As for me, I live in Montgomery County, MD, where it is legal to ride on the sidewalk. However I still don't do it, because it's dangerous and I'd be an inconsiderate fool to risk my life and that of pedestrians simply because the law here isn't smart enough to figure out that riding a machine that weighs nearly 300lbs (including rider, trail-a-bike, daughter) and goes up to 30mph is potentially deadly.
I'd add that sidewalk riding is the mark of a fool, but I might be wrong - after all, it could simply be ignorance, incompetence or plain stubbornness. All admirable qualities.
And those who defend their sidewalk-riding by saying that it's okay because they act as pedestrians need to realize that pedestrians actually get hit at about the same rate as sidewalk cyclists. The point is not that sidewalk riding is unsafe - it's that using the sidewalk at all is inherently unsafe. Walking on the sidewalk is the single most dangerous routine activity we do - according to NHTSA crash statistics it's seven times more deadly than driving a car.
Last edited by ianbrettcooper; 04-29-11 at 05:20 AM.