Look right, Look Left, Look Right Again... well thats what i learnt when i had my L plates. i was riding down the footpath on main street today because the mini is out of action with broken suspension when some real estate guy in his 20's pulled out of a car park onto the foot path without checking both ways. i guess when u drive a saab you dont have to look both ways. any who... so there i was minding my own business when all of a sudden i see red then the next thing i know im slammed into a door and wrapped around my bike on the ground. now i cant walk because i have a massive welt on my leg where the handle bar stabbed me and my lleft arm is all beat up from hitting the door. my jeans are stuffed and i have a flat tyre but all he has is a little dent at the bottom of his door from my tyre.
i just hope he has learnt his lesson...

When we lived in Merrylands in Sydney about thirty years ago, we awoke one morning to the high pitch scream of a mini bike going up and down the street. Actually it was the footpath. Suddenly there was a screechof tyres and a thump type of bang.

A neighbour four doors down drove his car out of the drive towards the road and the 10 year old kid on the mini bike, who was not wearing a helmet, slammed into the side of it. It was a near 60 kmh speed from the bike and the kid was badly hurt.

We lived in that house for another nine months and the kid was still in hospital when we moved out. Who was to blame ??????

its a touchy situation in things like that... cant do anything because the blame can come right back at you. i reckon i got lucky considering i hit it at a good 30km/h

As for blame , not sure in Queensland but in NSW it's illegal to ride on a footpath unless you are under 8 (I think) or are supervising someone under 8 riding on the footpath , don't know about a shared responsibility from you being on the footpath when you aren't supposed to be but also the driver should have looked for any traffic on the footpath before driving across it . Chances are you'd be hit with the bigger fine and be given a bill for the damage ......
As for the kid with the mini bike , regardless of age motorised bikes cannot be driven on a footpath or any public land unless they are under a certain power level and do less than 10 kph (Again , NSW laws only , not sure about others .)

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That rule applies eveerywhere but I think that you would have a good case againt the driver if you were on a pushy, but on a mini bike you would be in trouble. Any way if you spoke to the cops I'm sure they would prefer you on the footpath

Anyone who lets a 10 year old ride a mini bike at speed on the footpath in the suburbs needs to face criminal charges. The kid is lucky he's not dead. Whilst I'd feel for the parents, that's just irresponsible.

Dunno about 30kph - it seems a bit high for a BMX (obviously some go as fast as 80kph on a speed bike downhill) and deffinately very high on a footpath. But he could easily argue that taking sufficient care for pedestrians (average fast walking speed 5-8kph) doesnt include allowing for a rapidly moving vehicle at almoust 8 times the speed of a pedestrian.

Bike shouldnt have been on footpath.

Driver should have looked.

Badluck for both parties I guess.

Live and learn!!!

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No more Minis!......For now.

In Qld it is now (for about 3 years) legal to ride a pushy on the footpath so long as you give way to all pedestrians.
I gues the govt worked out how bad the drivers are & figured riders were safer off the streets...

In SA, riding push bikes on the footpath is illegal, and has been for many many many years.

In SA, those pocket bikes are illegal for riding anywhere other than inside your own property.

It is due to plain old STUPIDITY and a LACK OF AWARENESS that causes footpath/driveway accidents. And unfortunately, it does not get recognised until that person ends up in hospital.

We have heaps of kids riding around our suburb on home made bikes with engines. If only I was a cop........

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[NATHAN] -- Sold everything mini related and am back in big beautiful BMWs

boy were they wrong...