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?
He's as wrong as he could possibly be.
1. Riding against traffic is illegal.
2. Drivers making right turns from cross streets and driveways almost never look to their right far enough to see anything coming faster than a pedestrian (2-3mph) or even at all a lot of the time. They look to their left, where oncoming traffic is supposed to be coming from. This is a major cause of collisions.
3. The speed differential between the bike and cars is the car speed plus the bike speed (40mph+15mph=55mph). When riding with traffic, it's the car speed minus the bike speed (40mph-15mph=25mph).
The cop needs a class in bicycle safety and he needs to read the law.
Wrong way riders are my personal pet peeve. I hate playing chicken in the bike lane. When I go by a wrong way bicyclist, I usually yell "WRONG WAY DUMB ASS!". I've only been chased once for it, and it was by stoner, who tried to chase me up a steep hill. It was comical.