Originally Posted by Robert C

You guys are forgetting one. They are taught to.

I am a middle school teacher and this one comes up at times. The students ask why I ride the way I do. I have even been berated by parents for setting such a bad example.

The police teach the cycle safety class and in it they instruct the kids to ride facing traffic and on the sidewalk when one is available. If no sidewalk is available they are told to ride as close to the curb as possible. Yes, this frequently leaves them popping in and out from behind parked cars.

It has been made very clear to me that I am not to instruct cycle safety to the students. If they ask about it I will give them a copy of the state cycle safety handout, which basically states what we know to be good safety practices. You can be sure it, unlike the district police, does not instruct them to ride in the gutter and facing traffic. I may explain why I ride as I do, however, I make it very clear that I am not saying how they should ride.

. . . Some unsafe practices are the result of direct instruction by "experts."