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Advice from a cop

Old 10-17-10, 12:47 PM
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[QUOTE=CliftonGK1;11634793]Get a helmet or glasses mounted mirror. I can't stand bar-mount/bike-mount mirrors for the same reason, plus you can't pan around with a bar mounted mirror. A quick, slight turn of my head and I can get a good view of what's going on from one sidewalk to the other behind me.[/QUOT

+1
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Old 10-17-10, 01:14 PM
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If your cop friend was riding towards me I'd swerve left and right about two feet so that he and the traffic behind me didn't know wtf was going on. Which is what he is doing, he doesn't know wtf is going on. I figure he'd either pull into the gutter and stop and I'd go around him or he'd swerve into oncoming traffic and I'd pull to the right. Then there's playing chicken and plowing right into each other. Seriously someone needs to educate the guy.
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Old 10-17-10, 01:19 PM
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IIRC - Route 9 has a huge shoulder.

A lot of people have been taught to ride against traffic so they can see the cars coming at them. Not sure why salmon riders think this approach is safer than riding with the flow...
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Old 10-17-10, 01:25 PM
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Originally Posted by rex_kramer
Nothing else to say other than he's wrong.
+1 and that ****s crazy
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Old 10-17-10, 01:29 PM
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it makes no sense at all to ride against traffic. Aside from the confusion when making turns at intersections, there is the problem of cars needing to turn right onto the road that you are on. They are going to look left for a break in oncoming traffic, and then they are going to step on the gas and continue on their way. They are not going to look right, because they are not expecting traffic to be coming from the wrong direction, and they are not expecting bicycles either. You would have to be suicidal to ride on the wrong side of the road. And on many roads, there is just enough room for a single bicycle, with traffic passing to the left. If some moron was riding in the wrong direction and came upon the guy riding the correct way, *somebody* would have to swerve into the passing traffic to avoid a collision. It's just plain nuts.
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Old 10-17-10, 01:50 PM
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That was bad advice as others have said. It is also against the law but luckily it is not enforced much.

I do admit that I will go against traffic if it is safer to do so. I know of one 11 lane stretch of road that I have to go past where it is just plain scary trying to cross to the other side to go in the correct direction. Instead, I stay on the side I am on and ride against the traffic until I can cross at a safer place.

To ride against traffic at all times creates a number of dangerous situations. When people are in a parked car and are about to exit, they check their side mirror and open the door when it is clear. They are not looking in front of them for bicycles going against the flow of traffic.

What do you do when you see another bicycle coming in the correct direction? Who is supposed to to go around?

What about vehicles backing out of driveways? Drivers check for traffic coming from the correct direction first, then glance at the sidewalk the other way to make sure they are not running over a pedestrian. They are not expecting or looking for a bicycle coming up at 15 mph going the wrong way.

Also, if there is road debris, lawn clippings, etc. in the road, then when you go around them the closing speed for the cars is going to be much greater. So drivers will have even less time to slow down or go around you. A vehicle behind you traveling at 40 mph will have a closing speed of 25 mph if you are doing 15 mph. That closing speed is 55 mph if you are going the opposite direction. That means drivers have less than half the time to react to anything that you do going against the traffic as when you are traveling with traffic. I don't know about you, but I would rather they had more time to notice me rather than less.
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Old 10-17-10, 01:56 PM
  #57  
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Originally Posted by chadwebster
you must be trolling. at least, that's my hope.
hahah yep, but one serious question, do you guys (alot of you anyway) but mirrors on your road bike?
Anti-mirror BS is as stupid as anti-lycra BS.

