# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/81 "2013-04-29T21:39:31Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > On my bike I have been struck by a car, pelted with beer bottles/garbage (twice), chased by violent teens (twice), and squeezed into a ditch by traffic. > F\*\*k the rules, I don’t want to **die**. That must be some bicycle. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/82 "2013-04-29T23:06:48Z")
> [@bup](#): > > 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. Come to Chicago and ride on the sidewalk in my neighborhood, and I’ll helpfully yell at you to get the fuck off the side **WALK**. Sadly, all these assholes riding on the sidewalk is the unintended consequence of the Americans with Disabilities Act. By trying to be kind and inclusive to those in wheelchairs, all the sidewalk corners have ramps cut into them. This has given assholes on bikes the mistaken impression that the ramps are there for their convenience. It takes every bit of my self-control not to reach my arm out and clothesline next fucker coming up the sidewalk behind me at 40 mph on a bike. You may as well be operating a jet-sky in the public pool, you shitheads! ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/83 "2013-04-30T01:24:03Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Come to Chicago and ride on the sidewalk in my neighborhood, and I’ll helpfully yell at you to get the fuck off the side **WALK**. oh **KAY**! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/84 "2013-04-30T03:28:27Z")
> [@bup](#): > > oh **KAY**! The exact same guidelines should apply to all sidewalks, whether they be busy city sidewalks with many hidden doors and a low speed limit for cars on the road, or suburban walks with hardly any useage and broad views, where the alternative would be to ride with traffic rushing by at 60 mph. The same exact safety calculus should hold in both cases. When you finally see it this way, it makes a lot more sense. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/85 "2013-04-30T03:53:43Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > Why do so many idiots persist in thinking that the proper place to ride a bicycle is the sidewalk? If someone wants to ride a bicycle on the sidewalk, that’s obnoxious enough, as it really does get in the way of normal sidewalk usage, but the worst part is the drivers that scream out the window at cyclists that they NEED to get on the sidewalk and off the road. > In most places it’s not even legal to ride on the sidewalk unless you are a child, and it is definitely not safe. I’m so sick of bikes trying to run me over and getting all pissy about how dare there be someone WALKING on the SIDEWALK that I’ve had fantasies about giving a wheel a swift kick to dump the offender off. Don’t worry, I won’t actually do it, since I’m not the violent type and don’t need the legal hassles. ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/86 "2013-04-30T04:24:03Z")
A few months ago, I came within inches of hitting a cyclist who was riding on the sidewalk and went through an intersection while I was trying to turn left. I’m used to checking the crosswalk for pedestrians, as well as the nearby sidewalk X distance from the crosswalk in case somebody is about to step out. I’m not used to checking at X+100 distance for that fast-moving bicyclist who will be in position to shoot out in front of my car right as we both converge on that point. The kicker was that I had a green arrow, meaning oncoming traffic had a red light and pedestrians had a Don’t Walk sign. And he had no helmet, and he was coming from the wrong direction. It was like the Quadrifecta of Stupid. The intersections near Balboa Park on my drive home all have “WALK WITH BIKE” signs at the crosswalks, since Balboa Park is basically one big bike path. Probably 10% of cyclists I see actually do this. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/87 "2013-04-30T04:30:55Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > It isn’t the “car road,” it’s just the road. When you are in a car, you do not have a greater right to it than I do on a bike. I’m sorry you’re such a poor driver that having to pass a slower vehicle is an unpleasant chore, but when I “take up the road” you see me because I am directly in your line of sight. You’re remarkable in being able to deduce my driving skill over a message board. Well, speaking of deductions and bad drivers, it seems to me that if someone had anything of value to discuss they would have chosen another board for the topic. Starting a rant in the pit makes me think someone must have had a near miss and is looking to displace the blame. > [@Gary\_Kumquat](#): > > It must be a real hardship having to share the roads with cyclists, school buses and other valid users who aren’t going quite fast enough for you. You’ve got me on this one. I am the only one in the world who grumbles about getting stuck behind a school bus while everyone else is going “Aren’t they darling?” and rolling down the window to shout “Bless you children! You are our future! Don’t sext each other until you’ve finished your homework!” ---
