Originally Posted by Blue Order
Originally Posted by Helmet Head
I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I know the percentage of cyclist deaths that result from kids riding on sidewalks is astonishingly high.
A meaningless statement about a meaningless statistic. If you want it to have some meaning, you have to state some specifics--
Fair enough. Never-the-less, my question stands. If a cyclist does not have the traffic knowledge, understanding and skills to ride reasonably safely in the streets, does he have the traffic knowledge, understanding and skills to ride reasonably safely along streets on sidewalks, across crosswalks and on paths that intersect streets?
Also, whether kids are riding on sidewalks or streets, they continue to represent a disproportionately high percentage of bike-related fatalities, particularly when you consider how much less most kids ride compared to all the adults who ride thousands of miles per year.
Originally Posted by tomcryar
My concern is, does the kid have the training to ride on the streets?
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[HH reads into this]
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I wrote what I meant. Nothing more, nothing less.
Sorry. I assumed that you were implying that sidewalk/path cycling is appropriate for someone who lacks training to ride on the streets. My bad.
I too am concerned about lack of training for kids. Teaching a kid to "ride a bike" often seems to consist of basic operational skills, plus telling him to ride on sidewalks.
Without the training, kids probably should not ride unsupervised, except maybe along routes which are exclusively on paths that never intersect streets, alleys or driveways. But those are extremely rare. And once they are trained, they should be able to be just as safe on the streets as they would be riding on sidewalks and paths. The key is training.
Originally Posted by Blue Order
On the other hand, if sidewalks aren't used by pedestrians in suburbia (I was thinking with a "city mindset"), there's no reason kids can't just ride on the sidewalk instead of building a path next to the sidewalk.
A reason why they should not ride on sidewalks is if they are not trained to do so safely. But same with paths that intersect streets. But if they are trained, then they should have no need to ride on sidewalks or paths. Again, the key is training.
I'll close with a recent quote from John Forester that he posted on our county bike coalition list.
Originally Posted by John Forester
Sidewalk cycling is safe only if the cyclist is utterly subservient
to motor traffic, which means, in the conditions of sidewalk cycling,
low speeds with many delays produced by good knowledge of traffic
operation. One who has the knowledge to ride safely on the sidewalk
also has much of the knowledge required to ride safely on the street.
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As I have written repeatedly, and have posted the studies on my
website, it is quite possible to teach seven year olds who grow up in
families of competent cyclists, and eight year olds in classes, to
ride competently for the traffic that they probably need to
encounter. Indeed, I have been on club urban rides in the company of
seven year old cyclists who rode as well, in the traffic sense, as
the adults whom they accompanied.