To think that adults should cycle on the road

[LoopyLou1981]

It’s been a long time since I’ve been organised enough to get up (and get 2 kids up) and out early enough to walk to the station instead of getting the bus.
On a 2 mile walk, I’ve been ‘dinged’ at by 3 cyclists to get me to move over on the pavement so they could get passed.
Is this a new thing?! Our roads aren’t narrow or any more dangerous than any others. AIBU to think they should be on the road?!

Wonder if the posters struggling with what the word DEAF means when it comes to not hearing things behind you are the same people who shout when speaking to a deaf person. My friend who I mentioned before who is deaf asked me to make some phones calls on her behalf. The amount of people on the other end that when I explained said “oh it’s ok I will shout”

I actually have the same issue as mentioned further up the thread. I’m severely hearing impaired so even if a cycle rings a bell or shouts, there’s a good chance I’ll either not hear or by the time I’ve worked out I need to get out of their way it’s too late.

Shared footpath/cyclepath aside, there’s an easy remedy since only one of us should be using a pavement.

I often think cyclists should need to take some sort of road safety test.
I’ve regularly seen cyclist squeezing through the gap in car lanes when traffic has slowed down, cyclists veering across lanes without any sort of indication, going through red lights and zebra crossings.

When Dd and I were walking back from school yesterday there is a pavement only lane that turns off the main pavement. No bit of road in between, it’s literally a pavement only turn off lane.
Just as we were about to go past this turn off I heard a screech of bike brakes.
2 cyclists on the road were wanting to turn and ride down this path which as I’ve said is a pavement, no road . They were going so fast they had to heavily brake so they could turn as we were obviously in their way as we were walking on the pavement. One had to cheek to shout at me ‘ get a move on then ‘

Oh and perhaps cyclists should wear helmets too, ive rarely seen a cyclist with one on.

I think cyclists should cycle wherever it is safest to cycle. If they are on the pavement they should ride slow and be extra careful and get off it its too crowded. Lots of cyclists have been killed on the roads where I live, nobody wants that.

I have never had a problem with people riding on the pavement.
I've probably encountered hundreds as I don't drive. I have never had any issues and I have never known one to ring a bell or shout at me.

Why just adult? Highway code applies to cyclists (all of them). Children should ride in a park until they are proficient and then on the road where the bike belongs.

Is ringing a bell rude, now?

I was on a shared use path & rang my bell. The path was wide enough for me-on-bike + pedestrian, but not if Ped was walking smack in middle. The bell was much quieter than me shouting out (at 6:50am), residential echoey area. I said thanks as I passed. I was slow enough to just stop if he didn't choose a side of path after all.

He moaned about the bell! Some people are never satisfied.

Instead of bell just slow down and say excuse me please. But happy for you to cycle on the pavement because your safety is paramount

Bell does seem to wind people up, and I can see their point. I just slow to a crawl (if using a shared path) and say a cheery good morning (etc). Never had a problem. Life's easier when people aren't self-centred douchebags.

Drives me nuts. One bloke stopped the traffic in rush hour on a busy main road this week to use the pedestrian crossing. Wheeled his bike nearly to the other side, then got on his bike and cycled off past two lanes of stopped traffic! Bonkers!

LIke car horns, bells should only be used to alert others to your presence in order to prevent a collision. They are not a ‘move over’ button.

If you can’t overtake the pedestrian / cyclist / horse safely, then slow down and wait until you can.

If a car was driving up a cyclists arse beeping the horn to try to get the cyclist to move over, I’d think we would all agree they were acting dangerously. It’s the same when cyclists come up behind you on a pavement ringing the bell.

That's not what Highway code says (only to prevent a collision).

Old Section 66: "Use your bell when necessary to signal you are nearby."

Newer Section 66: "Let them know you are there when necessary, for example, by ringing your bell if you have one. It is recommended that a bell be fitted."

Yes lljk - only to warn others of your presence (in order to prevent an accident). They’re not ‘move over’ buttons.

That isn't what Highway Code says. You can't declare your narrow interpretation to be the only valid one.

Some people will moan if you use your bell, others will moan if you don't. Conclusion? Some people just like to moan.

Well why else would you need to signal you are nearby?

Either you think someone hasn’t seen you and are going to collide with you, or you’re going round a blind bend. In both cases, you’re warning someone of your presence in order to prevent an accident.

In what other cases would you need to use the car horn or the bike bell?

Welshlovebiscuit - but what about children who want to get from A to B? My daughter is 5 and likes to ride her bike to school, and sometimes we ride to the park, or to a village hall for a party. There's no way I'm letting her ride on anything apart from a very quiet side road. (I usually ride on the road and she goes on the pavement next to me).

A well timed thread. Walking my DD to school on Monday we were following her friend, friend's brother and sister and pregnant mother. The road to school has really narrow pavements with a grass verge, and it's a 20mph road.

A cyclist came belting towards us and drove at high speed right through the middle of us. DD was at my side and he went between us.

I hadn't seen him coming because of the people in front of us, so didn't have time to react. But because bicycles dont have reg plates there is no means of identifying him, so he is free to do it again.

I called the police and thwy are going to put pcso patrols in the area for a bit, as pavement cycling by adults is on the rise generally in that road.

My DD is Y6 and a lot of her friends walk alone. They were all really shaken up by the incident but what if they hadn't had adults with them.

Ignore Welshbiscuit's trolling.

Recently, I was walking along the pavement when a cyclist behind rang his bell. I moved to the left, away from the road, but he went to the left too and nearly hit me! For my pains, I was shouted at and called a "fucking idiot". Ffs, it was a 50/50 choice, and I'm not a mind reader.

Cyclists on pavements are also a pain when I have the dog with me. She'll sniff one side, and then the other, so zigzags across the pavement. She's almost been hit by silent cyclists on several occasions.

I also wish they'd obey the rules when walking in the countryside. On bridleways, I keep the dog on the lead because of horses and cyclists, but cyclists also insist on using footpaths. An elderly lady's dog was hit by a cyclist hurtling down a hill on a footpath, and the vet's bill was over £600.

I think part of the problem is that we get a lot of non-local cyclists who bring their bikes down on the train and ride up to the fields behind where I live to pick up the South Downs Way. A lot of them have either not checked the route or don't care, and will take the footpath rather than the bridleway, because it is shorter.

They are also loathed by the horse-riding fraternity because they spook the horses. Urban cyclists really need to learn a bit about how to ride in the countryside before they leave town imo.

Im a regular bike commuter throughout the year, rain or shine.

There’s NO excuse for cycling on pavements. They are for pedestrians.

But:

On pedestrian/cycleways I always use my bell and frankly I don’t care if people think it’s rude.

I’d rather be accused of a bit of ‘rudeness’ than have an accident. Even if you are cycling slowly it’s easy for a pedestrian to stray into your path particularly if you are coming up behind.

I’ve tried to not using my bell and going slowly past but have had startled reactions particularly if person is looking at phone.

How about people wearing headphones and looking down at their phones and stepping out into the road in front of your bike and then swearing at you for nearly hitting them

Phone zombies - yes plenty of them.

And people completely blocking cycle paths and refusing to let you past.

And people with extendable dog leads in the dark.

And the pot holed ‘cycle lanes’ that abandon you suddenly.

But there are also Lycra clad selfish idiots with top of the range bikes who are going far to fast for urban cycling.

I think the problem is that there needs to be more provisions to let people cycle safely. Putting pedestrians in danger however, is not the answer.