Bicycle Safety Tips
Get a helmet. This is the first and most basic rule for safe bicycling, but it’s also important to choose the right one for you. Use a tape measure to find the circumference of your head, about an inch above your eyebrows, and then look for a helmet of that size. Use the included pads and straps to fine-tune the helmet’s fit. When you’re done, it should not shift around on your head. Cycling helmets should be replaced every 5 years even if you haven’t been in a crash, because normal weathering and exposure to UV radiation can weaken them over time.
Use a handlebar or helmet mirror. A mirror allows you to monitor the traffic behind you without having to physically turn around. Many cyclists are struck from behind by unobservant drivers.
When riding at night, use a front headlight and flashing rear light. Collisions with unlit bicycles at night account for a high percentage of bicyclist fatalities. New LED headlights last 10 times as long as older incandescent bulbs on the same batteries.
Get a loud horn, and use it. It’s better to risk coming off as obnoxious than to risk getting hurt. If you think a car is coming too close or doesn’t see you, give it a honk.
Wear bright colors and/or a reflective vest, even during the day. Bicyclists are small and easy to miss at all hours, and anything you do to increase your visibility will make you safer. This goes double when it’s dim or dark out.
Ride with traffic, in the same direction. One study published in 1996 showed that riding against traffic is three times more likely to result in a collision compared to riding with traffic. For kids, the same study indicated that riding against traffic is seven times more dangerous.
Ride on the road, not the sidewalk. The 1996 study by Wachtel and Lewiston showed that riding on the sidewalk is 1.8 times as risky as riding on the road, a statistically significant difference. While many people would assume that traveling on the sidewalk is safer than biking on the road, statistics show that this is not true. One major reason for this is that sidewalk-traveling cyclists often cross driveways and intersections at high speeds, making it difficult for motor vehicles to see and avoid them. Additionally, shrubs, parked cars and other obstructions make it more difficult for drivers to see bicyclists on sidewalks at intersections.
Ride on the left side of the lane. This increases your visibility to drivers as well as your maneuverability. Cars are also less likely to pass you too closely or accidentally cut you off if you’re on the left side of the lane.
Avoid riding or waiting at red lights in a vehicle’s blind spot. Wait at red lights behind a car, rather than alongside it.
Slow down at intersections. A significant majority of auto-bicycle collisions occurs at intersections, where it’s easy for a driver to miss a cyclist who’s in their blind spot or traveling at a high speed.
Source:
Wachtel, A. and D. Lewiston. (1996). Risk Factors for Bicycle-Motor Vehicle Collisions at Intersections. Journal of Safety Research. 27(3), 195.
