Driving home yesterday there was a lady on a bicycle riding a little ahead of me on the footpath.
The footpath was blocked by a Telecom Protective fence so the lady attempted to go around it by riding up the slight incline closer to the road.
She lost her balance and toppled onto the road in front of me. Brakes applied very hard, screech of tyres, smell of burnt rubber.
I stopped 2 meters away from her. She lying on the road, unhurt.
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Isnât it illegal for someone aged over 12 to ride a bicycle on the footpath? It is in NSW except on a designated cycleway or shared footpath.
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Legal for anyone to ride bicycles on footpath in Western Australia.
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Glad to hear it all ended up well @Bretrick, that was indeed very close to a worse situation where someone could have got hurt. Hopefully sheâs learned her lesson, not to ride along the footpath again.
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It s okay to ride on the footpath. Just get off the bike if there is an obstacle blocking it. 
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Itâs not okay to ride a bike on the footpath/pavement!
Pavements are for pedestrians. Also some of the ebikes are looking increasingly weighty and solid!
Donât get me started about idiots on electric scooters! 
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Unfortunately a lot of people use the footpaths. Where lived we didnât have footpaths anyway.
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They should use cycle paths, but theyâre not always available in all towns. We donât usually see cyclists during the winter months here and not in town anyway, but when they start coming out from Springtime, they have an annoying habit of riding in groups along the sides of the roads, taking up the space of almost an entire lane! 
Some are very disciplined though, keeping to the far right, not disturbing car drivers who have paid car tax, insurance and vehicle safety test to use the same road. 
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Crawley is pretty much a cycle friendly town.
There are route maps available and friendly meet ups organised for all levels of cyclists.
I do however feel the red mist rising when I have to consider my safety because some goon delivering pizza sees fit to ride the pavement with abandon.
Itâs illegal, but never mind we can always rely on the old bill to deal with anti social behaviour. About as much use as a chocolate tea pot!
This post is not directed at you Rose, just venting my spleen
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I always wonder why these incidents are referred to as a near miss. Surely a near hit would be more accurate.
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I agree. Force of habit.
Near hit would be more accurate.
If I ânearly missedâ something, then I must have hit that thing.
Might start calling them âcould have been disastrousâ
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Alternatively, ââTwerâ a brown trouser job!â
I had a similar experience several years ago whilst returning to my hotel in Nottingham through heavy traffic. I stopped because the car in front was stopped whilst the driver was waiting to turn right. A young lad came up the inside, riding a bicycle on the pavement. At the very instant I pulled forward because the car in front had turned, the young lad, who by now was half a bike length forward of me, decided to ride into the road diagonally across my nearside wing.
The look on his face when I thankfully stopped a few centimetres short of his leg was that of shock and surprise. At that instant I believe he suddenly realised he could have easily sustained a broken leg, or worse.
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We, as drivers have to be hypervigilant all the time.
So many possibilities for catastrophes.
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Isnât it illegal for a Telecom Protective fence to block the pavement without first providing an alternative route for pedestrians and rogue cyclists?
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Signs say, âUse other footpathâ
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