Originally Posted by
Leisesturm
I've 'tried' to read every post but, creesh ... like another poster I'm over 60. A fair bit over 60. Kind of a late bloomer starting cycling at 12 y.o. but pretty full on since. In all that time, and in all 3 main regions of the country: East Coast, MidWest, West Coast ... I've NEVER known cyclists to be advised to ride against traffic. HOWEVER, if, I needed to *cough* salmon against traffic for any reason. I could, (and have), and would, do it without colliding with anyone!! This thread seems to be based on a premise that the collision happened because the cyclist was riding against traffic. That is plain wrong. Poor judgement was used in plotting the progress of the car through the turn, and the onus indeed was on the cyclist as the vehicle with the most to lose in a collision.
But there’s more than car traffic. Don’t forget the bikes, on that same shoulder, or bike lane, that are going in the conventional direction. So if one of them swerve to avoid colliding with you…they might swerve into oncoming car traffic. And if it’s on a bikeway/greenway path there is also foot traffic, skateboarder, rollerbladers. Yes, the onus is on the “salmon” for avoiding a collision. But as some point that becomes difficult at best. And, a collision injures both parties.
Dan