Editor:
Regarding Arlene Baird’s letter about the “rules of the road.” All points considered, I agree with Yvonne Mounsey, the writer of the first letter. Bicyclists riding on the shoulder and approaching pedestrians from behind need to either use a bicycle bell or dismount when passing pedestrians – whether or not the pedestrian is walking on the “correct” side of the road. This is in the cyclist’s best interests, as well as the pedestrian’s. As Ms. Mounsey points out, the bicyclist will also be hurt if the two collide.
I, too, was taught, as a child, to walk facing the traffic when there is no sidewalk. However, sometimes common sense demands that we make exceptions to the rules. It is sometimes extremely impractical, or even dangerous, to follow this rule. If one is going only one or two doors down, for instance, it would be bizarre to have to cross to the other side, then cross back, in order to walk always facing the traffic – particularly when another rule we were all taught was to cross only at an intersection. Obeying both rules could involve a ludicrously long trip just to get to the neighbour’s. Sometimes a road with no sidewalk also has no shoulder on one side. Combined with a blind corner, facing the traffic becomes far more hazardous than walking in the same direction.
Anne Miles, Gibsons
