Yeah, what John said . . .

As it turns out, bicycles are much more similar to cars than they are to people in terms of handling and speed. Most places have laws that specify that a bicycle must be with other vehicles – on the road.

That, of course, is rarely enforced and when it comes to mom, dad and the kids out for a Sunday ride at about 3mph, the sidewalk is actually a better place.

Cool site, BTW. I’ll visit often.

Yeah, what John said . . .

As it turns out, bicycles are much more similar to cars than they are to people in terms of handling and speed. Most places have laws that specify that a bicycle must be with other vehicles – on the road.

That, of course, is rarely enforced and when it comes to mom, dad and the kids out for a Sunday ride at about 3mph, the sidewalk is actually a better place.

Cool site, BTW. I’ll visit often.

Yes, I believe you are missing something. I believe that MOST state’s motor vehicle codes treat bicycles as vehicles to operated in the same manner as cars, i.e., ride in the same direction as traffic, obey posted traffic signs, etc.. In addition, every town that I’ve been in recently, have laws requiring a cyclist to walk their bike, not ride it, when on the side walk. This being the case, having a bike would be pointless (from a transportation point of view) if one could not ride their bike in the street, and when on side walks, would have to walk it.

Riding a bike on a pedestrian walkway is substantially dangerous; bikes can not be easily heard when coming up from behind, pedestrians think nothing of suddenly veering left or right without signalling, and bicycles can not stop or change directions as quickly as a car can. Since 10-15 MPH is a liesurely pace for a bicycle on flat ground, you would frequently have impacts with a greater than 10 MPH speed difference. Given this, the laws make sense from a public safety point of view.

That being said, bicycles, as well as other vehicles incapable of sustained high speeds, are restricted from using the highway, so you should not see a bicycle on the Mass. Turnpike, or I95.

John

Yes, I believe you are missing something. I believe that MOST state’s motor vehicle codes treat bicycles as vehicles to operated in the same manner as cars, i.e., ride in the same direction as traffic, obey posted traffic signs, etc.. In addition, every town that I’ve been in recently, have laws requiring a cyclist to walk their bike, not ride it, when on the side walk. This being the case, having a bike would be pointless (from a transportation point of view) if one could not ride their bike in the street, and when on side walks, would have to walk it.

Riding a bike on a pedestrian walkway is substantially dangerous; bikes can not be easily heard when coming up from behind, pedestrians think nothing of suddenly veering left or right without signalling, and bicycles can not stop or change directions as quickly as a car can. Since 10-15 MPH is a liesurely pace for a bicycle on flat ground, you would frequently have impacts with a greater than 10 MPH speed difference. Given this, the laws make sense from a public safety point of view.

That being said, bicycles, as well as other vehicles incapable of sustained high speeds, are restricted from using the highway, so you should not see a bicycle on the Mass. Turnpike, or I95.

John