# 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:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/61 "2007-03-17T04:31:28Z")
[QUOTE=Rucksinator] Here’s my advice: Ride of the sidewalk, and when you get to an intersection, act like a pedestrian. Because you’re far closer to a pedestrian than you are to a car. [/QUOTE] As I already explained, it’s not just intersections that pose a danger to cyclists on sidewalks. It’s every single side street, parking lot entrance/exit and driveway. The road is much safer; drivers are much more likely to see the cyclist and predict his/her behavior correctly. ---
**Author:** ![cowgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/62 "2007-03-17T04:51:48Z")
[QUOTE=lowbrass] Since those who defend riding on the sidewalk say they do it because drivers honk and curse at them, the obvious solution here is for all pedestrians to start screaming at every bicyclist we see on the sidewalk, and refuse to allow them to pass. Maybe knock them over once in awhile, too. Time to take back the sidewalks! [/QUOTE] As one who has never defended riding on the sidewalk, I’m all for it. Honking and cursing isn’t a result of sidewalk riding. If a sidewalk cyclist gets smushed, there’s no time for honking or cursing. That’s the whole problem. ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/63 "2007-03-17T05:23:16Z")
I don’t care too much if they are on the sidewalk as long as they are doing a safe and respectable speed. If you do ride on the road, for Og’s sake, follow the laws of the road. Yes, that means stopping at stop signs, giving right a way, and SIGNALING! ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/64 "2007-03-17T05:28:50Z")
[QUOTE=GLWasteful] I do. More often, even, than a lot of the motorists I see and/or encounter. Particularly stop signs. I can assure you that the number of motorists who blow through stop signs out far outstrips the number of cyclists who do so. [/QUOTE] I don’t think you can make such assurances. I rarely see people “blow” through a stop sign on or off campus in a car. Once or twice, at night. I have seen them do the slow and stop when nobody is there, but that isn’t even the same thing these bikers are doing. I see bicyclists simply not stop at a full four-way intersection every single day, multiple times. I 've seen em almost get hit, and they act like the car did something wrong. I only see the guys in the tights and the helmets stop at traffic lights. Everybody else (and they are the majority here) just blows through stop signs and lights. Lights for fucks sake. ---
**Author:** ![dre2xl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/34f0e0/32.png) [@dre2xl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dre2xl)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/65 "2007-03-17T05:48:35Z")
[QUOTE=Duck Duck Goose] My husband rides his bike to work at the post office every day, and I’d much rather he rode on the sidewalk and not get hit by idiot drivers. Besides, nobody walks on the sidewalks anyway, in DecaturIllinois. [/QUOTE] Go to hell. /sidewalk jogger who’s had a close call with broken bones way too many times ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/66 "2007-03-17T06:41:12Z")
Between **Rucksinator** and **Red Barchetta** there is some powerful ignorance in this thread. Look here is the deal, bicycles are legally vehicles, and therefore have all the rights and responsibilities of any other vehicle on the road. Don’t believe me? No problem, take a look at what the DMV publishes [California driver’s handbook](http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/hdbk/pgs55thru57.htm#bike) > [@](#): > > Bicyclists on public streets have the same rights and responsibilities as automobile drivers. Respect the right-of-way of bicyclists because they are entitled to share the road with other drivers. Here are some critical points for drivers and cyclists to remember: > > ``` > * Bicyclists: > o must ride in the same direction as other traffic, not against it. > o must ride in a straight line as near to the right curb or edge of the roadway as practical— not on the sidewalk. > o must make left and right turns in the same way that drivers do, using the same turn lanes. > o may legally move left to turn left, to pass a parked or moving vehicle, another bicycle, an animal, or to make a turn, avoid debris, or other hazards. > o may choose to ride near the left curb or edge of a one-way street. > o may use a left turn lane. If the bicyclist is traveling straight ahead, he or she should use a through traffic lane rather than ride next to the curb and block traffic making right turns. > o are lawfully permitted to ride on certain sections of