**Author:** ![colander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@colander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colander)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/88 "2013-04-30T04:37:58Z")
> [@Aquadementia](#): > > You’re remarkable in being able to deduce my driving skill over a message board. > Well, speaking of deductions and bad drivers, it seems to me that if someone had anything of value to discuss they would have chosen another board for the topic. Starting a rant in the pit makes me think someone must have had a near miss and is looking to displace the blame. > You’ve got me on this one. I am the only one in the world who grumbles about getting stuck behind a school bus while everyone else is going “Aren’t they darling?” and rolling down the window to shout “Bless you children! You are our future! Don’t sext each other until you’ve finished your homework!” Oh, please tell me you write letters to the township about this. "daer counselmans i have a problem which is: scool bus go too slow! it stop all the time and tehn tiny men comes out. i think maybe they are ilegal imagants. maybe chineese? palse advise!" ---
**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 30, 2013, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/89 "2013-04-30T06:50:22Z")
Gotta love the hyperbole in this thread. “Bicyclists passing me on the sidewalk at 40mph”, 60mph roads with sidewalks, is everyone just blowing steam here? ---
**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 30, 2013, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/90 "2013-04-30T10:02:39Z")
> [@Aquadementia](#): > > You’ve got me on this one. I am the only one in the world who grumbles about getting stuck behind a school bus I wasn’t trying to imply you were the _only_ self-entitled arsehole in the world. ---
**Author:** ![DHMO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecc23a/32.png) [@DHMO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DHMO)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/91 "2013-04-30T10:53:45Z")
> [@For You](#): > > Gotta love the hyperbole in this thread. “Bicyclists passing me on the sidewalk at 40mph”, 60mph roads with sidewalks, is everyone just blowing steam here? I don’t think it is all hyperbole. When I challenged a cyclist for going 50 miles per hour on a community park sidewalk, terrorizing all the pedestrians using the walkway, he sneeringly informed me he was “only” going 40 miles per hour, as he pointed to the speedometer mounted on his handlebars. I gently indicated the speed limit sign not 30 feet from where we were standing, which is the same for all parks in the area, that stated the limit was 15 miles per hour, about as fast as a person on foot could run. He left the park after that. The main complaint I have, and obviously share with many in this thread, is that people on bicycles have an utter contempt for the law, and a profound sense of self-entitlement, whereby “the laws are for _suckers_, and do not apply to _ **ME** _, because I am such a special snowflake.” ---
**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 30, 2013, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/92 "2013-04-30T11:02:30Z")
> [@DHMO](#): > > The main complaint I have, and obviously share with many in this thread, is that people on bicycles have an utter contempt for the law, and a profound sense of self-entitlement, whereby “the laws are for _suckers_, and do not apply to _ **ME** _, because I am such a special snowflake.” I’m an avid cyclist, commuting and recreational. If you’d worded that as “many people on bicycles have contempt for the law” I’d completely agree with you. Red light jumpers, pavement cycling, ignoring speed limits…I see cyclists doing this on a daily basis, and it both annoys and embarrasses me. ---
**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/93 "2013-04-30T11:04:51Z")
I have actually heard of some dude getting a speeding ticket because he went 40 mph in a 30 mph zone on his bike. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/94 "2013-04-30T11:13:17Z")
> [@Anonymous User](#): > > I have actually heard of some dude getting a speeding ticket because he went 40 mph in a 30 mph zone on his bike. Pretty much, only pro-level riders can hit 40 in a sprint on level ground. Most likely he was coming down a hill. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/95 "2013-04-30T11:41:43Z")
