[gagaslilmonsteruk]

It's an age-old argument, but where do you think it is safer for people to cycle and why?

[bestofyou]

i cycle on the pavement

[gagaslilmonsteruk]

I think the third option simply because of accidents - running pedestrians over OR cyclists being hit by cars

[hothedgehog]

I think it's safer for the average cyclist to cycle on the pavement. Unfortunately it's not safer for the pedestrians so cyclists are stuck on the road.

[james1211]

The road and countryside

[Cll_ws]

well it'd obviously be safer on the pavement, but you're not allowed to cycle on the pavement so that rules that out! I mean a lot of people will cycle on the pavement, but you have no right to be there, unless the pavement includes a cycle lane of course.

[JO53PHS]

As a general rule, Offroad/countryside > Pavement > Road, if we're talking about safety. But this isn't always the case - a nice flat wide offroad trail is generally very safe, but when you've got a steep, rutted, bumpy descent through woodland, that's potentially lethal for an inexperienced rider.

Personally, I ride either off-road trails or on the road. The pavement is safer than the road, but if I cycled on the pavement it would take about 3 times as long to get anywhere (crossing roads, avoiding pedestrians etc.), so I may as well have walked.