4 ms·

My understanding in the US is that riding on the sidewalks is illegal, and that cyclists must ride in the road to follow the law (I am not a cyclist).

67726e 12y ago
I can only speak for my state (South Carolina) but that is absolutely true, but rarely enforced. I've had several accidents and near misses pulling out of my driveway and bumping into people biking down the sidewalk. They were always at fault, but at the same time the street they should have been riding on is a major thoroughfare downtown and has speeds of 25-35 MPH with no bike lane. You really cannot expect everyone to be able to bike anywhere near that fast, but then you wind up with folks going a few MPH on a bike and holding up traffic. It's just a terrible situation all around.
- nilkn 12y ago
  > They were always at fault, but at the same time the street they should have been riding on is a major thoroughfare downtown and has speeds of 25-35 MPH with no bike lane. You really cannot expect everyone to be able to bike anywhere near that fast, but then you wind up with folks going a few MPH on a bike and holding up traffic. It's just a terrible situation all around. This is a major problem in Houston as well. I think cyclists are generally disliked here because the road system is just not at all designed to accommodate them. There are a lot of roads with 30-40 mph speeds, no bike lanes, and sidewalks that are very popular for walkers (plus it's illegal to ride a bike on them). A cyclist has the choice of either biking on the sidewalk, thereby endangering pedestrians, or biking on the road, thereby causing a small traffic jam and forcing all the cars to switch lanes.
dubfan 12y ago
Riding on sidewalks is legal in Seattle.
forgotpasswd3x 12y ago
In my (smaller, 80k pop) city, we actually have paved bike paths separated from the road, however cyclists choose to ride in the street anyway.
steanne 12y ago
this is highly variable. in philadelphia, it's illegal in center city where pedestrian density is highest, but legal elsehere in the city. this means cyclists starting their journey in a legal zone may tend to just continue what they're doing, especially as the zone change isn't marked.

67726e 12y ago

I can only speak for my state (South Carolina) but that is absolutely true, but rarely enforced. I've had several accidents and near misses pulling out of my driveway and bumping into people biking down the sidewalk. They were always at fault, but at the same time the street they should have been riding on is a major thoroughfare downtown and has speeds of 25-35 MPH with no bike lane. You really cannot expect everyone to be able to bike anywhere near that fast, but then you wind up with folks going a few MPH on a bike and holding up traffic. It's just a terrible situation all around.

nilkn 12y ago
> They were always at fault, but at the same time the street they should have been riding on is a major thoroughfare downtown and has speeds of 25-35 MPH with no bike lane. You really cannot expect everyone to be able to bike anywhere near that fast, but then you wind up with folks going a few MPH on a bike and holding up traffic. It's just a terrible situation all around. This is a major problem in Houston as well. I think cyclists are generally disliked here because the road system is just not at all designed to accommodate them. There are a lot of roads with 30-40 mph speeds, no bike lanes, and sidewalks that are very popular for walkers (plus it's illegal to ride a bike on them). A cyclist has the choice of either biking on the sidewalk, thereby endangering pedestrians, or biking on the road, thereby causing a small traffic jam and forcing all the cars to switch lanes.

dubfan 12y ago

Riding on sidewalks is legal in Seattle.

forgotpasswd3x 12y ago

In my (smaller, 80k pop) city, we actually have paved bike paths separated from the road, however cyclists choose to ride in the street anyway.

steanne 12y ago

this is highly variable. in philadelphia, it's illegal in center city where pedestrian density is highest, but legal elsehere in the city. this means cyclists starting their journey in a legal zone may tend to just continue what they're doing, especially as the zone change isn't marked.