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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

for telling a young girl off for cycling on the pavement??

244 replies

lottiejenkins · 09/08/2011 15:57

I went shopping in our local market town this morning with my ds Wilf (profoundly deaf). We stopped at the florists where my cousin works and as we were leaving Wilf went out of the front door ahead of me. He then suddenly stepped back and i saw that girl (aged about ten) had nearly knocked him over as she cycled past on the pavement!! Hmm I called after her and said that Wilf was deaf and that is one of the many reasons why she shouldnt be cycling on the pavement. I didnt see any parent with her. Surely if shes that nervous of traffic she shouldnt be out on her own???

OP posts:
ZZZenAgain · 09/08/2011 16:19

under the circumstances, no , I don't think you were U for saying something but personally I am ok with dc cycling on pavements.

BilboBloggins · 09/08/2011 16:20

If your son is walking out in front of cyclists (could easily be other pedestrians, mobility scooters, etc), then he quite obviously does need hand holding.

HamstersDontSwim · 09/08/2011 16:23

I agree with Bilboboggins.and none of her posts are 'patronising' Hmm

StayingDavidTennantsGirl · 09/08/2011 16:25

My personal feeling is that a child should be able to ride on the pavement - just being able to ride without stabilisers doesn't make a child mature enough to cope with the demands of cycling in traffic - BUT they should cycle slowly and with due care and attention for pedestrians, and taking account of the fact that the pedestrians might not be able to hear them coming because of deafness (as in this case), or because they're listening to an MP3 or iPod, or because something else has distracted them.

I can also understand why some adults want to cycle on the pavement - the roads are pretty hazardous places for cyclists - but that should not give them the right to become a hazard elsewhere, so an adult cycling on the pavement must be even more careful, and vigilent than a child, and shouldn't be hurtling along (which does somewhat negate the benefits of cycling, I would have thought).

BehindLockNumberNine · 09/08/2011 16:26

I think this is 50-50.

Wilf (cool name!) should have looked before stepping out of the shop - everybody needs to - to avoid bumping into fellow pedestrians, mobility scooters, prams etc.

The girl should have pushed her bike on the pavement, not cycled. If it was a shopping street then there may have been cars parked along the side of the road. In this scenario I tell my dc (11 and 8) to not cycle on the road as the road is likely to be busy, drivers open their doors to exit their cars without looking etc but to walk on the pavement.

I personally don't mind children cycling on the pavement if the pavement is clear, wide and the road is busy and dangerous. ( And yes, I know it is illegal, but until the government put money into funding safe cycle lanes, tough)

My dc's school also offer cycling proficiency (the annoyingly named bikeability) but this takes place on quiet roads. So whilst the children know the theory and can cycle, turn etc on the road, a busy road with many dangers is still too much for them.

StayingDavidTennantsGirl · 09/08/2011 16:26

I should also say that I disagree with Bilbo - Wilf should not have to hold someone's hand all the time - how will he learn to cope with this sort of situation, if he is always holding his mum's hand? When he is an adult, he is going to have to be an independant pedestrian, so he needs to learn what hazards there may be around him, and how best he can be aware of them and avoid them. He's not going to learn that holding someone's hand, is he.

niceguy2 · 09/08/2011 16:27

So let me get this straight. Your son was leaving a shop and stepped back when he (presumably) saw a child cycling past. In other words, nothing actually happened. Your son rightly used his eyes and reacted. The girl is a child riding on the pavement where its way safer than on a road.

Your son's disability seemed to have little relevance here as he was still able to see and react to the "danger".

YABU. I'd rather share the pavement with a 10yr old child on a bike than watch them on the roads with cars & lorries inches from them just in case they accidentally bump into someone.

If it was a 20yr old man then that's different. But a 10 year old girl......seriously!?!?!

chasingthedevils · 09/08/2011 16:28

Point taken Lottie. But I dont think cyclists and modern traffic conditions are a good mix. (The young ride too fast on pavements....especially males.)

camaleon · 09/08/2011 16:29

Line Runner: 'Our local beat police say that if you are old enough to ride a bike without stabilisers then you should be learning to cycle on the road'

My children have been able to ride since the age of 3.... I cannot find the relationship between ability to ride a bike and ability to ride on the road..

Honestly, do you really meet so many cyclist on pavements? Does it alter your normal life so much? We live sourrounded by persons and persons, sometimes, do stupid things, on the pavement and on the road, in your house, in theirs, in the tube...

Asking for kids to ride bikes on roads is asking for kids to never use the bike until they are 18. Normal parents tend not to use bikes in crowded pavements and in the world I live, it is very bizarre to see many bikes along the pavement.

It is obviously Ok to say something to someone who is riding on the pavement and is about to knock someone down (whatever age/disability, etc) as it is OK to say something (if you can) to someone driving like a nutcase. It does not mean that everybody should be mean with children on the pavement.

Popbiscuit · 09/08/2011 16:30

A 10 year old should be taught to cycle slowly and carefully or dismount in areas where there are lots of pedestrians and near storefronts etc. You could have patiently explained this to her instead of telling her off. There's no way I would let my 10 year old daughter ride in traffic and if you told her that's what she should be doing, the consequences could have been far worse than someone getting bumped on a pavement.

