Would you let your 12 year old ride his bike up Wisconsin Ave/Rockville Pike?

[Anonymous]

Definitely not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know your 12 year old, but yes, I would let mine ride his bike but I'd require him to use the sidewalk. My 12 year old is a seasoned trail rider and has been using his bike for transportation for years. This would be a new level for him, but I'd do it with him a handful of times first to practice and decide on a route before I sent him alone. And then he'd have to text me to let me know he arrived.

This. Do some test runs. Use the sidewalk. Go against traffic. Bike helmet and cell phone for sure. But many a 12 year old is responsible enough to do this (and of course many aren't). You know your kid.

[Anonymous]

Riding the bus is obviously much safer. Look at the stats.

That said, bike on the sidewalk would probably be within my comfort zone if I could trust the kid to stay on the sidewalk. And if I were sure that there was a safe place to cross 355 en route and if DC agreed to cross there/only there and on foot.

I'd have to do more research before I'd go the skateboard route (major source of emergency room visits, then again so is slicing bagels) but, yeah, if I were a kid and limited to the sidewalk, I'd prefer skateboard to bike. No chance I'd let a kid do this without helmet and knee/elbow pads.

[Anonymous]

Everyone keeps suggesting that he ride on the sidewalk, which is usually illegal, but I checked, and it is legal in Montgomery County (except where specifically posted otherwise, I guess). :

Answer:

Basically riding on the sidewalk is illegal in MD except where it is specifically allowed. One place it is allowed is Montgomery County.

From the Montgomery County Code:

Sec. 31-5. Driving over curbs, sidewalks or drainage structures.
...
(b) Bicycles which are not motorized and special vehicles used by handicapped persons may be operated upon sidewalk areas and appurtenant drainage structures designed for pedestrian use except where, in the judgment of the county executive, it is necessary for the safety or control of vehicular and pedestrian traffic to prohibit riding of such vehicles. Whenever any person is riding upon a sidewalk, such person shall give an audible signal and yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian. The county executive may, by regulation adopted under method (3) of section 2A-15 of this Code, define "special vehicle" and "handicapped;" establish licensing requirements; and establish hours during which special vehicles may be operated upon sidewalk areas.


Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_it_legal_to_ride_your_bicycle_on_the_sidewalk_in_bethesda_maryland#ixzz1VFkjiYnR

[Anonymous]

If you do a test ride, make it on a weekday, and at the same time of day that your child would be riding. NIH and Navy Med employees pour out of the exits at that time of day and traffic gets complicated.

The bus is much safer.

[Anonymous]

We could bike that way from home to NIH, but decided to was too dangerous for us as adults. We took a longer, safer road.