Try walking along an unlit road at night where there are no pavements, and then tell me it is safer to face oncoming traffic. That way you are blinded by the traffic coming towards you, and if you try to gat out of the way you don't know if you will be climbing onto a bank or falling into a ditch.
Walking on the same side as the traffic you know when a vehicle is coming because of the lights, which also light up the side of the road so that you can see where to get out of the way until it passes you.