[peterwwillis]

I completely agree that you should not ride on the sidewalk. It's much safer to ride where cars are looking: the road. Wave, use your lights, anything to get people's attention, and assume the cars do not see you.

However. If it's night time, and i'm riding up a busy 45mph street with no bike lane, you bet your ass i'm riding the sidewalk. I'll be paranoid and stop at every single vehicle or pedestrian crossing, but i'll ride the sidewalk. I know the kinds of people that drive these streets, and I know it only takes one asshole veering 12 inches into the side of the road to send me flying at a pole and potentially back into traffic.

Drunk drivers, drivers on cellphones, people not watching the road, people looking for loose change in the glove box, or just freak accidents. Any single event could kill you on a bike. Where I live we don't have the luxury of taking up a whole lane of traffic to bike safely - if you do, the least you get is harassed (horns, trash thrown at you, threats). If they're driving an expensive car you're more likely to get run out of the lane because they know they own all the lanes.