How to Ride a Bike Safely.docx

How to Ride a Bike Safely.docx

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HowtoRideaBikeSafely

HowtoRideaBikeSafely

EditedbyNathanWong,BenRubenstein,PaulKatz,SondraCand52others

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Ridingyourbikecanbeagreatdealoffun,andit'sabrilliantwaytokeepfit.Nevertheless,bikeridinghasitshazards,especiallywhenyou'resharingtheroadwithmotorizedtraffic.Tokeepsafe,itisimportanttohaveabikeintopconditionandtopayattentiontosomebasicbutveryimportantcyclingrequirementswhensharingyourridewiththegeneraltraffic.

Thisarticleisbasedonright-handtraffic;ifyouliveinacountrywithleft-handtraffic,pleasebearthisinmindwhenreadingthedirections.[1]

Steps

Checkingyourbike

1.1

Allcheckedandreadytoride

Checkyourcyclingequipment.Beforeyouevensetout,itisimportanttoensurethatyourbikeisroadworthyandsafe.Thisisespeciallyimportantforagingbikes.Checkingyourbikemeanslookingatthefollowing:

oAir--areyourtiresinflatedadequately?

oBrakes-dotheywork,aretheyclean?

oChain-isitclean,freeofdebris,andabletoturnwithnoproblems?

2.2

Checkthebrakes.Wheelyourbikearoundaflatsurface,pullingthebrakeleversonandoff.Iftheydonotwork,andyou'renotsurehowtofixthem,contactyourlocalbikeshopandaskthemtohelp.

3.3

Checkthebike'stires.Putthewholetireintoasmallbowlofwater.Seeifthereareanybubblescomingout.Ifthereareanybubbles,itmeansyourtireispuncturedandyoucangetitfixedbyabikeshopordoityourself.Repeatfortheothertire.

4.4

Seeifthebikeistherightheightforyou.Thisisveryeasyasallyouneedtodoissitonyourbikeandmakesurethatthetipsofyourtoestouchtheground（andnothingelse）.Adjustthebikeseatasneeded,andthehandlestoo.

Dressappropriately

1.1

Brightcolorsareidealcyclewear

Wearbrightclothing,areflectivevest,orhaveflashinglights.Theseallincreaseyourvisibility.Whenbuyingt-shirtsortopsmakeitapolicytobuybrightoratleastwhitecolours.Youcanalsoaddreflectorlightsorreflectivetapetoyourbackpackifyou'rewearingone.

2.2

Wearcomfortableshoes.Ridingabikeinhighheelsorflipflopsisneveragoodidea.Wearshoesthatfitsnugly,areflatsoled,andhavenodanglingpiecesthatcouldbecomecaughtinthebikestructureandspokes.Tuckinlaces.

3.3

Usetrouserelasticsorties.Theywillholdbacklongpantsthatarethreateningtoflapintothewheelspokes,orbecomedirtiedbythechaingrease.

4.4

Don'ttieclothingaroundyourwaist.Itcouldunexpectedlycomelooseandwraparoundyourwheel,throwingyouhead-firstintothegroundorroad.Itcouldalsobecomeentangledinthechainorobscureyourrearlightandreflector.

5.5

Wearingahelmetisalwaysagoodideawhencycling.Insomeplaces,youhavenochoicebuttowearahelmetbylaw.Yet,evenwherethisisnotlegallyrequired,it'sagoodideatowearonetoaugmentyoursafety-headinjuriesarethemostcommonfatalinjuriessustainedinbikeaccidents.[2]

6.6

Weareyeprotection.Dirt,pebbles,orevenbugscanflyintoyoureyes,causingtemporaryvisiondifficulty.Apairofbicycle-appropriateglasseswillhelppreventthis.

Roadrulesandroadsense

Obeytrafficlawsandsafetybestpractices.Althoughthedriverhittingyoumightbetechnicallyatfault,youaretheonewhowillmostlikelybeinjuredorevenkilled.Followthesebasicsforyourownsafety:

1.1

Evenbikescomewiththeirownrules!

Knowtherulesanduseyoursenses.Everycyclisthasadutytoknowtheroadrules,bothastheyapplytoyouasacyclist,andastheyrelatetootherroadusersaswell.Thisincludesteachingchildrenwhatrulestheyneedtobeawareof（seebelow）.Itisalsoimportanttousecommonsensewhenridingintraffic,relyingonallofyoursensestohelpguideyouthroughtrafficsafely.Anticipatetheunexpectedtoreducesurprises.

