# Adult bicyclists: get off the damn sidewalk! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 16, 2007, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118 "2007-03-16T01:08:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/421 "2007-03-30T09:57:15Z")
California law is not relevant in Pennsylvania. Deal with it. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/422 "2007-03-30T10:05:55Z")
[QUOTE=Rick] there are parts of the California freeway system where it is legal to ride a bicycle on the freeway. (Highway 101 north of Ventura) [/QUOTE] Yeah, but you’ve got to expect different laws to apply in places where the days are longer, the nights are stronger than moonshine. You don’t care, I know. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/423 "2007-03-30T12:14:52Z")
[QUOTE=Rick] …Bottom line, the only legal place to ride a bike is in on the road. Deal with it. [/QUOTE] Did you get this from the driver’s handbooks cited in post #66? Because that’s not what they say. Or do you have another cite for this? (I haven’t been paying attention to this thread lately, so I might have missed it, but I did notice that people were somehow interpreting post 66 as evidence that bikes weren’t allowed on sidewalks.) ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/424 "2007-03-30T16:08:19Z")
[QUOTE=catsix] California law is not relevant in Pennsylvania. Deal with it. [/QUOTE] OK, smart ass here is the Penn law that you appear to be unfamiliar with. > [@](#): > > BICYCLISTS: > • Do not sound your horn close to bicyclists, unless you must do so to avoid a crash. > • When approaching or passing a bicycle, slow down and allow as much clearance as possible. By law, > bicyclists must ride on the right side of the road, traveling in the same direction as the rest of traffic. > • When making turns, watch carefully for bicyclists entering your lane. Be especially alert, if you see children > riding bikes on the sidewalk. They may come onto the road. > • It is illegal to force a bicyclist off of the road. If you do this, you may face criminal charges. > • After you have passed a bicyclist, do not slow down or stop quickly. Motor vehicle brakes are more > powerful than a bicycleʼs, and you could cause a crash. > • Remember bicyclists are vehicle operators and are also expected to obey all traffic laws. From [here (page 24 of this PDF)](http://www.dot10.state.pa.us/pdotforms/pa_driversmanual/chapter_3.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/425 "2007-03-30T17:25:47Z")
> [@](#): > > **Rick** said: > Remember bicyclists are vehicle operators and are also expected to obey all traffic laws. Like the ones that say you can’t impede traffic by going 30 or 40 mph under the speed limit? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/426 "2007-03-30T17:51:23Z")
[QUOTE=Rick] Bottom line, the only legal place to ride a bike is in on the road. [/QUOTE] Depends on one’s location. ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/427 "2007-03-30T18:25:03Z")
[QUOTE=Rick] OK, smart ass here is the Penn law that you appear to be unfamiliar with. From [here (page 24 of this PDF)](http://www.dot10.state.pa.us/pdotforms/pa_driversmanual/chapter_3.pdf) > [@](#): > > • When making turns, watch carefully for bicyclists entering your lane. Be especially alert, if you see \*\* children riding bikes on the sidewalk.\*\* They may come onto the road. [/QUOTE] (emphasis added) Don’t those damn children know that riding their bikes on the sidewalk is illegal? (According to Rick’s logic, at least.) ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2007, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/428 "2007-03-30T18:26:35Z")
[QUOTE=catsix] Like the ones that say you can’t impede traffic by going 30 or 40 mph under the speed limit? [/QUOTE] Then why not explicitly state “bicycles are not allowed on roads w/speed limit above 35”? Since it appears that it isn’t explicitly stated (except for highways where I **have** seen statements that would exclude bicycles from being on them), and yet there’s all this other verbage about bikes and cars sharing the road, I think you **have** to assume that the impede traffic by going 30 or 40 mph under the speed limit isn’t meant to include bicyclists. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118.md?page=21)