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Deleted member 20519
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In the UK, you don't get prosecuted if you're under 16 - does that make it legal for under 16s or...?
On/off road/pavement cycling
- Thread starter Sandra6
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In the UK, you don't get prosecuted if you're under 16 - does that make it legal for under 16s or...?
classic33
Leg End Member
Could we liken cycling on the pavement to some of the driving seen.
On the roads we're the smaller, more vunerable vehicle. On the pavement, we're the largest, sometimes travelling at speed in excess of what those who use the footpaths consider to be unsafe/too fast.
Are we merely taking a problem elsewhere, where we become the larger, faster user.
Note, for the purpose of this post the term "we're" is used to describe pedal cycles.
On the roads we're the smaller, more vunerable vehicle. On the pavement, we're the largest, sometimes travelling at speed in excess of what those who use the footpaths consider to be unsafe/too fast.
Are we merely taking a problem elsewhere, where we become the larger, faster user.
Note, for the purpose of this post the term "we're" is used to describe pedal cycles.
Ian Cooper
Expat Yorkshireman
- Location
- Silver Spring, MD, USA
According to:
http://www.bikehub.co.uk/featured-articles/cycling-and-the-law/
"The primary legislation which makes cycling on a footway an offence is section 72 of the 1835 Highways Act, this provides that a person shall be guilty of an offence if he 'shall wilfully ride upon any footpath or causeway by the side of any road made or set apart for the use or accommodation of foot-passengers or shall wilfully lead or drive any carriage of any description upon any such footpath or causeway.' "
So, as I read it, unless you're a child under the age of criminal responsibility (10 in England and Wales), cycling on footpaths next to a road is illegal throughout the UK - even in Somerset. Cycling on footpaths away from the roadway may, as I understand it, be legal.
However, in 1999, then Home Office Minister Paul Boateng issued a letter stating that:
“The introduction of the fixed penalty is not aimed at responsible cyclists who sometimes feel obliged to use the pavement out of fear of traffic and who show consideration to other pavement users when doing so. Chief police officers, who are responsible for enforcement, acknowledge that many cyclists, particularly children and young people, are afraid to cycle on the road, sensitivity and careful use of police discretion is required.”
So if someone is scared of the road, I guess it's possible to make that argument in a court of law, LOL. But as well as being 'wussy' (as the Yanks say), it's a pretty funny defence, considering the fact that footpath-cycling is more dangerous than roadway cycling.
My 9 year-old daughter cycles on the road here in the US - just today, she rode with me on a 6-lane highway. When I asked her a minute ago what she thinks about sidewalk cycling, she opened her eyes wide and said "I think it's dangerous and they're kinda stupid for doing it."
MontyVeda
a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
- Location
- Lancaster... the little city.
there's certain pavements around Lancaster on which I've always cycled as opposed to using the road. Yes it may have technically been illegal, but the pavements are wide with not a great deal of pedestrians. After 20+ years of using certain pavements alongside busy roads... the council has recently made them all shared use... so i was right all along. 
Does anyone else find pedestrians don't understand shared use pavements??
We have a few cycle paths that are on the path, either painted green or with a white line, but pedestrians seem to think they can stand in the middle of them and clearly don't understand a cycle bell or even "excuse me".
I always thought it was illegal to cycle on the pavement - apart from where it's marked for cycling - and my son at 14 was stopped by the police for doing exactly that and a stern letter was sent to me as a result!
We have a few cycle paths that are on the path, either painted green or with a white line, but pedestrians seem to think they can stand in the middle of them and clearly don't understand a cycle bell or even "excuse me".
I always thought it was illegal to cycle on the pavement - apart from where it's marked for cycling - and my son at 14 was stopped by the police for doing exactly that and a stern letter was sent to me as a result!
GrasB
Veteran
- Location
- Nr Cambridge
When I take to the pavement I almost always walk with my bike. Even shared cycle paths & in rural environments. I've found them to be more dangerous most of the time unless traveling at sub-10 mph speeds. It's not just pedestrians that cause problems, small animals do as well. Cats, squirrels, rabbits, hares, etc. perceive a pavement as a 'save' area to be on & as such are a lot less wary of things on them. Note I'm comparing a wide cycle path to a 60mph road here & in terms of safety the road wins! Most of the time you're better of being assertive on the roads than on a pavement be a cycle path or not.
