Originally Posted by
coominya
Don't assume I advocate riding sidewalks all the time, I ride them about 0.002% of my circuit, but I'll tell you this, I have never heard of anyone getting run over by a truck on the sidewalk. Plenty do on the road though.
Accidents can happen anywhere and you shouldn't ride a sidewalk at speed and you always have to keep your eyes on the driveways. I use the paths to avoid intersections and narrow busy roads then go back on-road. But lets be honest, most cyclists are on racers with super slim wheels and simply can't easily ride the footpath. Because of this fact they have to dream up reasons why it's not safe
Unfortunately, there's a lot of news lately about motor vehicles plowing down, killing, maiming people on sidewalks.
With full-disclosure, I do use sidewalks on a rare occasion, they are an option when the situation requires it. And as stated, you must move a foot pace, not bike pace.
My point to the sidewalk advocates (not so much for you), every sidewalk/sidepath/bike trail... will have to cross a road. Therefore you don't avoid interacting with motor vehicles. So pick the place that is 'best', some times the 'best' is still *****ty.
One last point from my personal experience: in the rare times I have come into contact with a motor vehicle while biking, all but one time, it was while I was riding on a trail/sidewalk (not on the road). The one time I collided with a vehicle on the road... well it was my fault, I rear-ended a city bus (short story - I was stupid college kid).