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These are all fine tips, but I'm wondering how/why they are not mandatory in the US? Getting a headlight, having a bell, having a rear-light, not riding on the

These are all fine tips, but I'm wondering how/why they are not mandatory in the US? Getting a headlight, having a bell, having a rear-light, not riding on the sidewalk are all mandated by law here in Germany.

adrianN 4y ago
There are plenty of old cycle paths on sidewalks in Germany. Often it's safer to be on the road instead.
- CBarkleyU 4y ago
  Are there? Do you mean the designated cycle path which are adjecant to the sidewalk using the same material as the sidewalk, but in different colour (red)? Correct me if I'm wrong, but bycicles are forbidden to ride on the actual sidewalk (Bürgersteig, Gehweg) by adults.
  - adrianN 4y ago
    I mean dedicated "cycle paths" that are not a "benutzungspflichtiger Radweg" (sign 237), but are legal to cycle on. They usually are on the same level as the sidewalk and only visually distinct in some form. They were typically constructed in the sixties or seventies, are too narrow to overtake or use with a cargo bike, and suffer from the same visibility problems that illegally cycling on the sidewalk has.
    - CBarkleyU 4y ago
      Oh yeah, we mean the same thing. I was just hung up on the definition of sidewalk.
  - Beltalowda 4y ago
    I don't know the specific situation in Austin (which this article is about), but in a lot of countries the cycle path infrastructure is patchy at best, and when the choice is between "busy road with cars going 50 or even 80 km/h" and "cycle on the sidewalk" then it's an easy choice IMHO. Even in slower traffic things can be dodgy; in the UK they're quite fond of their roundabouts and that's all great for cars, but these two-lane roundabouts can be quite dodgy for cyclists with people changing lanes and such and it's very easy to end up in someone's blind spot, so I would take the sidewalk.
83457 4y ago
There are in some areas and/or certain contexts. Adults are not allowed to ride on sidewalks in many areas. I've heard about lights and bell requirements but not sure if that was a law or just listed as recommendations and/or for multi-use paved trails. As with many things in the US, whether these sorts of laws exist is up to each individual state to decide on for themselves. Question. Are the laws you listed just for urban areas? When competitive pro/amateur cyclists are training out on the open flat and mountain roads, do they have bells and lights on their bikes?
- wongarsu 4y ago
  The laws are for public roads (public in the sense of "you can drive there without driving through a gate of some sort"). The same places where all other traffic laws apply. That includes bike paths, but excludes most hiking paths where you would want to drive a mountain bike. Mountain bikes often don't come with light or a bell, and if you want to use them on public roads you have to spend about $12 to fix that ($2 for a bell, $10 for battery-powered lights).
  - 83457 4y ago
    Was a confusing way to describe it. I meant road cyclists on surrounding flat and mountain roads. Probably a moot question now given advances in technology making everything lighter and smaller.
    - wongarsu 4y ago
      Even in a rural environment you will be hard pressed to get from A to B as a cyclist without being required to have lights and a bell. In general service roads that run through a forest tend to be private roads where you don't have to follow that rule, everything else tends to be a public road. On anything that's just a flat place but isn't road like you're also scot-free. But as you say, lights really aren't the bulky things they used to be.
deleted 4y ago
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adrianN 4y ago

There are plenty of old cycle paths on sidewalks in Germany. Often it's safer to be on the road instead.

CBarkleyU 4y ago
Are there? Do you mean the designated cycle path which are adjecant to the sidewalk using the same material as the sidewalk, but in different colour (red)? Correct me if I'm wrong, but bycicles are forbidden to ride on the actual sidewalk (Bürgersteig, Gehweg) by adults.
- adrianN 4y ago
  I mean dedicated "cycle paths" that are not a "benutzungspflichtiger Radweg" (sign 237), but are legal to cycle on. They usually are on the same level as the sidewalk and only visually distinct in some form. They were typically constructed in the sixties or seventies, are too narrow to overtake or use with a cargo bike, and suffer from the same visibility problems that illegally cycling on the sidewalk has.
  - CBarkleyU 4y ago
    Oh yeah, we mean the same thing. I was just hung up on the definition of sidewalk.
- Beltalowda 4y ago
  I don't know the specific situation in Austin (which this article is about), but in a lot of countries the cycle path infrastructure is patchy at best, and when the choice is between "busy road with cars going 50 or even 80 km/h" and "cycle on the sidewalk" then it's an easy choice IMHO. Even in slower traffic things can be dodgy; in the UK they're quite fond of their roundabouts and that's all great for cars, but these two-lane roundabouts can be quite dodgy for cyclists with people changing lanes and such and it's very easy to end up in someone's blind spot, so I would take the sidewalk.

83457 4y ago

There are in some areas and/or certain contexts. Adults are not allowed to ride on sidewalks in many areas. I've heard about lights and bell requirements but not sure if that was a law or just listed as recommendations and/or for multi-use paved trails. As with many things in the US, whether these sorts of laws exist is up to each individual state to decide on for themselves. Question. Are the laws you listed just for urban areas? When competitive pro/amateur cyclists are training out on the open flat and mountain roads, do they have bells and lights on their bikes?

wongarsu 4y ago
The laws are for public roads (public in the sense of "you can drive there without driving through a gate of some sort"). The same places where all other traffic laws apply. That includes bike paths, but excludes most hiking paths where you would want to drive a mountain bike. Mountain bikes often don't come with light or a bell, and if you want to use them on public roads you have to spend about $12 to fix that ($2 for a bell, $10 for battery-powered lights).
- 83457 4y ago
  Was a confusing way to describe it. I meant road cyclists on surrounding flat and mountain roads. Probably a moot question now given advances in technology making everything lighter and smaller.
  - wongarsu 4y ago
    Even in a rural environment you will be hard pressed to get from A to B as a cyclist without being required to have lights and a bell. In general service roads that run through a forest tend to be private roads where you don't have to follow that rule, everything else tends to be a public road. On anything that's just a flat place but isn't road like you're also scot-free. But as you say, lights really aren't the bulky things they used to be.

deleted 4y ago

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