Why Sidewalks Are Dangerous for Arizona Bicyclists

When your children are small you may only allow them to ride their bikes on the sidewalk. Your children may hate riding on the sidewalk because they want to be able to ride on the street just like older cyclists. Your reasoning for allowing them to only ride on the sidewalk is because the streets are where the cars are. However, you don’t often see older cyclists riding their bikes on the sidewalks, they use the street. The rise in bicyclist accidents, particularly those that are fatal often brings about the question isn’t the sidewalk much safer for bicyclists than sharing the road with cars on the streets?

The answer to the question may seem intuitive that it would be safer to just keep all pedestrians including cyclists on the sidewalk. However, the opposite is true. Sidewalks are actually less safe for bicyclists than it is to ride on the roads. If you are a bicyclist that has been hit and injured in Arizona, connect with the Arizona personal injury attorneys at ELG. The experienced and talented Phoenix bicycle accident attorneys at ELG can examine your situation and provide you with the best and most customized legal representation in the greater Phoenix area.

Why Are Sidewalks Unsafe for Bicyclists?

In 2010 a report released by the city of Phoenix indicated that the majority of bicycle accidents involved riders who were on the sidewalk or riders that exited a sidewalk. The report said that these individuals made up 70% of all the Phoenix bicycle incidents. One of the reasons that sidewalks pose such a danger to bicyclists is that drivers tend to be watching the road, not the sidewalks. Sidewalks generally end at intersections where cars would be entering or exiting and turning. 

When a driver of a car is looking at the road ahead of them and they are calculating their next move, they are going to be looking at traffic. When it comes to driving through an intersection, a driver will be looking at lights if they exist, stop signs, and the movement of other cars. When a driver glances up at an intersection and there is no pedestrian or bicyclist in the intersection at the time they are looking, they won’t be expecting a person to be there when as they pass through. As the driver proceeds forward a bicyclist driving on the sidewalk can take them by surprise when they dart out into the road where the intersection exists and this can result in a bicycle accident.

While this action doesn’t negate the driver’s responsibility to the bicyclist, driving on sidewalks and crossing into roads at intersections does put bicyclists at increased risk of a crash. A bicyclist that is driving along with traffic and following the rules of the road is much more visible to drivers and therefore these individuals are actually safer driving on the road than they would be if they were traveling on the sidewalk.

Talk to an Arizona Personal Injury Attorney Today

Cars can inflict tremendous damage on the human body, and bicyclists that are involved in Phoenix bicycle accidents should seek the counsel of an effective Arizona serious injury attorney. You can schedule your free consultation with one of the Phoenix serious injury attorneys at ELG by calling (623) 877-3600.