Comments on: Pedestrians Should Walk Facing Traffic

By: Marshall

Marshall — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:22:00 +0000

Walking toward traffic is foolhardy. Cars turning right toward you never see you because they have no reason to look that way. That’s why I no longer walk toward traffic.

By: Ray

Ray — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 19:41:34 +0000

I have done some night walking and it’s risky to walk facing traffic. If there is poor lighting then the oncoming headlights will blind you and make for a terrifying experience. But walking with traffic allows you to see the road ahead of you as you’re backlit.

By: John

John — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 20:07:29 +0000

I’ve found that walking facing traffic and carrying a sawed off shotgun seems to make the drivers a little more courteous.

By: Don Van Doornik

Don Van Doornik — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 19:57:51 +0000

I can think of a couple of reasons why bicyclists travel in the same direction as automobile traffic. The first is simply that bike riders are expected to follow the same traffic laws as automobiles, which means they have to be on the right hand side of the road.

Second, if a cyclist is riding on a road without a paved shoulder, and thus are unable to move far enough to the right to allow cars to pass, cars approaching the cyclist from behind can slow down to match the cyclist’s speed until it is safe to cross the center lane and pass. If the cyclist were riding in the left lane, oncoming traffic would have to “thread the needle” between the cyclist and any oncoming traffic in the opposite lane to avoid a head on collision.

By: Sunny Evsich

Sunny Evsich — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 15:37:33 +0000

Regarding riding bicycles, when I was growing up in Bremerton it was drilled into us to ride FACING traffic so we could see what’s coming at us. Also, at crosswalks, we were told to dismount and WALK our bikes across the intersection as pedestrians. The police, including (legendeary Sheriff) Art Morken, used to come to our grade school every year and lecture us on that very fact. I was even literally cut off by a police car and given a stern command to ride facing traffic when I rode around the corner to my house in the same direction as traffic. Now, people on bicycles ride WITH traffic and even get into the left turn lanes in the middle of the street and ride in between the cars. Holy Moly, I would have gone to jail if I did that when I was a kid! When were the rules changed to the unbelievably dangerous situation that is now in practice of riding with traffic, as if a bicycle were a car?

By: Eldon Jacobson

Eldon Jacobson — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 15:35:01 +0000

You asked for thoughts about why bicycles and cars are supposed to travel the same direction. There are two important reasons I can think of.
1. Even though motorists pulling out of a driveway (and turning right) into a road are supposed to look both ways for pedestrians and all other travelers, there are some poor drivers who only look to the left before turning right. A bicycle going the wrong way would not be detected and a collision could happen.
2. Most importantly, when a bicycle and a car are traveling the same direction, there is more time for the driver to figure out how to avoid the bicycle by either slowing down or safely passing. For example, if a bicycle is traveling 10 miles per hour (mph) and a car is going 30 mph, the closing speed is 40 mph if they are headed towards each other, and 20 mph if they are going the same direction.

By: Gary Lusk

Gary Lusk — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 15:31:50 +0000

When people ask me why I ride with traffic (other than it’s the law), I use the following scenario:

Assume you are driving and come to a stop sign and plan on making a right turn. Your full attention is to the left waiting for a gap in traffic. If I am riding with traffic, you and I can make eye contact and I feel much safer. Now, you have a gap in traffic for your right turn. In most cases, I hope you take a quick glance to the right and then make your turn. If I am riding against traffic at 20mph, I have not made eye contact with you and you may be moving during your quick glance to the right and I don’t have much of a chance if I am right at the intersection. Riding with traffic is the legal thing to do and, in my opinion, much safer.

Since I have your attention, I have three other subjects for your future investigation:

1. Since Bremerton instituted a bicycle helmet law, it seems that there are more riders without a helmet than with a helmet. Has this law been rescinded?

2. On the Brownsville highway just south of 308 there is an unused traffic signal at an unused Keyport gate. Couldn’t this signal be recycled to save money?

3. Traveling southbound on 303 and taking the Ridgetop exit is confusing. My interpretation is that, since there is an “island” painted on the road, a free right turn onto Ridgetop into the right hand lane is acceptable. The problem is that people already on Ridgetop want to move over to that lane (crossing a solid white line) as soon as possible to go to the hospital and Costco. It seems that a sign could be installed on Ridgetop that shows that the offramp traffic has a lane and the through traffic should stay in the left lane similar to a freeway with an onramp lane that doesn’t end such as 303 northbound to Highway 3.