On/off road/pavement cycling
- Thread starter Sandra6
- Start date
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bluemint
Active Member
- Location
- Between the plain and the peak
Or that hazard lights mysteriously mean 'I'll park where I damn well like'. Really annoys me that one.
The only time I'll pavement ride is when I'm going to Sainbury's to avoid having to turn right into a bike/ped shortcut. All of about 200yds. rarely anyone about and if there is, they get priority.
Otherwise, they're a menace on the pavement, the only 2 bike accidents I've seen have been on the pavement. The first was the immediate aftermath of a teenager going into the side of a car after cruising downhill over side roads and the other was a nasty collision between another lad into a teenage girl. That was when I used to get the bus...
derrick
The Glue that binds us together.
- Location
- On the edge of London
Guilty,
Ian Cooper
Expat Yorkshireman
- Location
- Silver Spring, MD, USA
[QUOTE 1911832, member: 45"]Everyone does it here, and nobody dies.[/quote]
"Nobody" dies while riding on the pavement? Yeah, right! I suppose no one gets killed whilst riding against traffic either, nor do they get killed while filtering or while standing at red lights next to lorries. Pull the other one, it's got bells on.
People do die while riding on the pavement. Most of them aren't actually on the pavement when they're killed - most often, they have just entered the roadway at an intersection or they're in a driveway when the collision happens:
http://bikinginla.wordpress.com/2009/12/04/9-year-old-cyclist-killed-in-anaheim/
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthrea...sh-Example-of-why-cyclists-are-safer-on-roads
http://www.news12.com/articleDetail.jsp?articleId=281439
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LhSAuLjSeY
But people are even killed while on the pavement:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/13/u...ers-new-bike-lanes-after-accident-deaths.html
http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/a...curb-kills-girl-5-playing-on-a-busy-side.html
The pavement is at least twice as dangerous for cyclists as the road, as Ken Kifer argues here:
http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/health/risks.htm
www.bicyclesafe.com (a US site) says: "Don't ride on the sidewalk in the first place. Crossing between sidewalks is a fairly dangerous maneuver. If you do it on the left-hand side of the street, you risk getting slammed as per the diagram. If you do it on the right-hand side of the street, you risk getting slammed by a car behind you that's turning right. Sidewalk riding also makes you vulnerable to cars pulling out of parking lots or driveways."
Few cyclists in Britain are killed while riding on the pavement because in Britain it's illegal to do so - and the police are better at fining pavement riders, so fewer cyclists are stupid enough to ride on it.
Ride on the road, where you can be seen. For cyclists, visibility = safety.
"Nobody" dies while riding on the pavement? Yeah, right! I suppose no one gets killed whilst riding against traffic either, nor do they get killed while filtering or while standing at red lights next to lorries. Pull the other one, it's got bells on.
People do die while riding on the pavement. Most of them aren't actually on the pavement when they're killed - most often, they have just entered the roadway at an intersection or they're in a driveway when the collision happens:
http://bikinginla.wordpress.com/2009/12/04/9-year-old-cyclist-killed-in-anaheim/
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthrea...sh-Example-of-why-cyclists-are-safer-on-roads
http://www.news12.com/articleDetail.jsp?articleId=281439
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LhSAuLjSeY
But people are even killed while on the pavement:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/13/u...ers-new-bike-lanes-after-accident-deaths.html
http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/a...curb-kills-girl-5-playing-on-a-busy-side.html
The pavement is at least twice as dangerous for cyclists as the road, as Ken Kifer argues here:
http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/health/risks.htm
www.bicyclesafe.com (a US site) says: "Don't ride on the sidewalk in the first place. Crossing between sidewalks is a fairly dangerous maneuver. If you do it on the left-hand side of the street, you risk getting slammed as per the diagram. If you do it on the right-hand side of the street, you risk getting slammed by a car behind you that's turning right. Sidewalk riding also makes you vulnerable to cars pulling out of parking lots or driveways."
Few cyclists in Britain are killed while riding on the pavement because in Britain it's illegal to do so - and the police are better at fining pavement riders, so fewer cyclists are stupid enough to ride on it.
Ride on the road, where you can be seen. For cyclists, visibility = safety.
Boris Bajic
Guest
Mmmm....
Well I think if Satan were looking for a means of corrupting mankind, he could think of no better method than the tantalising prospect of riding on the pavement. It is the very definition of evil or something that sounds like that but makes more sense...
I hop kerbs between Paddington, Whitehall and EC2. It speeds my way through the city and brings amusement and entertainment.
I don't do it to jump traffic signals - those are easily hopped without leaving the carriageway although I rarely do so.
I hop kerbs and ride along short stretches of pavement to get past bus stacks (an Oxford Street speciality) and to avoid what I think look like traffic snarls that do not offer a safe filtering environment.
I think we might be in danger of taking a little too seriously this whole pavement thing.
There is a way of doing it with politeness and finesse.
Well I think if Satan were looking for a means of corrupting mankind, he could think of no better method than the tantalising prospect of riding on the pavement. It is the very definition of evil or something that sounds like that but makes more sense...
I hop kerbs between Paddington, Whitehall and EC2. It speeds my way through the city and brings amusement and entertainment.
I don't do it to jump traffic signals - those are easily hopped without leaving the carriageway although I rarely do so.
I hop kerbs and ride along short stretches of pavement to get past bus stacks (an Oxford Street speciality) and to avoid what I think look like traffic snarls that do not offer a safe filtering environment.
