Re: Wide load....

Per (Pete Cresswell):

Quoted message said:

There are too many judgement calls involved

And, the question must be posed: "Why are joggers instructed to run against
traffic."

"Because it's the law." doesn't count as an answer.

I would predict that most people will agree that the real answer has something
to do with runner speed, traffic speed, runner maneuverability, and runner
profile/width.
--
PeteCresswell

On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 19:28:34 -0500, "(Pete Cresswell)" <[email hidden]>

may have said:

I predict this will turn into a long and passionate thread and the majority of
posts will say words to the effect that riding against traffic is a Bad Thing -
and I could not disagree given the vast array of different traffic situations
the various people regard as the norm.

Maybe, but with luck it won't turn into another Helmet Thread.

Quoted message said:

Personally, I think conventional wisdom is a product of:
[snip]

3) The many suburban traffic situations where riding against traffic really *is*
near-suicidal.

Three cars running close together at speed, approaching an oncoming
bike; car A swerves with feet to spare, car B swerves with inches to
spare, and car C has no chance at all to avoid the collision. Too
bloody many tailgaters out there.

Quoted message said:

4) Virtually all city street riding - where, again, riding against traffic
really *is* near-suicidal.

Same deal, but continuously.

Quoted message said:

5) The days before cellphone and blackberry usage was common by drivers.

Last month, for a week, the SO and I kept track of the "dumbass count"
for those instances where we could determine if demonstrably
suboptimal driving was or was not coincident with cell phone usage.
Of 38 determinations, 34 dumbass moves were by people with a cell
phone glued to their ear. I'd say the correlation of driver skill
degradation and cell phone usage was strong.

Quoted message said:

I would be the first to say that you just *can't* tell anybody that riding
against traffic is safer. There are too many judgement calls involved and the
situations where it is not safer are just sooo dangerous and the consequences
soooo severe.

Yes. If you just want to stick with the law of averages and the
physics of the situation, then riding with traffic is the theoretical
winner. But theory and practice may not always overlap, and even if
they do, if you rely entirely on probability instead of your wits,
eventually the moment will arrive when the dice get rolled and you
*lose*. In most situations, in my estimation, it's safer to ride with
traffic. I can't predict where this will not be true; it's highly
situational. But I *can* predict that there will be instances in
which riding with traffic has a higher likelihood of disaster than
riding against it. Unfortunately, I do not have any way to predict
when and where that will be.

Quoted message said:

Having said that, I switched to MTB because I had gotten totally paranoid about
automobiles. Now, if I'm riding to an off-road destination and have to go along
a regular road there are definately situations where I'll elect to ride against
traffic - but never at a pace faster than the average jogger - say 8 mph - and
not all situations.

Here, where it's legal to run on the sidewalks as long as you're not
in a business district, I find that the hassles of dealing with the
curbs are much less wearing than the paranoia that comes with sharing
a lane of traffic with the clowns on the roads. The solution varies,
but the cause is the same as yours.

Quoted message said:

I believe it's saved my life at least once. Guy in a pickup truck coming
around a curve. I'm riding about 10 feet over from the traffic lane on a
diagonally-striped section of shoulder. He was doing something that required
his full attention looking downwards.

Probably couldn't keep his wanking spanner engaged without eye
contact. Or maybe he was punching a number in on his cell phone.
(Not that the reason matters...)

Quoted message said:

Road curved. He didn't. I saw it
coming. I zigged, but he didn't zag.... Would've been roadkill if he had come
from behind.

As you have observed, in the real world, where the dangers from
vehicles are wildly variable, the only safety is in not being in the
path of the oncoming vehicle. Sometimes, that means not using the
road; sometimes, that means not using it strictly according to the
law.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

"Werehatrack" probably wrote:
(snip)

Quoted message said:

As you have observed, in the real world, where the dangers from
vehicles are wildly variable, the only safety is in not being in the
path of the oncoming vehicle. Sometimes, that means not using the
road; sometimes, that means not using it strictly according to the
law.

(snip)

There you go. It doesn't matter if you're correct and dead - you're
still dead. The primary goal is to keep from getting hit by the vehicles on
the road we "share" with them. Do whatever that takes: decorate yourself
like a X-mas tree with lights at night, ride with or against the traffic as
the situation influences you to do, bail out into the ditch when that's the
best option, - but RIDE! Don't let the dorks on the road, malignant or just
careless, force you to give it up.

Cal