LittleBigMan

You're always in my corner.

I don't really think I'm a stupid batsard. Just tryin' to inject a little humor.

tyciol

I never thought of this at all, I always perceived the roads as more dangerous due to the cars. I guess it makes sense that there is more risk when crossing intersections from a sidewalk than from a street due to turning visibility, howver if you halt at crosses rather than ride right through them, wouldn't this be much less so?

Another thing is, the risk of cars trying to hit you on purpose. There are some people like that who take pleasure in others' suffering, so it would be easier for them to hit you from behind on a road, especially if you are travelling with traffic. Even if your momentum is added to rather than subtracted from another vehicle's when travelling against traffic, the enhanced reaction time of seeing a threat coming at you would be much better.

This is especially the case for people who have enemies with motor vehicles who want to run them over and make it look accidental, sidewalk riding is much safer for people in these situations.

mike-on-da-bike

i will have total disregard for these pavement laws here as i would sooner hit a parked car or pedestrian(not that i will)then ride on any city road and be abused by motorist or even be killed,many here have died riding on the roads and they were not freeways just normal city roads so fine me if you want to cops.give us all our own bike lanes then you wont have any probs

DataJunkie

What?

mike-on-da-bike

if there is no proper bike lanes to ride along i will allways use the sidewalk for fear of being run over as sydney driver dont even see bike riders and they dont care about them so many here have been killed just normal riding on city roads,i dont wish to check out just yet lol

The Dandeli

I don't believe there's great danger riding on the sidewalk

LittleBigMan

If I had to use sidewalks to get to work on my bike, my bike commuting days would be over. There aren't enough sidewalks available, and those that are would make my commute last probably 2 hours.

Has anyone tried riding on broken sidewalks in the dark? Not safe.

Strelnikov

I see people riding on the sidewalks all the time on Hilltop in Tacoma. I see it as they are being safe because they don't have helmets or bright clothing/lights on their bikes. Either that or they are older men wearing a soft cap and not a helmet.

I don't see people who dress for "the road" as being on the sidewalk, and I think that people are just playing it safe with the choices they have made. It makes sense to me, and I do not see people on the sidewalk going nearly as fast as the folks on the road.

I ride on the sidewalk if I deem the street to narrow or safe to ride on. This is usually a .25 mile stretch out of a 20 mile ride 25% of the time and is when I have not planned my trip before hand or am crossing a bridge of some dangerous sort.

PJones0012

As some of you may know I had an accident a couple of weeks ago while riding on the sidewalk. Do I prefer the sidewalk over the street? I would prefer to ride in residential areas where I can ride the streets but that is not always possible. On those occasions that require me to venture out into main roadways I will still stick to the sidewalks taking into account time of day, weather, road conditions and motorized traffic. Case by case.

DataJunkie

I would rather not end my ride splayed out on the hood of a car. If I have a choice I avoid sidewalks like the plaque. The exceptions generally are when riding with my son or when a MUP connects with one and I need to cross it to reach a street.
It also helps that the only legal sidewalks on my commute are in my suburb and I have plenty of alternatives.
The sidewalks in Denver are too narrow in the residential areas. Not to mention that all are illegal to ride on. With a few exceptions on several bike routes.

JaRow

On big roads I will stick to sidewalks. Depending on traffic through a residential area I might ride on the road or the sidewalk. I'm a pretty big fan of not dying so I try to do whatever seems safest at any point.

Schwinnhund

Why would you want to ride on the sidewalk, anyway? That's no fun!

I can think of nothing sillier that having a beautiful, high-tech, super efficient vehicle, and riding it at 5 mph, dodging elderly people, pedestrians with children and shopping bags, people walking dogs, and comming in and out of shops, driveways, etc....RIDICULOUS!

Bikes belong on the road, or trail, or in the open, with the wind whizzing by as they blaze new trails for others to follow........the modern IRON HORSE!

Semper Fi!

Yue Tao

For 20 years I was an advocate of riding on the road. Then two years ago, I started to commute 10 miles daily by mountain bike instead of road bike. That is when I discovered the convenience and relative safety of the sidewalk. I was commuting 6 to 7 days per week, 10 miles per day. I did not appreciate being forced to ride at slower speeds but I did appreciate the buffer from cars. I recall one day while riding the MTB with a tail wind and moving at nearly 30mph on the street. I was nearly brushed by a car who passed me in my lane. I could have reached out and touched it. That convinced me that I would be safer using the sidewalk.

