Runners on country lanes

[snorri]

We need people to stop being so bone idle lazy to break the cycle. A fat, idle, lazy, unfit car driver has no moral right to question the behaviour of someone doing something they don't, making efforts to stay fit and not become a lardy diabetic strain on society.

And to achieve this we need active travel evangelists in the community. Just the sort of voluntary job for an active retired gentleman with experience of working with the general public.

 

[MontyVeda]

...

As for running on the road rather than the pavement, try even walking on some of the pavements around these parts and you will find out why.

The pavements on my street are traditional York stone and lined with sycamore trees. The slime from the trees on the paving slabs creates a very slippery surface, and those who've come a cropper in the slippery paving slabs tend to walk on the road. Plus there's the roots of the trees raising the slabs and creating trip hazards to compliment the slip hazard. Apparently, since it's part of the Castle conservation area, the slabs and sycamores must stay.

 

[Dayvo]

Reflective bibs, vests or jackets should be more than adequate for runners to be seen from a distance.

And by all accounts (doing the rounds on facebook) is a spray-on 'hi viz' product used on clothing, which appears to be very effective.

 

[Dan B]

The headlights of your vehicle should by definition be adequate for you to be able to stop in the distance you can see to be clear. If that's not the case then it's your fault for travelling too fast, not for everyone else to compensate for your deficiency

 

[Tin Pot]

"My spray on hi viz is like a shield of steel!!"

 

[mjr]

Reflective bibs, vests or jackets should be more than adequate for runners to be seen from a distance.

Only if approaching traffic has a working headlight, which seems to be going out of fashion

 

[biggs682]

i see a runner quite often on one of my early am routes and he never has any lights or reflectives on , how he hasnt been flattened yet is beyond me

 

[mjr]

i see a runner quite often on one of my early am routes and he never has any lights or reflectives on , how he hasnt been flattened yet is beyond me

You can't see his handgun because it doesn't have reflective stripes on, but it's pretty effective at stopping errant motorists?

 

[Tin Pot]

i see a runner quite often on one of my early am routes and he never has any lights or reflectives on , how he hasnt been flattened yet is beyond me

Maybe drivers can actually use their eyes and lights?

No, that would be insane. It must be some sort of lucky charm protecting him.

 

[User16625]

As for running on the road rather than the pavement, try even walking on some of the pavements around these parts and you will find out why.

Fair enough if the pavement is in a bad way. But if both the road surface and pavement surface are in good condition then I would say that the pavement is best for walking or running on.

What I fail to to understand is that I sometimes see cyclists using the road even though there is a cycle path.
What possible benefit is there for a cyclist to cycle on the road rather than an empty cycle lane. Just screams stupidity.

Completely daft [Mod Edited] reply.

What fail to understand is car drivers using their vehicles for short journeys rather than use their feet.

Again, totally daft [Mod Edited] and sarcy response. If there is something "not stupid" about running on a road instead of a decent pavement then please point it out. Doesnt really compare to the "cyclists should use a cycle lane" thing. Apples and cucumbers that.
*

 

[PhilDawson8270]

Fair enough if the pavement is in a bad way. But if both the road surface and pavement surface are in good condition then I would say that the pavement is best for walking or running on.



Completely daft [Mod Edited] reply.



Again, totally daft [Mod Edited] and sarcy response. If there is something "not stupid" about running on a road instead of a decent pavement then please point it out. Doesnt really compare to the "cyclists should use a cycle lane" thing. Apples and cucumbers that.
*

Not really. Just because you don't see the reason it doesn't mean there isn't one.

It's the same thing that many cyclists complain about when drivers suggest that you should use the cycle path. Yet the same attitude here is being displayed by 1 road user against another.

 

[Drago]

Again, totally daft [Mod Edited] and sarcy response. If there is something "not stupid" about running on a road instead of a decent pavement then please point it out. Doesnt really compare to the "cyclists should use a cycle lane" thing. Apples and cucumbers that.
*

Why does a runner eschewing a perfectly good footpath not compare to a cyclist eschewing a perfectly good cycle path? You say it doesn't compare, but do not explain why. Please tell us that we may be enlightened.

 

[Ajax Bay]

I was always taught to move to the outside of tight bends when walking or running on roads.

Best practice: just think what will be safest if a car comes round the corner. Momentary but controllable risk crossing and re-crossing (to the right hand side in UK), uncontrollable risk if you go round a 'blind' corner where the oncoming vehicle will be tight in to the LH kerb/verge. In Norway, pedestrians are strongly encouraged to wear/carry a reflector (a 3cm circular double sided dingle-dangle one for example) in the dark (and dark days). Iirc insurance payments were reduced arbitarily by 10% in the event of a post-accident claim to encourage that behaviour.

What I fail to understand that I sometimes see joggers running on the road even tho there is a pavement. What possible benefit is there for a jogger to run along the road rather than on an empty pavement. Just screams stupidity.

if both the road surface and pavement surface are in good condition then I would say that the pavement is best for walking or running on.

Stig-a-like: I have to assume that you have not yourself indulged in this 'running' thing. If you're 'jogging' along, then you partly have a point, though way short of the emotive 'stupidity' tag, which is more a self commentary. But (and you would know this if you had ever tried to run at a decent pace on public roads) pavements are less safe than running on the road itself, because of all the former's undulations, of surface, of entrances, of paving stones, of leaves/slippiness. (This answers your question: "what possible benefit is there?". This is even more difficult (ie a deterrent to running on pavements, even lit pavements, in the dark. A sensible runner will therefore use whichever surface is best and safest for him/her, just as a cyclist would. Far more running accidents are slips/trips/falls than being hit by cyclists or motor vehicles.

 

[User16625]

Why does a runner eschewing a perfectly good footpath not compare to a cyclist eschewing a perfectly good cycle path? You say it doesn't compare, but do not explain why. Please tell us that we may be enlightened.

Im crap at explaining things.

But bad surfaces aside, you would tend to stick to the pavement if your on foot. I would run on the road only if the pavement was too hazardous (slippery, loose tiles, obstacles etc, not disputing these circumstances). As a cyclist its illegal and impractical to use the pavement. You are moving significantly faster than pedestrians and they wont expect bicycles to be passing by them at speed. The risk of collisions are too high and to mitigate this risk, you would have to keep slowing down all the time. Integrated cycle/footpaths are a bit of a nuisance as they try to combine cyclists with peds. Not ideal, altho in some cases may be the least bad option due to junction layouts or whatever. I do prefer them on certain roads.
Jogging on the road seems unnecessary given the use of a decent pavement. I dont see how someone can run faster on a road than they can on a similar surface running along next to it. Im not a runner myself so I would like a runner's viewpoint on this, maybe I am missing something. A cyclist would eschew a cycle path usually to avoid conflict with pedestrians. Riding at higher speeds is safer to do on the road.

 

[snorri]

Jogging on the road seems unnecessary given the use of a decent pavement..

Agreed, but how often is there a "decent" pavement to run on?
I don't run but find it challenging to maintain a good walking pace on many of the pavements in my locality. Pavement surfaces sloping, more so than camber on roads. Dips in the pavement at house and field entrances. Uneven surfaces due to tree roots breaking the surface, and poor reinstatement after works. Wheelie bins and cars parked on pavements etc etc.