>>>>>In Illinois no one over the age of 11 is supposed to ride a bicycle on the sidewalk.
>>>>
>>>>Go where, then? On the road?
>>
>>>Yes, on the road. Bicycles are supposed to travel on the right side of the road, going in the same direction as traffic on their side.
>>
>>Impossible! That's exactly the way it was back home! Found one thing that's done the same way! Hurrah!
>>
>>Pardon my excitement, I had an euronostalgic moment.
>
>Perhaps you should read up on the law? :o)

>http://www.virginiadot.org/programs/bk-laws.asp

Well the only difference is that "Bicycles may be ridden on sidewalks unless prohibited by local ordinance" - this was forbidden, no exceptions... because there were so many people on the sidewalks. Here, I meet about one person a mile, and that one isn't going anywhere, just jogging aimlessly. That's walk for walk's sake.

But I loved this part: "Bicyclists must not ride between two lanes of traffic moving in the same direction unless one lane is a separate or mandatory turn lane." - because my favorite sport, if it ever comes to that, will be legal. The lanes which are not moving can be zigzagged in between (if my goal is to turn left at the light). I only wish I could hear them :).

>It's taught to our children in school. Actually, because bike riders must ride on the road with traffic is why helmets are so important for kids.

Well, they don't teach them seriously enough. I remember we even had kid cops - during the week of kids' traffic safety, they'd be given real cops uniforms, little stop signs, and they'd be authorized to stop the traffic if there are kids crossing the road to go to school. An adult would be watching from behind, but generally doing nothing. There was even a school level competition in knowing your traffic while on a bike, with all the traffic signs and stuff drawn or erected on the parking lot at the market, and teams would score or lose based on what'd a traffic cop say about their driving. The most interesting part was driving slow without touching ground... you had a ten meter stretch and the more seconds it took you to get to the other side, the better you scored.

What I see around here is just... these kids aren't properly trained. They may have heard the stuff, but nobody crammed the importance of it into their heads. So then you probably have to pad them on the outside instead.