4 ms·

> Electric boards clearly shouldn't be on sidewalks, same as bikes. Regarding bikes, it depends entirely on where you live. If you are in an urban area, where

> Electric boards clearly shouldn't be on sidewalks, same as bikes. Regarding bikes, it depends entirely on where you live. If you are in an urban area, where the sidewalks are crowded, and cars can't get up to high speed before the next stoplight, then certainly bikes should be on the street. If you are in a suburban area, where sidewalks are empty and cars travel at easily twice your maximum speed, then the streets are not safe for biking.

trhway 11y ago
>where sidewalks are empty and cars travel at easily twice your maximum speed, then the streets are not safe for biking. the streets are safe, the law explicitly requires 3 feet lateral separation or no pass. Choosing to endanger people on sidewalk just because not enough balls to ride on the street is kind of low.
- MereInterest 11y ago
  What the law says and what drivers do are significantly different. A 45 mph road with poor visibility is not safe to bike on. Alternatively, I cannot endanger people on the sidewalk if there are no people on the sidewalk.
- TeMPOraL 11y ago
  > Choosing to endanger people on sidewalk just because not enough balls to ride on the street is kind of low. Yeah, well, fuck it. I don't have the balls. I also have enough empathy to understand I'm two-three times slower than cars on the road in my city and drivers are seriously pissed at me when I'm holding down city traffic.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- PhasmaFelis 11y ago
  The law isn't going to scrape me up and put me back together after some redneck turns me into road pizza. I do my best to ride safely for myself and everyone else. Usually, that means taking my rightful place in the road. Sometimes it means riding an empty sidewalk, eyes peeled, at a reasonable speed. Staying alive is more important than demonstrating the size of my balls, thanks.
  - Wingman4l7 11y ago
    > The law isn't going to scrape me up and put me back together after some redneck turns me into road pizza. Like the old saying: "Sure, you were in the right -- but you're still dead."
- anon4 11y ago
  You'll get less hurt in a collision with a bicycle than I would if I get hit by a car doing 100km/h with a drunk driver behind the wheel. By any measure, I should be on the sidewalk in that case and it's extremely selfish to ask me to die just so you don't maybe get a slight bruise on your butt and a bit of mud on your sleeve.
  - Wingman4l7 11y ago
    Exactly. I'm not asking you to walk in the gutter of the street with cars whizzing inches by you -- why would you ask me to bike there? We've got about the same amount of protection.
  - dogma1138 11y ago
    Who's driving their car at 100kmh/60mph on a sub-urban street? that's freeway/highway speeds. Also let me hit you with my bike at 20kmh and lets see how you like it, if you give way to pedestrians fine but we all know you won't because it takes more effort for you to stop than it is for them so you would use the same excuse. If there isn't a safe way for you to ride your bike in your area don't take it out on pedestrians, and don't ride on the side walk a bike can easily critically harm or even kill a small child and there are plenty of parents that might allow a 3-4 old roam around them on the side walk. Pets especially small dogs whit those retractable leashes are also quite susceptible to being hit by a bike, especially when you can't see the dog or the leash and you just swoosh into it. If you can't ride safely on the roads near you it doesn't give you the right to endanger others doesn't matter how much of a relative danger you might put them in, go fight to get bike lanes and until then follow the actual law and stay on the road.
    - cardinalfang 11y ago
      Plenty of traffic will be traveling at 35mph which is fast enough for the majority of impacts to be fatal.
  - bestnameever 11y ago
    Riding a bicycle on the sidewalk can be more dangerous for the rider. You are less visible to cars on the sidewalk and there may be driveways with limited views.
stevetrewick 11y ago
>then the streets are not safe for biking. Nonsense. I regularly rode on such roads from childhood until recently, a period of some 30 years, and during all time I was at allegro of vision below legally blind. I have had precisely two accidents involving vehicles, one of which was stationary. I have zero sympathy with people who say roads are not safe. Learn some situational awareness and anticipation and get off the damn pavement. If you're so terrified you're creeping along on the sidewalk you might as well just give in and get the bus.
- MereInterest 11y ago
  Situational awareness only helps if you have options. If I am biking at 15 mph, every car around me is still going at triple my speed. If there were a car or two passing me each minute, then I could slow down and pull over for each one. When there is a constant stream of cars, I would need to trust every one of them to notice me. I don't trust drivers that much. The only true solution is separated bike paths, but that doesn't seem likely to happen in the US.

trhway 11y ago

>where sidewalks are empty and cars travel at easily twice your maximum speed, then the streets are not safe for biking. the streets are safe, the law explicitly requires 3 feet lateral separation or no pass. Choosing to endanger people on sidewalk just because not enough balls to ride on the street is kind of low.

