felinefan wrote:What "genius" thought of riding with traffic?
It was probably the same genius that determined:
- Driving is all about expectations: Motorists making a right turn onto a busy street are going to be looking left, not right, to make sure the coast is clear. They’re not going to see the wrong-way cyclist until his or her face is smashed against their windshield.
- Because of the increased momentum of a head-on crash, the impact from a driver hitting you will be more severe than if you are to get, say, sideswiped.
- If you ever want to make a right turn, you’re going to have to move to the other side of the street anyway. How safe will you feel crossing in front of two lanes of oncoming traffic?
Riding against traffic may seem like a good idea because you can see the cars that are passing you, but it's not. Here's why:
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 more than twice as fast! 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 at a faster relative speed.
- Riding the wrong way is against the law and you can get ticketed for it.
One study showed that riding the wrong way was three times as dangerous as riding the right way, and for kids, the risk is seven times greater.
Nearly one-fourth of crashes involve cyclists riding the wrong way. Some readers have challenged this, saying if 25% of crashes are from going the wrong way, then riding the right way is more dangerous because it accounts for 75% of crashes. That idea is just wrong. First off, only 8% of cyclists ride the wrong way, yet nearly 25% of them get hit -- meaning wrong-way cyclists really are three times more likely to get hit than those who ride the proper way. Second, the problem with wrong-way biking is that it promotes crashes, while right-way biking does not. For example, cyclists running stop signs or red lights is 17% of their crashes. But do we therefore conclude that not running signals causes 83% of crashes?! (Hint: No.)
No duh, Sherlock! Of course it costs money! You don't get anything for free, you know!
