Pavement Cyclists

[fiftiesfresh22]

Probably done to death.

Pavement cyclists are a menace on the street on which I live (reasonably busy road, narrow footpaths (not shared) wide verges both sides. There are several alternative quieter roads very close by which cyclists could use if they feel unsafe/not confident to ride on the road down here, all of which end up on the same main road at the end, literally a minute away from each other. But still some choose to ride on the even narrower pavements down those.

So todays offering...walking my dog on the footpath, on his non-extendable, standard lead as always, from behind me come two cyclists who I did not see or hear approaching obviously, who ''buzzed'' me {passed very close at speed) and made me jump. Thankfully my dog was on the other side of me, and as I startled I said ''FGS''. To which one of them turned & said ''FGS? you should have your dog on a very tight lead...'' along with something else which I could not hear as they continued riding away. I guess it was probably along the lines of ''so that we can pass''.

The arrogance of some cyclists (who we are led to believe are in the minority) who believe that the footpaths are their domain if they see fit, pedestrians are in THEIR way, and it is the pedestrians responsibility to walk looking over their shoulder/with eyes in the back of their head etc in order to facilitate the cyclists illegal journey., all without challenge. So many times I see elderly/mobility scooter bound/parents with toddlers & prams/dog walkers being passed at speed & close quarters. This of course is facilitated by the fact that the law is interpreted, not upheld, and pavement cyclists are completely ignored, even when witnessed by passing police, both on foot or in a vehicle and now of course we also have electric scooters.

This thread set out to point out how many arsehole cyclists there are. It turns out there are just as many arsehole pedestrians.

I wonder if any of these people who are aghast at the audacity of a cyclist to use a pavement have ever driven 1mph above the speed limit.

I don't drive, and never have. But yeah, the audacity of those pedestrians expecting to walk safely down a pavement or shared path without having to get out of the way of someone who can't be expected to walk for a few minutes.

The thing is, some pedestrians are elderly or people who just cannot walk quickly but still need to get around. If they're walking on the pavement, there's no onus on them to walk sufficiently quickly to facilitate cyclists who aren't supposed to be on the pavement at all.

Absolutely I’ve driven at 1mph over the speed limit.

What I’ve never done is cycled on a pavement and dinged my bell at pedestrians to move over, walked in a cycle lane or driven my car down one. Y’know, the places I am not legally allowed to be.

@SirChenjins

The law regarding both shared paths, pavements and children has been explained.

The Highway Codes stance on bells has been presented.

My son and I cycle fully in accordance with both.

If you don't like it, petition your MP to get things changed.

Am I being thick? Cyclists aren’t allowed on pavements are they?

I have no need to petition MPs. I'll just continue to not inconvenience myself so bell twats can get past.

Happily for them, they're below the age of criminal responsibility.

You are not.

"Cycling on a footway (pavement) is an offence under section 129(5) of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 and (for England / Wales) under section 72 of the Highways Act 1835. Rule 64 of the Highway Code states – “You MUST NOT cycle on a pavement."

No - as @ForestGoblin says, the guidelines on cycling on pavements does not apply to you. You could/would be held criminally responsible if you caused an accident or worse.

You are not cycling in accordance with the law and hopefully now that it’s been explained to you clearly and simply you’ll leave the thread better informed than you came onto it.

In certain circumstances, yes we are. If under the age of 12 or accompanying a child

• than when you

@SirChenjins

You think that the law intends for five year olds to cycle alone?

No, you’re not.

Nope. It's a crime. Police will sometimes choose to ignore. But the law requires you to get on the road or cycle path.

@DatumTarum I do not know if this is true , others will know but surely behaving in a considerate way is the very minimum - & I don't count ringing a bell to be that. If you are cycling to school - perhaps allow extra time for actual pedestrians to be on the pavement.

A 5 year old child doesn’t need to cycle.

He does. It's how we get to school.

It’s how you choose to get to school.

Ringing a bell is contained with rule 63 of the Highway Code

So you don't think kids should cycle to school now?

That is grim.

If a car is on the road and there isn’t room to pass a cyclist safely, the car doesn’t honk its horn and tell the cyclist to get over so it can pass. The car slows down and waits until it can pass slowly and with a wide enough amount of room so as not to endanger the cyclist. At least that is what is supposed to happen.

The car isn’t supposed to honk, expect the cyclist to swerve to the side and speed past so fast the cyclist can practically feel metal brush against skin.

the same should happen with cyclists and pedestrians. It’s not the job of the pedestrian to get out of the cyclists way. They have the right to be walking. It’s the faster, bigger parties job to wait to pass safely, even when it’s annoying. I stead we get a bell and a shout to jump to the side so they can whizz by without losing momentum. It’s just as bad and just as dangerous as a car doing the same to a cyclist.

We live on the corner of a one way road that a lot of cyclists use as a cut through cycling in the opposite direction to the one way, to get from one main road to another. I was nearly knocked over by one coming up the road at speed as I was crossing it. He effed and blinded at me over his shoulder, whereupon he was hit by a car entering the street from the other end, driving the right way down the street. Karma feels fantastic.

If people are going to cycle on non-shared pavements, then they need to accept that they shouldn’t really be there & not do anything that’s going to disrupt or annoy pedestrians. Like ringing bells or whizzing past them with millimetres to spare. Just go politely at walking pace unless the pavement in front of you is completely empty.

I am a cyclist (both recreationally and as a commuter) and when I am Queen of the World, it will be perfectly legal to shove sticks in the spokes of the wheels of adult cyclists who cycle on pavements.

Fucking arseholes. If the road isn't safe, get off and walk, clearly you have functioning legs.