Why do grown men ride on the pavement?

Norman_Castle

If I decided the roads were too scary to drive my car on .....should I a Give up driving or b Drive on the pavement ?

If you drove slowly showing full regard for pedestrians, how dangerous would it be? On roads where there are no pavements, how safe do you feel walking with vehicles traveling at speed, very close to you and showing little regard for your safety? Cyclists traveling at speed belong on the road. Cyclists who fully accommodate pedestrians are safe on the pavements.

Sorry but I find most cyclists to be very selfish and not very bright.

Most of the problem pavement cyclists I meet are teenagers. Many teenagers are gormlessley selfish and not very bright.

Try cycling on the road. You will find many motorists very selfish and unpleasantly stupid. When driving. How careful are you with regard to cyclists?

Not very bright?

Dave_C_2

duchy wrote: »

As for not causing harm -I did know an elderly woman who was knocked over by a cyclist -she broke her hip and although she recovered she wasn't able to walk any distance anymore so became housebound-just because some arrogent twit decided they were above the law.

You are conveniently forgetting the hundreds of pedestrian KSI caused by motorists. Many of these caused by motorists mounting pavements.

From the office of national statistics, pedestrian deaths by year caused by Cyclists (C) and Motorists (M)
| Year . | C | M... |
| 2006 | 3 | 233 |
| 2007 | 6 | 267 |
| 2008 | 3 | 247 |
| 2009 | 0 | 141 |
| 2010 | 2 | 123 |

Perhaps motorists should put their own house in order before criticising cyclists.

Dave

Pfi

I ride on the road, but hop up onto the pavement when there are lots of parked cars in my way and traffic is busy.

BUT

If the pavement is clear, then I don't think anyone should complain. Riding on the road is SCARY, even for a grown man. Who wouldn't be scared by a massive hunk of metal accelerating past you with 2 inches to spare.

blackberry2000

I've cycled over here as well as on the continent for the last 20 years on and off, I don't cycle on the pavement at all, but the difference between drivers over here and on the continent is markedly different.
I've been cut up on roundabouts, forced into the kerb, hit by wing mirrors over here, as a decent road cyclist who's done stages of the Tour De France I don't tend to hang around, I wear high vis clothing, and bright lights as well, so it's not as if I cant be seen, it's just driver impatience, as can be seen when they overtake me then immediately brake as there's a junction or traffic lights they have to stop at.
On the continent I've had the exact opposite; cars stopping on roundabouts to let me go when they had the right of way, giving me loads of room when they overtake me, and not in a hurry to do so either.
As for cycling on the pavement over here, although it's technically illegal,it's not as simple as simply issuing tickets to every cyclist. If the person isn't confident to cycle on the road, they can cycle on the pavement, and that's come from a Government minister.

On 1st August 1999, new legislation came into force to allow a fixed penalty notice to be served on anyone who is guilty of cycling on a footway. However the Home Office issued guidance on how the new legislation should be applied, indicating that they should only be used where a cyclist is riding in a manner that may endanger others. At the time Home Office Minister Paul Boateng issued a letter stating that:

"The introduction of the fixed penalty is not aimed at responsible cyclists who sometimes feel obliged to use the pavement out of fear of traffic and who show consideration to other pavement users when doing so. Chief police officers, who are responsible for enforcement, acknowledge that many cyclists, particularly children and young people, are afraid to cycle on the road, sensitivity and careful use of police discretion is required."

Almost identical advice has since been issued by the Home Office with regards the use of fixed penalty notices by 'Community Support Officers' and wardens.

"CSOs and accredited persons will be accountable in the same way as police officers. They will be under the direction and control of the chief officer, supervised on a daily basis by the local community beat officer and will be subject to the same police complaints system. The Government have included provision in the Anti Social Behaviour Bill to enable CSOs and accredited persons to stop those cycling irresponsibly on the pavement in order to issue a fixed penalty notice.

