Originally Posted by
Drew Eckhardt
Riding on a sidewalk is a great way to get run-over because car drivers aren't looking there for vehicle speed traffic, especially coming in the opposite direction of travel.
+1
Drivers expect users of sidewalks to behave like pedestrians (speed primarily). Cyclists on sidewalks appear out of no where more quickly than pedestrians, drivers tend not to look far enough, ahead or behind, to include the distance that a bike would travel and would therefore miss a cyclist on a sidewalk.