Bicycle Towing

Question

Franks asked: I was riding my bicycle and had my son attached to my bike via a small rope to the rear frame while he was on his skateboard holding on.

An officer stopped us and told me that “towing” him while on the sidewalk was illegal.

Now I’m aware that doing that on the road is, but on the sidewalk is, too?  Is the sidewalk considered the road also?

Answer

The applicable statute is:

FS 316.2065 – Bicycle Regulations

(4) No person riding upon any bicycle, coaster, roller skates, sled, or toy vehicle may attach the same or himself or herself to any vehicle upon a roadway. This subsection does not prohibit attaching a bicycle trailer or bicycle semitrailer to a bicycle if that trailer or semitrailer is commercially available and has been designed for such attachment.

A sidewalk is not part of the roadway.

FS 316.003 – Definitions

(42) Roadway – That portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the berm or shoulder.

(47) Sidewalk – That portion of a street between the curbline, or the lateral line, of a roadway and the adjacent property lines, intended for use by pedestrians.

I recommend that you provide this information to your local police department and ask for clarification.  There may be a local ordinance that applies.