Mugshot
Cracking a solo.
I live near to a lovely section of NCN 4, it's nowhere near the road, goes through fields and woodland and generally up hill and down dale. I encounter lots of wildlife on it, bunnies are a frequent sight, they soon scatter into the undergrowth, today I had a race with a cat and yesterday I had a race with two sheep, (for the record I beat the lot of them!) It's great.
Back on topic I don't use the pavement, but I can understand why people do, though I don't agree with the practice of using it to shave a couple of seconds off your personal best. I do however think it's more than a little harsh to suggest that someone is a wuss for using them if they feel less than confident on the road.
You ride on the pavement around Oxford street? Last I was there, Oxford street pavement was so busy with peds that it would be impossible to safely cycle down it.
Sara_H
Guru
The occasions I've been known to pavement cycle are:
When cycling with my nine year old along busy roads. I usually cycle on the road, hm on pavement, but theres one stretch thats really dicey and I don't feel safe tryying to negotiate the road and keep an eye on him also.
Part of my route home from work. Single carriage way, crawling traffic both directions, cars trying to devide into two lanes for a RAB at the bottom, not enough room to filter on either side. Choice is to either sit in the queue or ride the pavement. I dont go this way anymore, it mekes me feel guilty.
In Sheffield there are lots of suddenly ending shared path's, so I quite often end up unintentionally riding on the pavement, but I dont think that counts!
When cycling with my nine year old along busy roads. I usually cycle on the road, hm on pavement, but theres one stretch thats really dicey and I don't feel safe tryying to negotiate the road and keep an eye on him also.
Part of my route home from work. Single carriage way, crawling traffic both directions, cars trying to devide into two lanes for a RAB at the bottom, not enough room to filter on either side. Choice is to either sit in the queue or ride the pavement. I dont go this way anymore, it mekes me feel guilty.
In Sheffield there are lots of suddenly ending shared path's, so I quite often end up unintentionally riding on the pavement, but I dont think that counts!
GrasB
Veteran
- Location
- Nr Cambridge
[QUOTE 1912743, member: 45"]Have you experienced problems with small animals yourself then?[/quote]
Yes & I have the scars to match
Yes & I have the scars to match
the_mikey
Legendary Member
- Location
- South Gloucestershire
When the pavement is a shared use cycle path and of a quality that makes cycling on the road seem crazy, I'll use it. There are lots of shared use paths that I think are not of the quality required of a shared use path, often too narrow and with a poor quality surface, it's not safe to share these with pedestrians.
Ian Cooper
Expat Yorkshireman
- Location
- Silver Spring, MD, USA
I agree, though I've never seen one that meets that criterion yet. The dirty little secret about so-called 'bicycle facilities' (including shared use paths) is that every legitimate study that investigates them finds them more dangerous for cyclists than a standard road. Still, I'd love to find a bicycle facility that I could use.
Bobario
Veteran
I only ride on the pavement if I feel it will be safer than the road, which is very rarely. If its empty I'll ride the bike and if its full of pedestrians I'll walk. I was once ordered to ride on the pavement by a very angry police officer, which confused me greatly. I was riding home when it was just going dark and I hadn't brought my lights. He was telling me to get off the road because I had no lights, but surely he was putting pedestrians in danger? It wasn't even fully dark, just dusk.
In my opinion its the lines that seem to attract people. In my area there is a cyclepath and a footpath with a low wall in between. Most pedestrians seem to like walking along the cyclepath rather than the footpath. It then becomes a shared use path with the cycle lane marked with white lines. Again a lot of people go out of their way to walk right down the middle of the white lines, even though there are big white bicycles painted along it at regular intervals. Then there are the cockwombles who walk on one side of the cycle lane, with a dog on a long lead on the other side.
In my opinion its the lines that seem to attract people. In my area there is a cyclepath and a footpath with a low wall in between. Most pedestrians seem to like walking along the cyclepath rather than the footpath. It then becomes a shared use path with the cycle lane marked with white lines. Again a lot of people go out of their way to walk right down the middle of the white lines, even though there are big white bicycles painted along it at regular intervals. Then there are the cockwombles who walk on one side of the cycle lane, with a dog on a long lead on the other side.
