Riding On The Sidewalk



Where I live I have to ride my bike to my University every day and I always use the sidewalk to get there. Before I moved to go to university I always stuck to the roads and bike lanes, but where I live now the drivers are atrocious! There are at least two crashes every day on the street that I live on, because of this I now ride strictly on the sidewalk so that I don't become an unfortunate statistic. I feel like if you would be in danger otherwise, it is completely okay to ride on the sidewalk.
 
I always try to ride safely and if it means riding on the side walk then I will do that, always taking care of pedestrians. I usually obey road rules but when am late and on a traffic jam, I do try to find other safe ways to get me out.
 
9lines said:
I always try to ride safely and if it means riding on the side walk then I will do that, always taking care of pedestrians. I usually obey road rules but when am late and on a traffic jam, I do try to find other safe ways to get me out.
The problem is you are actually less safe on a sidewalk most of the time, and almost all cities have laws against an adult riding on the sidewalk. The only time I ever use a sidewalk is if it is a designated bike path, or I'm walking my bike. Whenever you walk your bike though make sure you have it on a leash...
 
Like you, I have a few places in my community wherein I have to ride on the sidewalks. If there are a lot of passengers and I think it's going to bother them, I can always get off my bike and just walk, pushing the bicycle.
 
Unfortunately sidewalk is sometimes the best option. I have bike lines throughout the city where I live so I don't have to use the sidewalk as often, but if I'm forced to choose between a sidewalk and a road, more often than not, I'll choose a leisurely pace on the sidewalk than the road. Unless I'm in a hurry, then I have to sacrifice safety for speed.
 
What's really cool is riding your bike on the sidewalk at 25 to 30 mph weaving in and out of people who are walking all the while screaming: "get out of my f'ing way". This sort of riding teaches you all sorts of great bike handling skills.
 
Jcycle said:
Bicycles are vehicles. A side walk is a pedestrian right of way. You shouldn't operate a vehicle on a sidewalk. Plain and simple from my perspective. Get off and walk if you need to use the sidewalk.
I totally agree on that. Unfortunately, in my city there no special lanes for cyclists. The most annoying part is when they drive through the center where the streets are usually busy. That's why I'm not a fan of riding inside the urban area.
 
I do avoid riding on the side walk since I fear knocking down a pedestrian. It is also against the law to ride on the side walk. We must obey road rules if we want to avoid accidents. If you knock down a pedestrian, then they can take you to a court of law.
 
The problem is you are actually less safe on a sidewalk most of the time, and almost all cities have laws against an adult riding on the sidewalk. The only time I ever use a sidewalk is if it is a designated bike path, or I'm walking my bike. Whenever you walk your bike though make sure you have it on a leash...

Is there a law about even walking your bike along the pavement? I'm not sure if she took a distinct dislike to me or not but a woman had a go at me, told me it was against the law and was going to report me when she saw me walking my bike along the pavement. Mind you this was years ago and I was a lot younger back then so maybe she just had something against teenages as a whole.
 
Safety is my biggest concern when I'm riding my bike so when I feel the need to jump into the sidewalk because of dangerous riding conditions and the sidewalk is clear and not busy I jump on it. There are far too many inconsiderate drivers on the road who don't give a damn about cyclists safety so I have to watch out for my own.
 
Whenever is possible I ride on the roads because it's usually faster and safer as I don't ride into people walking. If I am with the kids I might go for a while in the sidewalk.
 
I avoid riding on the sidewalk unless there is no other way for me to go because it can be annoying and even dangerous for the people walking there. Anyway, it is the city's responsibility to make room for all: the pedestrians, cyclists and drivers.
 
Me too, I always ride on the road except if I am going with my kid. He's only 8 and he is still somewhat fearful to be on the roads, so when possible we go on the sidewalk.
 
Regret to say that where I live there are not clear rules and therefore no bicycle lanes but sidewalks. By that reason I dont always use my bike except to run errants and commutign.
 
It's strange to see bikes on the sidewalks, seems dangerous, at the same time there are people who are afraid of riding on the road, so that's understandable.
 
I've never had issues riding on the sidewalk. I, obviously, go slow and use my bell to alert pedestrians.

When I visited DC, I really enjoyed the fact that the city is full of bike lanes and easy biking routes. But even in DC, I had to hop onto the sidewalk a few times to avoid busy intersections or streets without bike lanes. I would either hop off the bike and walk it until I could get back on the street or ride very slowly around people. No one ever seemed to mind, but that could be because DC is a very bike-friendly city.
 
That's the way to go, if we ride slowly and use the bell we will be fine, sadly some kids go at crazy speeds...
 
I live in the suburbs, in a town adjacent to Metro Manila. In the morning rush hour, it is common to see riders of bikes and motorcycles treading the sidewalks. One morning during a heavy traffic, I noticed a traffic officer stopping those riders on the sidewalk. It looked like he was giving tickets for the illegal use of the sidewalk. However, how can he issue tickets to bike riders who don't need a license to ride?

Here is a video of the state of traffic in Metro Manila -
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Thank you very much for the video. I enjoyed it.
 
That's the way to go, if we ride slowly and use the bell we will be fine, sadly some kids go at crazy speeds...
That is why we need to teach the kids and we need to make them aware of the dangers of cycling at very high speed.
 
Pretty much. Mine aren't exactly that age, but in a couple of years I will teach them the basics so that they can enjoy themselves with no issues.
 

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