freeways, when signs are posted. Be careful when approaching or passing a bicyclist on a freeway. > * Drivers must: > o look carefully for bicyclists before opening doors next to moving traffic or before turning right. > o safely merge toward the curb or into the bike lane. > o not overtake a bicyclist just before making a right turn. Merge first, then turn. > > ``` Now from [South Carolina](http://www.scdmvonline.com/DMVNew/forms/General.pdf) (Page 25 of this PDF) > [@](#): > > As a driver, you have a responsibility to be on the lookout for > cyclists. Treat him courteously, since he does have the same rights and > responsibilities as automobile drivers to use the streets and highways. > Cyclists are part of the normal traffic flow and are entitled to share the > road with other drivers. So apparently neither of you know the laws that govern the use of the roads in your state. How did the two of you get your driver’s license, out of a box of Cracker jacks? :rolleyes: Rucksinator honking at that mother was an assholeish thing to do. Here she is teaching her child to ride a bike legally, and you get upset with them following the rules of the road. Nice job sparky. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![lowbrass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dc4da7/32.png) [@lowbrass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lowbrass)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/67 "2007-03-17T06:43:24Z")
[QUOTE=Rucksinator] Exactly. That’s why they should stay off the fucking road. If you are not in a vehicle that can travel at the speed limit, you should not be on the road. The roads are for cars. [/quote] Bullshit. > [@](#): > > Here’s my advice: Ride of the sidewalk, and when you get to an intersection, act like a pedestrian. Because you’re far closer to a pedestrian than you are to a car. Worst advice ever. ---
**Author:** ![lowbrass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dc4da7/32.png) [@lowbrass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lowbrass)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/68 "2007-03-17T06:48:50Z")
[QUOTE=Rick] Rucksinator honking at that mother was an assholeish thing to do. Here she is teaching her child to ride a bike legally, and you get upset with them following the rules of the road. Nice job sparky. :dubious: [/QUOTE] Yep, Ballsackinator is an ignorant motherfucker. No doubt. I always wondered what kind of jackass honks at a bicycle legally using the road. Now I know. ---
**Author:** ![lowbrass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dc4da7/32.png) [@lowbrass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lowbrass)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/69 "2007-03-17T06:53:06Z")
[QUOTE=Gorsnak] “If you want to be treated like traffic, follow the traffic rules” is all well and good, but jackasses like you (and there are a lot of you) won’t treat me like traffic even if I do follow the rules. So why the hell should I follow the rules? [/quote] Because 2 wrongs don’t make a right. > [@](#): > > Now, I usually _do_ follow the rules, because I’m not a jackass, That’s good to hear, although I’d like to see an “always” there rather than a “usually”. ---
**Author:** ![aclubs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@aclubs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aclubs)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/70 "2007-03-17T07:00:25Z")
If I can’t bike on the sidewalk, and I can’t bike in the street, where the hell am I supposed to bike? ---
**Author:** ![lowbrass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dc4da7/32.png) [@lowbrass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lowbrass)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/71 "2007-03-17T07:01:44Z")
You ARE supposed to ride in the street; don’t listen to the mouth-breathers. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/72 "2007-03-17T07:14:59Z")
[QUOTE=lowbrass] Because 2 wrongs don’t make a right. That’s good to hear, although I’d like to see an “always” there rather than a “usually”. [/QUOTE] So if I’m at a red light that only changes when a car triggers a sensor and there’s no car to trigger it, I should just sit at it forever? If there’s no traffic I should unclip and put my foot down at every stop sign? If some idiot driver makes following the rules unsafe, I should follow them anyways? As this thread amply demonstrates, it doesn’t matter what I do, people will be pissed off at how I ride. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/73 "2007-03-17T07:16:57Z")
