[Andy Dreisch]

Although it's an article about running defensively, a lot of the points in the www.active.com article entitled Make yourself visible: a guide to running defensively pertain to bikers, too.

Here is link to article: http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=8996&sidebar=13&category=running

[The BikeForums Team]

This is an archived thread, you can find the full version of this thread, with images, links and more content here.

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[fore]

Always run facing traffic.

no thanks.

[John E]

As a daily transportation jogger and avid bicyclist, I have mixed feelings about the conventional advice to walk or run counter to traffic flow. So doing makes sense on a narrow road, but contraflow walking is a great way to get struck at intersections and driveway entrances/exits by motorists looking the other way. Also, I have to deal with discontinuous sidewalks, blind curves, and other conditions which can make one side of the road safer than the other.

Be alert, wear bright colours, and use front and rear lights at night, whether cycling or jogging/walking.

[Andy Dreisch]

Originally posted by fore
no thanks.
Absolutely correct. Never bike against traffic.

[DanFromDetroit]

Road running is inherently dangerous. Vehicles approaching you at 60 mph, for example, are covering 88 feet per second. Since your reaction time is about three-quarters of a second, on average, once a swerving vehicle is within 66 feet of you, you won't be able to react defensively.



I would generally avoid roads where traffic is traveling at 60mph or more.


If you're crossing without the help of crosswalks, take your time to really assess the traffic. A quick glance is not adequate


If this requires stopping, it is also another situation to be avoided.


Always run facing traffic. This may be a major concession for those who have trouble with repetitive-stress injuries that are due to the beveled road surface, but the risks of running with the traffic are too great. You may have to find an alternate course that doesn't cover canted roads.


Everyone who runs significant mileage on the edge of a crowned road will experience knee pain or ankle trouble. This is the same no matter if you are running with or against traffic. If you run on a crowned road for any length of time you must run on top of the crown. If you cannot, you had better find somewhere else to run.


Unfortunately, a good bit of your time on the road is spent within those little envelopes in which your fate depends largely on others and good fortune.


If you find yourself in this circumstance regularly, then you are not using your head.


There is good information in this article, mostly dealing with visibility and situational awareness, but it really has the feel of something written by a driver not a runner. Or at least someone who doesn't run very much.