> [@Anonymous User](#): > > I have actually heard of some dude getting a speeding ticket because he went 40 mph in a 30 mph zone on his bike. Its rare, but it does happen. If you read some of the cyclist message boards you hear about it happening now and then. If I ever get a speeding ticket on my bike I will happily pay the fine and frame the ticket and hang it on my wall. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/96 "2013-04-30T12:17:30Z")
> [@chizzuk](#): > > It was like the Quadrifecta of Stupid. Nitpick: Superfecta of Stupid. And yeah, bicyclists are a goddamn menace when mixed with pedestrians. I don’t really come into contact with much bike traffic any more, but when I was in school I was nearly plowed down from behind more times than I can count. I sat and listened to a conversation at the Student Center one day about how much somebody liked the look on pedestrians’ faces when she came slamming up behind and took them unawares. (The rollerbladers were just as prone to roaring up behind you and expecting you to avoid them, but you could at least hear them coming because the hard wheels made noise. Bikes, not so much.) People got hurt, and a pregnant lady raised a huge stink because a cyclist missed ramming her in the belly with a handlebar by a couple inches. TPTB finally made central campus a walk bike only zone. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/97 "2013-04-30T12:17:51Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Yes. I’m in an area where I see a lot of people on bikes - and the only time I’ve come close to an accident with one of them is when a bike came off the sidewalk, crossing in front of me without warning (as I turned into a side street). If he’d been on the road, like he should have been, I’d have seen him coming (I’m expecting to see vehicles at street speeds on the street, not appearing suddenly from the sidewalk). So, what you’re saying is that you’re focusing on the road and ONLY on the road and on nothing else but the pavement so,for example, if it has been a child running on that sidewalk who dashed in front of you you would have mowed down the kid? I’m sorry, I was taught that you keep an awareness of your entire surroundings. If you’re so oblivious that you don’t notice what’s to the side of the road, or on the sidewalks next to the road, or the shoulders, you need some re-training. Or just get used to hitting not only cyclists but children and animals as well. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/98 "2013-04-30T12:22:53Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > 1. Sidewalk traffic is not on a typical driver’s radar. Unless you’re turning into a driveway or making a turn at an intersection. drivers don’t interact with sidewalk occupants. Seriously? This is what they teach these days? So, you don’t have kids run into the street suddenly? You don’t have jaywalkers crossing in the middle of the block? You don’t have pets running out into the street? None of that ever happens where you are? I was taught that a driver has a responsibility to avoid accidents, you don’t get excused for hurting or killing someone because you’re driving on the road they’re “supposed to be” on the sidewalk. No wonder the typical driver is so crap at driving. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/99 "2013-04-30T12:26:36Z")
> [@For You](#): > > Gotta love the hyperbole in this thread. “Bicyclists passing me on the sidewalk at 40mph”, 60mph roads with sidewalks, is everyone just blowing steam here? Not hyperbole on my part. [50 mph roads](http://maps.google.com/?ll=28.54313,-81.31053&spn=0.000038,0.016072&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=28.54313,-81.31053&panoid=uafTYgfS1EGyX0gG5A6LpQ&cbp=12,357.09,,0,-5.89) with sidewalks are common in Orlando, which means that vehicles are going up to 60 mph in actuality. (Quick, someone arrest that person on a bike in that link! They’re clearly a danger to all the pedestrians around them! The uncrowded street is much better. Note that this was merely the first link I could find and thus pretty random.) ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975/100 "2013-04-30T12:27:30Z")
I just want to clarify - if you’re in an area where adult cyclists are, indeed, supposed to be riding in the street then YES, they should be in the street. And the drivers should share the road with them properly. Cyclists are required to follow the traffic laws that apply to them. I just have a major issue with people so oblivious to the larger picture they think “he came off the sidewalk and that’s why I didn’t see him coming” is somehow a valid excuse for hitting someone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bicycles-on-the-sidewalk/656975.md?page=6)