Why bicycle riders should not ride on roadside sidewalks

Why bicycle riders should not ride on roadside sidewalks:

Bikes belong on the road, following the same rules as motor vehicles. Sidewalks are for travel at walking speeds.

Sidewalk-riding cyclists think they are avoiding danger. But they are creating dangers for themselves and other pedestrian and vehicular travellers.

If sidewalk-riding cyclists never had to cross intersections or driveways, they might be dangerous only to pedestrians. The unexpected situations that they create at intersections bring unexpected surprises to law abiding motorists and danger to themselves.

Picture a motorist waiting at a stop sign for an opportunity to cross or turn. The motorist checks the sidewalk at the curb for pedestrians about to cross and then looks each way down the road for vehicles that have the right of way. A sidewalk cyclist may not be in any of these search areas, but may well be in the intersection by the time the motorist starts to move.

If the cyclist had been in the roadway, the law-abiding motorist would have noticed and yielded.

Go back to my Bike Rules page.
I also have information for cyclists about riding on the right and signalling turns properly.