[QUOTE=Gorsnak] I really don’t give a flying fuck if you think I have no place on the street. I’m legally entitled to one, so you can just kiss my ass. [/QUOTE] Are you always this defensive? You seem to be attacking a strawman. Please point out to me where I denied your right to be on the street? Me not wanting most bikers to be on the street DOES NOT equate to you not being allowed on the street. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/74 "2007-03-17T07:19:46Z")
[QUOTE=Red Barchetta] Are you always this defensive? You seem to be attacking a strawman. Please point out to me where I denied your right to be on the street? Me not wanting most bikers to be on the street DOES NOT equate to you not being allowed on the street. [/QUOTE] Since I’ve had a motorist intentionally drive into me while I was stopped at a red light, amongst other fun incidents, I have precious little patience for people like you. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/75 "2007-03-17T07:19:59Z")
[QUOTE=Rick] Between **Rucksinator** and **Red Barchetta** there is some powerful ignorance in this thread. [/QUOTE] The only thing you’ve proven is your incompetence in comprehension, seeing as your entire fucking post addresses points I NEVER FUCKING MADE. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/76 "2007-03-17T07:21:30Z")
[QUOTE=Gorsnak] Since I’ve had a motorist intentionally drive into me while I was stopped at a red light, amongst other fun incidents, I have precious little patience for people like you. [/QUOTE] What does that have to do with anything? And I don’t appreciate your efforts to pigeonhole me into your convenient generalization based off the few statements I’ve made. ---
**Author:** ![lowbrass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dc4da7/32.png) [@lowbrass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lowbrass)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/77 "2007-03-17T08:03:20Z")
[QUOTE=Gorsnak] So if I’m at a red light that only changes when a car triggers a sensor and there’s no car to trigger it, I should just sit at it forever? [/quote] No. Fair enough. > [@](#): > > If there’s no traffic I should unclip and put my foot down at every stop sign? As long as you stop, I don’t care whether your foot is clipped or unclipped. What does traffic have to do with it? You have to stop at a stop sign; doesn’t matter if there’s traffic or not. > [@](#): > > If some idiot driver makes following the rules unsafe, I should follow them anyways? Of course. If you feel that traffic laws are wrong, then lobby to get them changed. You don’t just get to make up your own laws. > [@](#): > > As this thread amply demonstrates, it doesn’t matter what I do, people will be pissed off at how I ride. Probably true, but that’s not an excuse to break the rules. Your first example is a valid excuse to break the law, because there is no other way to do it. The others, not so much. I would treat a light that won’t change the same as I’d treat a non-operational light. If the power goes out, you don’t have to sit at the light until it comes back on. It’d be like that. I have people get pissed at me all the time when I’m driving according to the law. My conclusion is that they are idiots. Why would you break the law just because an idiot thinks you should? ---
**Author:** ![lowbrass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dc4da7/32.png) [@lowbrass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lowbrass)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/78 "2007-03-17T08:15:48Z")
[QUOTE=Red Barchetta] Are you always this defensive? You seem to be attacking a strawman. Please point out to me where I denied your right to be on the street? Me not wanting most bikers to be on the street DOES NOT equate to you not being allowed on the street. [/QUOTE] Speaking of strawmen, he didn’t _say_ you “denied” his right to be on the street; he said you told him he has “no place on the street”, and you most certainly DID say that. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/79 "2007-03-17T08:16:48Z")
[QUOTE=Rayne Man] Both the mail man and paper-boy ride across my lawn. Can anyone tell me where I can buy some land-mines? [/QUOTE] Did you tip them both at Christmas? I’m guessing not. Just ask 'em not to ride across your lawn, if that fails you can get landmines at Landmines R Us ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118/80 "2007-03-17T08:19:39Z")
[QUOTE=lowbrass] Speaking of strawmen, he didn’t _say_ you “denied” his right to be on the street; he said you told him he has “no place on the street”, and you most certainly DID say that. [/QUOTE] The fact that he stated “I’m legally entitled to one…” suggested otherwise. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-bicyclists-get-off-the-damn-sidewalk/396118.md?page=5)