Advocacy & Safety - Ride WITH traffic right?

I'm a new cyclist. Let's say I'm on a four lane (two lanes each direction) highway with large shoulders on each side. I should ride on the shoulder on the right side of the road (with traffic) right? Seems like it would be a lot easier to see a crazy driver coming at you the other way though. I know this is a very newbie question, but when I used to run I would always run against traffic so I could easily jump out of the way if someone was looking dangerous.

When you can get your bike to jump laterally like a human can, then you can ride against the flow of traffic... other wise go in the same direction as the other wheeled things out there.

The rules for pedestrians are the opposite of the rules for operators of vehicles-- and your bike is a vehicle. So if you want to see those crazy drivers behind you, you should get a mirror.

If you ride with the traffic ,cars coming out of driveways and shopping centres will see you before they pull out into the road. I like my glasses mounted mirror.

Also while running your speed is much lower, on a bike doing 15 (which can be slow for some cyclists) a 25 mph car is approaching at what is now 40mph, and this in a residential street setting, even worse at higher speeds.

Go with the flow, it's much easier for drivers.

You are right that it is good to be able to see crazy drivers coming at you, and to be able to communicate more easily with them. And that is why, for a pedestrian, the rule is to travel opposing traffic.

You would think that cyclists would have that same advantage, and on the face of it, they would. However, the fact that bikes go faster, therefore do not stay in the same place for as long, and cannot stop or turn as quickly as a pedestrian, introduces negatives to opposing traffic which outweigh the positives:


Your closing speed when opposing traffic is the sum of your speed and the car's, leaving much less time for the motorist to see and react to your presence. When you ride with traffic, the closing speed is the difference of your speeds. Do the math using, for example, a bike going 15 and a car going 35.
For the same reason, you also encounter more vehicles in the same time period opposing them rather than riding with them.
To avoid an otherwise unavoidable collision when opposing traffic, both your bike and the car must come to a complete stop. To avoid it when the motorist is overtaking you, the motorist need only slow to your speed.
Being on the opposite side of the road places you in a position where motorists are not expecting traffic, and we all tend to not see what we are not looking for. The most extreme example of this is a right-turning car. Most of that driver's time is spent looking to his or her left for cars in the near lane. If you are approaching from his or her right, on the wrong side of the road, it is very probable you will not be noticed. The best place to be seen is where motorists are already looking for other traffic.
If you are on the opposite side of the road, it is less predictable what you are going to do, and unpredictability leads to uncertainty, which leads often to problems.
Most experienced cyclists ride with traffic for all these reasons. If you ride against traffic, you are also riding against many other cyclists you will meet. Who will move over?
The best thing to do if you are nervous about cars overtaking you is to get a mirror. Learning to turn your head to look behind you without swerving is even better, but a mirror is easier when you are a beginner. You can practice the head turn thing by yourself when not in traffic.

Just as it has been mentioned, as a vehicle you should act as such. And it is best to make that a habit. And consider most things are similar in driving a car. Meaning to turn you should use the hand signals. At least be predictable in your riding and stay on the road.

Thanks for all the responses. I went for about an eight and a half mile ride today on such a highway and used the "turn your head and check" method when I heard a car coming up behind me just to be cautious.

Quietset, in spite of the horrifying stories you read on this and other forums, there are very few "crazy drivers" out there [with the posible exception of Florida :)].

Ride with the flow and read up on the proven techniques for cycling safely in traffic. Take a League of American Bicylist course if there is one being organised near you - I assume that their website will have the details.

And don't forget, for every terrible collision cause by some idiot, careless, ignorant driver, there are many thousands of bike journeys done in safety, with other considerate road users being fully aware of your existence and having no desire to finish up with you depositing vital personal fluids on their paintwork.

You'll still need to be more alert than some drivers are, but if you consistently observe driver behaviour, particularly at intersections, you will soon learn to spot potential trouble from the clues given out by those relatively few careless plonkers to whom the state, has, for some inexplicable reason, given a driver's licence.

Welcome to the most civilised and enjoyable form of personal transport ever invented.

Right on the road, not in the emergency lane ( shoulder) unless you consider you riding your bike to be an emergency.
Just ride your bike like you'd ride you car, gnereally ride in the right wheel track of the right lane. But not too far to the right. Take up space, be a 'big' as possible. Be seen. Don't hide on the road.

