Cycle Guelph

A recent article in today’s Guelph Mercury is reminding residents that cycling on sidewalks is not legal.  (To read the full article, visit http://www.guelphmercury.com/pdfs/pdfs.html#)

Cyclists use sidewalks because they do not feel safe on the road.  However, a few quick facts below might convince you otherwise.

1. MOST cycling collisons occur when the cyclist is biking on the sidewalk: When you are on the sidewalk, drivers entering or exiting driveways or side streets are not expecting fast-moving cyclists to come from the side. 

2. Cyclists on sidewalks put pedestrians at risk: Fast-moving cyclists are quiet and quick, and can surprise or accidentally hit pedestrians.  Space is also limited on sidewalks, and there is not much room to veer out of the way if a pedestrian suddenly steps in front of an approaching cyclist. 

3. Cycling at crosswalks is also illegal: It is equally illegal to bike through an intersection using the pedestrian crosswalk.  For many of the same reasons as it is dangerous to cycle on sidewalks, cars in the intersection do not expect a cyclist.  Furthermore, right-turning vehicles are looking LEFT for oncoming traffic, and often do not see a cyclist coming from the right.

If in doubt, take it from me.  I once illegally cycled across an intersection using the crosswalk, and was hit by an SUV several years ago.  Staring at the undercarriage of an SUV, a fraction of an inch from its front wheels was enough to convince me that these laws are here for a reason, and we are all better off to obey them.

This entry was posted on April 3, 2009 and is filed under Home, In The News, Local Interest. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.