Yes, mirrors on road bikes (just in case you cannot figure out helmet or eyeglass mirrors).
https://www.mirrycle.com/road_mirror.php
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Old 10-17-10, 04:32 PM
  #58  
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Originally Posted by mrdelprete
So a cop friend of mine actually told me he rides against traffic, and I should too. He said riding
with traffic is too dangerous...... I always thought the opposite, and the other 4 people I see on my morning commute all ride against. (I am not in an urban area, and the main road I go on is a 35mph crowded highway through town in NJ called Rt. 9) Opinions?
Your cop friend is about as wrong as it's possible to get. Another case of something that seems safe being incredibly unsafe. One look at cycling casualty statistics shows that cycling against traffic is about the single most dangerous thing a cyclist can do.
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Old 10-17-10, 05:14 PM
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It is dangerous to ride against traffic b/c head on collisions are the worse type of collisons there are. Also you have less time to react if a car comes towards you because both parties are speeding towards each other.
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Old 10-17-10, 05:49 PM
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Is your cop friends name Barney Fife?



Never ride against traffic. You put everyone at risk.
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Old 10-17-10, 06:12 PM
  #61  
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Originally Posted by gunner65
Being a police officer dont make him smart.
Yep, some of 'em are idiots......
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Old 10-17-10, 06:17 PM
  #62  
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Originally Posted by Wanderer
Yep, some of 'em are idiots......
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Old 10-17-10, 06:44 PM
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I once had a gas station attendant giving me directions during a long night-time ride in unfamiliar territory. She suggested taking a certain road -ok, I can take that for what it's worth, but when she started talking about riding against traffic, I couldn't help but pipe up.

She said "You should ride on the left side of the road so that you can see what's coming rather than on the right where you can't see people coming up behind you."

Now, we all know this is illegal. While I understand how someone who doesn't ride a bike, and who probably doesn't commute on one would come to this conclusion, I had to set this lady straight. I explained that her argument is assuming that it's my job to get out of the way of other cars and this assumption isn't correct. I explained that cyclists are unique in that when they're on the sidewalk they're considered a pedestrian but when a cyclist is in the road, he's considered a vehicle and has to obey all of the same laws as any other vehicle on the road, except for those that pertain specifically to cyclists.

She didn't change her argument but she casually mentioned that it's my life I'm endangering, to which I answered "Yes, and it's my road too."
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Old 10-17-10, 07:05 PM
  #64  
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If nothing else, think of it this way. If you're going 15 MPH, which is conservative for a normal cyclists, if you get hit going against traffic, you'll have a 30 MPH faster collision than if you get hit traveling with traffic.

People who travel against traffic think of themselves as pedestrians on wheels, not drivers of vehicles. Given how some people ride, less than 10 MPH and very wobbly, that may be valid for them, but most of us here travel between 15 and 25 MPH, and generally in a very straight line. Given that, your manuverability is probably about that of a moped. Ask the cop if he thinks mopeds should travel against traffic as well. How about any vehicle with the same footprint? How about motorcycles?
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Old 10-17-10, 07:13 PM
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Originally Posted by Fizzaly
I have never been able to get the hang of mirrors on my bike they just bounce around to much to be useful
Bike mounted mirrors, sure. I've found them utterly useless. Try one on the helmet or glasses. I wouldn't ride without mine. You can also see more in a 1" mirror 3 inches from your eye than a 4" mirror 2 feet away. And with it right in your field of vision, you don't even have to look to see the cars behind you, once you get used to it, you're just always aware of the cars approaching from behind.
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Old 10-17-10, 07:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Fizzaly
I have never been able to get the hang of mirrors on my bike they just bounce around to much to be useful
I don't have this problem at all with my Mirrycle mirror.
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Old 10-17-10, 07:38 PM
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Originally Posted by 531phile
It is dangerous to ride against traffic b/c head on collisions are the worse type of collisons there are. Also you have less time to react if a car comes towards you because both parties are speeding towards each other.
Well put!!
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Old 10-17-10, 07:59 PM
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Thanks for the support. If you saw any of my previous threads, I am new to commuting and thought that was strange advice. I will continue to ride the legal way with traffic
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Old 10-17-10, 08:02 PM
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Originally Posted by Wanderer
Yep, some of 'em are idiots......
Originally Posted by electrik
She was blowing bubbles in a police officer's face and you think the cop is an idiot?

I especially liked the, "Hey buddy, this is Canada. You don't have to be so rude!" guy. Hilarious.
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Old 10-17-10, 08:10 PM
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Originally Posted by shouldberiding
She was blowing bubbles in a police officer's face and you think the cop is an idiot?

