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Should cyclists ride on the pavements?
So, I spotted this on my emails yesterday, and instead of doing some work, I read through some of the replies, and giggled. Now I've got my mischief fairy taking over, and can't help but reply to some of the ridiculous post. However, I'm not selfish, so I thought I would share with others.
https://www.confused.com/news-views/blogs/blog-should-cyclists-be-allowe...
Enjoy the ranting!
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
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Latest Comments
- Geordiepeddeler 4 hours 24 min ago
Cycling infrastructure does not force drivers to break the law, drivers are the reason they break the law, no one else.
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- chrisonabike 10 hours 36 min ago
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25 comments
#sickofitalready
#dontrideontheroad
#dontrideonthefootpath
#bikesdontpayroadtax
#carsdontpayroadtaxeither
#armchairracerisdementedandonlycameonthissitetoannoycyclists
#imofftocycleonafootpathjusttoannoyarmchairracer
I was down visiting family in Hastings 2 weeks ago.The sea front road was packed with cars,all the people who would use the footpaths are stuck in traffic in said cars.The FOOTpaths were not in use.Where was I.On the footpath the new cycle way in effect.It's just the way it is down there.Change of use needed perhaps? though in England that will take about 50 years
I cycle a 100 mile a week plus , (not a big deal) but when i see cyclists riding on the pavements which is common i want to scream at them "get on the road". Let the pedestrians have the pavements is what i say !
If there were any pedestrians fair enough but they are all in cars and the footpaths are not in use in many areas.Seems the times have changed and the cycle lanes we all need are already there.They are called footpaths though.Kids don't walk to school people don't walk to work/shops and a great network of cycle lanes are going begging!!
I myself would like to see people cycling/using their bikes on the road, the more drivers see bikes on the road the more chance they will start to behave properly around us rather than some who seem quite surprised/shocked that I'm on the road and they have (should) to execute a safe overtake.
I believe the CTC did a campaign along these lines and can better make the point.
Hi, Cyclists who ride on the payment should be heavy fined and have their bikes taken off them. I really don't understand way they think riding on the payment is ok ? They have wheels and belong on road. As mentioned earlier, their is more dangers riding on the payment. I have had several arguments with cyclists who ride on the pavements.
Great. So any car obstructing a cycle lane will also be crushed? Not quite sure what you'd suggest for pedestrians who walk on cycle-specific paths. Presumably you always drive carefully near cyclists, but you do know not everyone does, which is one reason for pavement cycling?
Yes I do, and the majority of cars do, There is no justification to mount the pavement and ride along the path. How would you feel if your elderly grandparents or young mum with a toddler was knocked down on the pavement by a cyclist ? People every year are killed by bikes on pavements
Shared Cycle Paths are a bad idea and its an accident waiting to happen, it also make frighten cycles scared of the road.
My son has just been cautioned by the police for riding on the payment. He only went on the pavement after his lights batteries ran out,
Don't preach to me about its ok to ride on the payment.
no they're not. quite a few years in the last ten there have been no recorded fatalities of that description in the UK
let's by all means talk about the issues surrounding pavement cycling. but let's not pretend lots of people lose their lives. because they don't.
True, I think if you are going to compare numbers though we can put it into perspective even more, this article (http://metro.co.uk/2009/08/12/cyclist-is-jailed-for-killing-by-1861-law-...) from 2009 states that on average 3 pedestrians are killed per year by cyclists (obviously some years there are none as you mention) and it also states that only 10% of those occur on the pavements so 0.3 a year.
In contrast, motorised vehicles kill around 40 pedestrians per year walking on footways or verges (not mentioning the 100s of others they kill) so without being known (and heavily criticised) for driving on footways or verges they still kill over 130 times more people than cyclists do.
So armchairracer, yes cyclists shouldn't really ride on the pavement and yes some are dangerous (and those should be fined) but if you want to complain about people losing their lives I suggest you could start with the bigger cause of pedestrian death on the pavements - motorised vehicles.
Then you are a poor parent who failed to educate their children to NEVER accept a police caution.
Make the buggers prosecute and then wave the home office letter to ACPO in the magistrates faces.
And there are a shedload of justifications for folk to ride carefully on the pavement. Hence the aforementioned Home Office advice.
Ok so when I ride to school with my 5 year old at about 5mph I should take the ridiculously busy dual carriageway rather than the deserted pavement?
You sir are an idiot.
drfabulous0 you need to read the Highway Code ? .
The police are issuing £50.00 fines for Adults riding on the Payment and thats the law.
Highway Code Section below
v64
You MUST NOT cycle on a pavement.
Laws HA 1835 sect 72 & R(S)A 1984, sect 129
Its my understanding that Children under 11 are ok to ride on the payment , once they reach 11 then they need training to be able to ride on the road.
The local council should be able to offer such a course.
I helped the local school in training Cycling road safety to 11 years old to get them ready for them to take to the road. This course was funded by the local council
drfabulou0
You need to have some basic training as it sounds like you are not cyclist, just an idiot on a bike and in charge of a minor.
Damn shame you and the polis aren't so keen on fining all the motorists who break highway code rules, who break speed limits, who actually kill people. But no, you'd sooner fantasise about pedestrians being killed by cyclists, rsther than deal with the real killers.
No I don't, there is no obligation for cyclists to read that.
