# Bicycles on the sidewalk **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 29, 2013, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975 "2013-04-29T01:13:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![apollonia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2bfe46/32.png) [@apollonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/apollonia)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/41 "2013-04-29T13:14:47Z")
If you’re in an urban area with pedestrians, you legally have to be in the road. Bicycles are vehicles under the law and they belong, with other vehicles, on the road. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/42 "2013-04-29T13:46:43Z")
> [@Anonymous User](#): > > What if you are riding your bike slowly, like less than 10 mph, and you are in an urban area. Then what? Short answer. Do you want me to drive on the sidewalk if I’m going slow? Why do you think it’s ok if a bike does it then? Longer answer. What state do you live in. ---
**Author:** ![LaurenIpsum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@LaurenIpsum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LaurenIpsum)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/43 "2013-04-29T14:01:17Z")
Before I knew I was supposed to be riding in the street, I almost got hit by a car twice while on the sidewalk. Once time, I was riding along, and was just passing through a side street, when a car started to turn on the side street, almost into me. They managed to slam on the breaks just in time to stop about a foot away from me, and shouted “Sorry, I didn’t see you!” And of course he didn’t see me. He was expecting slow-moving pedestrian traffic, not a bicycle moving at speed down the sidewalk. If I had been in the street, I would have been in his line of sight before he turned. What really gets me is people who ride their bikes on the sidewalk going the opposite way from traffic. That makes you even more likely to get hit, because cars turning onto a side street will be looking for traffic in the opposite direction, not the direction you’re coming from. ---
**Author:** ![svd678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@svd678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/svd678)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/44 "2013-04-29T14:06:16Z")
I think the safest place for bikes depends on conditions - kinds of traffic, and the law doesn’t always fit every situation. But that means people have to use caution, and common sense, rare commodities. I violently disagree with the poster who said always in road, traffic direction - when I’m on a low-traffic country road I want to SEE the car that might hit me, not have it sneek up behind, especially since some try to see how close they can come. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/45 "2013-04-29T14:23:01Z")
Well, that I disagree with a LOT. I did that myself when I first took my bike on the road at 18(as a kid I was exclusively sidewalks). THe problem with riding against traffic is combined speed. If you’re going 10 mph and the car is going 40 mph, you’re dead. Get hit while doing 10mph by a car doing 40mph from behind, and the difference in speed is 30mph. The other problem with riding against traffic is that it confuses drivers and gives them less time to react. Drivers are required to yield a little space to cyclists, that’s why the right lane is usually a little wider. If they are coming up behind you, they have time to do that. If you are riding right at them, their reaction time is diminished. When I rode against traffic, I found myself constantly having to bail off the road. I don’t have that problem riding with traffic. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/46 "2013-04-29T14:28:08Z")
> [@svd678](#): > > I think the safest place for bikes depends on conditions - kinds of traffic, and the law doesn’t always fit every situation. But that means people have to use caution, and common sense, rare commodities. I violently disagree with the poster who said always in road, traffic direction - when I’m on a low-traffic country road I want to SEE the car that might hit me, not have it sneek up behind, especially since some try to see how close they can come. Then get a rear view mirror. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/47 "2013-04-29T14:32:38Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Well, that I disagree with a LOT. I did that myself when I first took my bike on the road at 18(as a kid I was exclusively sidewalks). THe problem with riding against traffic is combined speed. If you’re going 10 mph and the car is going 40 mph, you’re dead. Get hit while doing 10mph by a car doing 40mph from behind, and the difference in speed is 30mph. > > The other problem with riding against traffic is that it confuses drivers and gives them less time to react. Drivers are required to yield a little space to cyclists, that’s why the right lane is usually a little wider. If they are coming up behind you, they have time to do that. If you are riding right at them, their reaction time is diminished. When I rode against traffic, I found myself constantly having to bail off the road. I don’t have that problem riding with traffic. The “right lane” is wider? Like wider than the “left lane”?!?!? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/48 "2013-04-29T14:56:12Z")
> [@LaurenIpsum](#): > > Before I knew I was supposed to be riding in the street, I almost got hit by a car twice while on the sidewalk. Once time, I was riding along, and was just passing through a side street, when a car started to turn on the side street, almost into me. They managed to slam on the breaks just in time to stop about a foot away from me, and shouted “Sorry, I didn’t see you!” Wouldn’t it be more accurate to say you almost got hit by a car while leaving the sidewalk? Personally, I sometimes ride my bike on the sidewalk, despite the fact that it’s illegal, if there aren’t any pedestrians around. But I always walk my bike across the street if there’s any traffic around. I’m a pretty slow cyclist, though. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/49 "2013-04-29T15:20:37Z")
