Octa's transportation blog

New OCTA Video Highlights the Dangers of Wrong-Way Bicycle Riding

Bicyclists who ride against the flow of traffic are rolling toward trouble. The practice is illegal and dangerous. About one-third of all bicycle collisions in Orange County are a result of people who ride in the wrong direction.

To help Orange County residents understand the risks of wrong-way riding, OCTA developed a short, informative video. Though the topic is serious, the video uses humor to tell the story of the bike salmon – bicycle lingo for someone who rides against the flow of traffic. By their very nature, salmon head upstream. While this is a life-affirming practice for salmon, going against the flow is a bad move for bicyclists.

Wrong-way bicyclists are often involved in serious collisions because oncoming cars approach them at high speeds, and drivers can’t see them when entering or exiting driveways. Additionally, bike salmon can’t see traffic signals. Their behavior puts drivers and other cyclists at risk.

To gain more traction from its bike salmon message, OCTA partnered with Randall, the mono-named personality and narrator of the popular honey badger YouTube video. So far, the OCTA video has received nearly 70,000 views on YouTube. It joins a wealth of bicycle safety information for all ages here on OCTA’s website.