Do bicyclists belong on the roads or on the sidewalks?

[Hashime]

I'm attending college, and recently I thought it was a good idea to start riding a bike around campus, both for convenience and for my health. But I also learned of a very silly policy regarding where you are allowed to ride your bike. As it turns out, it is a ticketable offense to ride your bike on public sidewalks. Bicycles are to be ridden on the streets, as far to the edge as you can ride.

I've thought and thought about this, and I can't figure out the logic behind this. I don't trust cars. Half a second of distraction or error, and you've got two tons of steel barreling across that line and making contact with the edge of the road. Any bicyclist caught in the middle of that can consider themselves severely injured at best and stone-cold dead at worst.

If I had to choose between being a pedestrian getting hit by a bicycle, and a bicyclist getting hit by a car, I'd rather get hit by a bike any day. And at least on the sidewalk, I can see what I need to avoid. I can see those little old ladies and mommies with their strollers way ahead, and slow and steer as needed. On the road, cars are whizzing by me and all I can do is pray to God that each and every one of them sees me and hugs the left rather than the right. I have an alarmingly small amount of control over my safety.

So, what do you think, Escapists? Do bikes really belong on the road with cars, or is it safer for everyone for them to stick to the sidewalks?

EDIT: Bah, forgot to add the poll. Oh well.

Legally, in most states, a bicycle qualifies as a "light vehicle" and thus must be driven in the traffic lane. This also means that all traffic laws apply to bikes, so you can technically get ticketed for not signalling, yielding to pedestrians, or for not coming to a full stop at stop signs. This also provides the cyclist with a measure of protection, because as long as you are obeying the laws and some bonehead in a car dings you it's their fault and their insurance premiums that go up.

And if the person's insurance is high already you can weasel some upgraded parts out of it!

 

[Troublesome Lagomorph]

Sidewalk. The roads should be reserved for motorized vehicles.

 

[Quaidis]

Here you can do either, but it's common courtesy to stop and let a bike pass if you're walking on smaller sidewalks (or the bicyclist, to avoid any unpleasantness, bikes into the grass to go around the walkers). And the bicyclist needs to have a bell or some mode of communication to warn people they are coming upon. If you have a speed bike, it makes more sense to go in the road.

The parks around here have very large roads, so I never have an issue with getting run down or having anyone in the way when I ride a bike.

 

[Arehexes]

I don't trust drivers in my town so I ride on the sidewalk, and if someone is in my way I will slow down and walk with them till I can go around or go off the path, it isn't that hard to do.

 

[shadowshian]

in here in scandinavian region id recomend staying on the sidewalks. theres been more than few times ive wiped out cause of ice and doing that on the side of the road is hell of alot worse than on the sidewalk.

 

[LooK iTz Jinjo]

I hate driving and having to slow down as I move over in my lane to allow myself room to pass a group of cyclists who can't keep to the side of the road or follow the "two abreast rule." I especially hate the ones who are full kit out in lycra, simply riding for exercise, there are plenty of things you can do and plenty of places you can ride your bike to keep fit, stay off my road, of course if a bike is your primary mode of transport thats ok, but I still think they should be on the footpath. It's safer for everyone involved.

 

[Shadowkire]

I say bike should be ridden on sidewalks, but you have to move to the edge of the street to pass pedestrians.

Also: I never hear of people in wheelchairs getting a ticket when using the sidewalks, what gives?

 

[XandNobody]

Bike, lanes. The city close to ours has them, it's like two feet off the shoulder, and perfectly worth it. For cars, you no longer have a slow ass lanky bastard who thinks he is better than you in front of you. For bikes? Less two ton metal death machines trying to ride up the back of your scalp. Win-win.

 

[Soviet Steve]

Well, I live in Denmark and I can recount my experience:

It's illegal and punishable by a fine of up to around $100 if you ride your bike on the sidewalks, and you are taught from early on that you are required to bike on the road unless signs indicate that there is a road set aside specifically for bicycles.

 

[Boom129]

bike lanes ya dummy
failing that anywhere but sidewalks

 

[Kizo]

Bicyclists belong locked in a room with Jeremy Clarkson.

Seriously though, stay on the road. Traffic rules compensate for the difference in speed between a bike and a car, and make the movement of surrounding cars predictable to bicyclists; without any such rules on the sidewalk, a bicyclist is comparatively less predictable to a pedestrian.

 

[XandNobody]

You know, it does make little sense though. A bike hits a pedestrian. Worst case? Lawsuit, maybe a broken rib at worst. A car hits a bike? Better pray to whatever you believe in that you live more than a minute or two, because you need it.

 

[gbemery]

I say as long as the faster of the travelers yields to the slower it shouldn't matter. I think it really depends on the road vs sidewalk usage. In my town hardly anyone uses the sidewalks but the roads are busy as hell. So I would ride on the sidewalk, and if I was coming up on someone on the sidewalk i would simply ride onto the grass and give them their space. I have seen cyclist though on roads that hold up traffic and I don't see how that is safe. It also depends on what type of cycling. If you are just out for a "sunday drive" then I would say the sidewalk, but if you are really cycling like doing 20+mph (aka like tour de france cycling) then by all means you should be on the road for two main reasons. One the speed/safety and two road bikes rims can get beaten to hell on sidewalks.

 

[Yellowbeard]

Wherever there isn't traffic.

Too bad, cyclists are traffic.

 

[loc978]

Depends on the area. In a busy downtown-type area, unless the sidewalks are built with lanes (like every major city in Germany), bikes should be on the street and the speed limit should be low. In places with low pedestrian traffic and high speed limits, bikes on sidewalks makes more sense.

In other words, in every American city I've been to, the setup for bicycle traffic is idiotic and dangerous. We really ought to take a cue from places that do it better.

 

[XandNobody]

Okay, really. I have to ask those who say bikes only need to be on the road. Would you rather be hit by a bike, or have the bike guy SPATTERED by a semi? I cant even ride a bike, and imo, the bike deserves the sidewalk.

 

[XandNobody]

I was almost run over and killed by a drunk teenager while cycling because he wanted to scare me.

There needs to be dedicated streets for cyclists on all roads. And bikepaths are always occupied by parked cars.

This, exactly. If you like to walk, you can dodge. The cyclist, can not dodge two tons of god damn steel.

 

[chaosbedlam]

ok my wife is a cyclist and she comes from a very hard core cyclist family her farther used to compete and has won stuff for cycling, however i myself am not a cyclist im a courier so im on the roads every day all day and i have to say that even though the law states that cyclist are allowed on the roads god dam it they make me angry! although the cycling community says that they ride safely and abide by the rules i must say just from straight observation that this rarely happens. im always finding stupid cyclists riding in the middle of the lane or over just far enough to get in the way of my van, and thats when they are not riding two or three abreast! then a red light will come up and they will just go straight through the lights (sometimes to the detriment of the opposing traffic). really my list goes on.
however in the city that i live they have set up special cycling lanes in certain places but they are few and far between. i would have no problem with cyclists if there was actually room for them on the roads but unfortunately i must say that with out these special cycling lanes in most places there really isn't.