My decision to ride the sidewalks was based on the fact that I rode twice daily along a busy street 6 to 7 days per week, the sidewalks had relatively few pedestrians, and I wanted to live with less stress. I had already had too many run ins with buses and cars who had no respect for the safety of cyclists. I decided to make the choice to live with less stress.

Whenever I'm with a group, I ride on the road, there is safety in numbers. In urban areas I also feel a relative safety riding solo on the road because of the slower speed of the motor vehicle traffic. If I am ever again in a situation that allows me to choose sidewalk or street, I now feel free to make the choice. In the past I would not allow myself to choose the sidewalk because I felt I must ride on the street in order to advocate cyclists right to the road.

Yue Tao

I found this quote some time ago and rely on it to bring myself to a relative balance.

"Idealism is fine, but as it approaches reality, the costs become prohibitive."
- William F. Buckley

Therefore, I no longer advocate riding a bicycle strictly on the road, but I now believe that you should do what is best for your particular situation.

Bikesapien

I ran over a bicyclist on the sidewalk with my F-350 Ford truck 2 years ago. I ground his ankle into powder. He'll never walk without a limp. In my town and in my state it is against the law to ride on the sidewalk. He sued me and my insurance paid $110,000. After the hospital bills and the $40,000 his lawyer took (for about 2 hours work) he was left with about $10,000. Totally not worth it.

Yue Tao

Posted by Bikesapien
"I ran over a bicyclist on the sidewalk with my F-350 Ford truck 2 years ago. I ground his ankle into powder. He'll never walk without a limp. In my town and in my state it is against the law to ride on the sidewalk. He sued me and my insurance paid $110,000. After the hospital bills and the $40,000 his lawyer took (for about 2 hours work) he was left with about $10,000. Totally not worth it."

I don't understand exactly what was not worth it? You mean it wasn't worth the cyclists effort to ride on the sidewalk or it wasn't worth the effort to sue you? Or both?

Sounds like an unusual case unless you were you coming out onto the street from a driveway. That wouldn't be unusual. I definitely don't agree with our tort law system in the USA. I believe any person should take responsibility for their actions when they go against the law. Such as breaking and entering into someones property, or riding a bicycle on the sidewalk. I believe if someone is breaking the law, they don't have a right to sue the party that has the right of way.

In the city I now live in it is against the law to ride on the sidewalk unless 16 years old or younger. Usually if I feel a need to be on the sidewalk, I will get off and walk the bike if there are pedestrians. I think its just common courtesy. But when living in a city where there are few pedestrians, I see no problem with riding on the sidewalk if it seems safer to do so, for example, nighttime or heavy traffic. The police don't really care what you do with a bicycle here unless, they have an agenda, or the cyclist is endangering others. When the police have been called with many complaints regarding unsafe cycling, they are sometimes ordered to go out and ticket cyclists aggressively. Other times, cyclists may do as they please as long as it is not interfering with the safety of of drivers and pedestrians.

Dahon.Steve

I got into my first car accident yesterday. I was riding on the sidewalk. In my town, the cars roll through the stop signs and red lights to make a right turn. As a result, it requires you to practically come to a FULL STOP at every corner. If you see a car coming down the street, don't expect him to stop because he may very well roll through the red light to turn right.

I was lucky in that the car was going 2 mph but it could have been ugly. No injuries or bike damage.

I also noticed that once cars reach the corner, (and if they intend to roll through it by turning right) many are not looking at whose on the crosswalk by having their head turned to see the cars crossing on the left! In addition, if there is sun shining on the motorist face as he hits the intersection, you become invisible.

I will still ride on the sidewalk but only for short rides around town. On anything longer than a mile or two, I will use the street. I have no trouble with the streets thanks in large part to my Talk A Look mirror. If you're nearly getting hit from behind, you need a mirror.

Here are my instructions for riding on the sidewalk.

1. Ride no faster than 8 mph.

2. If you're riding in a city, stay close the curve as possble.

3. Get ready to practically a full stop when passing peds.

4. At intersections, if you can't see the cars coming down the street because of parked cars. Always come to a full stop!

5. Never expect cars to see you at intersections or come to a full stop or even respect the red light. Many cities allow the cars to roll though red lights so the fact you have the light to cross, does not mean it is safe to do so.

starkmojo

Here in Sunny (today anyway) Portland OR, I ride on the road unless I am going less than a block to my destination, and in those times I bike verrryyy slowly and carefully, because dont want to scare a pedestrian or get hit by someone pulling out of their driveway.

