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

[lottiejenkins]

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!! 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???

Fabby it is illegal.

Also socially unacceptable to ride near pedestrians, you are right about that.

It's called discretion Sardine, you judge every 'offender' individually, in every single circumstance...which is why some people will get traffic offence tickets/arrested/handcuffed when arrested and others don't.

The letter of the law says its illegal.

As the quotes/links I gave below indicate, sometimes the law is an ass and is treated as such.

choca I have no idea what the "incident" was involving your children and I'm not that interested TBH.

The fact is that it is illegal to cycle on the pavement at all and in addition it is rude, selfish, inconsiderate and dangerous to cycle on the pavement where there are pedestrians or where they are likely to be ie near shops, stations and so on.

People who cannot grasp this need to firstly read their highway codes and secondly give a little thought for others before cycling through shopping areas.

I taught my dd to slow right down or get off if there are people around.I feel angry when cyclists hare down the high street on a busy day at the same speed they would on a rd. It is so dangerous as a cyclist on the rd but if you do end up on the pavement it needs to be very slow and cautious.

Yes I have said there is discretion. Police officers have discretion in lots of areas. That does not stop it being illegal.

I have said that it is selfish etc etc on top of being illegal to cycle on the pavement in places where there are pedestrians or where they are likely to be around.

If you really feel the need to cycle through the high street while people are shopping then that is your lookout, but be aware that it is illegal, dangerous and extremely inconsiderate.

How much does it actually inconvenience people to dismount when going through a pedestrian area? Not much. Most of the people around here manage it. And certainly I have seen the police rebuke children for cycling on the pavement on the high street. And quite right too. Children should not be taught to ignore the law for the sake of avoiding a mild inconvenience.

Are scooters allowed on pavements? I mean the kids sort not mobility ones.

There was a case last year where two children (four years old) riding bikes on the pavement hit an old woman, an accident which lead directly to her death in hospital three months later.
The woman's family have sued the childrens' parents for negligence.

Perhaps it's no surprise this was in the US (Manhattan) and that a judge worryingly ruled that the four year old could be sued for neglect as well, but nevertheless the point shown is that children riding bikes on pavements can potentially maim or kill someone. I'm not being dramatic: it's a possibility.

I think it's best that kids dismount and push their bikes through busy town centres, or anywhere with shops and more than the occasional pedestrian (and therefore people stepping on and off the pavement) and save cycling for quiet streets and the park.

Link to that story here - www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11657376

This thread is unbelievable

OP, YANBU. I can't understand why so many people think that you are being unreasonable to object to somebody illegally cycling on the pavement.

A lot of the pavements near us are dual use - for both pedestrians and cyclists. Seems sensible to me as the pavements aren't busy (we are in a village) but the roads are mostly national speed limit. There is no way I'd want ds cycling on those sort of roads.

I think cycling on the pavement under the age of 10, while giving due care and attention to others is fine. Once they hit 10 they really should have their cycling proficiency. But we live and learn, as do kids, so maybe next time she'll be more careful.

US story is irrelevant.
Funnily enough different countries have different rules.

When I lived in the US, the only place I ever saw bikes being ridden was in the State Parks. Never on the road, and where we lived there weren't sidewalks either ... no pesky pedestrians either. The ultimate solution... not.

It isn't quite so simple as riding on the pavement is illegal

A child under 16 can't be given a fixed notice - so whether illegal or not they cant be given the 30 quid fine anyway.

It doesn't matter whether you are wearing red wheels or have stabalisers or are over 8 years old or under 5f2"

I think its a real shame that pedestrians and cyclists can't mix and rub along together safely, they are less likely to damage each other.

This thread IS unbelievable. I can't believe that any parent would allow and encourage their (or anyone elses) 10 year old to cycle on the road .
I'm also shocked that any parent would allow their children to cycle on the pavement in such a way that they could knock down and kill a pedestrian! It's a terrible story but if all children were forced to ride their bikes on the road I'm sure there would be many, many, many more fatalities

I thought that story was relevant because it recorded an instance of a pedestrian being hit by a child on a bike, riding on the pavement (in this instance the pedestrian was killed).

I know it happened in crazy-old-U-S-of-A and the legalities surrounding it are very very different, but I still think it's a relevant link to the thread because it showed such accidents can happen!

It comes down to common sense, doesn't it? Kids can ride their bikes on pavements when no pedestrians are around - ie on quiet side road pavements, not through the middle of busy shopping streets. When they find themselves on a pavement with shops/pedestrians, they dismount and push the bike for a bit. Anyone disagree with that?

this article gives the part about enforcement of the law of not cycling on a pavement

common sense is that it would be really hard to actually ride a bike through a busy pedestrian area - much easier for the cyclist whatever age to dismount and walk

Thanks for all the interesting responses!

you must not drive on the pavement either

but it often happens and it is illegal

Wade you way through this.
www.bikehub.co.uk/featured-articles/cycling-and-the-law/

much nicer to wade yourself throguh this page

no bikes where hurt in the making of the above webpage - the same might not be said for the adult on the back of the childrens' bike

I believe it is illegal to cycle on the pavement unless you are under 10.

I shouted at a girl of about 13 recently. She was cycling along a narrow pavement that I was walking along with my two children ( then aged 9 & 10) and my dog. She rang her bell and shouted excuse me. She clearly expected me, my kids and the dog to step into the road (busy, rush hour) so that she could continue cycling along the pavement.

I am also a cyclist and where I live a lot of footpaths double up as designated cycle paths. I get abuse from pedestrians when cycling along the designated cycle paths, but equally get abuse from car drivers if I come off the cycle paths and cycle on the road.

I know I'm going off at a tangent here, but I see cycling becoming more popular as the credit crunch continues to bite. I cycle as we've had to go from a two car family down to one car.

To all the people saying "but it's illegal", I say the law is actually unreasonable here, and I'm happy to say it. I agree that fully grown adults shouldn't being bombing down pavements, but a 10 year old girl who by all accounts nearly collided (didn't collide) with your son.

So, both you and the law a BU