Bicycles and scooters on pavements and shared walking spaces

[PerhapsPerhapsMaybe]

AIBU to think that scooters and bicycles on pavements is out of control and it’s time there were laws to protects pedestrians

You'll be pleased to hear there are laws to protect pedestrians

As far as I know, it's already illegal for an adult to ride a bike on the pavement. So many people ignore it though. I wish there could be some actual consequences for people who do.

I was talking about children riding incredibly fast either unsupervised or utterly oblivious parents

I actually don’t mind children riding on the pavement as roads are so dangerous, and the pavements
where I live are hardly used by pedestrians, most people are in their cars.

Would you prefer children were on the road?

Delivery bike couriers and children on scooters - all should be banned. I've almost been run into by young children on scooters several times, who've been incompetently supervised by parents, and only escaped injury by moving very quickly. I hat to think how a less able, nimble, fast person would be affected.

Yes.

The answer to dangerous roads isn't making pavements dangerous for pedestrians.

No. I would prefer them not to be scooting at breakneck speed on narrow pavements shared by pedestrians.

💯 this

how are we supposed to know that? Why didn’t you write that in your op?

I nearly got knocked over by a cyclist behind me who had the nerve to have a go at ME for turning right at the exit of a park. He yelled at me “can’t you bloody see me?” To which I replied that I couldn’t because I didn’t have eyes at the back of my head and it was his fault for cycling way too close. He didn’t even use his bell to warn me that he was right behind me.

One thoughtless cyclist doesn't mean all cyclists are bad just as one dangerous motorist doesn't mean they all are. Where I live some pavements are also designated as cycle lanes.

If children are cycling on the pavement with ‘oblivious’ parents then I’d suggest they are too young to be in the road.

I believe there are laws - about where people should cycle, who has priority on shared spaces etc

in many places there isn’t a problem - the kids round here are very well mannered

it’s just a reflection on the more selfish society that is being buikt

I honestly never got why so many love scooters for the schol run. There isnt space really on busy pavements, like near schools.
Probably biased though, as my tgen 3yo was knocked over by a child who came flying round a corner.

We need more cycle paths.

If a cyclist has the audacity to ring their bell at me while I’m walking on a footpath they’d better be prepared to face my wrath!

Oh I’m totally with you. I absolutely get the rage when I hear the bell of a cyclist. However in this instance, he didn’t even use his bell to let me know he was right behind me and then nearly knocked me over. As much as I loathe the bell, it would have been the lesser of two evils

YANBU. We have so many electric bikes in London that people use on the pavements and it gives me instant rage as they can be dangerous AF.

There’s a defence if the rider would be frightened to ride on the road.

Unfortunately, that probably happens on a lot of roads, as so many don’t meet the standards for safe cycling.

Thought they'd changed that (I can't ride a bike now and would check before doing so)? My then 5 year old nearly got knocked down by a cyclist, and if I'd thought it was illegal, I'd have said that.

That’s ridiculous! It’s just to let you know they are there - it doesn’t mean get out of the way. Damned if they ring, damned if they don’t. It’s a tinkly bell, not an air horn.

If it’s a footpath the cyclist shouldn’t be on it at all.
If it’s a shared use path then of course it’s a good idea for them to ring their bell and/or call out to alert pedestrians.

So as a cyclist we're damned if we do use our bell and we're damned if we don't!

The reason the majority of cyclists - certainly the ones in our club - ring their bell is to make the pedestrian aware they are there. I don't go fast past pedestrians because they can step into the cyclists path. We hate shared paths as much as pedestrians which is why we will often choose to use the road - of course we then get shouted at by car drivers . . .

Why does the cyclist need to let me know they’re there? Answer: they don’t, it’s because they want me to move out of their way - which I’m not doing, because they should be there in the first place.

You’re perfectly entitled to use your bell when you’re cycling on a road or cycle path. You don’t need to make a pedestrian aware you’re on a FOOTpath, because you shouldn’t be there in the first place…