But one thinh this thread has taught me is that different places have different road conditions, and while road biking may OVERALL be safer, each of us must make the best decisions for our individual situations.

cutman

I don't know if the case is the same in many other states, but in NC, bicycles are afforded the same rights and responsibilities as motorists. We're even allowed to take up the entire lane. I agree with starkmojo - to do what's best for the particular situation. But when an ignorant motor-minded person tells you that "bicycles belong on the sidewalk, the road is for cars" (paraphrasing a conversation from yesterday) I can't help but want to take up the whole lane, as the law allows me to.

starkmojo

I try to not play tit for tat. It isnt a game or a race. Just becaus some drivers suck doent ok me being rude- just as the fact that some bikers suck doesnt ok agressive driving against cyclists. If some one is being a jerk I just slow down and let it pass.

I have also been behind jerk cyclists while driving- I just wait till it is safe to pass, pass and move on.

In with the good, out with the bad.

tgrssn

I ride on the sidewalk sometimes. I know it's not that gangster. Part of my commute takes me down a road called Broadway that runs from Tempe to Phoenix. It's 3 lanes deep on each side and leads up to freeway on/offramps. The traffic runs 55-60 mph on it and during rush hour the traffic is three cars deep. I've tried to run down the side of the road but every time a city bus or a semi truck goes by they can barely squeeze by me. There is a sidewalk that is on the eastbound side of the road is doublewide and I ride on it for that stretch of road. If it's after rush hour and the cars have room to move over I ride the side of the road.

Sometimes I see other cyclists who ride the side of the road heading west which is really tough on that stretch. There is this tall really tall guy who rides a beautiful Landshark who casually rides that road once a month or so. I *tried* it once and it was pretty frustrating. The traffic goes extremely fast and merges onto a two lane freeway onramp going very fast. The one time that I tried it the traffic wedged me up against the curb and wouldn't let me over. Next thing I knew I was riding my bike at 20+ mph down an onramp to the i-10. I had to squeeze over one car at a time while people cursed and shook their fists at me. I finally got over and I had to throw my bike over my shoulder and walk it up the gravel burm back to Broadway. It was embarrassing.

John C. Ratliff

Then you are not really talking about sidewalk cycling, but about cycling through intersections, or transitions from the sidewalk to the roadway. These are two separate issues.

John

John C. Ratliff

I use sidewalk riding when it is necessary. Sometimes, it is much safer to ride on the sidewalk than to ride on the roadway. I think of situations here where there is black ice on the roadway, or freezing fog. Riding on the roadway places the rider nearer to a potentially out-of-control auto or truck. I use the analogy of the safe use of radioactive substances for my riding. For radioactive substances, you decrease your exposure by reducing the time of the exposure, increasing the distance between the source of the exposure and you, and by using shielding between you and the radioactive substance. Now, radioactive substances send out ionizing radiation, either in the form of particles (alpha, beta, neutron radiation) or waves (X-rays and gamma-rays). Alpha particles have very short distances, but are huge particles compared to the others, so if it is taken internally, it can do tremendous damage. If we were to look at automobiles as a form of radiation, an extremely huge particle at relatively (compared to other radiation) slow speeds, then we could use this analogy for sidewalk riding. By placing more distance between us and the auto, we increase the time to react. By reducing the time exposed on roads, we reduce the amount of potential exposure (we can do this too by selecting our routes). By placing a curb, trees, light poles, etc. between us and the auto traffic, we reduce the potential for a car hitting us on the sidewalk.

Here are some examples:

In this case, there really is no alternative to the multi-use path during high traffic. There is no place for a bicycle to go on the outside lane of this road (Murray Road in Beaverton, Oregon). The trucks are reluctant to move over to the inside lane too.


Some highway engineers purposely make bicyclists using a bicycle path to ride on the sidewalk. This forces two 90 degree turns, which slows down the bicyclist before going into the intersection. It also gives the auto traffic more time to see the bicyclist (the "time" factor again).

There are more considerations, but in icy weather, sidewalks are much more pleasant to ride on than the roadway with autos who have not compensated for (or even realized) the freezing weather.

John

crhilton

You might as well walk.

crhilton

I hate it when they do that. It's so dangerous. Yes, it slows you down. But you have to concentrate on cornering, keeping balance at low speed, and down shifting while watching for traffic before you cross. I have a much easier time controlling my own slow downs and just checking for traffic, that way I'm prepared for a quick stop if I need it. In these designs I'm likely to fall over if I need to stop and didn't think I would.