Tips for Safe Bicycling

Riding a bike is a great hobby and wonderful way to exercise, but it can be dangerous if you don’t take the necessary precautions, safety measures, and if you don’t follow the rules of the road. Other than the most obvious safety tip of wearing a helmet, here are some other tips for safe bicycling that will save your life and prevent you from getting into an accident.

Avoid Busy Streets
Whenever possible, don’t ride on busy streets. The less cars on the road with you, the less your chances are of getting hit by a car. And, if there are cars on these side roads, they will be driving a lot slower than a main road.

Light Up Your Bike
If you ride at night, or even late in the afternoon or early evening, you should put some lights on your bike. Bike shops sell rear red blinking lights for $15 or less. Or, you can probably find them online for even cheaper money. You’ll want headlights too. Buy LED lights because they will last a lot longer.

Be a Road Hog
Yes, that’s right. When on a bike it is safer to take up the entire lane. At the least, ride as close to the center as you can, instead of hugging the curb. This way you’ll be able to better see the cars at the intersections in front of you; cars won’t be able to pass to close to you on skinny roads, and the cars behind you will be able to see you well.

Hand Signals
If you let motorists know which way you are going, they will be less likely to hit you. Every time you are going to make a turn, use your arm signals before you start turning. Point your left arm out straight when you are going to be turning left and point your right arm out straight if you are planning to turn right. And, even when you signal, it is still vital that you look behind you to before you make your turn, to avoid a collision with a vehicle.

Filed Under: Cycling, New Bikes Tagged With: , ,

Basic Rules for Cycling Safety

Trailnet's Bike Safety Rodeos teach bike handl...
Image via Wikipedia

It’s important to wear a helmet while riding a bike, but there are plenty of other safety rules that you should follow. . If you are ever hit by a car moving at a high speed, then chances are the helmet won’t save you. The best thing to do is avoid getting hit in the first place. Your helmet then becomes a back-up plan for safety. Knowing where to ride could is as important as reliable safety gear.

Always Ride on the Correct Side of the Street

Bikers who ride on the wrong side of the street are taking serious risks. Many cyclists feel uncomfortable riding with the flow of traffic because they can’t see the cars behind them. Putting a mirror on your helmet or handle bars will solve this problem.

The worst thing about riding on the wrong side of the street is that you increase your chances of getting seriously injured when you have an accident. Say, for instance, that you are hit by a car from behind moving at 35 mph while you’re moving at 10 mph. That’s like getting hit by a vehicle driving at 25. If you had the same collision with an oncoming car, though, it would be like being struck by a car moving at 45 mph.

Avoid the Far Right Side of the Outer Lane

Most cyclists stick to the outer lane whenever possible. Doing so reduces the amount of auto traffic that you have to deal with. Riding on the far right side of the outer lane, however, can be very dangerous. If you are right up against the curb, then chances are that vehicles approaching perpendicular intersections will not be able to spot you. They’ll pull out without ever seeing you, which means that the two of you could easily collide.

Riding on the far edge is also dangerous when there is a parking lane for cars. Hugging the curb makes it much more likely that you’ll be struck by a car door. Floating along the left edge of the lane will make you more visible to parked cars.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Bicycle, Cycling, General Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

San Antonio Gets Money for Campaign Directed at Cyclists and Motorists

The Texas Department of Transportation has given the City of San Antonio $276,000 of federal money to fund a bicycle safety campaign as a part of the current “Get Cyched” advertisements. The money will be managed by San Antonio’s Office of Environmental Policy.

Texas law grants motorists and cyclists the same rights. Many people, however, misunderstand the current regulations that dictate how everyone on the road must follow.

Motorists often become angered by bikes on the road because they slow down the flow of traffic. The problems, however, are not one-sided. Many cyclists feel that they are immune to road rules. They frequently run stop signs, fail to make turn signals, and ride in the dark without lights. The new campaign will address these problems.

The advertising program, however, will have more hurdles to overcome than simply letting people on the road know what rules they have to follow. As biking has become a popular alternative to using gas-guzzling cars, trucks, and SUVs, many motorists find themselves outraged by the increasing number of bikes on the road. This can lead to a type of road rage directed solely at cyclists.

That rage is somewhat understandable. After all, who hasn’t felt frustrated while stuck behind a bike? Even residential roads have speed limits that are higher than most cyclists can reach. This creates an angering situation for motorists who suddenly find themselves stuck in an unexpected delay. This problem is further exacerbated on large roads. Spotting a biker who runs stop signs, rides on the wrong side of the road, and commits other flagrant violations of the law makes many drivers angry beyond belief.

Forcing cars to slow down could create traffic nightmares in congested cities, which could lead to more accidents and angry outbursts.

This may be the only situation where “separate but equal” works well. Creating a designated bike lane on popular roads could solve many problems. San Antonio’s advertising campaign, however, should help ease problems on the road at least a little bit by educating more people about the law of the road.

Filed Under: Bicycle, Bikes, Cycling, General Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Bicycle Collision Types and How To Avoid Them

Car Crash on West North Street
Image by davidlewis via Flickr

Over 33,000 people die in car crashes in the U.S. each year. Of those, one in 41 is a bicyclist. These top five collisions are the main reasons cyclists and cars collide.

A car drives out at a stop sign and hits the cyclist. The crash occurs at an intersection where the car was facing the stop sign and the cyclist was on a crossing path.

Second, is where a car is entering the roadway from a driveway or alley and the cyclist was in a crossing path.

Third is a crash at an intersection where the cyclist was facing a stop sign, red light or failed to yield at an uncontrolled intersection and the car was on a crossing path.

Fourth is where the car is making a left turn facing the cyclist.

Fifth is where the car and the cyclist are on parallel paths and then the car makes a right turn at a roadway intersection or driveway.

Nearly 54.3% of car/cyclist collisions happen at intersections, 21.3% are road entry collisions and 15.9% are straight away collisions.

To avoid these types of collisions, a cyclist should follow these five rules.

First, obey all traffic laws. A cyclist should ride like a car, not ride on the sidewalk or against traffic. Riding against traffic increases your risk of being hit by seven times. Don’t hug the gutter, ride out where the car can see you .

Second, keep alert. You have the added advantage of more maneuverability and sound. You can hear if a car is coming up upon you and you can get out of the way at a 90 degree angle. Watch for bad motorists.

Third, be visible. Place lights on your bike and be sure to wear reflective clothing. Make sure that cars can see you. At intersections, don’t stop in a car’s blind spot.

Fourth, take the least travelled way. Take advantage of bike trails, back streets and avoid heavy traffic areas.

Fifth, keep your bike in good repair. Some accidents happen because a bike’s part fails and the cyclist falls into traffic.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: , , , , , , ,