Cycling on the pavement

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Squaggles

New Member
Location
Yorkshire
I realise this is against the law but is it ever ok to ride on the pavement ? Would you do it for the sake of personal safety if a particular stretch of road or junction was too dangerous ?
The standard of driving in this country seems to have got steadily worse in the time I have been riding a bike and sometimes I just do not feel safe . The alternative would be to get the bus which I really don't want to do .
 

bonj2

Guest
Yeah, it's technically illegal but largely ok. As long as you go fairly slowly (< 15mph - although on a dedicated cycle path you can probably open her up a bit), and are careful of peds, and give way to them - that's the main thing.
IIRC Paul Boateng a government minister has recently clamped down on police trying to stop and fine people who ride on the pavement perfectly safely, imho good on him.
 
bonj said:
Yeah, it's technically illegal but largely ok. As long as you go fairly slowly (< 15mph - although on a dedicated cycle path you can probably open her up a bit), and are careful of peds, and give way to them - that's the main thing.
IIRC Paul Boateng a government minister has recently clamped down on police trying to stop and fine people who ride on the pavement perfectly safely, imho good on him.

year its illegal but its ok??? WHAT!. as long as you go slow? 15mph is not slow its 4 and a bit times faster then someone walking so thats not slow. you can probably open her up a bit on a cycle path what is it bad now for going faster then 15mph on a cycle path in stead of a path?

bonj your not thinking right are you?
 

bonj2

Guest
spandex said:
year its illegal but its ok??? WHAT!. as long as you go slow? 15mph is not slow its 4 and a bit times faster then someone walking so thats not slow.


I think you'll find 15mph is quite slow. It's all relative anyhow. 60mph in a car is 4 x faster than a cyclist going at 15mph. But it doesn't necessarily mean it's unsafe to do that speed in a car as long if you slow down a bit when you see the cyclist and overtake them safely, give them a wide berth and don't startle them. Same with peds on a path. But anyhow, it matters not. I've said, that you should be careful of peds and to give way to them. That's the most important thing.
spandex said:
you can probably open her up a bit on a cycle path what is it bad now for going faster then 15mph on a cycle path in stead of a path?
I don't understand this sentence. Use better grammar.
 

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
I cycled on the pavement yesterday.... I was with my son - age 6, some of the journey we both were on the road, some just me on the road... but on the way back the pavement is only on one side of the busiest road, so I rode behind him at a fast snails pace. At least that way I can shout comments at him - like 'let the man go first' etc, and you can cross the side roads together.
And I also rode on the pavement when I first returned to cycling 2 years ago, and gradually cycled on busier and busier roads. There is still the odd junction that I would walk but they are few and far between.

Squaggles said:
Would you do it for the sake of personal safety if a particular stretch of road or junction was too dangerous ?
The alternative would be to get the bus which I really don't want to do .
Have you looked to see if there are alternative routes avoiding the worst traffic? even if they are longer - they still could be faster if you don't have negotiate with all the traffic.
 

col

Legendary Member
Iv told my son,when he cycles to school,if he feels unsafe to get on the pavement,but if anyone is there slow down or get off,whichever is better.I would also do it myself ,if i thought i needed to.
 

Blue

Legendary Member
Location
N Ireland
summerdays said:
I cycled on the pavement yesterday.... I was with my son - age 6, some of the journey we both were on the road, some just me on the road... but on the way back the pavement is only on one side of the busiest road, so I rode behind him at a fast snails pace. At least that way I can shout comments at him - like 'let the man go first' etc, and you can cross the side roads together.


I did the same thing with my boy when he was that age.

I wouldn't as a rule ride on the path, but don't have a problem with it if safety suggests its use. I agree with the comment made by Bonji in relation to giving way to other users - as long as pavement using cyclists give way to me when I'm walking I don't object - it's the bu@@ers who try to mow you down that get on my goat.
 

bonj2

Guest
Blue said:
I did the same thing with my boy when he was that age.

I wouldn't as a rule ride on the path, but don't have a problem with it if safety suggests its use. I agree with the comment made by Bonji in relation to giving way to other users - as long as pavement using cyclists give way to me when I'm walking I don't object - it's the bu@@ers who try to mow you down that get on my goat.

is it legal to ride a goat on the pavement? :tongue: xx(
 

col

Legendary Member
bonj said:
is it legal to ride a goat on the pavement? :tongue: xx(



No, its illegal to ride a goat anywhere;)
 

Elmer Fudd

Miserable Old Bar Steward
spandex said:
year its illegal but its ok??? WHAT!. as long as you go slow? 15mph is not slow its 4 and a bit times faster then someone walking so thats not slow.
I always thought natural walking speed for a reasonably fit person was 4mph ? Or is that just me ?
 

bonj2

Guest
Elmer Fudd said:
I always thought natural walking speed for a reasonably fit person was 4mph ? Or is that just me ?

that's a fairly brisk walk, but yes generally walking pace is considered to be 4mph.
 
Elmer Fudd said:
I always thought natural walking speed for a reasonably fit person was 4mph ? Or is that just me ?


its round 3 to 4 mph some get upto 5 xx( ive been told but lets say to help bonj fill better 3.75mph? ish ok! its still 4 times faster. its still fast ok not the same speed as me on the road but it is fast.
 

frog

Guest
Over the past week or so I've started to see a new cycle commuter. She started with just a bike, then added helmet, reflective jacket, and now lights. She always cycles on the pavement and is very considerate of the peds. I'm hoping that soon she'll want to try the road and get where she's going a bit quicker.

While it's illegal to ride on the pavement I wouldn't blame a novice for doing it. Equally so I wouldn't blame a novice for returning to the pavement after a scare.

I hit a guy who attacked me a few years ago at around 15 mph. He was trying to push me off the bike into the overtaking line of traffic. With an all up weight of 16 stone he made no impression on my line of travel at all. All I got was two red patches on my shoulder where he pushed me. He, on the other hand went flying backwards into his open car door - with luck I probably broke both his wrists as well. You can do an awful lot of damage at 15 mph to some one who's actually prepared to receive the impact. You could probably increase that to someone who gets taken unawares by the contact.
 
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