Advocacy & Safety - Strange Ideas

What's up with the mainstream?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20070724/hl_hsn/healthtipbicyclesafetyforchildren

It says tips for children. In my city it is illegal for children under 12 to ride on the road.

I agree with all those tips for unattended childern.

I don't see what's so bad about this?

I don't see what's so bad about this?

"Never bike in the road or on a busy street. Stay on the sidewalk. "

Foor adults this is a terrible and even posisbly illegal recommendation.

"Don't ride at night,"

Bikes can be properly equipped for night riding

"Never bike in the road or on a busy street. Stay on the sidewalk. "

Foor adults this is a terrible and even posisbly illegal recommendation.

"Don't ride at night,"

Bikes can be properly equipped for night riding

Read the article more closely. Its title is "Bicycle Safety for Children". I think those are all excellent tips for younger children. I suspect you will never find a cop who will tell a kid to get off the sidewalk and ride in the street.

Interesting responses. I have been riding in the street at varying levels since I was four. Just when does the mainstream think someone can "graduate" to the street or even riding at night?

I hope this was intended for unsupervised riders. Otherwise, how could I ever teach my three year olds how to ride properly?

I think there's an age threshold for riding on the road. I'm not sure what it is, but I'd suggest that if a child is not big enough to ride bike with a 24" wheel, then they might want to stay on the sidewalk.

Sidwalk riding is not dangerous provided that the child stop at every intersection, even if there is no stop sign.

The problem is that when they started putting in curb cuts for people in wheelchairs, children started dangerously entering streets from sidwalks. If you as a seven year old why the sidewalk has curb cuts, they will tell you it's for bikes.

Interesting responses. I have been riding in the street at varying levels since I was four. Just when does the mainstream think someone can "graduate" to the street or even riding at night?

I believe a child "graduates" to the street when their parents deem it wise.

I believe that a responsible parent will teach them the rules of the road and supervise them on the road before the day comes.

Then again if you ask most people, I have some outlandish crazy beliefs.

I believe a child "graduates" to the street when their parents deem it wise.
I believe that a responsible parent will teach them the rules of the road and supervise them on the road before the day comes.

+1 !!

The source of those tips, International Bicycle Fund (http://www.ibike.org/), looks like a good organization. Anyone know anything about it?

Where I grew up, we didn't have sidewalks. Most of the really busy roads had paved shoulders, though.

I'm not sure I would tell children too young to ride safely on a busy road to use the sidewalk instead. If it were my children, I wouldn't let them use that corridor at all, because the junctions will pose them just as many if not more problems.

Another thing I was wondering is how many sheeple with reading comprehension problems may have misinterpreted that article as being advice for everyone? Also, how many kids do you think may be institutionalized as a sidewalk rider and grow up thinking it is the norm and acceptable?

Just this week I watched a bicycling father shepherding his two bicycling children, admonishing them continually to ride along the extreme outer margin of the uncurbed shoulder. Someone backing out of a driveway onto this 25mph / 40kph residential road would not see the kids until it was too late.

At least the article cited says to ride in the same direction as traffic, which does considerably improve one's chances of being seen.