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2. More people walking who rarely walked before. The point being, when possible, you should walk facing into traffic. I see people, often enough, walking in th

2. More people walking who rarely walked before. The point being, when possible, you should walk facing into traffic. I see people, often enough, walking in the road with traffic. Experienced walkers tend to know this.

ghaff 5y ago
I thought this was something everyone learned when they were quite young.
Broken_Hippo 5y ago
Realistically, this should never happen on a halfway busy city road - and by the time you get to neighborhoods, it shouldn't be an issue because of (hopefully) low speeds. We should have sidewalks and other barriers to keep pedestrians safe: Making sure they have the right of way only increases this. The only time someone really would need to walk on the other side is on country roads, and honestly, there is only so much walking on the other side will do.
- giantg2 5y ago
  Just to point out, a sidewalk is not really a barrier. It's easy for a car to hop the curb and kill someone. It can still be a good idea to face traffic so at least you have a chance at dodging (if they're coming from behind you could be able to hear them getting too close to your side; also somewhat less likely that they would drift that far).
giantg2 5y ago
In many places walking on the right side of the road is illegal (if on the actual road and not a sidewalk). But you'll almost never see it enforced.
mistersquid 5y ago
> The point being, when possible, you should walk facing into traffic. Please do not recommend this reckless and often illegal behavior. If walking in the street, one should walk with traffic when possible. Drivers and other forms of traffic merging into traffic do not expect pedestrian traffic coming from the wrong direction. Salmoning causes other dangers, too, for example, by making it difficult to impossible for traffic to avoid collisions by stopping.
- ghaff 5y ago
  Governments disagree. e.g. https://trafficsafety.ny.gov/tips-pedestrian-safety https://trafficsafety.ny.gov/tips-pedestrian-safety
  - mistersquid 5y ago
    Thank you for the link. Either guidance and some laws have changed since I last was educated on this topic or my memory is faulty.
- chiefalchemist 5y ago
  Given the number off people who text while driving, I'd say you're far more likely to get hit from behind than you woukd while walking into traffic.
  - mistersquid 5y ago
    This seems odd to me because a pedestrian is almost never going to be able to dodge oncoming even slow-moving traffic. Perhaps it’s about observing inattentive drivers before they present immediate danger or establishing eye contact? In any case, I stand corrected on the legality of pedestrian salmoning, though I’m not convinced of its advisability.
    - giantg2 5y ago
      "This seems odd to me because a pedestrian is almost never going to be able to dodge oncoming even slow-moving traffic." If you work the field at an AutoX course, you'll know that it is quite possible to dodge them. The chances of dodging a car when paying attention are substantially higher than if one is not.

ghaff 5y ago

I thought this was something everyone learned when they were quite young.

Broken_Hippo 5y ago

Realistically, this should never happen on a halfway busy city road - and by the time you get to neighborhoods, it shouldn't be an issue because of (hopefully) low speeds. We should have sidewalks and other barriers to keep pedestrians safe: Making sure they have the right of way only increases this. The only time someone really would need to walk on the other side is on country roads, and honestly, there is only so much walking on the other side will do.

giantg2 5y ago
Just to point out, a sidewalk is not really a barrier. It's easy for a car to hop the curb and kill someone. It can still be a good idea to face traffic so at least you have a chance at dodging (if they're coming from behind you could be able to hear them getting too close to your side; also somewhat less likely that they would drift that far).

giantg2 5y ago

In many places walking on the right side of the road is illegal (if on the actual road and not a sidewalk). But you'll almost never see it enforced.

mistersquid 5y ago

> The point being, when possible, you should walk facing into traffic. Please do not recommend this reckless and often illegal behavior. If walking in the street, one should walk with traffic when possible. Drivers and other forms of traffic merging into traffic do not expect pedestrian traffic coming from the wrong direction. Salmoning causes other dangers, too, for example, by making it difficult to impossible for traffic to avoid collisions by stopping.

ghaff 5y ago
Governments disagree. e.g. https://trafficsafety.ny.gov/tips-pedestrian-safety https://trafficsafety.ny.gov/tips-pedestrian-safety
- mistersquid 5y ago
  Thank you for the link. Either guidance and some laws have changed since I last was educated on this topic or my memory is faulty.
chiefalchemist 5y ago
Given the number off people who text while driving, I'd say you're far more likely to get hit from behind than you woukd while walking into traffic.
- mistersquid 5y ago
  This seems odd to me because a pedestrian is almost never going to be able to dodge oncoming even slow-moving traffic. Perhaps it’s about observing inattentive drivers before they present immediate danger or establishing eye contact? In any case, I stand corrected on the legality of pedestrian salmoning, though I’m not convinced of its advisability.
  - giantg2 5y ago
    "This seems odd to me because a pedestrian is almost never going to be able to dodge oncoming even slow-moving traffic." If you work the field at an AutoX course, you'll know that it is quite possible to dodge them. The chances of dodging a car when paying attention are substantially higher than if one is not.