I especially liked the, "Hey buddy, this is Canada. You don't have to be so rude!" guy. Hilarious.
Meh, blowing bubbles ain't a crime... you cry assault like Constable bubbles says but, the bubbles have a mind of their own!

Officer bubbles for sure comes across as a blustering piggy. Then he has her arrested for blowing bubbles. Really?

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Old 10-17-10, 09:05 PM
  #71  
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Originally Posted by mrdelprete
So a cop friend of mine actually told me he rides against traffic, and I should too.
Sorry, but your cop friend should be fired as a cop. Whether or not it's good for you to ride against traffic, when someone rides against traffic, it puts other cyclists who follows traffic in danger. Many a time I had to veer to the left in front of coming cars and trucks in order to let a salmon rider pass on my right. Those salmon riders don't have the guts to ride on my left and be closer to the trucks and cars. They want the law-abiding cyclists to take the risk for them.
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Old 10-17-10, 09:28 PM
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In my community, the bike lanes are marked on the side of the road. Part of this marking for the bike lane includes an arrow that shows the direction you should be riding. However, I always see riders going the wrong direction. I haven't come across a rider going in the wrong direction yet while I've been on my bike, however, I have already decided how I will handle this situation. I will be yelling at the top of my lungs, "YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!!!" all the while building up my speed and heading right at the guy. They have 3 choices:

1. move off the bike lane to the left and let me go through
2. move out of the bike lane into on coming traffic
3. hold their ground and prepare for impact.

I think riders should realize it's just as dangerous to be going the wrong way on your bicycle as is to be on the wrong side of the road in your car.

The only exception that I'll make is to teens or children. However, I've let many young people know that they are not riding on the right side of the road. If you're an adult, old enough to have a driver's license, I expect that you should know which side of the road you should be on.
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Old 10-17-10, 09:31 PM
  #73  
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The best mirror I ever used was a crappy $3 department store one. Too bad I sold it no my Marin a few years ago figuring it would be easy and cheap to replace. I don't remembering it being to shakey, but that might have been becasue it was kinda flexible so maybe it absorbs the shakes and bumps. Anyway, what made it great was it stuck up higher into my field of vision and it was a bubble mirror so I could see almost everything behind me unlike some of these other mirrors I have seen and even my Blackburn bar end mirror that I think is ok isn't as good plus it sticks way out on the side of my bike which is annoying. The cheap one I had looked like these on ebay.

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...%3DI%26otn%3D2

I ordered 2 of these today for less than $4 just to see what they were like. They probably suck, but whatever for that price I can throw one on my mountain bike for when I ride through the neighborhoods to get to the trails. Worst case scenario they can be a sweetener of a bike I am selling. On the right bike a couple (ok maybe just one) mirrors in the moped style would actually look kinda cool.

I might have to check out a helmet mirror as has been suggested by a couple of posters. What ones do you guys have or suggest?
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Old 10-17-10, 11:23 PM
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Originally Posted by shouldberiding
She was blowing bubbles in a police officer's face and you think the cop is an idiot?
i don't think the cop is an idiot. i think he is a bully. if he's that insecure or afraid he's probably not the person who should be carrying a taxpayer-funded gun.
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Old 10-18-10, 03:19 AM
  #75  
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Originally Posted by 009jim
No one has provided a good reason why it is unsafe to go against. The law requires pedestrians to go against, so there must be a reason it is safe for pedestrians to go against. Yet why would this, as yet unknown, reason be true for pedestrians but not cyclists.

I believe its worth delving into this, because the law is one aspect, but laws don't always benefit everyone.

The reason could be that statistics have shown cyclists have a high probability of an accident if the go salmon.

Just to be clear, I don't normally, but I did briefly scoot around some pedestrians on the sidewalk last week when the roadway was empty.
Try riding against traffic, try riding against traffic on the sidewalk. Every corner/intersection becomes a blind corner. Scares me to death. I'd have to slow down at every corner to make sure no one was going to hit me. If i'm riding with traffic, people are going to see me (and be looking to see me where i am).
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