Originally Posted by
branko_76
If there is heavy traffic and no bike lane, I will ride on the sidewalk unless there are signs prohibiting it. If there are pedestrians, I either slow down or dismount and walk the bike. As far as I know, bikes are not allowed on any of the sidewalks in my city regardless of signage so I am subject to being fined if caught. That said, I'd rather pay a city fine than pay a hospital bill.
There are roads in my area ,if you ride on the side of the road, you will almost surely get hit, they just speed too much, text, or drive bad. In my general suburban area it's no problem, mostly 25 MPH limits, and plenty of room. I plan my routes with minimal use of sidewalks to make it to parking lots then to bike trails and large parks. I gotta hand it to people that commute on bicycles, or for that fact scooters, that ride on the side of the road on busy high traffic streets. I have seen so many incidents while driving my car. I rode large displacement street bikes for years and would feel way safer than being on a bicycle on the side of a busy street, but that's just me. Looking at those on-coming cars at 50 MPH in the mirror of a bicycle made me feel so helpless to a hit, with the powerful street bikes you could put distance between you and the drivers instantly. I wish we had those barrier segregated bike lanes like they have in some cities, those I would definitely commute on.
