Do you let your young children ride bicycles on the roads? (legally, parents)
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When I was younger I was very much into cycling. I road my bicycle every on the roads. I got hit a few time but fortunately only had a few scrapes and bruises.
Fast forward. i am now a dad of two young children who will be learning to ride bicycles soon. it has crossed my mind that the roads can be very dangerous these days what with cellphones and texting and people not paying attention. I've decided to get the kids mountain bikes and only allow them to ride on wooded trails in the woods or in the yard.
This may sound paranoid but I recently read a post on CD about a parent who'd lost a 13 year old child some years back when he was struck by a car while riding his bike on the sidewalk. I guess i just feel like there are too many stupid, careless people out there to leave it up to fate.
We ride on the streets in our neighborhood, and on the sidewalks of the main roads.
There was a boy killed here a couple of weeks ago, about ten miles from my house. He was riding on the sidewalk in front of his house and a 17 year old was driving past, dropped his phone on the floor of his truck, bent down to get it, and hit and killed the little boy. My neighbors were asking me why we were still riding. The truth is, disaster can happen anywhere and I'm not going to wrap the kids in bubble wrap and never leave the house just to make sure we're all safe.
We ride on the streets in our neighborhood, and on the sidewalks of the main roads.
There was a boy killed here a couple of weeks ago, about ten miles from my house. He was riding on the sidewalk in front of his house and a 17 year old was driving past, dropped his phone on the floor of his truck, bent down to get it, and hit and killed the little boy. My neighbors were asking me why we were still riding. The truth is, disaster can happen anywhere and I'm not going to wrap the kids in bubble wrap and never leave the house just to make sure we're all safe.
I get what you're saying but I just don't think I could live with myself if it were my kid. I'm not completely sheltering them though as we will be doing lots of biking on the trails, hopefully.
By the way, are charges being brought against the 17 year old?
I just googled it Hedgehog mom. Were you referring to Brandon Abrams? The article I read said the 17 year old is being charged with DWI. Hopefully he'll spend the remainder of his life in prison.
I'm not a parent but I don't ride on the streets myself. I think it is really dangerous to ride a bike on the street today for all the reasons you stated Declans Dad, there are jsut too many distracted drivers with the phones, texting, alcohol, and being spacey on legal or not drugs. drivers are also alot more aggresive than when I was a kid and they have alot less patience I have seen when they coem across a bicycle person blocking "their" road.
I live on Cape Cod and we have miles and miles of nice bike paths but I still see parents with little kids on the roads and I shutter to think. It only takes a second to hit a bump and a inexperienced rider can weave into the road. Several years ago I was on Marthas Vineyard and a family had just arrived off the ferry and riding their bikes up a small hill. The Mom maybe a bit unsteady on her bike or maybe she hit the curb, fell just when a 18 wheeler loaded with stone was going by her. Her head was crushed infront of her husband and 2 kids. The truck driver had done nothing wrong and was not cited but imagine living with that? She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time on a narrow road.
I think it is just too dangerous and not worth the risk to ride on the road.
Sidewalks yes and neighborhood roads, yes however I want them them stay on the sidewalks as much as possible. As others have said, people are distracted, drive too fast and are aggressive. Heck, I've almost been hit a few times by people backing out of their garages and not paying attention. I'm super paranoid and tell my kids to be really careful.
Our local roads...no way. I don't even ride my bike on them. They are narrow and way too many aggressive drivers.
We have no sidewalks in our neighborhood, my kids ride bikes here on the streets - they wouldn't be able to ride if they didn't ride on the street. The roads are wide for the most part and have low speed limits.
We are also recreational cyclists and have taken the kids with us to ride - we have a tandem and the 12 year old completed the MS150 from Houston to Austin on that with dad last year. He has also ridden his own bike with us in local rides up to 30 miles while the 9 year old uses the tandem with dad. We are careful, follow the law, and neither boy rides by himself outside of our community, but I would rather encourage healthy habits than a sedentary lifestyle. It is an ongoing issue with us...the danger seems to have increased in the 20 years I've been riding....
We all ride on the streets here. There are no paths near our home, and sidewalks are not made for bicycling (they are for pedestrians, and with all the driveway cut-outs, they present more of a hazard for visibility than riding in the street, especially with many older persons backing out of driveways around me). I model proper safety and riding techniques and, as soon as they are old enough, I will have my younger two take a League of American Bicyclists safety class, just as their parents and older brother have done. When they are very little, I either run next to them on their tiny bikes or pull them on a Trail-A-Bike to get them used to how and where we ride on the streets.
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