Why is that there is a small but persistent minority that insists on passing on the right hand side of the cycle track?
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
Grumpy old cyclists
(11 posts)-
Posted 13 years ago #
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If necessary, just unclip your left foot and put it on the verge. (OK, easier said than done at times!)
Passing on the wrong side is dangerous, rightly or wrongly we all expect traffic to be on a particular side and everything (the way you swerve, the way a pedestrian steps, and so on) is ingrained with that in mind.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Think this has been mentioned here before (not sure what to search for).
I often find (particularly on narrow paths like the canal) that I drift to the right, and sometimes see that someone coming towards me has done the same so we both stay put.
Occasionally when I'm in the right (left) someone will come straight at me and not waver until the last moment. Once someone passed on the grass between me and the canal - doubly weird.
Apparently 'everyone' 'drove' (carts) on the left because of the Romans. (And/or because knights held lances in their right hands!) Then Napoleon invaded various countries on the 'wrong' side on purpose to make a statement.
Posted 13 years ago # -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-_and_left-hand_traffic
"There is a popular story that Napoleon changed the rule of the road in the European countries he conquered from keep-left to keep-right. Some justifications are symbolic, such as that Napoleon himself was left- (or right-) handed, or that Britain, Napoleon's enemy, kept left. Alternatively, troops passing on the left may have been tempted to raise their right fists against each other. Forcing them to pass on the right reduced conflict. Hence, island nations such as Britain and Japan (using ships to move troops around and having less need to move them overland) continued to drive on the left. These stories have never been shown to have a factual basis and appear to be legends"
Posted 13 years ago # -
"These stories have never been shown to have a factual basis and appear to be legends"
Presumably with Napoleon it's possible to establish whether countries had any rules of the road before/after he invaded.
With the Romans there is evidence from quarries that loaded carts left on the left. I don't know if this was 'universal'.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Is it possible to establish if these countries currently have any rules of the road?? Last time I visited Portugal i couldn't work out what was going on half the time.
Was Malta ever invaded by Napoleon? They still drive on the correct side.
Posted 13 years ago # -
I suspect Japan wasn't invaded by Napoleon (I gave up history at school at an early stage)
Posted 13 years ago # -
Why is that there is a small but persistent minority that insists on passing on the right hand side of the cycle track?
How do you mean? Surely that's the correct side to pass on. If you're cycling on the left then anybody passing you from behind or from the front is going to be on your right. Or do you mean their right?....It's never happened to me but i rekon a gentle nudge would send them into the canal. yuk yuk yuk!
Posted 13 years ago # -
the rules of the road in Portugal are BEWARE! The Portuguese are lovely sane people when they are out of a car, but its got staggeringly high road death rates, they have beer on tap at petrol stations and their idea of a road safety campaign is "pedestrians! look out!"
I have trouble telling right from left anyway (scared the **** outa my driving instructor) so things get confusing for me sometimes:
'am I on the right side? is the right the right side? wait a minute, is this right? or left?'
Posted 13 years ago # -
Ha ha yeah tell me about the portuguese drivers.... they are mentalists!!!
Posted 13 years ago # -
I as told that in the UK we drive on the left, in Europe on the right and in Malta....in the shade.
Posted 13 years ago #
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