Should you walk with or against traffic?

On a road with no sidewalk, the side you walk on matters. Walking toward the traffic means you see every car coming, and every driver sees your face. Walking with the traffic means the cars come from behind, where you can’t see them.

The short answer

Walk against the traffic, facing the cars coming toward you, whenever there is no sidewalk or path. In the United States, where cars drive on the right, that means walking on the left side of the road. In the UK, where cars drive on the left, it means walking on the right. Where there is a sidewalk or pavement, use it.

Why facing traffic is safer

The US Federal Highway Administration’s guidance is that, where there is no sidewalk, you should walk on the left side, facing traffic, because it gives you the chance to make eye contact with approaching drivers and make quick judgements to protect yourself. You can see a car drifting toward the edge in time to step aside. With your back to the traffic, you can’t.

The UK version

The UK’s Highway Code says the same for the other side of the road. Its rule 2 says that if there is no pavement, keep to the right-hand side of the road so that you can see oncoming traffic. It adds three details worth following anywhere:

• Walk in single file, especially on narrow roads or in poor light.
• Keep close to the side of the road.
• On a sharp bend, where drivers coming the other way couldn’t see you in time, it can be safer to cross to the other side before the bend and cross back after it.

Being seen

Facing traffic only helps if drivers can see you. The Highway Code’s rule 3 asks pedestrians to wear or carry something light-coloured, bright or fluorescent in poor daylight, and reflective materials after dark, which drivers using headlights can see up to three times as far away as non-reflective ones. Our guide to walking in the cold covers winter walks in the dark.

Walking with a finish line

Walking is easy to skip when it leads nowhere in particular. reTrek gives your walks a finish line: pick a famous route, like the Camino de Santiago or the Inca Trail, and every walk moves you further along it, with a short film about the place waiting at each milestone. Instead of fitting in a walk for its own sake, you walk to reach the next milestone.

Everest Base Camp is free. Get reTrek.