I spend almost as much time walking or jogging along the road as I do cycling. The conventional wisdom of walking against traffic has its own set of problems when crossing intersections.

Check your local traffic laws as they pertain to cycling and shoulders. Many laws state that one should ride on the shoulder if it is safe to do so. I frequently ride on the state highways in Colorado and that is the case here. Plus, I do not have the desire to ride in the same lane with vehicles doing 70mph.

Thanks for all the responses. I went for about an eight and a half mile ride today on such a highway and used the "turn your head and check" method when I heard a car coming up behind me just to be cautious.


I did the "turn head and check" method until a few years ago, since I was skeptical about mirrors, but now I use a mirror and I now would be lost without it. I find a mirror extremely useful in an urban setting where traffic can sometimess be coming at you from all directions, and where a mirror can let you look behind and in front at a mere glance and take evasive action that much quicker. Plus, with a mirror I usually see a car behind me long before I hear it.

I am not big on using mirrors. I used them for some time. But over the years, I have been passed by many thousands of cars. I rather doubt that I could tell if a car was going to hit me by watching it anyway. Statistically, overtaking accidents are rare but they do cause more fatalities than most crashes (not many happen but when they do, they are bad). Most accidents occur at intersections or driveways when people right hook or left hook or pull out in front of the cyclist.

I am not big on using mirrors. I used them for some time. But over the years, I have been passed by many thousands of cars. I rather doubt that I could tell if a car was going to hit me by watching it anyway. Statistically, overtaking accidents are rare but they do cause more fatalities than most crashes (not many happen but when they do, they are bad). Most accidents occur at intersections or driveways when people right hook or left hook or pull out in front of the cyclist.

I have been bicycle commuting for over 25 years. During that time, using a mirror has saved me from being hit from behind four times. Stories follow:

First incident - 5 pm, clear dry afternoon, occurred on a 6 narrow lane highway (originally designed for 4 lanes) bounded by a curb and shrubs, with heavy traffic. While riding 4 feet from the curb in a VC manner, a routine check of the mirror shows a small foreign brown pick-up truck in the center of the lane behind me not slowing and not moving left. I hold my position in the lane to let him know the lane is too narrow to share. Check of the road ahead shows it is clear for the next 70 yards, since the guy that last passed me has not moved back into the right lane. Second check of the mirror shows the pick-up behind is close and will not slow or move left; I swerve to the right with 6 inches between my wheel & curb and my handlebar touching the shrubs just as the pick-up passes. The body of the pick-up is 2 inches from the left side of my handlebar and the right side mirror of the pick-up hits my left arm. Thank goodness that the truck mirror was of the collapsible design and only caused a bruise on my arm and loud noise when it collapsed on the truck. Of course the driver just kept going. He never even turned his head to look at me. I almost caught him at the next light. He was elderly and probably poor of sight. I do not think he even saw me. Without the mirror and routine checks, this guy would have just plowed over me at 30 mph. I did get his license # and immediately reported the hit-and-run to the police. The police took my report and then did nothing since a simple bruise is not serious. Two weeks later, the same pick-up hit a car and ran. This time the police caught the driver in less than an hour.

Second incident - 8 am, clear dry morning, occurred on a 6 lane highway bounded by a curb, no shoulder but did have bus turnouts. While riding 3 feet from the curb/ right lane line in a VC manner, a routine check of the mirror shows a Jeep just about on me and I cannot see the right headlight of the Jeep in the mirror. I also cannot not see the drivers face as he is bent over. I know I am in trouble and make an emergency swerve to the right (moving at least 5 feet) as fast as I can into a bus turnout (lucky it was there). The Jeep passes about 1 foot from the left end of my handlebar. As he passes, I see he is bent over, picking up a CD player off the passenger floor board. He never saw me until I caught him at the light and started yelling at him. I can yell extremely loud. He made all the excuses until I yelled that I saw him bent over picking up the CD player. The light turned green and he promptly speed off. I would have called the police, but I did not even have a bruise this time.

