Should the entire Chicago community start biking on the left side of the street?

I would like to propose the idea of changing the side of the street we ride on. 

 

Biking on the left you can:

-See oncoming traffic. No surprises from fast cars in the bike lane behind you.

-See people in parked cars, and they can see you. You're less likely to get doored.

-Even if they do open their door it would be a glancing blow, and not a deadly jam onto the sharp edge of the door.

 

I know this is bound to be unpopular, but it seems to have it's positive points.

 

Of course this could only work if there was a city-wide consensus. Hence the discussion.

 

What do you think?

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Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on August 5, 2011 at 10:52am

"Should the entire Chicago community start biking on the left side of the street?"

Only for the Tweed Rides.  After all, proper traffic ALWAYS rides to the left.  Cheerio!

Permalink Reply by Joel on August 5, 2011 at 11:10am
I cringe every time I see a cyclist on the left -- it is just a matter of time before they get creamed.
Permalink Reply by Carly on August 5, 2011 at 12:46pm
Agreed.  Especially since the salmon or sidewalk rider thinks it's safer.  Also, they tend to cringe at me for riding correctly.  

Joel said:
I cringe every time I see a cyclist on the left -- it is just a matter of time before they get creamed.
Permalink Reply by Moc Artsy on August 5, 2011 at 12:50pm

This is what happens when they stop teaching evolution and natural selection in our schools.

 

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 5, 2011 at 12:50pm
Double especially since most of the sidewalk riders I see in my neighborhood are some 60-year old dude with 3-5 plastic bags full of crap dangling from his inverted drop handlebars (complete with the brake levers on upside down.)
Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 5, 2011 at 12:53pm
This is because they believe in "intelligent design."  You should see what they teach in physics class these days.   They don't teach about the laws of gravity -instead they teach "intelligent falling."

Moc Artsy said:

This is what happens when they stop teaching evolution and natural selection in our schools.

 

Permalink Reply by Carly on August 5, 2011 at 4:22pm
Who designed the Intelligent Designer?  

James BlackHeron said:
This is because they believe in "intelligent design."  You should see what they teach in physics class these days.   They don't teach about the laws of gravity -instead they teach "intelligent falling."

Moc Artsy said:

This is what happens when they stop teaching evolution and natural selection in our schools.

 

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 6, 2011 at 2:34am
The Elohim have always existed -Amen!
Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on August 6, 2011 at 5:28am
I bike on the left sometimes but WITH traffic.
Permalink Reply by in it to win it 8.0 mi on August 8, 2011 at 3:45pm

Headlights would be blinding for both the auto driver and bike rider.  I have a kajillion lumens on two lights.

Also, when the car is pulling out of their parking spot right into you, what would you do?

 

Permalink Reply by John Silva on August 9, 2011 at 1:52am

The solution is not to radically change to riding on the wrong side of the street. If we're going to try to get consensus on something, let's get all the cyclists in Chicago to start following basic traffic laws and riding in predictable, safe ways. I don't have a link to any study but it seems to me that every time I ride in the city, there are many cyclists out there, no helmet on, weaving in an out of traffic, running red lights, generally making a hazard of themselves. I understand that the fixies on the Hipster Highway don't like losing momentum and having to unclip, but you're making it more dangerous for the rest of us.

I'm not talking about stopping at every single stop sign but how can we be angry at cars that don't obey traffic laws when many cyclists don't either?

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 9, 2011 at 2:01am

I have to wonder why, in a tirade against "law-breaking" among other riders, one has to throw in helmet-non-compliance when there is no such law requiring it -nor much empirical evidence at all that it makes cycling any safer.  The Dutch seem to do just fine, for the most part, without them.

 

Furthermore -The myth of the scofflaw cyclist. 

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