I love how they (the peds) if they are still in school, look at you like you have some nerve to even drive near them when they are walking in the street!
Not that far away… Dublin (Columbus) Ohio. 
Actually, I prefer that bikers ride in the road, where I can SEE THEM coming. When I’m making a left turn, I’m looking at the road to see if anyone’s coming. If you’re flying down the sidewalk on your bike in the opposite direction, I’m not going to see you. Chances are I’m either going to turn into you or in front of you to enter the parking lot. In either case that’s bad for the biker, and would make me feel like total crap in the end.
I’ve almost hit 3 kids on bikes this way. You just don’t see them and they don’t realize that you can’t see them (nor are they looking out for you). If they rode on the correct side of the road at least there’s a chance of seeing them on the sidewalk.
When they’re in the road, you can see them, and go around them / wait for them to pass before turning.
Oh yeah, and it is the LAW for bikes to obey all traffic rules (including lights and stop signs).
Actually, what I meant was that for example, if I’m heading North, waiting to make a left, and the biker is on the sidewalk, ALSO heading North, I’m not going to see him.
Of course, I check for pedestrians, but you usually don’t look far enough in either direction to see a bike speeding down the sidewalk.
That is astonishingly stupid. Bicycles belong on the road, gasbag. I’m not too alarmed because I rest assured you will manage to run yourself over while backing out of the driveway any day now. Did your mother have any children that lived?
Bravo pldennison! I’m impressed with the amount of research you did on this.
Can’t believe I passed over this OP!! As a cycling commuter, kudo’s to all on your vociferous defense. Obviously the two dweebs were trolling, none-the-less, thanks for the vigorous beat down.
I knew you had to be from around here – what is it about Ohio drivers, eh? 
As for the OP, pedestrians and cyclists certainly have the same right to use roads as automobile drivers. And they should be safe doing so as long as everyone follows the rules of the road.
Well, first off the obligitory “Fuck you” to everyone, nice to see such a good turnout on a day like this.
The main point here seems to be that it’s illegal to ride bikes on the sidewalks…well of course there’s no arguing with the person anal-retentive enough to actually dig up about 20 references to the laws when that fact had already been estlabished so I’ll just admit I fucked up there.
However, I still stand by my post, bicyclists have no right to be on the road, for the reasons I stated. Nobody should have to be held hostage behind someone pedaling along at a few miles per hour, as traffic backs up behind you. When there are 3,000 pound penis extentions rocketing down the road at 55 miles per hour, the aforementioned lycra-wrapped biker huffing along at a much slower speed on his sub-100 pound bike is a dangerous distraction.
There must be different bikers in real cities, because I dont know of the ones that stay as far over as possibile and show any precaution. There’s nothing like going around a curve and having to brake heavily because there’s someone on a bike that can’t or won’t get over too far to pass, and the curves or oncomming traffic won’t let you use the other lane to pass there either. I’m not sure why this is even an issue, but if the road is made in such a way the only way you can bike on it forces traffic to have to slow down and change their course around you, you shouldn’t be biking on it. Although the people here seem to think otherwise, roads are NOT made for bike use, although their use on roads is allowed, highways do not exsist for bike use only, and it pisses me off to see them out there, holding motorists at bay, because they’re a biker, by christ, they’re helping the enviroment and us evil horribile motorists can just wait on them.
I’m also impressed with the large amount of people that think I seriously patrol the roads, bumping off poor bicyclists…please, if I could spare any, I’d loan out some clues, but you’ll have to find them on your own.
Yes, you really need all the clues you can get, don’t you?
pldennison, did I win anything?
Well until they develope the Hover Bike I guess that we will have to just share the fucking road. While riding on 4 lane highways is illegal (not to mention stupid) riding on any other type of road is legal. Roads do not exsist for car use only by the way.
Out of idle curosity what would happen if you come around a curve and there is a car driving slowly, toss out another rant of how slow cars should not be allowed out of their driveway?
That’s a shiny new kewpie doll for throatshot!!
Oh tsk tsk, I expected better from one trained in the art of hatered…you should know that Driving too slowly is illegal. I’m sorry I won’t break down every word of your post and inject a witty catchphrase, nor will I quote 8 sources on the matter, but rest assured it is against the law.
The difference between cars and bikes is that going slowly is a choice when driving a car. It is not a choice when you’re biking, espically when the route gets hilly.
Well I’m asking for it. Show me somewhere that it says driving too slowly is illegal? Driving slowly does not always equal traffic hazard.
I suppose that depends on the vehicle and the bicycle rider. I guess nursing a car home so you can fix it should be illegal too? What about turning into my driveway that is on a nearly blind turn?
First of all, if I choose to ride a bicycle rather than a slow car, then that is what I will do, how DARE you deny anyone that choice.
Never mind about that part. I found some backward localities where this is actually illegal. However I didn’t find a cite that specified how slow is too slow. I guess this is used for bumping up quotas.
Let’s see, you are on a “curvey assed little road”, and you say you are doing 45-50 mph and yet say you are not driving too fast. What if you came upon a stalled truck?
You sound like a sockpuppet of the OP to me for some reason. Maybe its the post count.
There’s actually good reasons for that sometimes:
[li]Bike lanes make no accounting for bicyclists having to turn left. I’ve been honked at for leaving the lane when I signaled properly to get into the left turn lane.[/li]
[li] Many bike lanes are wonderfully placed in the “dooring zone” next to parked cars.[/li]
[li] Guess where 95% of the broken glass, car parts, assorted auto detritus ends up: The bike lane![/li]
[li] Many bike lanes (such as those in Philadelphia) are poorly thought out, and end without much warning.[/li]
[li] Cars ‘sorta’ respect bike lanes. They drift into them, use them as a spare lanbe when they are impatient to outrace everyone at the next red light, use them as parking “just for a minute”, move into them to park, and any fail to notice any shifts in the lanes.[/li]
[li] Realy odd one, and I hate to mention it, but pedestrians waiting to jaywalk, or looking down the street for the bus tend to think the bike lane is a free standing zone where no vehicles dare tread. one or two folks can get out of the way, but when a mob moved to jaywalk it can get ugly.[/li]
All said though, I prefer having bike lanes to not having them. There’s long stadning arguements as to wether bike lanes mean segregation and second-class citizen status for bicyclists, but I won’t get into that.
I am not so mad when cyclists don’t use the cycle lane right next to them if they are making a turn, or going someplace that is better reached by driving through the sidewalk. What irritates me is that going on a straight direction, they choose the sidewalk over the cycle road. It is as if they are afraid of the cars, which I suppose it is a valid concern, but no excuse. In the town I live I still haven’t seen dirty cycle lanes, but I suppose it is a problem in bigger cities. Even with the problems of cycle lanes, the sidewalk is not the place for bicycles, the road is their place.