Third incident - 4 am, clear dry night, well lighted street, I had 2 white lights in front, 2 yellow and a blue light on my backside, reflective material all over and the legal required red reflector (standard moving Christmas tree). Same as the second incident except that the vehicle was an SUV with tinted windows and I could not catch up to the SUV. Because of the tinted windows, I could not tell why the driver did not properly pass.

Fourth incident - 8 am, clear dry morning, occurred on a 6 lane highway bounded by a curb, no shoulder but did have bus turnouts and a merge lane. While riding center of the merge lane waiting to move into the right through lane, I see a woman reading a pamphlet and she is drifting into the merge lane. I safely bailed. She swerves back into the through lane just barely missing jumping the curb and slamming into a concrete pile. I caught her at the traffic light and lectured her. She rolled up her window. As soon the light turned green, she speed off and went back to reading her pamphlet. It was a religious pamphlet, so I guess she thought God would keep her safe.

You are right that it is good to be able to see crazy drivers coming at you, and to be able to communicate more easily with them. And that is why, for a pedestrian, the rule is to travel opposing traffic.

You would think that cyclists would have that same advantage, and on the face of it, they would. However, the fact that bikes go faster, therefore do not stay in the same place for as long, and cannot stop or turn as quickly as a pedestrian, introduces negatives to opposing traffic which outweigh the positives:


Your closing speed when opposing traffic is the sum of your speed and the car's, leaving much less time for the motorist to see and react to your presence. When you ride with traffic, the closing speed is the difference of your speeds. Do the math using, for example, a bike going 15 and a car going 35.
For the same reason, you also encounter more vehicles in the same time period opposing them rather than riding with them.
To avoid an otherwise unavoidable collision when opposing traffic, both your bike and the car must come to a complete stop. To avoid it when the motorist is overtaking you, the motorist need only slow to your speed.
Being on the opposite side of the road places you in a position where motorists are not expecting traffic, and we all tend to not see what we are not looking for. The most extreme example of this is a right-turning car. Most of that driver's time is spent looking to his or her left for cars in the near lane. If you are approaching from his or her right, on the wrong side of the road, it is very probable you will not be noticed. The best place to be seen is where motorists are already looking for other traffic.
If you are on the opposite side of the road, it is less predictable what you are going to do, and unpredictability leads to uncertainty, which leads often to problems.
Most experienced cyclists ride with traffic for all these reasons. If you ride against traffic, you are also riding against many other cyclists you will meet. Who will move over?
The best thing to do if you are nervous about cars overtaking you is to get a mirror. Learning to turn your head to look behind you without swerving is even better, but a mirror is easier when you are a beginner. You can practice the head turn thing by yourself when not in traffic.

This was a very well written and reasoned response. Mind if I crib it for some commuter advocacy materials I'm distributing at work?

I'm a new cyclist. Let's say I'm on a four lane (two lanes each direction) highway with large shoulders on each side. I should ride on the shoulder on the right side of the road (with traffic) right? Seems like it would be a lot easier to see a crazy driver coming at you the other way though. I know this is a very newbie question, but when I used to run I would always run against traffic so I could easily jump out of the way if someone was looking dangerous.

I'm going to assume you drive.

OK go out an dride a bit, remember how fast you are going/can go.

No go out for a drive, or just wait until you are driving and pay attention. Make a right turn against a red. What would have happened if a bike was coming against traffic on hte street you are turning on to? Make a left turn. What would happen if there was a bike going the same way you are, but against traffic? On that last one even if you are really thinking about it isn't there still a very good chance that if the bike comes at the wrong time there will be almost nothing you can do. Then think of the chances if it were to happen 6 months from now when you aren't thinking about it.

Oh and add in cars turning into and out of driveways. Basically on a bike you are coming at speed from direcetions where nothing should be coming from. Do it long enough and often enough and sooner or later the timing with be just wrong and guess who ends up on ht eground.

Right on the road, not in the emergency lane ( shoulder) unless you consider you riding your bike to be an emergency.
Just ride your bike like you'd ride you car, gnereally ride in the right wheel track of the right lane. But not too far to the right. Take up space, be a 'big' as possible. Be seen. Don't hide on the road.

Sorry, I'm going to have to disagree here. If the highway provides a nice broad shoulder, ride there.

This was a very well written and reasoned response. Mind if I crib it for some commuter advocacy materials I'm distributing at work?