We argue about this all the time in the Pit. Does anybody have any real cites that one way is safer than the other (besides a website that authoritatively proclaims one is safer than the other)? Anything that measures wrecks per mile, or deaths per mile of biking on a road or a sidewalk? I bike on the road where it’s residential. I try to avoid busy streets with stoplights/etc, but if I have to, I go on the sidewalk. I bet anybody who bikes could provide examples of busy streets where it’s safer on the road, and ones where it’s safer on the sidewalk (and where the sidewalk is wide enough that you don’t cause the pedestrians any problem). I’ve never had anybody yell at me - pedestrian or driver - to get off ‘their’ pavement. > [@AnaMen](#): > > The “right lane” is wider? > Like wider than the “left lane”?!?!? I’m not the one who said the right lane is wider, but obviously they mean on a 4 lane road where two lanes are going each direction. It’s also often for parking, and that opens up a whole 'nother can of biking worms. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/50 "2013-04-29T16:18:04Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Does anybody have any real cites that one way is safer than the other (besides a website that authoritatively proclaims one is safer than the other)? Anything that measures wrecks per mile, or deaths per mile of biking on a road or a sidewalk? Here’s a link to a site with that kind of statistics [Bicycle sidepaths: crash risks and liability exposure](http://www.bikexprt.com/bikepol/facil/sidepath/sidecrash.htm) based on data presented at the Transportation Research Board 77th Annual Meeting, January 11-15, 1998 in Washington D.C. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/51 "2013-04-29T16:21:20Z")
Even if such data were collected it wouldn’t be meaningful. The people who ride on the sidewalk (children, drunks, cowards, etc.) by choice are not the same kind of people as those that ride on the road. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/52 "2013-04-29T16:23:16Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Does anybody have any real cites that one way is safer than the other (besides a website that authoritatively proclaims one is safer than the other)? Rather old (15 ~ 30 year old) data suggests that the sidewalk is anywhere [from a three-quarters (75%) increase](http://www.bicyclinglife.com/Library/riskfactors.htm) in risk, to as much as [four times as bad](http://www.bicyclinglife.com/Library/Moritz2.htm). These figures are obviously out of date, though, things have changed a lot on the roads these days. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/53 "2013-04-29T16:25:55Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > Huh? > It isn’t safe to ride a bike on the sidewalk. The road is reasonably safe. Since it wouldn’t even be LEGAL to ride a bike on the sidewalk, what is the point of screaming at people to do it, like they are the assholes for not breaking the law? AFAIK it’s legal to ride on the sidewalk in Michigan provided you’re under a certain speed. > [@](#): > > Now you may believe that the sidewalk is the safer place for the cyclist, and if they are riding at pedestrian speed, perhaps it would be. At normal bike speeds, the sidewalk is dangerous because drivers on cross streets are not prepared for a vehicle traveling at that speed on the sidewalk and are more concerned about the vehicles traveling on the road perpendicular to their own. I’ve seen people get hit this way more times than you might expect. Whether it’s “safe” or not depends on where you are. I grant that in a dense city like New York it’d be a hazard, but contrary to what New Yorkers like to believe, NYC isn’t the entire country. Wander out to suburbia and see how few pedestrians are actually on the sidewalk. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/54 "2013-04-29T16:38:00Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > AFAIK it’s legal to ride on the sidewalk in Michigan provided you’re under a certain speed. > > Whether it’s “safe” or not depends on where you are. I grant that in a dense city like New York it’d be a hazard, but contrary to what New Yorkers like to believe, NYC isn’t the entire country. Wander out to suburbia and see how few pedestrians are actually on the sidewalk. It’s not safe for any pedestrians, but even if there aren’t any, it’s not safe for the CYCLISTS. ---
**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:** [April 29, 2013, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/55 "2013-04-29T16:46:44Z")
In my section of Northern Virginia, it’s only legal for adults to bicycle on a sidewalk where that sidewalk is also a designated bike path. Otherwise sidewalk riding is for children. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/56 "2013-04-29T16:54:26Z")
My biggest pet peeve about cyclists is that a large number of them don’t obey the rules of the road. I almost hit a guy yesterday because I had come to a 4-way stop, looked around, didn’t see anyone and just as I started to turn right, a guy on a bike came whizzing by me on my right and almost got taken out. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/57 "2013-04-29T16:58:36Z")
I live right near a park that runs along a long creek, and this park has a narrow, windy, parallel road that gets quite a bit of traffic. This park also has a very nice, well maintained, dedicated bike path completely separated from the road. It is in THIS situation where I will get bent out of shape when a biker insists on riding in the road. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/58 "2013-04-29T17:00:37Z")
Not at home right now, or I would totally do the Professor Quirrell meme thing. Bicycles! Bicycles on the Sidewalks! Just thought you aught to know. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/59 "2013-04-29T17:15:34Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I live right near a park that runs along a long creek, and this park has a narrow, windy, parallel road that gets quite a bit of traffic. This park also has a very nice, well maintained, dedicated bike path completely separated from the road. It is in THIS situation where I will get bent out of shape when a biker insists on riding in the road. The question is what kind of pedestrian traffic does the path get? Pedestrians are a serious problem for cyclists, who typically ride at five to ten times walking speed. A few days ago, I was walking on a path with my mother when a cyclist called out “on your left”, which caused me to react by moving in the wrong direction. Paths have people walking their dogs, toddlers toddling randomly about, and the occasional squirrel jumping into the spokes of a wheel, destroying the bike and throwing the rider. Places with pedestrian traffic are not suitable for bicyclists who, to be fair, often really do want to get to somewhere just as much as a motorist. Cars are just as much an inconvenience for bicycles as the opposite. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/60 "2013-04-29T17:47:46Z")
How fast do people ride where you live? I mean, I ride on the sidewalks - because that’s what people do here - and if someone’s blocking my way I ring my bell, and if they don’t move aside, I stop and say “excuse me”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975.md?page=4)