding against traffic and the same folks usually have no helmets on.
besides the obvious dangers to themselves the folks who ride on the right side against traffic almost scare me more. they always pop up out of nowhere from in front of a bus or big van and shove you further out into the lane without time to react, scares the crap out of me.
i think its mostly an education thing, these folks just don't know how to ride safely. unfortunately, they also don't come to bike clinics, how do we get them there so they can learn??
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