Children on bicycles DO NOT BELONG ON THE ROAD. Parents must teach them proper cycling etiquette and safety rules for sharing the sidewalk with pedestrians.

worraliberty · 09/08/2011 16:32

YABU I wouldn't want my 10yr old cycling in the road

As far as I remember, the legal part isn't down to age...it's down to the size of the bike wheels? Though I could be wrong about that...or perhaps it's down to bylaws.

Ephiny · 09/08/2011 16:34

I generally don't get upset about children (or even adults) riding on the pavement as long as they're slow and considerate and give way to pedestrians, even though technically they should not be there.

It does annoy me seeing people charge along at dangerous speeds then have them yell or swear at me for being in their way...on the pavement! So for me it depends on how they do it.

Bicycles generally don't make much noise, so even if you have good hearing you don't always realise they're there. Pedestrians shouldn't need to be looking out for cyclists on the pavement, it's their responsibility to make sure they stay well clear of us, and if that means getting off and pushing when the pavement is crowded then that's what they should do IMO.

whostolemyname · 09/08/2011 16:34

Agree 100% with niceguy2. YABU.

BilboBloggins · 09/08/2011 16:34

I do agree that the girl on the bike should have also been taking care, watching where she was going, and adjusted her speed. I'm not denying that at all.

But to say that "He shouldnt have to look before he steps out of a shop" is wrong.

LolaRennt · 09/08/2011 16:34

Personally I would rather a child get knocked down by a cyclist (sorry!) then a child get knocked down by a car. I can't belive a ten year old should be driving in a road especially alone.

SO I think Yab a bit U

KurriKurri · 09/08/2011 16:35

Gosh, why on earth should he expect there to be someone cycling on the pavement, pavement is for pedestrians not cyclists, I'm sure I would have been taken by surprise as well. To suggest this young man needs his hand held, shouldn't be allowed out or whatever is utterly ridiculous.

And as for him suddenly stepping back, that is surely a natural reflex, defence reaction to keep himself safe, if he had bumped into someone behind him, it would have been the cyclists fault for riding on the pavement

Young man nearly hit by cyclist riding on pavement, and for some reason it is his fault?????? Bizarre.

I hope Wilf is OK Lottie, and not too shaken up by it.

LineRunner · 09/08/2011 16:35

I'm not personally responsible for what my local police say.

LolaRennt · 09/08/2011 16:35

Sorry should say "knocked down by a child cyclist^"

GrimmaTheNome · 09/08/2011 16:38

Like others - I have no objection to children (or adults, in some circumstances) riding on the pavement if the road is unsafe providing they do it carefully, and always giving way to pedestrians.

So I think the OP was BU to tell the kid off for riding on the pavement, but would have been reasonable to tell her to be more careful when she's doing it.

worraliberty · 09/08/2011 16:40

Gosh, why on earth should he expect there to be someone cycling on the pavement, pavement is for pedestrians not cyclists

It's also for motorbility scooters that go far too fast and can kill, it's also for delivery people with trollies of goods, for joggers, people walking dogs, toddlers on reins.

There is every reason to look where you are going when you're on a pavement.

NonnoMum · 09/08/2011 16:44

Brilliant! Being yelled at for riding your bike on the pavement is a rite of passage of childhood. I clearly remember when it happened to me. I would have been confused, frightened and a bit pissed off that when I was beginning to get just a little bit of independence (just a bit mind - don't want to go crazy - just popping to Woolworths for a bag of Pick n Mix on my bike) some angry old loon would yell at me that I nearly ran over a young child/old lady with a zimmer/pet rottweiler and then I didn't leave the house again alone for about three years.
Well done for having a yell at a kid on a bike. I thought this went out of fashion when Wollies shut down.
Bring it on.

Funny how these kids on bikes only nearly run people over - they never actually do. If we shoved 'em on the roads there would be far more real accidents. Hoorah!

Popbiscuit · 09/08/2011 16:46
Grin
KurriKurri · 09/08/2011 16:49

I'm not sure a street with shops is an appropriate place for joggers actually, - seems rather a stupid place to jog unless you want to bang into people. The other folks you mention I would expect to be there.

Will admit to being an unbiased commenter though, my elderly mother was hit by a bastard cyclist going much too fast, who cycled off leaving her battered on the ground, with her glasses broken, until someone found her. Maybe it was her own fault for daring to go out of the house.

I'm a cyclist, I think its a green way to travel, but I don't think I own the pavements, if I don't want to go on the road, I get off and walk.

LolaRennt · 09/08/2011 16:50

Kurri I'm sorry to hear about your mother, but I very much doubt a 10 year old girl could have knocked her down with such force. Maybe a teenage boy or an adult

worraliberty · 09/08/2011 16:54

Perhaps it is a stupid place to jog but it doesn't mean joggers don't jog down streets with shops so it's pretty irrellivent I guess. The fact is, everyone should be aware of what's around them because the pavement isn't just for walking pedestrians.

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