Why are we told to bike with traffic vs against?

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I’ve always biked against traffic so that I can see the cars that are coming my way. I feel safer this way. When the cars are behind me, I feel I am at a higher risk of getting hit.

This post, https://www.reddit.com/r/IdiotsInCars/comments/e8i24j/just_gotta_get_to_work_on_time/ , reminded me to finally get to the bottom of this.

In: Culture

10 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

If you were the person on the bike in the link that you included, you would be hit regardless of which direction you were riding in. With that in mind, consider this scenario: the car is driving 50 units of speed (to include all the driving world) and the bicycle is moving at 15 units.

If the bicycle is traveling with traffic then the cyclist is hit with the equivalent of 35 units of speed.

If the bicycle is traveling against traffic then the cyclist is hit with the equivalent of 65 units of speed.

Which one would you prefer?

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