I will agree with others, the runner was mis-informed. passing is fact specific.
What I will add, as a runner and having sat on the Mt Tabor safety committee 2
summers ago, is that when running on any road with a crown (high center) runners
are advised to run in the middle b/c running on the shoulder puts your legs at a
sideways angle which can lead to problems and injuries.
i am not saying the runner was right, he sounds like a jerk, but the running in
the middle of a car free road is predictable and actually has a reason beyond
being difficult.
i hope he doesn't pass on the right when he drives!
Mark J. Ginsberg
Berkshire Ginsberg, LLC
Attorneys At Law
1216 SE Belmont St.
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 542-3000
Fax (503) 233-6874
markjginsberg@yahoo.com
www.bikesafetylaw.com
________________________________
From: Spike Benjamin
To: obra@list.obra.org
Sent: Sun, December 12, 2010 8:15:50 PM
Subject: [OBRA Chat] The Proper Way To Pass?
Here’s a question that I’d appreciate input about: What’s the proper way to pass
a pedestrian/runner?
Here’s why I’m asking:
Sunday afternoon I did a few intervals up and down Mt. Tabor. Coming uphill from
the Lincoln Street entrance, I came up behind a guy, a woman, and a dog running
together; the guy had a the dog on one of those waist belt leashes. The guy was
running in the middle -- if there had been a center stripe, he would have been
right on it with the dog on his left and the woman on his right. I slowed and
when I was about 50 feet back called out, “On your left.” There was no response
and there was room to pass on the left (not huge, but ample), so I figured they
had on headphones, slowed further, and when I was about 15 feet back called out,
“On your left” again. None of them made any move to the right (again, they
didn’t really need to for me to pass safely), but they guy shot me a dirty look
and said something that I can’t be certain of, but sounded very much like,
“Share the fuckin’ road.” I pedaled onward and didn’t give it much more thought.
But of course...not too long afterward, I came up behind the same threesome
while descending from the summit, this time in the gated section that is
car-free. The guy was again dead middle, but this time with the woman to his
left and the dog to his right. Anticipating a repeat of the previous encounter,
I slowed more than the previous time and called out, “On your left.” There was
no reaction. As before, and I slowed further and called out again as I came
closer. When I called out the second time, the guy moved to the left -- putting
the woman on his right and leaving only a very small opening on the left to
pass. Slowing further, I continued to pass on the left, planning to shoot the
guy a dirty look on the way by and leave it at that. As I pulled even with the
guy, he said, “What’s your problem? Pass on the right! Everyone knows that.”
Taken aback, I stopped and said, “What the fuck are you talking about?” The guy
says again, “Pass on the right and quit try
ing to run us off the road.”
At this point, the guy and I exchanged in a few moments of dialog that was
neither mature nor productive. I’m confident that we both parted annoyed at the
other -- at best.
In retrospect, I wish I’d passed on the right when he moved to the left (his
shift did create a big gap) and kept a cooler head when we spoke. Legitimate or
not, the guy obviously felt like my riding was putting him and his companions in
jeopardy, which would not be my preference. Was the guy a nutter or have I been
passing on the left for all these years, oblivious of this particular rule of
the road that “everyone knows.” If so, I must be disabused of my foolish passing
technique post haste. So to restate the original question, when passing a
pedestrian/runner what’s the preferred approach/technique/etiquette and which is
the preferred side for passing?
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