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Comment by robinhoodexe | Hacker News Reader

>While at Thule, it’s recommended that you walk on the left side of the road facing oncoming traffic. Although contrary to stateside standards, this will enable you to watch for vehicles and to get out of the way should they not see you.

I have always found this to make extremely good sense, but I see quite few doing it besides me.

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As a German, I learned this as a rule. Outside of towns when there is no sidewalk, always walk on the left side, against oncoming traffic.

From the StVO, the law, the road traffic regulations, §25 section 1, first paragraph (German): https://www.stvo.de/strassenverkehrsordnung/108-25-fussgaeng...

> außerhalb geschlossener Ortschaften muss am linken Fahrbahnrand gegangen werden

"Outside of towns pedestrians have to walk on the left side"

Just an aside, while looking at that website, the banner image at the top looks clearly seems to be of an American road. On a German website about German road laws.

In Portugal there used to be road signs on the right side lane telling pedestrians to cross over to the left so they’d face oncoming traffic. Haven’t seen one in ages but they probably still exist.

I grew up in the states and was always taught to walk against traffic. Not sure where they're teaching people the opposite.

Places where people think being right/having the right of way triumphs being alive.

FWIW, I knew a guy who was riding his bicycle on the sidewalk, technically going the "wrong" direction. He crossed a commercial business park driveway and got hit by a car who didn't see him, and got a lot of hassle from insurance because he was going the "wrong" way for that side of the street.

Looking back, that may have been the insurance company looking to skirt responsibility.

I think they're talking about walking. Riding a bike is different-- for one, it's illegal in a lot of places to ride on the sidewalk in a business district. For another, the transfer of momentum is appreciably less in a same-direction collision between a car/bike compared to head-on.

I was talking about walking - for biking, I was taught to ride with traffic.

The sidewalks on either side are a bad place for cyclists for this reason. They are banned from sidewalks in many places for the safety of the cyclist, not so much the pedestrians.

That's what I was taught in the Boy Scouts, over 40 years ago.

If you are walking, yes, but cycling or running - for sure No! - especially at night. If driver takes right turn. I've seen cases (in Venice (Los Angeles)) where cars would slam into cyclists on the wrong side of the path.

I'm pretty sure that's what is recommended here in Québec, Canada when there's no sidewalk.

Seems weird that it wouldn't also be the case in the US.

It is the case in the US (or has been since I was a child in the 80s) so I find the quote weird. You are supposed to walk opposite traffic for the reason described. It is standard guidance every I have lived (a large chunk of the US).

FWIW - growing up in Ontario, Canada I was always told to walk in the direction of traffic. It seemed odd to me to turn my back to danger, but that’s what they taught us.

In Finland it depends, with sidewalk and in populated areas the normal right side traffic is to be followed. At highways it is recommended to use left side specially during dark.

Yeah, in the US I learned walk/run opposing traffic, and ride your bike with traffic.

I learned to walk on the left as a child in the 1960s (from my mom and dad, who learned as children in the 1930s).

It's what I was taught in the US as well, if you're on foot you should be going opposite traffic

I think maybe the military standard is walking on the right by their wording. I was mostly taught if there wasn't a sidewalk to walk against traffic and to cycle with traffic.

edit: dug a little bit and found [0] which says DoD personnel are supposed to walk against traffic too so no idea.

[0] https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/do... p.13 3.4.a.2

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