M
MikeDuf
Guest
Don't forget New Zealand and Australia! Or perhaps they were just choosing to be different
m@Robertson
In Memoriam 1962 - 2025
You said they must be from 'Europe' and thats not Europe
There's a slew of countries that drive on the left side on the left side of the Pacific. And don't forget the Caribbean.
https://www.aceable.com/blog/countries-that-drive-on-the-left-side-of-the-road/
M
MikeDuf
Guest
Mod Edit: No need to be so confrontational. Cleaning up the bickering posts that follow.
20 mph is quite fast when sharing with walkers. If it is also a place where people can walk their dogs, it would be difficult to stop if a dog veered outward to the other path. I'm not sure what the answer is, but I wouldn't want to be injured nor my pet by what might be a reckless biker.
M
MikeDuf
Guest
I find this quite a bit on forums where people are very correcting in anything that is meant to be just a broad statement.
I live in the USA and we drive on the right hand side so anybody that drives on the left must be from Europe was a broad statement.
so if I sound confrontational that is probably so, because I find it offensive that people need to correct people and drift off the topic of the post just to get their jollies and their own insecurities lifted.
when I ask for advice or education it's usually being asked up front by me.
I don't expect to get educated on verbiage and how I say it.
People should stay on the topic of the conversation on the post and not drift off and start educating people.
It's really a form of control and I think a lot of people on these forums get off on this.
That's just my two cents. I will no longer post any observations or comment.
Also, when we ride our e-bikes or any bike, many have the tendency to think that they are more important than walkers. I guess the best thing to do would be put your self in a walker's position and having bikes with by at 20 miles an hour real close, it would make me feel uncomfortable as a walker. Slowing down and ringing the bell a good bit back is respect for walkers and their desires too. Once a biker flew out of a side street right in front of me in my car and I had to put on the brakes abruptly, and I tap my horn and got the finger raised back at me. This should never be, we should show respect for one another, and always be ready to show respect for walkers as well.
No need to be so easily-offended either, like these teenagers now.
m@ is one of the most helpful guys on the forum, cut him some slack. He wasn't rude, just literal. (he's also a fellow Californian to you)
He has tried to be quite helpful to YOU in other threads too, so please just shake it off and move on.
The weather here in Michigan allowed me to take my new Velotric Discover 2 out for a 10 mile ride and it was a blast. Except for encountering a couple of Walkers who didn't have any intention of sharing the sidewalk. I sense that many Walkers hate bicyclists because of past encounters, and yesterday was no different for me. The two walkers on the sidewalk refused to move an inch as I slowed down and made myself known to them. I pretty much had to walk my bike around them and then move on. The looks on their faces were very condescending towards me, a biker, and it appears that bikers have a stigma attached to them often enough when they're out riding. It wasn't very pleasant and I have to figure out how to deal with such people. It feels like I was bullied around a bit.
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I dont ride on sidewalks but i do ride in a park where walkers just line up from side to side of the roadway and dont give an inch
for bicyclists.
When i encounter them i just stop my bike sideways and get off and get into me trunk bag and make them go around me and boy howdy the
bullets from their eyeballs would kill me if they was real LOL
Ride Safe!
Annieolnie
Well-known member
We are not allowed to ride ebikes on the sidewalk at all in Rhode Island. Most people don't ride analog bikes on them either. We just allow kids to do it for safety. I looked up Michigan and they consider your ebike just like a Michigan analog bike. You are allowed on the sidewalk, but oddly you are suppose to always give way to pedestrians. That's going to make for some pretty dicey riding and a whole lot more walking.
We all want what we want.
Say nothing.
Ring bell.
Wait for movement.
Ride past as you say, " Thank you."
Works for me every time.
You probably already knew this, @Hakaman99 , but:
So what you're dealing with are some smarty-pants who looked up the law and are choosing to go with that instead of being considerate. Legally, they're entitled, but morally, they're jerks.
I'm sure if there was an incident, they would claim you were going super-fast and gave them no warning.
What's gonna happen eventually is they're going to play chicken with some kid on an eMoped and get hit. There will be a big outcry, eBikes will be further villainized, the teen will not get caught.
It's a shame; it could all be avoided with a bit more courtesy and a bit lower sense of entitlement.
I've thought of having business cards made up summarizing the law, with a reference to it, to hand out to these people.
In your case, the card might say: "I'm entitled to use the sidewalk too, but must give pedestrians the right of way, so you're entitled to not give way. I'm on the sidewalk because I'm trying to avoid getting killed on the street by a motorist who feels entitled to the whole street. Just tryin' to stay alive, not ruin your walk. Maybe try to be a bit more considerate in the future, even if you're entitled not to be."
So what you're dealing with are some smarty-pants who looked up the law and are choosing to go with that instead of being considerate. Legally, they're entitled, but morally, they're jerks.