So what? Do you really suggest I risk my child's safety just because it's the law? Or that should the police decide to ignore Home Office guidance and common sense that a paltry fifty quid really makes a difference.
You've just made that up, there is no such exemption relating to age, although fixed penalty notices cannot be issued to anyone under the age of 16.
God help us, typical of a council to have someone foolish enough to put rules ahead of common sense teaching safe practice to kids.
Well done for telling all that about me from a short post, I'm sure you're right on the money, give yourself a pat on the head...oh hang on, no, you couldn't even spell my name correctly.
drfabulous0
Really How old are you ?
I think you are missing the point, we have a responsibility to obey the laws of the land and its common sense to know your rights, especially if you are scared of riding a bike on the road,
Why do you think they have rules and regulations in the highway code for cyclists.
you don't seem to realise that the bike is a vehicle and as such, you are in charge of the use. The bicycle is not a toy !
The bicycle is a fantastic invention, it enables mankind to travel on his/her own steam to anywhere on the planet. It only requires food in your belly to keep going. The bicycle needs to be respected for what it is !!!!!
Great. So any car obstructing a cycle lane will also be crushed? Not quite sure what you'd suggest for pedestrians who walk on cycle-specific paths. Presumably you always drive carefully near cyclists, but you do know not everyone does, which us one reason for pavement cycling?
I got taken off my bike by a pedestrian last summer, I had a bruise that covered my thigh and could hardly walk, my hip joint is still swollen which might not ever go away. But the general consensus was that it's my fault, apparently I need to give them room even though they were on the cycle path. I have had some fast crashes on the mtb but nothing hurt as much as landing on my hip on hard tarmac.
Whilst I agree that there are individuals that should be fined for using the footpath. We know who they are. They hammer along on badly maintained un lit budget mountain bikes from Sports Direct. There are people who opt to use the footpath as the road is just not safe to use. This has been allowed a number of years ago by the Home Office and reiterated the other year. Most police officers will be able to use their discretion in regards to this as long as the individual is respectful to pedestrians and not causing distress.
You also allude that cyclists are killing machines. Yet the official stats for the last nine years look like this
QUOTE: DfT statistics show that between 2003 and 2012 3,330 pedestrians were killed by cars, while 23 were killed by cyclists.
The records don't cover whether these accidents happened on the road or footways.
Please tell me who the bigger killer is.
I consider myself a confident and assertive cyclist averaging around 200 miles per week and yet I get days like today where I was subjected to around 6 punishment passes. One of them had a squad car following who did absolutely nothing about it.
And you wonder why others choose to use the footpath? I do not condone the use of footpaths by cyclists. But until the roads become more accessible for less experienced cyclists and the courts show some balls in dealing with errant motorists then it is something that has to be.
Having had a read through this blog and its comments, all I can say is that it would be funny were it not for the fact that most of the people commenting on it were being deadly serious...
I see we had pretty much the full gamut of anti-cyclist issues amongst those comments too; road tax [sic], red light jumping, mandatory use of cycle paths, hi-viz, helmets, bells, lights, insurance, licensing, bicycle testing (a new one on me), travelling too fast, travelling too slow, road positioning, lack of awareness, aggression, arrogance, selfishness...
It's the same whenever you get these kind of stories on local newspaper websites too. Given that these people clearly represent Joe Public, it all makes for rather depressing reading.
Didn't mention before the fact that I pay council tax to maintain the road (which they do sparingly) so I subsidize other road users who cause greater damage to said roads.
the pathetic shared use cyclepaths they've begrugingly given us in Gloucester all have the terrible habit of stopping for every f*£&"*g side street with give way signage and stopping just where you need them most with "cyclists dismount" signs... not to mention barriers/chicanes etc. that are impossible to negotiate with my trailer still on the back of my bike. Deity alone knows how someone disabled using a hand-cranked recumbent would be able to negotiate them...
Doesn't help that it's taking me twice as long to cycle the same distance as I would on the road running alongside with all the give ways and the rough surface...
I'm sick and tired of being treated like some kind of poor relative of the pedestrian forced to share space with them and they don't like it either
.
Give us proper Dutch style segregated cyclepaths where the cycle has priority across side streets and we are not required to mix with vulnerable pedestrians either.
Accept my well deserved Like, good sir. Couldn't have put it better. Kinda preaching to the converted here though, I would reckon.
Confused is the word. Pavements are even worse kept than road. How exactly could I barrel along at 30kph dodging people stepping out of their front gates, cars backing out of drives, and coming to a screeching halt every 20m for yet another side road where I loose priority to turning vehicles?
Roads are for vehicles, roads connect to other roads. I often see cycle paths that I just ignore because I know those routes and I see cars parked in them, trees growing out of them or mixed use with people walking on the green bit! Or the path is just a few metres long. My half hour commute would take 1h20 on the pavements and be no less dangerous.
Motorists want their cake and eat it, cyclists off the roads. I suspect old ladies and mothers with prams do not want builders on mountain bikes bearing down on them. All of these sort of suggestions are just prejudicial waffle. We need more cyclist on the road not less. Cyclists will always have to be a vocal minority. Know the law and hold your line.
Hear, Hear ! Nicely put !
We need to stand together and increase numbers to get things changed.
We were on the roads before cars and we have every right to be there !
If you are scared then don't ride until you have understood the law and your rights on the public highway ! You need to learn how to ride defensively and use life savers.
I ride a motorbike as well and its just as dangerous on that .