Maybe. It wouldn't hurt to slow down too.

In a perfect world we'd all be living near our working places, schools and medical centers. Everyone should have enough time to walk to work, store etc. Private cars should be banned - only public transport.

However, in todays world, it is at least a courtesy to not cause harm to others by walking on the road where there are pedestrian trails parallel to the road - especially in the dark, while you're not visible, because you are causing danger to drivers, making them brake and swerve.

Same for ridin cars/bikes without lights in poor vis. conditions.

"Even the dog was black" Awfully irresponsible of the dog!

Cyclists hating on peds in the bike lane is analogous to drivers hating cyclists on the road. Pay attention and don't fret over the 15 second delay. No *****ing about it, either.

Where I live we have a lot of jay walkers. I've probably had close to half a dozen walk/run into me this past year.
One guy ended up wearing his morning coffee after running into the street (to catch a taxi?) and clipping my handlebars maybe 6 weeks ago!

No it isn't,not at all. Bikes belong on the road and are legally allowed to use them. Peds do not belong in bike lanes(which are part of the roadway),and at least here in DC it is illegal for them to be in them. I can't imagine it was legal for the dog walker to be in the street where the OP lives,so they were breaking the law.

I'm not hating on peds and I'm not *****ing, they just need to take some responsibility for their safety. Dead is dead, even if their in the right. I don't want to hurt them or get hurt by them but it seams that there is a decenting voice that feels that I don't have the the right to hold them accountable and that I need to put my life on the line for their safety. I think thats f-ed up and wrong.

For 18 months I had a commute that included a 10 mile stretch of pitch black MUP. I used a HB light to light the trail surface just ahead of me and a helmet mounted light to look WAY up the trail. It is nearly impossible to wear any sport shoes or clothes without some reflective bits on them and having a tight beam spot light near my eyes would light up those reflective bits very far in advance. Also, many of the peds on this stretch carried some kind of light with them. Most were pathetically inadequate but I was always grateful for their efforts.

To be fair the majority of the runners and walkers use reflective cloths and lights. There have only been two or three groups that are the ninja types

You'll be glad you got brighter lights after you use them. Most of the pedestrians I see on my commutes are on the bike path, and most of them are dressed like the one the OP saw. When I finally got lights bright enough to be useful I was able to see the pedestrians far enough away to give me plenty of notice they'd already noticed me and had time to respond. Then I only had to try and decide if they wanted to act in a way that made it easy for both of us to pass or not.

Night vision goggles, my dudes. I mean come on how obvious.

I had a similar thing happen to me. I stopped, took off my reflective vest and gave it to the jogger. They're $5, I buy 2 or 3 of them at a time (Harbor Freight) and I generally wear it over a yellow shell that has reflective stripes anyway so I can spare it for the rest of the day.

If I was riding in the road at night with no reflectors or lights and wearing black, drivers would have every right in the world to call me an irresponsible moron, they'd be 100% correct. You're right, same thing here. This walker was an irresponsible moron.

I wish more pedestrians on the unlit MUP I use would wear reflective bits. Sure, almost all the runners/joggers have something reflective, but many of the walkers out there don't have anything reflective, and don't carry a light. That's one of the reasons I have both a handlebar light and a helmet light. Even with both lights though, I can't always pick up the unlit, unreflectored walkers in the dark until the last minute, sometimes due to bends in the MUP, or sometimes due to the fact that my helmet light is focused more on the path ahead of me (just beyond where the handlebar light is focused) than "WAY up the trail" - in an attempt to not blind oncoming bikers. Sometimes an oncoming biker and an oncoming walker will be approaching me at the same time from opposite sides of the MUP (our MUP specifically instructs walkers and joggers to "Stay Left"); in that case there's nowhere for me to shine my lights except straight ahead and hopefully not blind one or the other.

In Oregon there is no law referencing pedestrian use of bike lanes so it's neither legal nor illegal. And considering the absence of sidewalks in many areas cyclists should *expect* pedestrians to use bike lanes.


A strict interpretation of Oregon law makes cycling in the road illegal on many streets while the vast majority of sidewalks are legal cycling routes,

Requiring the default mode to wear special clothing and use lights to protect themselves from more dangerous modes is irresponsible victim blaming. Cycling is a privilege, not a right. Motorists use this same kind of language when they "fail to see" a cyclist that "came out of nowhere".

