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fitnessischeating is right actually, everyone will have anecdotes about dangerous drivers, cyclists and of course inattentive pedestrians, but for the most part, people using the roads just want to get where they are going without incident.
Nobody is actually trying to kill you if you cycle on the road, as doing so would ruin their plans for the day and possibly dent their car...
fitnessischeating is right actually, everyone will have anecdotes about dangerous drivers, cyclists and of course inattentive pedestrians, but for the most part, people using the roads just want to get where they are going without incident.
Yep, and I find the same using cycle paths. The difference is that an inattentive ped doesn't weigh 1.5 tonnes and isn't travelling at 30mph.
I use shared (but not delineated) paths cycling to work and it is a bit of a nightmare in the summer when its busy.
I was even berated the other by a delightful [s]lady[/s] chav who shouted at me to use the left side of the path. I happened to be on the left side of the path anyway so couldn't think of a witty retort unfortunately.
Yes Cars and Vans are weighty, move at speed and have fallible operators.
But then riding on the pavement just because someone put some paint on it isn't necessarily any less risky overall than using the road, you are probably more likely to collide with and injure someone else (on foot), who really isn't expecting you to be there, than you are to get hit by a car if riding on the road... That of course assumes you don't have any issues with motorised traffic at the 20 odd side streets and junctions you'll need to cross when riding a bike on the pavement, which of course you will.
Judgement of "Risk" should based on both likelihood and consequences for ALL involved not just focussing on yourself...
A Driver is more likely to be able to safely negotiate a cyclist on the road, He/She is more likely to have had some relevant training and passed a test, walking on the pavement isn't a licensed activity yet, there isn't much formal training or guidance available for it, but in the last couple of decades we've decided to add bikes on the pavement to the list of hazards Peds have to contend with, and then we complain that they are unpredictable and unaware...
Don't underestimate the possible consequences of hitting a Ped, even at relatively low speeds, on a bicycle. Just imagine piling, piss pot first, into a strangers face (or baby robin if you like) at 12~15mph and see how well they come out of the encounter...
So your actions, triggered by a disproportionate fear of personal injury, could actually result in you seriously injuring someone else... Well In theory at least, In practise cyclists on pavements just become seen by Peds as the same sort of selfish, impatient arseholes many cyclists seem to think all Drivers are... Funny that.
Use the Road, you've paid for it remember...
Pretty sure I paid for the pavement/cycle path too