Safe Speed Forums

What do you think about this?

Last weekend I went for a run in the morning (I'm in training for the Kingston Breakfast Run at the end of March).

Normally I try to run on pavements or footpaths but a 2 mile section of my route was along a road which had no pavement.

I was running facing oncoming traffic which was OK I guess.

I heard the sound of a motorcycle revving hard behind me but I assumed it must be over in the left lane well away from me.

It then came past me going very fast and very close to me (it was overtaking a car at the time).

Do you think this was irresponsible or the motorcyclist? I was clearly visible.

Or was it my own stupid fault for being a pedestrian on a national speed limit road?

Can you pad out the detail here?

ie Facing towards / back to the Sun, or side-on? Or overcast? Or twilight?

Hi viz? Reflective / fluoro?

What background would the rider have had you against? eg hedge / wall / overhanging trees etc.?


Could be the rider could see you were on a constant course at a steady speed, so decided to reduce the gap to you to gain a bigger gap past the car.

Could be the rider didn't consider the shock effect of blasting past your ear @ 60 . . .

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Yeah - I was running West with the Sun shining brightly on my back or slightly to my left hand side. Wearing a dark top but light grey jogging pants.

Background was trees and hedge. So my top half was less visible I guess but my legs must have been lit up like a Christmas tree

Oh well - taught me not to go that route again - I'm sticking to pavements and footpaths from now on

As you should be. In the Highway Code IIRC.



A small motorcycle will need to drop a couple of gears to raise the revs into the powerband to give it the acceleration to make a safe overtake. If it's a small two-stroke then the revs will be even more pronounced as that is the only way they get power.



Any speed would be very fast compared to you running. How close is very close? 6 feet? 6 inches? A couple of feet clearance on a motorbike feels like yards compared to a car.



Can't make any evaluation of the motorcyclist on the limited information. However you stating that you had a dark top on is not helping your case.



I wouldn't like to be a pedestrian on an NSL road in the early morning.

If it had been a car that overtaken the car instead of a motorbike would you have felt compelled to post?

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I wouldn't have been able to post - I'd be dead. The road is that narrow.

But this is not an anti-motorbike rant. I am a motorcyclist myself and I don't think I would have done what this one did.

Well I for one understand this clearly. You were doing the right thing there though I would never advise anyone to go for a run on any road without a footpath because you always come acrosss a plonker! The biker may well have seen you and took position to avoid you but nevertheless he was being inconsiderate. Was he riding Safely and defensively and not likely to cause danger/hazard or inconvenience to others, was he travelling at a speed which he could safely stop or avoid? It doesnt sound like it to me. If you had been alarmed and stumbled or fallen into the road would he have hit you? Methinks he would. Overtaking should only be carried out if it is safe to do so, a pedestrian at the side of the road surface between veh being overtaken and the overtaking veh would not be considered a safe overtake and it wouldnt matter which way you were facing. What if the car driver drifted into the middle or over at the time the bike overtook?Just ask yourself this...Would he pass a test doing that?......