Did you know in some states after the age of 12 years you are breaking the law if you ride your bike on a footpath?

Teens in NSW and Victoria are subject to the age restriction on footpath bike riding, which Bicycle Network say makes teenagers stop riding their bikes, despite an increasing number of younger children riding their bikes to school.

Bicycle Network CEO Craig Richards says it’s time we stop forcing people older than 12 to ride on the roads with cars and trucks, according to 7 news.

“Teens want to ride to school, but they don’t want to have weave through traffic and worry about cars speeding next to them,” he said in a statement.

Bicycle Network figures show more than 50 per cent of primary school students are regular bike riders, however cycling drops off for high school students.

“If we changed footpath riding laws in Victoria and NSW we would see more students continue to ride bikes all the way through secondary school,” Mr Richards said.

More than half-a-million students around Australia are expected to ride their bikes to school on Friday, on the national Ride2School day.

The law in other states

QLD bike rules

Riding on a footpath or shared path, On footpaths and shared paths, you share the space with pedestrians.
You must:
keep left and give way to all pedestrians
always ride to the left of bicycle riders coming toward you.

Cycling on the Road, Footpaths, and Bicycle Paths in Tasmania

Bicycle riders of any age may ride on a footpath in Tasmania unless such a use is prohibited (usually by signs)  There are some paths which will indicate that they are either shared or separated. This is evidenced by sign posts or painted symbols on the path.

SA and WA bike rules

Sharing footpaths – Cyclists of all ages may ride on footpaths in both SA and WA, unless otherwise signed.

Do your kids ride to school?

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