Bicycles on pavements - why are they not being ridden on a road?

Or you could follow the law and stay off the pavements?

I've seen electric bikes speeding on pavements, which are definitely not shared - even in crowded places like central London. It's so dangerous, but they don't care.

I agree that cycling lanes are the solution.

No. That's someone trying not be injured or trying to stop a family member from being injured.

There has been a cultural shift to cycling on the pavement being the norm in recent years for sure. It's not great if you're a pedestrian, especially as some of the cyclists are using heavy, fast ebikes. A lot of pavements aren't wide enough for all the pedestrians, let alone throwing bikes into the mix. I'd like to see more cycle lanes as a solution.

I won't say too much because it would be outing, but a family member had a fatal accident whilst cycling. That's why I'd only ever use cycle paths.

I wouldn't cycle on pavements intended for pedestrians only - I've seen too many near misses of elderly folk (including my late husband).

He was alway fit and healthy...until he wasn't. I'm making that point because of the snotty comment made by a pp about people not using paths.

He ran in his youth, did weight training, lifted for his university, ran the London Marathon and half marathons and took up karate in middle age. Also cycled (but never on pavements - he was very strict on that).

Following his stroke at the age of 75, he spent 4 months learning to walk again. On top of his mobility problems, he was left partially sighted. As he said, "Everything [was] difficult."

Having to watch out for heedless cyclists whilst he walked from our garden path onto the pavement in front of our house didn't exactly help his confidence.

My dd and I witnessed an old woman being run off the pavement by a Deliveroo cyclist last year, it was either fall into the road or be hit by the bike. The cyclist didn’t even stop. We waited with her whilst the ambulance came, she had a nasty head injury and what looked like a broken arm. I can’t see how cyclists can claim any right to the footpath. It’s shockingly dangerous.

Maybe. But far less likely to be injured by that than to die cycling on the road like many cyclists do everyday. Plus that’s someone going out of their way to try and deliberately injure a child.

I walk, cycle and drive.

Im significantly more likely to be killed on a bike cycling on the road, than I am to kill someone on my bike while they’re on the pavement.

Im a respectful citizen regardless of how I travel but I’ll risk assess the situation and decide which route to take accordingly.

Cyclists shouldn’t be on the pavement.

But about 18 months ago someone stopped their car and gave me a load of verbal abuse when I was cycling with my kids. He told me I didn’t deserve kids, and that I should cycle on the pavement with them.

Then last week I was cycling on the road and I stopped to give way to a bus who was overtaking a parked car, it was my right of way. The bus driver made no effort to say thank you nor pull in back to his side when he had finished overtaking. He must have missed me by about half a metre.

So, I understand why people do it.

Very lucky that he didn't land badly.

I don't cycle any more because I just don't feel safe, but as someone who walks a lot, I know how unsafe pedestrians can feel when bikes are whizzing past them at high speed and appearing out of nowhere, so that's that.

I do feel for cyclists because drivers seem to be getting worse and worse. I nearly got knocked down crossing the road the other day because a car couldn't be bothered to indicate that it was turning into my street, and when I'm driving, I've noticed fewer and fewer cars indicating and more and more of them speeding dangerously, as well as cyclists behaving dangerously, too. Seems you can't win however you choose to get around!

Let’s hope he never does

hope you tell him to ride carefully

Yeah, I would rather that than he be hit by a car. In fact a child did do that to him. Still alive to tell the tale and continue riding on the pavements, obviously, he would be.

In the words of Julia from Motherland that post was "unbelievable". I hope the reason for encouraging teenagers to ride on pavements isn't passed on to the kids. Damn those pesky pedestrians getting in their way.

That reminds me of the woman a few years ago who was disabled, and I think blind. She was arrested for doing just that after being scared by a cyclist close by. The cyclist sadly got hit by a car as a result!

I am a cyclist and used to ride everywhere on my bike. Over the last 10 years, my family have been going to Holland on holiday. Once there, we park the car and cycle everywhere.

A few years ago after one such holiday, we returned to the UK and the following weekend went out on our bikes. The difference was horrifying between Holland and the UK. No respect for cyclists whatsoever, no safe space for cycling - road or pavements, we are damned whatever we do. Holland has dedicated cyclepaths everywhere and in Holland, everyone was a cyclist before they became a driver so there is respect for cyclists.

As a result, I no longer cycle in the UK. I feel so sad about this as one of our favourite things was a family bike ride at the weekend.

Fair enough.

So if I put out my arms to push a cyclist rather than having him run into me that'll be fine, because I'm making sure he doesn't take out me or mine.

My teen rides his bike everywhere. I tell him to only ride on the pavement and never in the road. Simply because I’d rather him take out a pedestrian than a car take him out. I don’t care if it’s selfish. I care more about my child’s safety than any strangers.

I've really got tennis elbow now, but quite simply have run out of food to feed.

I think some of these shared paths are either so badly signposted or badly thought out with not enough space for cyclists to pass that it's made some cyclists think why not just go on the pavement in general.

But it is the reason, which is what OP asked.

If you can't ride on the road you shouldn't be on a bike full stop.
I live in a city and cyclists are a pain in the butt.
Especially the ones who ride without lights after dark. And there's loads of those.

OP asked why some cyclists feel it's acceptable. Feeling safer on pavements is not an acceptable reason.

Yes!