Wrong-way riders
1 comment September 22nd, 2008
Just about every day I cross paths with someone who is riding his/her bicycle the wrong way, i.e., against traffic instead of with traffic.
Perhaps they don’t know that under the Illinois Rules of the Road, a bicycle has the same rights and responsibilities as a motor vehicle. Or perhaps they think it’s safer to see what’s in front of them rather than worrying about what comes from behind. There are many safety reasons to ride with traffic. I looked up a couple of online sources for info.
Here’s what http://bicyclesafe.com/ says:
# Cars which pull out of driveways, parking lots, and cross streets (ahead of you and to the left), which are making a right onto your street, aren’t expecting traffic to be coming at them from the wrong way. They won’t see you, and they’ll plow right into you.
# How the heck are you going to make a right turn?
# Cars will approach you at a much higher relative speed. If you’re going 15mph, then a car passing you from behind doing 35 approaches you at a speed of only 20 (35-15). But if you’re on the wrong side of the road, then the car approaches you at 50 (35+15), which is 250% faster! Since they’re approaching you faster, both you and the driver have lots less time to react. And if a collision does occur, it’s going to be ten times worse.
# Riding the wrong way is illegal and you can get ticketed for it. Bruce Mackey says that 25% of cycling collisions are the result of the cyclist riding the wrong way
From KenKifer./com bike pages
So, 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.
If riding with the traffic is like playing Russian roulette (quite an exaggeration), then riding against traffic is like playing Russian roulette with five bullets in the chambers.
Why bicycle riders should not ride on the wrong side of the road:
# Hazardous encounters with other vehicles entering the legal counterflow: Another traveller turning right from a side street or driveway onto the road might not look for traffic on the wrong side of the road. The legal traveller may meet the unnoticed oncoming wrong-side rider where there is not enough lane width or reaction time to avoid a head-on collision.
# Hazardous encounters with other vehicles legally turning left from the parallel flow: Other travellers turning left at an intersection or into a driveway do not look for traffic overtaking them on their left. The wrong-side cyclist, fearfully watching for oncoming traffic, may never notice the intersecting left turner.
# Hazardous encounters with pedestrians at crossings: As they step from the curb, pedestrians may not look for traffic approaching from the wrong direction.
# Narrow road problems and head-ons with right-side cyclists. Wrong-way cyclists cause unexpected flow constrictions that move against the flow of traffic and may require evasive maneuvers. Right-side cycling only requires overtaking traffic to slow to the cyclist speed when there is no room to pass. When a wrong-way cyclist encounters a right-way cyclist, one of them may be forced into passing traffic.
# Ambiguity of intentions and right-of-way: When noticed by right-way travellers, the wrong-way cyclist cannot be expected to interact with the rest of traffic according to any mutually recognized rules of the road. To retain any safety against the hazards listed above, the wrong-way cyclist must yield to all other traffic at every intersection rather than taking the right-of-way when entitled to it on the right side of the road.
# Legal consequences:
Travelling on the wrong side of the road is illegal for cyclists as well as for motorists. The wrong-way traveller has diminished legal claim in case of damage or injury when an accident is attributed to wrong-side travelling. (I am not a lawyer. This is not legal advice; but the interpretation of a cycling citizen.)
