As warm weather becomes more regular and summer starts approaching, people begin to take advantage of this new opportunity to spend more time outside. People begin to start walking along the sidewalk with their dogs, children, and even the modern day version of mall walkers. People being more active and regular exercising is great for our community, but along with this there is a drawback. It has happened to everyone: the car in front is going 15mph under the speed limit and the driver immediately becomes frustrated, given that their time is obviously more precious than everyone else’s. As they look ahead of the car in front, they see that a bicyclist riding in the middle of the road is causing the hold up. All they can keep wondering is, “Why are they biking in the road when there is a perfectly okay sidewalk right there?”
We’ve all been here. But there is a better reason for why bikers are in the street other, despite people thinking they’re just being selfish. In most states, riding a bicycle on the sidewalk is illegal. Sidewalks are often more dangerous than riding alongside the right-hand side close to the curb. This is because of the blind spots and physical hazards on the sidewalks such as poles, newspaper boxes, business signs, and trees or shrubs. Also it is was reported that bicyclists who ride on the sidewalks record more accidents due to cars making left crosses, right turns, and backing out of driveways.
But in order to make it fair for both bicyclists and drivers, it is important that both people obey all traffic laws. Drivers should report when bikers run red lights, blow through stop signs, drive on the wrong side of the road, and drive at night without front and rear lights.
