Walk your bike when crossing the street



Corzhens

Well-Known Member
May 26, 2015
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I recently learned that in Metro Manila, riders should not be atop their bikes when crossing the street. They should be walking and holding their bike astride. It is a traffic violation when they are riding their bike in crossing the street even if it is on a pedestrian lane and on a traffic stop. I wonder what the rationale is behind that ordinance.
 
I believe this is the case for any country, and it should be because it's a pedestrian lane, the bicycle is still a vehicle that can potentially harm the pedestrians.
 
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It's illegal in the US to ride a bike across a pedestrian crossing, but not illegal simply crossing a road. The rationale in your country may be the result of a number of crashes while riding across a road. Laws are usually made following a series of serious events.
 
I think with that overpopulated place, you might be hit or harm the people crossing that pedestrian lane and two wheels bike is still vehicle, if they want to ride while crossing wait for the green light together with the other vehicles. I remember Mr. Bean in this scenario. LOL.
 
"It's illegal in the US to ride a bike across a pedestrian crossing, but not illegal simply crossing a road."
That may actually vary from one state to the next. I'm not aware of any federal law on this subject.

There's a local bike path with signs admonishing cyclists to dismount and walk across the roads. Frankly, it's a really stupid rule, for several reasons.
  • It increases your time in the intersection. The more time you're in an intersection, the more you are exposed to traffic.
  • Walking across is much slower, so cars have to wait longer for you to pass. If there's a line of cyclists, they could be there for a while, which just increases their frustration and anger toward cyclists.
  • Almost nobody obeys the rule, so those few that do just create a hazard for everyone else.
My philosophy is that the quicker I can get out of the way of cars at an intersection, the better it is for everyone involved. I'll coast slowly up to the intersection, checking both ways, and if there is no traffic coming or if any approaching vehicles are clearly going to stop, I ride through quickly. It's worked for me for 45 years.
 
It seems to be a common law shared amongst most nations. It’s the same here. If you’re at a crosswalk, you’re supposed to get off your bike, wait for traffic to stop and then walk it across the street.

That being said, do I abide by this? No, not usually anyway. I have valid reasons for why, however.

For one thing, I live in a rural town where pedestrians aren’t all that common. During mid-day you’re lucky to come across someone every couple of hundred meters. The other reason is that motorists here are absolute jerks.

Legally, if a pedestrian is at a crosswalk without a traffic light, the car is supposed to stop and let the pedestrian cross. The drivers here absolutely will not stop for you regardless of whether you are on your bike, off your bike, or don’t have a bike at all. Therefore, it just makes sense for me to be able to get across the street as fast as possible before any cars get in the way.
 
A bicycle is still considered a vehicle. Pedestrians are for human and animal crossing. Here in my country I haven't seen anyone ride their bicycle while crossing the pedestrian lane. It also rare to see someone cross a street on their bikes. I think this is a good idea as to prevent any accident in the pedestrians.
 

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