I should stress that the issue is about inconsiderate cycling on the pavements. The new provisions are not aimed at responsible cyclists who sometimes feel obliged to use the pavement out of fear of the traffic, and who show consideration to other road users when doing so. Chief officers recognise that the fixed penalty needs to be used with a considerable degree of discretion and it cannot be issued to anyone under the age of 16. (Letter to Mr H. Peel from John Crozier of The Home Office, reference T5080/4, 23 February 2004)

shesub

Thankyou for that post about the current state of legislation.
This puts me at ease, because sometimes, I cycle on the pavement (for about 1 minute on an empty pavement), and according to your post, it's actually reasonable for me to do this.

I never knew the exact specifics of the laws, regardibg pavement cycling.

Dave_C_2

Just came across this whilst browsing bike blogs.

There’s a national blanket ban on cycling on the pavement but none for parking a car on the pavement
Dave.

timbo58

Dave_C wrote: »

Just came across this whilst browsing bike blogs.

There’s a national blanket ban on cycling on the pavement but none for parking a car on the pavement
Dave.

It's pedestrians who are the lowest of the low in traffic terms, cars parked on the pavement are a bloody nuisance at least and a downright danger for many.

Any road user not on 4 wheels tends to be at a disadvantage where 4 (or more) wheelers are concerned.
I ride both a road bicycle and a hybrid and a small (classic) motorcycle and IME many car drivers haven't got a clue how to deal with anyone else with less wheels than they have, they leave little room to pass, don't give way when they should and drive far too close to my rear, I was actually thinking of getting a HV vest with '1969 brakes, take your chances' on the back for my motorcycle!

Although it's impractical it would be a huge bonus I feel for the moped age to be dropped to 14 and more would-be car drivers encouraged to ride before they drove, they may have a little more respect then.

I used to cycle religiously every day (and had a waistline to prove it!) before work, a quiet single lane country route -unfortunately I soon learnt to my cost it was a cut through from a major A road to the Motorway! Jesus! you should have seen how aggressive car drivers can be when faced with cyclists (and even horses !!!!!!) expecting me to dive into the hedge so they can squeeze their range rover grazingly past me!

I soon learned I had to change my routine for safetys sake as it was happening so often it was clearly not going to change, despite me reporting at least 4 people in 2 weeks for dangerous driving!

I'm sure there are plenty of careless cyclists out there but 4 wheeled drivers outnumber them about 10,000 to 1 IME, and they are more dangerous in any case.

Most 2 wheeled users learn pretty quickly that they have to be better riders than the drivers round them if they wish to stay in one piece!

ozzage

Marco_Panettone wrote: »

So you're from the 'get out of my way or else' camp? How about training drivers to use their "large, rapidly-moving metal object" responsibly, so they don't kill other people?

The problem is, that using this system, errors and stupidity can both very easily kill. And do kill.

The roads should be designed for kids, teenagers, the nervous, the elderly, the NORMAL(!) to be able to ride a bike around as a normal form of transport.

You will never train most people to take a primary position on a major road with lorries/buses/taxis/cars. Because no normal person finds that a sane thing to do!! Some of us do it anyway, but we should realise that expecting it effectively rules cycling out for the majority of people.

Go Dutch. They know what's required. And it's not about training.

dacouch

Dave_C wrote: »

You are conveniently forgetting the hundreds of pedestrian KSI caused by motorists. Many of these caused by motorists mounting pavements.

From the office of national statistics, pedestrian deaths by year caused by Cyclists (C) and Motorists (M)
| Year . | C | M... |
| 2006 | 3 | 233 |
| 2007 | 6 | 267 |
| 2008 | 3 | 247 |
| 2009 | 0 | 141 |
| 2010 | 2 | 123 |

Perhaps motorists should put their own house in order before criticising cyclists.

Dave

That data includes pedestrians who are intoxicated and are hit by motorcars

thelawnet

It also includes pedestrians who are intoxicated and are hit by cyclists.