What the..... vent....

[dakcp2001]

I just saw a pack of little kids I would guess around 8 years old, one of them looked about 5, AND they were ALL riding bikes in the street, and they were ALL talking on cell phones! I have so many questions!

Where are their parents?
Who could they all be talking to?
What could a small child need a cell phone for?
When they get hit by a car, will they know how to call 911?

I am sorry, it just seemed like such an absurd sight. A group of SMALL kids riding bikes talking on cell phones. Dangerous and ridiculous. What is wrong with the parents out there? A tv is not a babysitter and a cell phone does NOT make your child safe.

 

[daisyduck123]

Boy, first...riding in the street....not good at all! Were those kids even wearing helmets??

It's hard to believe that kids that young would be given cell phones. Wonder if they were "toy" phones?? I know my DD had a toy cell phone at that age. She actually had a few of them.

 

[SKWDW]

ITA, especially with "a cell phone does NOT make your child safe".

It's amazing to me when I see the same type of thing here.

 

[dakcp2001]

I sent them all to the sidewalk, and asked where their parents were and they just looked at me like I was crazy, and drove away yammering on cell phones. So bizzarre! And it is dark out, not safe at all!

 

[aprilgail2]

Boy, first...riding in the street....not good at all! Were those kids even wearing helmets??

.

Where are they supposed to ride their bikes? Riding on sidewalks is not legal- sidewalks are for walking. My daughter has been riding her bike with friends since she was about 8 years old and she always has her cell phone with her (though she would catch heck if I caught her talking while riding her bike). I like her being able to call and say that they are leaving the park and riding over to the school or where ever.....

 

[HsvTeacher]

I have 2nd graders who have cell phones at school. Their parents' excuse: "I just want to know where they are at all times." Well, duh! You drop them off at school every morning, and you pick them up every afternoon. It's not like they go to Olive Garden for lunch or shopping during their PE break. I just don't get it!

 

[daisyduck123]

Where are they supposed to ride their bikes? Riding on sidewalks is not legal- sidewalks are for walking. My daughter has been riding her bike with friends since she was about 8 years old and she always has her cell phone with her (though she would catch heck if I caught her talking while riding her bike). I like her being able to call and say that they are leaving the park and riding over to the school or where ever.....

Here, children ride their bikes on the sidewalks.

IMO, children that young shouldn't be riding so far from home UNSUPERVISED that they would need to call mom/dad to tell them where they were going.

*The OP stated that these were children 5-8 years old.

 

[sunnyday123]

Here, children ride their bikes on the sidewalks.

IMO, children that young shouldn't be riding so far from home UNSUPERVISED that they would need to call mom/dad to tell them where they were going.

*The OP stated that these were children 5-8 years old.

Exactly. They are safer on the sidewalk. And I don't think DD was 5 and outside by herself for any length of time.

And she does take her cell phone to school now, but it stays in her backpack until the end of the day. Drama classes started and sometimes they get out early. If her principal catches them with a cell phone during school, he takes it and the parent has to come retrieve the phone. I've made it perfectly clear if that happens, it's his.

 

[dakcp2001]

Where are they supposed to ride their bikes? Riding on sidewalks is not legal- sidewalks are for walking. My daughter has been riding her bike with friends since she was about 8 years old and she always has her cell phone with her (though she would catch heck if I caught her talking while riding her bike). I like her being able to call and say that they are leaving the park and riding over to the school or where ever.....

Are you kidding? Do you live in my city? It might be your kid I just saw. lol OF COURSE ON THE SIDEWALK WHERE THEY WONT BE HIT BY CARS. If your child gets a ticket for riding their bike on the sidewalk, please let me know. I would be happy to call the police station and talk some sense into them. I think I would risk the ticket in this case.

Is this normal behaviour? Am I crazy? Are 8 year olds often left unsupervised?

 

[mjkacmom]

I think it depends on the street. My gf's 3rd grader (age 8) rides with his buddies on his quiet street all of the time - they all seem to have cellphones, so mom can call them in. Our street isn't the best for bike riding - it's a hill - although ds6 can be riding bikes in the street with ds11 or neighbor boy (he's like my nephew) 13. My little ones can go a few houses down, but I have a loud bell attached to my house, and they come when called. Ironically, I was just going over situations in ds6's cubscout book, and he knows not to let people take naked pictures of him, or get into cars without my permission, but apparently he'd gladly give out all personal information on the internet to win a prize!

 

[bjgrazi]

I live in a town with no sidewalks, all kids ride in the streets. My neighbor has 3 kids 5, 8 & 10. They're outside all the time while she is in the house. The 5y/o rides in the street too, sometimes they have helmets sometimes they don't.

 

[aprilgail2]

Is this normal behaviour? Am I crazy? Are 8 year olds often left unsupervised?

Kids younger than 8 years old around here don't have their parents hovering over them while they play outside-- . They also walk aroudn the block by themselves to their friends homes or around the block to the local playground. We have both extremes though- one parent won't let her 12 year old ride their bike around the block ! And another parent of a kindergarten kid who is all over the place on his own,playing at the park etc... he would get off the school bus and let himself into the house alone with his housekey which he wore around his neck.

 

[aprilgail2]

OF COURSE ON THE SIDEWALK WHERE THEY WONT BE HIT BY CARS. If your child gets a ticket for riding their bike on the sidewalk, please let me know. I would be happy to call the police station and talk some sense into them. I think I would risk the ticket in this case.

?

3. Is it legal to ride on the sidewalk?
No, it is illegal to ride a bike on the sidewalk. The police can seize your bike if you are riding on the sidewalk.

