Cyclists on pavement

[Rentergob89]

So this week a lady has been riding her bike on the pavement whilst children and their parents are attempting to walk in the opposite direction. She does not stop for anyone and yesterday had knocked a small child over grumbled something and carried on riding her bike on the pavement. Today I could see her coming towards me so I stopped where I was and refused to move for her. She stopped and said I was an inconvenience and I should move my fat a### out the way. I replied " you should not be riding your bike on the pavement you should be in the road" she then rode off swearing and shoving her two fingers up at me. Charming!! Two other mothers witnessed this and said thank you to me for saying something another however said I was in the wrong for not moving out of the way for her.
The pavement gets really busy after school as its the only way children and parents can walk to either their cars or the bus stop. All I am concerned about is the safety of the children but she seems to only care about herself. Was I in the wrong??

[knittingdad]

In part councils have created this problem by creating cycle routes on the cheap by simply painting a bicycle onto pavements in some places. This blurs the distinction between where cyclists are allowed on the pavement and where they are not.

Obviously a person should always give way to a more vulnerable user of the road/pavement, but some people are arrogant twats whether they are driving, cycling or walking.

[whatsthecomingoverthehill]

Witchy, a number on it's own doesn't mean much, it's all relative. And as I said above you've changed from talking about cyclists endangering pedestrians on footpaths to total number of cycling accidents which are obviously massively different. I'm not sure what you expect me to acknowledge about those numbers. You seem to think it implies something different to how I take it.(Which is that yes cyclists can do dangerous things. Most of the time when they do so they are endangering themselves more than anyone else. Sometimes they will hurt pedestrians and of course they should be punished if they do so. And more often than not if they're in an accident with a vehicle it is the driver's fault.)

[whatsthecomingoverthehill]

littleprincess, there are statistics showing accidents from cyclists doing illegal things, such as going through red lights. Think there's a link in one of the reports linked above. No there are no overall 'illegality' statistics, just as there aren't for other road users. But the statistics that there are do give a good idea of the risks from different modes of travel.

If I went on my personal experience it would be that 3 times I've hit pedestrians when I've been cycling. Each time they stepped out into the road with no warning and without looking. I've never been hit by a cyclist as a pedestrian.

You may well he right that engaging with these threads does more harm than good. I've tried to explain as clearly as I can why they concern me, but people don't seem to get it. It's not about defending dangerous cyclists, it's about trying to correct the narrative that exists on here and in general in this country of cyclists being particularly bad and worthy of disdain. And that is a problem because I can see it with the way I am treated on the roads.

[witchywoohoo]

a number on it's own doesn't mean much, it's all relative

There we go - utterly arrogant. The statistics don't matter- it's all relative.

you've changed from talking about cyclists endangering pedestrians on footpaths to total number of cycling accidents

You and others have condoned cycling on pavements when cyclists can assess the risks. Looking at stats with regards to accidents involving bikes it's clear to see that some cyclists often can't assess risk - therefore no cyclists should ever be on a pavement. The two are linked - poor judgement is poor judgement.

We seem to be going around in circles What'sthat. I do understand your concerns regarding people's attitudes to cyclists - my husband cycles and my son loves it so it's only a matter of time before he's properly on the roads too and I will be sick with worry every time he goes out. But I really believe that so long as bad cyclists go unanswerable, people's attitudes towards them will worsen. What's the answer? I honestly don't know.

I hope you enjoy only safe and happy cycling

[whatsthecomingoverthehill]

Eh? I'm saying that statistics do matter but a raw number doesn't say anything without context. Such as: What proportion of cyclists are involved accidents? How likely is someone to be hurt by a cyclist doing something wrong? Etc. And I'm getting fed up of you calling me arrogant. Lay off it please.

[TiggyD]

I think it needs some give and take from all the parties involved.

[witchywoohoo]

If you don't want to be accused of being arrogant don't completely dismiss other peoples experiences because they don't fit with the narrative that you are trying to create. Several times you have claimed that people exaggerate the truth because your experiences are different - that IS arrogant.

[Hedgehogparty]

If we are going on personal experience rather than bothering with statistics then.....

I was knocked off my bike by a woman who ran into the road without looking. I was on the ground while she was shouting at me for not stopping. I'd just dropped DS at Nursery, thankful he wasn't injured. I was shaken up and bruised, luckily nothing else.

I cycle near a large 6th form college. Literally on a daily basis, teenagers will just walk into the road without looking first. I now just expect this to happen every day.
Lucky I have good brakes and a loud bell.

But whether I'm on my bike, driving or walking , I still view the vast majority of people as reasonable. Idiots are idiots , whatever category.

[whatsthecomingoverthehill]

I've said exaggerated once witchy. You seem to be exaggerating yourself rather... It's not dismissing someone's experiences to question whether that is reflective of the general situation. I compared it to mine to make the point that if I went purely by what I've experienced then pedestrians are much worse. But I know that's not the case.

[littleprincesssara]

Maybe cyclists should try exercising just the tiniest little bit of compassion for people who don't have your able-bodied privilege, rather than dismissing disabled people's traumatic personal experiences as being insignificant simply because they're a minority?

Seems obvious to me that everyone should obey the law (including pedestrians). But often people with disabilities can't do what some cyclists expect of them, whether it's hearing bells or jumping out the way. There is an inherent power imbalance and people need to be aware of that.

[user1474095534]

I think the people defending cyclists that do illegal manoeuvrers need to take a long hard look in the mirror.

[WheelofPan]

And this from the person who claims to have assaulted someone causing them chronic pain.
You sound like a violent fantasist.

[user1474095534]

I have not assaulted anyone, both times the police investigated they have concluded that I was not at fault.