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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:
teacherwith2kids · 11/08/2011 11:43

Curry,

As I have broken bones twice as a result of cycling - once when a pedestrian tossed a Coke can into the road in front of me, it wrapped itself round my front wheel and caused me to go straight over the handlebars, and once when the driver of a parked car in a very narrow road threw their door open in front of me and gave me the choice of hitting the door or going straight into the path of the car driving the other way - I accept that all these things are a balance of risks.

Neither I, nor my children, would have been cycling past any pedestrian on the pavement and therefore could not have knocked them down. As I stated before, we stopped to wait for any pedestrian walking the other way or walked past any pedestrian going the same way. Until car drivers (and pedestrains stepping out between parked cars to cross the road without looking for bikes) show the same courtesy to young children as cyclists as I have taught them to show pedestrians when cycling on pavements, I will continue to follow police advice and use the pavements while training very young cyclists.

joric · 11/08/2011 11:44

Or rather
I am hoping that you C&Ped that ironically.
:o !!

teacherwith2kids · 11/08/2011 12:16

Thinking about this a bit more, and taking it away from the 'personal example' game:

We all want pedestrians to be safe on pavements (remembering that cyclists are not the only danger they experience - mobility scooters, children on scooters, uneven paving etc etc are others). We also all want all children to be as safe as possible and protected from avoidable injury and death. Many of us (I accept not all) would like bicycles to be a safe, 'green' and efficient transport (as well as recreation) option available to adults and older children.

The question is how we achieve this and balance the different needs. For adults and older children to become skilled road cyclists, they need suitable training and practice, which can partly be achieved through 'formal' training but as this is very brief also needs to happen through supervised staged practice.

In my opinion, it is easy to teach small children pedestrian-friendly cycling - much easier than to teach them full road safety to become confident road cyclists and achievable at a much younger age (there is some data which shows that children cannot correctly judge vehicle speed on the road until quite an advanced age - certainly older than most children learn to ride a bike). This can keep children AND pedestrians safe and through further staged practice will result in skilled cyclists ready to take on the challenge of roads.

Venacava · 11/08/2011 13:34

yawn

9 pages of drivel about something that didn't actually happen...

Your son should have looked, the girl should've been more careful. Now go and think about something more important.

annoyingdevil · 11/08/2011 14:10

Haven't had time to read all of this, but are people seriously suggesting that 4 year olds (ie just off stabilisers) should be cycling on the road? If so, shame on you.

GrimmaTheNome · 11/08/2011 14:58

Spot on, teacher.

Verahaspurpletwuntypants · 11/08/2011 15:12

Regardless of whether DS was deaf (and yes i do have a deaf DC) and whatever the age of the cyclist.
If you had gone first you would have looked to check whether anyone was coming. You have to teach him to do the same as it is something that it is vital that he learns.

melika · 11/08/2011 15:51

I am a nervous cyclist and prefer nimbly riding on pavements always looking out for pedestrians. But I'm sorry YABU to expect a 10 year old to ride on the road!

Y
A
B
U

SearchSquad · 11/08/2011 16:16

I cycle to drop my son to his preschool, 2.5 miles away. I cannot afford a car for myself. And I mostly use the pavement.

The roads on my route have cars parked on both sides, with very little space to negotiate if a speeding car were to come suddenly. I have nearly missed being run over on numerous occasions in the past.

And I will continue to cycle on the pavement rather than risk being dead or maimed.

YABU.

JosieRosie · 11/08/2011 16:28

'It is illegal to cycle on the pavement. Full stop .that's not even to mention selfish, dangerous.....Cycles should not be there'

I take people's points about the road being too dangerous for children (10 and under). Grown adults on the other hand, have NO excuse as far as I'm concerned. Use the road.

teacherwith2kids · 11/08/2011 16:35

Josie,

I would say the same about adults as you do EXCEPT if the adults are accompanying younger children who are cycling on their own bikes on the pavement.

Believe you me, it's much easier to teach pedestrian -friendly cycling to small children if you are with them on the pavement rather than from the other side of a continuous row of parked cars - also the speed at which small children cycle is unacceptable and dangerously slow for an adult to ride on the road, bit like a little old lady doing 45 mph on the motorway!

As cycling proficiency is often taught in year 6, perhaps 11 / end of primary school is an acceptable top age for cycling on pavements?

takethisonehereforastart · 12/08/2011 17:12

CurrySpice - "Christonabike. I didn't contradict myself."

Is his bike on the road or the path here? Grin

Sorry. Little things amuse me today and I just loved seeing that expression appearing on this thread Blush Ignore me.

Popbiscuit · 12/08/2011 19:24

Ha!

skybluepearl · 12/08/2011 19:35

My kids ride on the path as the road is too dangerous. They also have to stop or walk the bike if we meet people on foot.

mamalino · 12/08/2011 19:41

YANBU Lottie. Hard enough keeping a deaf child safe out and about without cyclists on pavements. They should not be there. It's extremely dangerous and foolish paticularly ones that go like bats out of hell.

Wonder how different the responses would be in SN?

EssentialFattyAcid · 12/08/2011 19:41

I have no problem with cyclists being on the pavement as long as they show resect and consideration for pedestrians.

Over half of the pavements in my city are offically designated shared pavements for cyclists and pedestrians anyhow.

Stepping backwards without looking is always hazardous.

Original poster
LottieJenkins · 12/08/2011 19:44

Thanks mamalino I did wonder that too!!! Particularly when i read the comments that because he is autistic dyspraxic and deaf i need to hold his hand all the time when he is out!!! Hmm

OP posts:
Claw3 · 12/08/2011 20:05

Bikes shouldnt be on the pavement, pedestrians should. Although children cycling on the road is dangerous, if they are going to ride in built up areas, they should have an adult with them. YANBU

LadySybil · 12/08/2011 20:08

cycling on th epavement is illegal. you can get fined for doing so, regardless of whether there are any profoundly deaf children around, or not.

robotlollypopman · 12/08/2011 20:18

If I catch my son riding on the road when he is 10, he'll get a bollocking. No amount of cycle proficiency can prepare you for the stupidity of some motorists. I cycle to work and back every day, on the road for most of the journey. At least once on each journey, I'm convinced that a motorist is out to kill me.

BeyondTheLimitsOfAcceptability · 12/08/2011 20:58

I dont know, the thing that concerns me is that a person walking on pavement hit by person on similar size on a bike will do a lot less damage than a person on a bike on the road being hit by a car...

I'm not sure it should be illegal for anyone to ride on the pavement, more so that it should be illegal to ride without due care and attention...?

BeyondTheLimitsOfAcceptability · 12/08/2011 21:00

robotlollypopman - you havent told them that you struggle to stay on your bike regardless of whether you are in the process of being hit by a car or just happily riding along Grin

robotlollypopman · 12/08/2011 21:06

I haven't BeyondTheLimitsOfRecockulousness.

Also, if you saw christ on a bike and he was on the pavement, would you shout at him?

2BoysTooLoud · 12/08/2011 21:12

Not read whole of thread but wonder if this is a case of 'times have a changed'.
I am in my 40s and as a kid was not allowed to cycle on the pavement even if road busy. Don't think it was just me but general.
[why I walk everywhere now!].

Claw3 · 12/08/2011 21:17

I got hit by a cyclist (another child) when i was younger and broke my leg in 3 places.

Mind you i also got hit by a car when i was older and fractured my pelvis, dislocated my shoulder and broke my arm.