MereInterest 11y ago
What the law says and what drivers do are significantly different. A 45 mph road with poor visibility is not safe to bike on. Alternatively, I cannot endanger people on the sidewalk if there are no people on the sidewalk.
TeMPOraL 11y ago
> Choosing to endanger people on sidewalk just because not enough balls to ride on the street is kind of low. Yeah, well, fuck it. I don't have the balls. I also have enough empathy to understand I'm two-three times slower than cars on the road in my city and drivers are seriously pissed at me when I'm holding down city traffic.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
PhasmaFelis 11y ago
The law isn't going to scrape me up and put me back together after some redneck turns me into road pizza. I do my best to ride safely for myself and everyone else. Usually, that means taking my rightful place in the road. Sometimes it means riding an empty sidewalk, eyes peeled, at a reasonable speed. Staying alive is more important than demonstrating the size of my balls, thanks.
- Wingman4l7 11y ago
  > The law isn't going to scrape me up and put me back together after some redneck turns me into road pizza. Like the old saying: "Sure, you were in the right -- but you're still dead."
anon4 11y ago
You'll get less hurt in a collision with a bicycle than I would if I get hit by a car doing 100km/h with a drunk driver behind the wheel. By any measure, I should be on the sidewalk in that case and it's extremely selfish to ask me to die just so you don't maybe get a slight bruise on your butt and a bit of mud on your sleeve.
- Wingman4l7 11y ago
  Exactly. I'm not asking you to walk in the gutter of the street with cars whizzing inches by you -- why would you ask me to bike there? We've got about the same amount of protection.
- dogma1138 11y ago
  Who's driving their car at 100kmh/60mph on a sub-urban street? that's freeway/highway speeds. Also let me hit you with my bike at 20kmh and lets see how you like it, if you give way to pedestrians fine but we all know you won't because it takes more effort for you to stop than it is for them so you would use the same excuse. If there isn't a safe way for you to ride your bike in your area don't take it out on pedestrians, and don't ride on the side walk a bike can easily critically harm or even kill a small child and there are plenty of parents that might allow a 3-4 old roam around them on the side walk. Pets especially small dogs whit those retractable leashes are also quite susceptible to being hit by a bike, especially when you can't see the dog or the leash and you just swoosh into it. If you can't ride safely on the roads near you it doesn't give you the right to endanger others doesn't matter how much of a relative danger you might put them in, go fight to get bike lanes and until then follow the actual law and stay on the road.
  - cardinalfang 11y ago
    Plenty of traffic will be traveling at 35mph which is fast enough for the majority of impacts to be fatal.
- bestnameever 11y ago
  Riding a bicycle on the sidewalk can be more dangerous for the rider. You are less visible to cars on the sidewalk and there may be driveways with limited views.

stevetrewick 11y ago

>then the streets are not safe for biking. Nonsense. I regularly rode on such roads from childhood until recently, a period of some 30 years, and during all time I was at allegro of vision below legally blind. I have had precisely two accidents involving vehicles, one of which was stationary. I have zero sympathy with people who say roads are not safe. Learn some situational awareness and anticipation and get off the damn pavement. If you're so terrified you're creeping along on the sidewalk you might as well just give in and get the bus.

MereInterest 11y ago
Situational awareness only helps if you have options. If I am biking at 15 mph, every car around me is still going at triple my speed. If there were a car or two passing me each minute, then I could slow down and pull over for each one. When there is a constant stream of cars, I would need to trust every one of them to notice me. I don't trust drivers that much. The only true solution is separated bike paths, but that doesn't seem likely to happen in the US.