4. What happens if my bike gets seized?*

The police officer will issue you a ticket and take your bike to the local police precinct where it will be stored for a week or so. If you wait too long you will need to call New York City Police Department at (646) 610-5410 to locate your bike.
The day after you bike is taken, you can go to the Environmental Control Board or ECB and have a hearing between the hours of 8 am and 3 pm. You will need to bring a photo identification and your ticket. Call the ECB at (212) 361-1400 for information on their closest location.
At the hearing you may or may not be issued a fine for riding on the sidewalk.
Pay any fines required by the ECB and get a receipt.
Take the receipt and your ticket to the precinct that has your bike and ride home.
* This information is particular to bikes seized while the rider was riding on the sidewalk. If your bike was seized under other circumstances, you may find http://www.beeduul.com/bike/ to be helpful. We have not verified all of the information there, but the gentleman who put the page together has been working hard to collect that information for himself and others.

 

[Rora]

I really don't get why kids this young have cell phones OR why they were riding in the street, after dark, unsupervised. That's a great way to have something bad happen.

 

[dakcp2001]

3. Is it legal to ride on the sidewalk?
No, it is illegal to ride a bike on the sidewalk. The police can seize your bike if you are riding on the sidewalk.

4. What happens if my bike gets seized?*

The police officer will issue you a ticket and take your bike to the local police precinct where it will be stored for a week or so. If you wait too long you will need to call New York City Police Department at (646) 610-5410 to locate your bike.
The day after you bike is taken, you can go to the Environmental Control Board or ECB and have a hearing between the hours of 8 am and 3 pm. You will need to bring a photo identification and your ticket. Call the ECB at (212) 361-1400 for information on their closest location.
At the hearing you may or may not be issued a fine for riding on the sidewalk.
Pay any fines required by the ECB and get a receipt.
Take the receipt and your ticket to the precinct that has your bike and ride home.
* This information is particular to bikes seized while the rider was riding on the sidewalk. If your bike was seized under other circumstances, you may find http://www.beeduul.com/bike/ to be helpful. We have not verified all of the information there, but the gentleman who put the page together has been working hard to collect that information for himself and others.

Ok, so your kids can ride their bikes in the street, apparently cars do not run over kids in NY. Do you think it is a good idea? Honestly? Would you rather your kids obey the law and risk their life? Or do they just not ride bikes? Seems like an odd law to me.

I assure you HERE it is perfectly legal, AND encouraged, to ride your bikes on the sidewalk where you are less likely to get killed by traffic.

Maybe the kids got better reception for their cell phones in the street, and my fiance thinks they were probably talking to each other on the phones.

Anywho, my opinion is clear on the subject, little kids riding bikes in the street, and having/using cell phones, and being out after dark with no supervision is just a bad idea all around!

 

[mamacatnv]

Wow all over some kids riding bikes......gheesh

 

[NHdisneylover]

I am curious how you (OP) know the ages of the kids? Most people guess DD12s age at 16 or older but guess DS10 at 7 or 8. Somtimes they even guess him at 6
If they were riding all abreast in the street (so cars could not safely pass) or zig zagging around or what not I can see being upset with them (or if they had no relfectors and lights as you have added it was dark).
I don't like the idea of kids talking on cell phohes while riding, but if they are riding safely (which can be done in the street and may be legally where they needed to be), it is not really my place to say anything. Maybe they were talking to one another so they could communicate with each other without shouting and irratating the nighbors with the noise

If my children are misbehaving I have no issue with an adult who tells them to cut it out. However, if an adult who did not know the laws told my children they had to break the law and ride on the sidewalk just because she felt riding on the street was unsafe, I would be really mad at that adult. Sorry OP--I am sure you were trying to do the right thing, but really check into what the police in your area think that is please

Whether kids (or adults for that matter) ride on streets or sidewalks seems to be very much a product of where you live. We have been in 5 US states with the kids (and now Germany) and it is one of the first things we ask about when we move. Places where bikes are expected to be on the street TEND to have drivers who do a better job watching for the bikes. Yes, of course being on the sidewalk would mean the bikers are at less risk of being hit by a car, but being on the sidewalk puts pedestrians at greater risk. I have also noticed kids who are used to riding on "safe" sidewalks are much less likely to notice a car backing down a driveway (which crosses the sidewalk) or comming down an alley they may be crossing, etc.

I like the system they have here in Germany. DS10 was in fourth grade last year and luckily we got here just in time for "bike training." Every fourth grader completes a multi week (I think they went once a week for 6 weeks about 2 hours each time) course as part of their schooling. They go to special courses owned and operated by the police department and learn and demostrate all the rules of the road. Here you check the signs to see if you should ride on the sidewalk or street or in a special bike lane in any given area--and most 8-9 year olds could tell you which is which.

 

[Acklander]

I'm also from a town that doesn't allow bikes on the sidewalk. It's too dangerous for those who are out walking, strollers etc.... You have to stay to the right on the street.
Back when I was a kid (a zillion years ago) it was a pretty common site to see a pack of kids out riding their bikes - big kids, little kids, kids of all ages. It was so common people wouldn't even think to make comment on it. I think it's kind of sad that it's so unusual that it deserves it's own thread. Nothing against the OP, just feeling sad for society and how things have changed.

 

[sunnyday123]

I think the OP's main concern was that these were little kids not paying attention while riding their bikes-in the street. If an adult can't pay attention driving a car and talking, I doubt a kid can ride a bike, talk on the phone, and watch for cars.

And I doubt the police are going to come up and throw all their bikes in the back of their cars soley because they are riding in the street.

 

[KAMKIM]

Well where I live we have no side walks, so yes, we ride our bikes in the street. But my DD8 is not allowed outside by herself, riding her bike in the street by herself - yeah thats not going to happen. Nor would I give her a cell phone at 8. I KNOW where she is at all times, a cell phone would be absurd at this point.