If you do bike on the sidewalk you could have a run in with the po-po, 5-0, coppers, flatfoots, fuzz, the heat, the man... You get the idea.
Now, this didn't happen to me personally, but someone I know. While they were biking to work they cross the canal at the pretoria bridge. Apparently a pedestrian was hit by a biker the other day, so the 5-0 was out handing out pamphlets about bike safety and how you're "more likely to be hit by a car or seriously injured if you bike on the sidewalk". Okay. Sure. Maybe. But I can't see how that holds true at that intersection where most people go from bike path to bike path, and the only way to do it is to 1) walk your bike or 2) bike on the road there were drivers are making quick turns.
This post isn't an argument about how people should be able to bike on the sidewalks. I see both sides of the argument and I understand it. I think that the lesson we can all take away from this incident is this: make sure you look and see if there are any cops around before you break the law. :-P
Bikers love having it both ways, eh? Should they be treated like cars and have all of the rights of the road that come along with it or should they be treated like pedestrians and allowed to use sidewalks and crosswalks?
ReplyDeleteThe answer is the former, of course. We can't have bikers mowing down walkers/runners like myself. Bikes just move too fast.
It's too bad vehicle drivers don't give bikers much respect or courtesy. Drivers ought to though, there will be a lot more bikers in the years to come the way gas prices are going.
Many drivers of today will be bikers (or walkers) tomorrow ...and not always by choice! Be kind.
I personally find that the walkers on the paths are far more dangerous wrt predictability than cars on the road. Walkers see something shinny or pretty and can change their direction instantly. They seem pretty oblivious to a bell ringing too.
ReplyDeleteDo I bike on the sidewalk? Sure, when I'm getting from a road to a bike rack (or sometimes *cough* on that bridge on my way home). But I bike at "walking speed" so the speed diff isn't an issue.
I don't usually have issues when the roads are wide enough for cars to give room. Bike lanes would help for the narrow roads. The most dangerous ones are the buses though: they take up 100% of a lane and yield to no one. I've seen a bus ride the ass of a biker < 1m behind him.
As a long-time inline skater, believe me I curse walkers on "recreation paths". Walkers don't stay on the right side of the line, they zig zag, they STAND still and talk, they don't pay attention to hazards (to them) like bikers, inline skaters and runners. But they belong on the paths too, they just need to pay attention better. Shouting "on your left!" works sometimes. :)
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