You know what really pisses me off? Rollerbladers.

Did the jogger use it?

One of the few benefits of people walking their dogs in the dark is the reflection of your light from the dog's eyes. This lets me know it's time to slow down again and look for another ninja.

I think pedestrians are required to yield to all vehicles on a roadway unless the pedestrian is doing something expressly permitted by Oregon laws. The vehicle code provides for pedestrians to do all sorts of things, from crossing the street to walking on the shoulder where there is no sidewalk. I'm not sure where the code provides for pedestrians to walk in the bike lane if there is a sidewalk.

"814.040 Failure to yield to vehicle; penalty. (1) A pedestrian commits the offense of pedestrian failure to yield to a vehicle if the pedestrian does any of the following:
(a) Suddenly leaves a curb or other place of safety and moves into the path of a vehicle that is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard.
(b) Fails to yield the right of way to a vehicle upon a roadway when the Pedestrian is crossing the roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection.
(c) Except as otherwise provided under the vehicle code, fails to yield the right of way to all vehicles upon the roadway."

As a practical matter, pedestrians are usually the most poorly lit object you'll find on or crossing a road. Few have lights or reflectives. And I really wouldn't expect them to. Modern urban life is regimented but I still think a person should be able to go out for a walk without wearing special gear and flashing lights. So as cyclists we have to watch out for them, and avoid hitting them, as the OP did.

I've never had to dump the bike to avoid hitting a pedestrian. My cycling life is just not that full of excitement. But if I had to, I hope that I would do so. We know how much a 4000 lb car at 40 mph can hurt a cyclist. A 200 lb cyclist+bike at 20 mph can also badly hurt a pedestrian, especially if that pedestrian is an elderly person or a little kid. I know I can dump my bike and not be hurt beyond bruises and maybe an unlucky break or sprain, and that would be far preferable to hurting someone.

walking is also a privilege. Ya know the only flaw in your logic is that the victim of this type of interaction is often dead. Your basically enabling people to kill themselves, even if your right.

The other day I nearly had a collision with a salmon bike rider who suddenly sneaked up toward me in the dark, without light (evening), on a street shared with vehicles. I didn't see him until he was just few feet from me. Today encountered another salmon without light.

Although this post has gotten a bit touchy, this seems to sum up the logical view on the topic. The OP seems to have no anger towards pedestrians, but is simply looking for a safe place to ride for everybody. It is up to all of us to keep the roads a safe place. We wouldn't think of walking our dogs in the dark in ninja attire on a well travelled and poorly lit highway. Why should this be acceptable behavior on any other road? Hopefully this pedestrian will take some precautions on future dog-walking expeditions.
Sometimes accidents truly are unavoidable, but we don't need to encourage behavior that increases the likelihood of unfortunate incidents on the road. Okay, so maybe "irresponsible moron" is a bit strong; but if you look at the sun long enough, you're bound to go blind eventually.

Note: a pedestrian is only 10 points.

I think that if you check the law, cycling and walking are both actually rights. Driving a motor vehicle is a privilege, not a right.

When we complain about motorists failing to see cyclists, (or at least when I do), I'm talking about cyclists who have taken reasonable steps to be visible. I have never and will never complain about a motorist who hits a cyclist who is in full stealth ninja mode. My experience with "I didn't see you" were despite me wearing full ANSI reflective gear and running some of the brightest lighting generally available for bicycles. THEN I complain about people who "didn't see me."

Waving the "victim blaming" flag is popular these days, but really, some behaviors are just asinine, and that includes travelling in the dark in dark clothing and no lighting on a path/road intended for multiple uses. This includes peds or cyclists in stealth mode on a bike path or road. As we're often told, we might have the right to do certain things, but exercising those rights is just stupid. I have the right to staple $100 bills to a white tuxedo and walk through the worst parts of a city, but I'm a friggin idiot if I do it. But it would be "victim blaming" to say that I shouldn't be doing that I suppose.

The simple truth is that you're an idiot if you walk, run, job or cycle in the streets during the dark with no lights or reflective gear. It's a simple matter of common sense. It doesn't matter who is right or wrong, if you get run over by a car, truck or bicycle. You are gonna get hurt and possibly killed. Some people just don't use their brains.