I think we might be in danger of taking a little too seriously this whole pavement thing.
There is a way of doing it with politeness and finesse.
- Location
- Glasgow
On my commute to work I do sometimes use the pavement for a short stretch to avoid a busy road. It is however, a broad pavement that becomes a shared path after a few yards. I could use the park that goes parallel instead, but usually there are no pedestrians on that pavement because they are all walking through the park!
In town, or at junctions where I chicken out, I just dismount and push the bike.
If I'm in an area where I'm unsure of lanes/direction, I normally dismount and push the bike until I get my bearings.
In some areas, here, we do have broad pavements with hardly any pedestrians on them.
I have no qualms whatsoever in using them when the traffic gets too much for me
In town, or at junctions where I chicken out, I just dismount and push the bike.
If I'm in an area where I'm unsure of lanes/direction, I normally dismount and push the bike until I get my bearings.
In some areas, here, we do have broad pavements with hardly any pedestrians on them.
I have no qualms whatsoever in using them when the traffic gets too much for me
potsy
Rambler
- Location
- My Armchair
I've got no problem with people using them like Pat does, as long as they are sensible and keep the speed right down, it's the morons who stay at the same speed and do it purely to 'dodge' the lights that annoy me.
Ian Cooper
Expat Yorkshireman
- Location
- Silver Spring, MD, USA
[QUOTE 1911881, member: 45"]I said "Everyone does it here, and nobody dies." And that's correct.[/quote]
Then it's just a matter of time. Anyone who thinks his locality is somehow immune to pavement cycling deaths is living in fantasyland. I assure you - even in Somerset, people will be killed while riding on the sidewalk. If it hasn't happened yet, it will.
And cyclists do die in Somerset:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-11260488
Then it's just a matter of time. Anyone who thinks his locality is somehow immune to pavement cycling deaths is living in fantasyland. I assure you - even in Somerset, people will be killed while riding on the sidewalk. If it hasn't happened yet, it will.
And cyclists do die in Somerset:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-11260488
D
Deleted member 20519
Guest
I agree with Potsy, if you're cycling like a lunatic and you're endangering pedestrations, it's not okay but if you're just riding at a slow pace for a good reason, why not? There's no harm in it.
- Location
- Glasgow
Me? Speed? What speed?
Ian Cooper
Expat Yorkshireman
- Location
- Silver Spring, MD, USA
[QUOTE 1911916, member: 45"]You claim that cycling on the pavement is suicidal. Sorry, but that's just rubbish.[/quote]
Studies show that pavement cycling increases the risk of collision by a factor of between 2 and 12. That adjusts the lifetime risk of dying on a bicycle from 1 in 140 to as little as 1 in 11. If you like those odds, go right ahead and ride on the sidewalk. Yes, you will probably live to a ripe old age and die in your bed, so my characterization was somewhat hyperbolic. Sometimes a little hyperbole can come in handy when people insist on doing stupid things. I view anyone who is willing to reduce his odds of living by doing something as stupid and unnecessary as riding on the pavement (when there's a perfectly good and safe road right next to it) as 'suicidal' - and I think that saying that such a characterization is 'rubbish' only means you don't know what you're talking about.
Studies show that pavement cycling increases the risk of collision by a factor of between 2 and 12. That adjusts the lifetime risk of dying on a bicycle from 1 in 140 to as little as 1 in 11. If you like those odds, go right ahead and ride on the sidewalk. Yes, you will probably live to a ripe old age and die in your bed, so my characterization was somewhat hyperbolic. Sometimes a little hyperbole can come in handy when people insist on doing stupid things. I view anyone who is willing to reduce his odds of living by doing something as stupid and unnecessary as riding on the pavement (when there's a perfectly good and safe road right next to it) as 'suicidal' - and I think that saying that such a characterization is 'rubbish' only means you don't know what you're talking about.
potsy
Rambler
- Location
- My Armchair
Mr Paul has recently moved to Somerset, No?
Think he's lost the will to live already
Think he's lost the will to live already
D
Deleted member 20519
Guest
The police have never stopped me for riding on the pavement, they've only ever smiled and said hello.
junglegusset
Veteran
- Location
- Wirral - The Insular Peninsula
[QUOTE 1911881, member: 45"]I said "Everyone does it here, and nobody dies." And that's correct.
It's not illegal over here...... [/quote]
It's illegal on quite a lot pavements on the UK though no? Or have I missed something? Rarely enforced for sure.
It's not illegal over here...... [/quote]
It's illegal on quite a lot pavements on the UK though no? Or have I missed something? Rarely enforced for sure.
- Location
- Glasgow
Well, I'm a bit seasoned after months of giving up public transport, relying only on the bike. I can do my comfort routes (work, friends homes, local shops) entirely on the road, even at peak times.
But if there had not been, to start with, a way to reach my destinations without mixing with motorized traffic ( cycle lanes, parks, the odd pavement) I would surely not have started to commute by bike, it would have been to scary for me as a newbie then.
Now, I see sometimes the ones that have just started using my route: they take the pavement along the busy stretch, while I am normally on the road.
We all have to start somehow!
But if there had not been, to start with, a way to reach my destinations without mixing with motorized traffic ( cycle lanes, parks, the odd pavement) I would surely not have started to commute by bike, it would have been to scary for me as a newbie then.
Now, I see sometimes the ones that have just started using my route: they take the pavement along the busy stretch, while I am normally on the road.
We all have to start somehow!
