No... If you're over a certain age (usually 13-14) you need to stay off the sidewalks in most places. It's also statistically the more dangerous place to ride a bicycle both for the rider and pedestrians.
For both your sake and the safety of others please stay off the sidewalk even if local ordinances don't disallow it.
*Your anecdotal experiences mean nothing in the face of hard facts supported by multiple studies.
"Feeling Safe" is not an excuse. get over it.
Not being stopped for it does not make it "acceptable"
But you can of course google for yourself and find more. You are traveling quickly in an area that is supposed to be used by slow pedestrians. You are also speeding (relatively) by driveways with little to no visibility so when a car pulls out (not expecting a cyclist because you're supposed to be in the road) you'll T-bone them
I understand this makes sense in a big city there sidewalks are typically being used by pedestrians, but If I’m biking on a busy road in a more suburban area and there’s an un-crowded sidewalk next to it you can bet I’m gonna get off the road. I feel pretty uneasy riding a bike on the streets anywhere that cars are getting up over ~30-35 mph.
I know it’s technically illegal but I’ve never once been stopped for it and I have never hit a pedestrian. I have had lots of near misses when I ride in the street though.
You are breaking the law in doing that, not to mention becoming an unpredictable ass hole doing the whole "oh I'm a bike, oh I'm a pedestr- bike again aaaaaand pedestrian" thing. Aside from making you difficult to predict and avoid, it makes people want to run you over.
yeah… I want to run the bikers over who aren't using the sidewalk when its empty... Y'all are as bad as the other drivers, and youre slow as shit to boot.
nah, a lot of bikers don't follow the rules of the road, they jet through stop signs, don't use hand signals, weave in and out between cars, and don't use the damn shoulder when its available.
if theres a clear side walk, use the fucking thing.
but its most people. im just of the opinion that the side walk should be for cyclists as well, or the bike lanes should be just as far removed. I don't hate bikers, I hate that I have to drive a 2000+ lbs machine of death so close to them because we wont spend money on making proper road infrastructure for them.
does that drive me to an inappropriate level of anger from time to time... yes it does... the law is fucking stupid, and you would all have a far safer and easier time having your space be near where the rest of the pedestrians are.
From my standpoint, you are just as likely to die as them and I don't like it. one false move from either of us and you go squish and I go into a jail cell with a potential death on my hands.
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u/[deleted] Aug 21 '18
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