Cyclists on Sidewalks

[Duck on Wheels]

I don't know what the rules are in Texas, but here cyclists are allowed on the sidewalk if that's where they feel safest.
* On the sidewalk, cyclists must yield to pedestrians.
* Cyclists leaving the sidewalk yield to everybody in the street, unless they dismount and walk across at a crosswalk. This is one reason why it's sometimes smarter to stay in the road and claim the lane.
* And the answer to your question: Any car crossing the sidewalk either coming to or going from the road yields to anybody on the sidewalk including cyclists.
So according to Norwegian rules, you acted on a wrong assumption, but since the cyclists weren't endangered or hampered at all you did not act illegally.

[Aseradyn]

In my part of Houston, 99% of bicycles are on the sidewalks (including mine!) There are several reasons for that: 1) the roads are fast (the slowest roads are about 35-40mph); 2) there are no shoulders, anywhere; and 3) there are relatively few pedestrians on most sidewalks (but the streets are very full of cars).

The result is that most of us ride on the sidewalks, unless it's a stretch of road without sidewalk (which also happens a lot), so that's where cars really expect us to be. Most cars that are turned across the sidewalk, waiting to enter the street traffic, will back up back into the parking lot to let bicycles pass.

I've heard people on every bike forum say things like, "Sidewalks are always more dangerous than streets" and I, quite frankly, disagree. That might be true in a downtown area, but it's not in my neighborhood. You won't get anywhere fast on a bike around here, but you're much less likely to get run over if you stick to the sidewalks and keep a good watch out.

The only bikes you see in the streets are either racing cyclists (rare around here - the type who travel in packs with matching jerseys and helmets) and utility bikes trying to get somewhere without sidewalk access (and being screamed at by passing cars).

[Geonz]

There is no One Big Rule for what's safest. Sounds like there *is* no really safe option for reasonably fast riding where you are.

An important part of "what's safe" is "what do people expect." When I lived in Columbia SC I spent a fair amount of time on sidewalks for the same reasons. Bridges were the worst!

[Bluetree]

I live in a high density area and don't consider sidewalks very safe. Mainly because the many apartment/condo complexes have underground parking lots. When cars come out of the subterranean lots, not only are they completely blind on both sides, but the driveways' steep incline flattens out at the sidewalk. Since drivers don't like to stop on an incline, they come roaring out and 'hang' on the apex before looking around - in the case, right in the middle of the sidewalk. I know a few complexes have bubble mirrors, but 90% of them don't. It's an accident just waiting to happen.

[Geonz]

It's really important to realize the difference between feeling safer and being safer. Lots of people *feel* like sidewalks are safer - but there are all kinds of hidden hazards. SOmetimes, though, they are - my last couple hundred yards to school, for instance. No interactions or conflicts and I can see from one end to the other - generally no pedestrians, either. The road's four busy lanes of people who do *not* want me there. I'm turning from the walk into the school so I don't even have to get back into traffic.
Group rides we do the road, though - sidewalk ends at the school so we'd have to get back in.

[indysteel]

The city ordinance where I live indicates that it's acceptable to ride on a sidewalk as long as you operate the bike in a safe manner vis-a-vis other people using the sidewalk. I would expect, then, to have the same rights as a pedestrian. That said, I don't like riding on sidewalks because I don't feel confident that drivers will notice me. Drivers (and I'm guilty of this too) get fixated on oncoming traffic, that they forget to look for sidewalk traffic. This is especially true on one way streets where pedestrians and cyclist sometimes walk/ride against traffic. If, for some reason, I had to use a sidewalk, I'd pay particular attention at intersections, parking lots, alleys, etc., for cars pulling into my path.

But as a driver (and a lawyer), I don't get too caught up in who has the right of way. It's just not a debate I'd want to lose the hard way, i.e., by hitting someone or otherwise causing an accident. I drive defensively whether I'm in my car or on my bike.