I was on someone's video!

[zoom-zoom]

I hope that she takes that video to the police and they set her straight. Actually, I hope they laugh at her and cite her for not giving me 3 ft of space and endangering both of us, but I doubt that will happen.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall and see them do BOTH!

[GLC1968]

Ooh Jess, good point! Legally, she can't even be talking on a phone here, let alone texting. I'm sure shooting video won't go over well. I'm not sure how she'd explain that except to maybe try and say she wasn't the one driving (she was).

Scary!

[redrhodie]

So crazy! She probably thought you were breaking the law. What an idiot. It's so frustrating to deal with someone like that.

[Melalvai]

A good number of the people I work with are avid cyclists. But one woman, who doesn't ride, asked me why we didn't ride of the sidewalks when they were provided. She is in her mid 50's. I explained that it was illegal, and also tried to tell her that walkways weren't always suitable for roadbikes because of debris, cracks, etc.

She stopped me at the illegal part; she didn't need to know anything else. Or care about the further explanation.

The last day of school, someone in my daughter's math class said to her "What do you think the sidewalks are for?" because he'd seen her biking to school. She was mad about that for a full 2 weeks! We practiced answering it, because this question will come up again. I recommended that no matter how scornful the tone of voice, treat it as a genuinely curious question. We decided on this answer:
"Bicycling on sidewalks is dangerous. Many car-bike collisions happen where sidewalks cross driveways, alleys, and roads. It is illegal to bicycle on sidewalks."

The main road to school has new sidewalks as part of a Safe Routes to School grant, and lots of people praise them because now kids can bike to school. The busiest street in town has sidewalks, and people routinely tell me that is the safest way to get to anything on the north side. So sad and frustrating.

What a weird experience, about that video.

[Eden]

A good number of the people I work with are avid cyclists. But one woman, who doesn't ride, asked me why we didn't ride of the sidewalks when they were provided. ........

........Shocking to me. I've known that since I was 7. Maybe even 5 or 6.

I suspect a lot of drivers just don't get it. And the rest are p....s.

Traffic laws are not nation wide - they can be very local, different down to the city/county level - therefore something you may have grown up with and assume to be true, is not what everyone has known.

Some things that are different in Washington from other places-

Here in Washington riding on the sidewalk is legal unless it has been expressly forbidden and is signed, generally only in business/"downtown" areas. (not to say I think it is a good idea.... I don't, but its not illegal)

Here in Washington riding two abreast is legal at all times.

We do not have to use bike lanes period. (in Oregon and some other states, it is illegal to not use them when they are provided)

If you come here from somewhere else it may be easy to assume that we cyclists do all sorts of wrong, illegal things, when in reality our traffic codes are just different....

[Owlie]

In Ohio, like Washington, it's legal to ride on the sidewalk unless the city forbids it, and that's usually only in business/shopping areas. In fact, there are some communities that restrict cyclists to sidewalks! (The state did pass legislation a few years ago saying that they couldn't do that. It seems that some of them haven't gotten the message yet.)

Of course, it being legal to ride on the sidewalk and it being safe to ride on the sidewalk are two different things. I had this discussion with a friend--we were driving to Whole Foods, and he was annoyed at a cyclist (I was annoyed with him too, but that's because he wasn't wearing a helmet!) in the right lane, and was demanding to know why he wasn't in the sidewalk. I explained that you were probably more likely to get into an accident on the sidewalk while dodging pedestrians, debris, and poorly-maintained patches--not to mention the problems with street and driveway crossings! He had no idea.

As to the OP...wow. And she was trying to drive at the same time?