Not at all. Thank you for the compliment. Feel free to also take a look at the website in my sig.

Sorry, I'm going to have to disagree here. If the highway provides a nice broad shoulder, ride there.

In my opinion, shoulder-riding is a matter of personal preference and not worth arguing too much over. Most cyclists I know prefer them when available, but one whom I respect a lot and has been riding for a long time vehemently refuses to use them, and claims he encounters very few problems riding in the lane.

I personally will use one when a good one is available, though I still ride in the left portion of it, because you are more visible there, and, I believe, a little less likely to be completely ignored. Make sure that if you need to get out of the shoulder, for example to avoid debris or a bad stretch of pavement, you do so gradually, with mirror or head-turn checks to make sure it's okay. Most anti-shoulder people I think would say that using the travel lane all the time avoids this need to move around so much. In general, the straighter your line of travel, the better.

Two good on line source for cycling in traffic are:
John Allen's Bicycling Street Smarts is on line at http://www.bikexprt.com/streetsmarts/usa/index.htm
and
Dave Glowacz's Safe Cycling in Illinois (distributed by IDOT) http://www.dot.state.il.us/bikemap/safekids/p11.pdf

Dave also wrote Urban Bikers' Tricks & Tips: Low-Tech & No-Tech Ways to Find, Ride, & Keep a Bicycle

[edit: Corrected URL for Glowacz's Safe Cycling in Illinois to start with the Traffic Basics page. The .pdf setup is a little odd ... to get to the next page, you have to click the Next Page button at the top right of the sheet]

In my opinion, shoulder-riding is a matter of personal preference and not worth arguing too much over. Most cyclists I know prefer them when available, but one whom I respect a lot and has been riding for a long time vehemently refuses to use them, and claims he encounters very few problems riding in the lane.

I 'd guess environment has a lot to do with it. Here in the North Country it's rural roads. The St Hghwys have nice 5' to 8' shoulders. Plenty of room. Riding in the lane might actually be detrimental as you'd appear to be straddling the line between shoulder and lane.

The tertiary ones have nothing, not even a white line.

Feast or famine.

John Allen's Bicycling Street Smarts is on line at http://www.bikexprt.com/streetsmarts/usa/index.htm

+1

All bicyclists, even very experienced once, can benefit from this information, but for someone who is not sure which side of the road to ride on really should read it, and think about it, before getting on the road again.

You are right that it is good to be able to see crazy drivers coming at you, and to be able to communicate more easily with them. And that is why, for a pedestrian, the rule is to travel opposing traffic.

You would think that cyclists would have that same advantage, and on the face of it, they would. However, the fact that bikes go faster, therefore do not stay in the same place for as long, and cannot stop or turn as quickly as a pedestrian, introduces negatives to opposing traffic which outweigh the positives:

Your closing speed when opposing traffic is the sum of your speed and the car's, leaving much less time for the motorist to see and react to your presence. When you ride with traffic, the closing speed is the difference of your speeds. Do the math using, for example, a bike going 15 and a car going 35.
For the same reason, you also encounter more vehicles in the same time period opposing them rather than riding with them.
To avoid an otherwise unavoidable collision when opposing traffic, both your bike and the car must come to a complete stop. To avoid it when the motorist is overtaking you, the motorist need only slow to your speed.
Being on the opposite side of the road places you in a position where motorists are not expecting traffic, and we all tend to not see what we are not looking for. The most extreme example of this is a right-turning car. Most of that driver's time is spent looking to his or her left for cars in the near lane. If you are approaching from his or her right, on the wrong side of the road, it is very probable you will not be noticed. The best place to be seen is where motorists are already looking for other traffic.
If you are on the opposite side of the road, it is less predictable what you are going to do, and unpredictability leads to uncertainty, which leads often to problems.
Most experienced cyclists ride with traffic for all these reasons. If you ride against traffic, you are also riding against many other cyclists you will meet. Who will move over?The best thing to do if you are nervous about cars overtaking you is to get a mirror. Learning to turn your head to look behind you without swerving is even better, but a mirror is easier when you are a beginner. You can practice the head turn thing by yourself when not in traffic.
Take note some of you A&S insano-advocates, this is how it's done. ;) Very well and detailed explanation.