I'm sure if there was an incident, they would claim you were going super-fast and gave them no warning.
What's gonna happen eventually is they're going to play chicken with some kid on an eMoped and get hit. There will be a big outcry, eBikes will be further villainized, the teen will not get caught.
It's a shame; it could all be avoided with a bit more courtesy and a bit lower sense of entitlement.
I've thought of having business cards made up summarizing the law, with a reference to it, to hand out to these people.
In your case, the card might say: "I'm entitled to use the sidewalk too, but must give pedestrians the right of way, so you're entitled to not give way. I'm on the sidewalk because I'm trying to avoid getting killed on the street by a motorist who feels entitled to the whole street. Just tryin' to stay alive, not ruin your walk. Maybe try to be a bit more considerate in the future, even if you're entitled not to be."
It's really a sticky situation for cyclists in the USA: (varies a bit by state and locality)
- We are LEGALLY entitled to be in the street, taking at least part of a lane, but motorists have either forgotten or don't care. (bully mentality)
- We are sometimes legally allowed on sidewalks, but pedestrians don't have to give way
- We are allowed on multi-use paths, with certain restrictions and caveats
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Some places have odd laws to me.
For instance, a town where i live has a law that says bicyclists can ride the sidewalks everywhere except the downtown area.
The have posted signs saying this in different parts of town as you enter the downtown area and the warf area the signs telling people No Bicycles
on the sidewalks.
And that's all i ever see...downtown
For instance, a town where i live has a law that says bicyclists can ride the sidewalks everywhere except the downtown area.
The have posted signs saying this in different parts of town as you enter the downtown area and the warf area the signs telling people No Bicycles
on the sidewalks.
And that's all i ever see...downtown
One can see the logic in no bikes on sidewalks downtown, as pedestrians might actually use a sidewalk downtown. Same for the warf.Some places have odd laws to me.
For instance, a town where i live has a law that says bicyclists can ride the sidewalks everywhere except the downtown area.
The have posted signs saying this in different parts of town as you enter the downtown area and the warf area the signs telling people No Bicycles
on the sidewalks.
And that's all i ever see...downtown
Then, the rest of the sidewalks have pretty much become multi-use paths.
Hopefully, traffic downtown is then slow enough that bikers could ride there safely...
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I was always worried about people exiting stores. Seems pretty safe with no bicyclists though, to me
You statedYou probably already knew this, @Hakaman99 , but:
View attachment 18412
So what you're dealing with are some smarty-pants who looked up the law and are choosing to go with that instead of being considerate. Legally, they're entitled, but morally, they're jerks.
I'm sure if there was an incident, they would claim you were going super-fast and gave them no warming.
What's gonna happen eventually is they're going to play chicken with some kid on an eMoped and get hit. There will be a big outcry, eBikes will be further villainized, the teen will not get caught.
It's a shame; it could all be avoided with a bit more courtesy and a bit lower sense of entitlement.
I've thought of having business cards made up summarizing the law, with a reference to it, to hand out to these people.
In your case, the card might say: "I'm entitled to use the sidewalk too, but must give pedestrians the right of way, so you're entitled to not give way. I'm on the sidewalk because I'm trying to avoid getting killed on the street by a motorist who feels entitled to the whole street. Just tryin' to stay alive, not ruin your walk. Maybe try to be a bit more considerate in the future, even if you're entitled not to be."
"it's a shame; it could all be avoided with a bit more courtesy and a bit lower sense of entitlement."
This is a very appropriate comment, and if everybody abided by this philosophy how much better it would be for all of humanity. Unfortunately, I know from experience, bikers have caused a lot of a negative stigma, and sadly, deservedly so. While walking my small dog on a sidewalk, one biker sped by me at about 28 mph and almost hit my dog and myself seemingly without any feelings for me and my safety or my dogs. This type of stuff probably goes on all the time and this is how pedestrians respond now because of it.
m@Robertson
In Memoriam 1962 - 2025
Totally. But these work wonders for adjusting attitudes automatically without me doing a thing. At a glance the potential perp knows they are on candid camera. And that goes for cars too. Putting the camera up high in plain sight helps with this. Ride with the obvious cameras and ride without. There's a noticeable difference in people not acting like buttholes.I'm sure if there was an incident, they would claim you were going super-fast and gave them no warming.
And if it comes down to he said/she said, it becomes he/she/4k-30fps-with-sound (and stabilized) said. The usb cable coming out of the scuba box leads to a power bank.
I was going to start a new thread on dash cams for bikes, but I thought I would just add it in to this thread seeing that it has partially gone that direction. It seems to me a front mounted camera and a rear mounted camera would cover you the best, but I was wondering how or if a smartphone could be attached to act as your dash camera? I would rather cover my rear with video then depend on the honesty of pedestrians. I seen a flexible holder for smartphones that can attach to a bike and wonder if anybody has tried this method?
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