njt07

Noob commuter here. I have started riding my (e) bike to work and parked my car for about 2 weeks now. Its great I am far less stressed out and I'm a better mood overall. One question i do have though, do you ride on side walks or the road?

I have been riding the sidewalks for the most part, I don't trust the drivers here in Korea to pay attention enough to see me. Drivers, and everyone else, are too preoccupied with their phones and I honestly dont think they would even see me on the side of the road...

phenry24 

It's [EDIT] absolutely legal or illegal depending on where you live [/EDIT] to ride your bike on the sidewalk here in (all, if not the nearly all) of the US. If you're worried about drivers noticing you, a fluorescent riding jacket, lots of reflective tape, and a rear flasher should help your visibility.

harshbarj

Depends on conditions really. I myself ride on the street most of the time, but on the sidewalk when traffic gets so heavy it's not safe.

I'd check on local laws. Here in the states it's legal to ride on the sidewalk in most places, though prohibited in others. Not sure about Korea though. If it's legal and the speeds are too high, then ride on the sidewalk, but just be cautious at intersections (and always yield to pedestrians as you are the intruder in their space).

kickstart

That is incorrect, most states it's entirely legal, or with a few limitations. One should check their local laws.

kickstart

Do what you're comfortable with, learn to walk before you run so to speak, and expand where you ride at your own pace.

prathmann

No, many states do not regulate sidewalk riding but leave it up to individual communities. That's true both here in California and in your state of Nebraska. Quite a few towns designate a business district where sidewalk riding is prohibited, e.g. that's the case in Lincoln, Nebraska.

In most cases I feel much safer on the roadway than on sidewalks since motor vehicle drivers are not expecting anyone to be moving faster than about 5mph on a sidewalk when they cross intersections or enter/exit driveways. As a result, the safety statistics on bicycle riders on sidewalks are not favorable.

tjspiel

I believe a safe rule of thumb would be to say that it's illegal within the business district(s) of most (if not all) major cities and legal most everywhere else.

phenry24 

Everywhere I've lived since I've been riding hasn't allowed bikes on sidewalks, I guess experience doesn't reflect reality.

kickstart

In general it isn't wise to ride on sidewalks that front on buildings regardless of what the law says.

I sidewalk ride about a 1 1/2 miles on my pm. commute home through a busy business and apartment area which is all up hill, I've never had any issues while riding the sidewalk there. On the other hand, I occasionally encounter an impatient/discourteous driver In the am. riding in the traffic lane on the same stretch of road.

There are plenty of circumstances where the sidewalk is the safest option if the cyclist is capable of using a minimum of common sense and self control.

njt07

so far I haven't had any issues riding on the sidewalk for my commute. Here in Korea i don't think they really care, motorcycles and scooters also use the sidewalk (its dangerous and scary as heck).

Jim from Boston

I do similarly, particularly on high traffic, fast commercial roads; I call it "bolus riding." I'll ride in the road when traffic is light and go on to the sidewalk when a rush of cars (a bolus) passes, as admitted by the traffic lights. I wear a rearview mirror and know when to look for a driveway to get off the road, and then when to get back on.

This obviously works if there is a continuous sidewalk. On such roads there usually is not a lot of pedestrian activity, and hence not always a continuous sidewalk either. I find the appropriate situations mostly in older suburban towns here in the US.

bmthom.gis

Always the road. I have ridden on the sidewalk twice...once bc I was trying out a new route and wanted to observe traffic on a particular road, the other bc that bike had brakes that would take a full half mile to come to a stop. I really need to work on that bike

mstateglfr 

Ha, your comment couldn't be more wrong.
Did you really ride your bike in the road all thru your childhood?

phenry24 

I'm glad I could give you a chuckle this morning :^)

I grew up in the sticks, the only sidewalks were "downtown" in front of the businesses.

mstateglfr 

Well there ya have it- you did ride your bike in the road all thru your childhood.

tjspiel

Yeah, me too. I had to ride a couple of miles to even get to a sidewalk.

CrankyOne

Somewhere around 45% of bicycle fatalities are being hit from behind when riding on the roads with traffic. Riding on the sidewalk largely takes this out of the equation. If you are cautious where driveways cross the sidewalk and at junctions, as well as being considerate of pedestrians, a sidewalk is the safest place to ride (assuming no protected bikeway).

Marcus_Ti

Which is quite hilarious as the idiots in the City of Lincoln made "bike lanes" in the middle of the cramped one-way street mazes in the downtown business distric that are quite frankly death traps....that no one in their right mind aside from Jimmy John's delivery boys dare use most of the time.

All of my (obviously non-fatal) accidents have been on sidewalks from the idiots who populate them. Most sidewalk crossing drivers and walkers are too dumb to successfully bang two rocks together.

CrankyOne

You must live in a vastly different country than I. Except in areas where they are extremely crowded they're not a big problem here. There is an occasional who'll pull through the sidewalk without stopping or looking but if you're even half alert you'll see them in plenty of time to stop. Same for people walking — you can usually tell those who present a danger.

Given the statistics I have no problem riding on sidewalks if I believe them safer than the roadway.

jon c. 

Sounds like the concept of sidewalks is a bit different there. Motorcycles on sidewalks here would surely result in calamity. And most sidewalks here are cement with frequent expansion joints. I tried riding one once on a busy road with no shoulders. In that area, it would have been fine in terms of safety as there are no pedestrians and long driveways so approaching cars have unimpeded sight lines. But I found bouncing over the expansion joints to be intolerable and quickly returned to the road.

It's all situational though. From what I've seen of Asian cities, I'd be very afraid on the roadways.

TransitBiker

Law says no sidewalk riding here, even for kids.

- Andy

fietsbob

Locations differ read the local statutes.. Sidewalks, at a Courteous slow rate of speed , are OK here , everywhere but the 6 blocks on the shopping streets..

getting off and walking your bike is always OK.

Bikerdave222

This is true in Nashville.

RubeRad

For my commute, the last 100 yards or so, instead of using the road and a left-turn with a stoplight that is not set to be triggered by bikes, I cross the street and ride wrong-way on the sidewalk. It's earlyish in the morning and almost nobody is ever walking.

Also I live just off the main business street in my town. If I need to leave my house turning left, it's a pain to get across the busy 4-lane street and I don't want to turn right (the way I don't want to go) to get to an intersection and have to backtrack. So I ride on the sidewalk until I get to the nearest light and cross over.

BUT, whenever I ride on the sidewalk, I ride as I'm not entitled to be there. Very slow, cautious, making every effort to not startle or endanger any pedestrians, or make them feel that they have to get out of my way (I have to get out of theirs!). Most importantly, being very cautious crossing every driveway. Vehicles coming out don't expect me to be coming up on their right (and I don't expect them to expect me).

I-Like-To-Bike

Really? Can you provide a reference to the "Law" that prohibits sidewalk riding for children? Has it ever been enforced; ever?