Safety Rules For Riding Bikes

There is more to bike safety than just remembering to wear your helmet. You need to be seen and heard, your bicycle must be in good repair and you need to rely on your own good judgment to keep you out of potential accidents. Safety checks before and after every ride will ensure that your brakes, tires, lights and horn are working. Remember to refresh your knowledge of the rules of the road to prevent avoidable accidents.

Assume You're Invisible

Always ride as if drivers cannot see you, because they often can't. Whether or not the driver "should" have seen you is irrelevant after you have been hit. If a driver "has to see you to take action to avoid hitting you, that means they will definitely hit you if they don't see you," states bicycle safety expert Michael Bluejay of Austin, Texas. Ride as close to the right side of the lane as possible; even if cars do not see you, they will have room to pass you without hitting you.

Go Bright

Wear bright clothing during the day. Wear a school-bus yellow or neon orange reflective triangle on the back of your jacket or vest, even during the day. Drivers associate those colors with a need for caution. Bluejay describes that when his friend, riding a quarter-mile away, wore a triangle, "I couldn't see her or her bike at all, but the vest was clearly visible."

Light Up

Attach a white headlight to your bike, visible from at least 500 feet ahead. Add a red reflector visible from 300 feet behind and use them whenever visibility is poor. This is especially important before dawn, after dusk or during a sudden rainstorm. Apply reflective tape to your bike frame so that drivers coming toward you from the side can see you.

Obey the Law

A 2007 traffic study in San Francisco revealed that cyclists were at fault in 60 percent of the reported accidents, according to Michael Wright of the California Highway Patrol Golden Gate Division. Riding on the wrong side of the road, failure to yield to an auto's right of way, and ignoring traffic signs and signals were three of the top causes of auto/bike collisions.
Cyclists who ride against traffic have three times as many accidents as those who travel with traffic, according to a 1992 traffic study by Alan Wachtel and Diana Lewiston. ,Wachtel and Lewiston explain, "Because motorists normally scan for traffic traveling in the lawful direction, wrong-way traffic is easily overlooked."

Do a Safety Check

The Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety recommends that you perform a safety check before and after every ride. Make sure your tires are firm and have tread, your wheels rotate freely without wobbling, spokes are not bent or broken, and you chain is clean and lubricated with the chain guard in place. Your pedals should be secure and able to turn and your brake cables and casings should be intact. Adjust the seat to the correct height if changing riders, and make sure that all lights and reflectors are clean and firmly attached. Repair any problems as soon as you spot them.