2.2

Rideinthedirectionofthetraffic.Ridingagainsttrafficonthewrongsideoftheroadisillegalandincreasesacyclist'sriskdramaticallybecauseitincreasesclosingspeedsandturningmotoristsarelikelytonotevenlookfortrafficinthedirectionfromwhichawrong-waycyclistwouldbecoming.

3.3

Priortoadjustingcourseleftorright,alwaysfirstlookbackbehindyoutomakesureit'sclear,andthensignalyourintent.Learntobeabletoturnyourheadtolookbackbehindyouwithoutveeringoffcourse.Thiscanbedonebypracticinglookingbackwhilefollowingastripeinanemptyparkinglot.Thisskillisessentialanytimeyouneedtomoveleftorrightfromyourcourse,likewhenyouneedtomoveoverforatruckstoppedatthecurborsomeotherobstacle.Justbecauseit'snotyourfaultthatyouneedtochangecourse,doesnotmeanthatyouhaverightofwaytomoveover.Ifothertrafficisusingtheadjacentlineoftravel,youneedtoyieldtothem,ornegotiateforrightofwaytomovethere（seebelow）.It'simportanttopracticethelookingbackskillbecausemanycyclists,evenexperiencedones,don'trealizehowmuchtheyveerwhentheylookback.Lookingbacktomakesureit'ssafetomoveoverisofnohelpifyouveerleftrightinfrontofovertakingtrafficasyoulookback.

4.4

Signalyourintentionstootherroadusers.Thatistosaywhenturningoradjustinglaterallyontheroadway.Holdingyourarmstraightandparalleltothegroundwithopenpalmfacedforwardismuchmoreclearandattention-grabbingthananarmhalfheartedlyliftedandheldinpositionwithabentelbow.Beforetakingyourhandoffthehandlebar,besuretoscantheroadaheadforobstructionslikestones,potholes,oranythingthatcanjerkyourwheel.Notonlydoessignalingletthempredictyournextmove,butitgivescyclistsareputationofcourtesy.

5.5

Stopforstopsignsandwatchfortraffic.

6.6

Obeytrafficsignals.

7.7

Donotlistentomusicwhilstcycling.Notonlydoyourearsactlikearadarfordetectingapproachingcars,certaintypesofmusiccanencourageyoutotakeexcessiverisks!

8.8

Chooseaconspicuouslaneposition.Realizethatmanymotoristsmayoverlookcyclists,especiallythoseridinginconspicuouslyneartheroadedge.Somemotoristsareirritatedbythepresenceofcyclistsandseektomakeitharderforyoutodrivenearthem.Don'tgetangry;iftheyhonkthatmeansthey'venoticedyou!

Conveygratitudebysmiling,noddingorwaving.Staycalm,keepyourwitsaboutyou,andremainfocused.Amirrorcanhelpyouknowwhenamotoristisapproachingfrombehind.Awell-timedlookback,nodorevenslow/stoparmsignalcanbeveryhelpfulincommunicatingtothemotoristthatyouarenotoblivioustotheirpresenceandyoureffectonthem,whichalonecanoftennip-in-the-budapotentialroadragesituation.

9.9

Trackyourtiresatleastfivefeetfromthesideofcarsparkedatthecurbtoeliminatetheriskofbeingstruck,orbeingcausedtoswerveinfrontofovertakingtraffic,byasuddenlyopeneddoor.Rememberthatevenat10mphyou'retravelingthedistanceofanentirecarlengtheverysecond.Ifadooropenssuddenlyinfrontofyou,youmaynotevenhaveenoughtimetoreact,muchlessstop.Andifyouinstinctivelyswerveorareknockedleftbytheopeningdoor,youcouldbehitbyovertakingtraffic.Sure,they'relegallyobligatedtolookfirstbeforetheyopenthedoor,butareyougoingtotrustyoursafety-perhapsevenbettingyourlife-thattheyalwayswillwithoutexception?

Ifyouregularlyrideindoorzones,it'sonlyamatteroftimebeforeyougetdoored.Sincecarandtruckdoorsextendoutasmuchasthree-and-a-halffeetwhenopen,trackingfivefeetawayallowsyourtwofootwidebodytobeclearofanopendoorplusaminimumofsixinchesoferrormargin.Anycloserthanfivefeetputsyouinthedoorzoneandinseriousrisk.Don'tbeluredintoridinginadoorzonebyabikelane.Thatpaintonthegroundoffersnoprotection!

10.10

Don'ttrytosharelaneswithothertrafficthataretoonarrowforsafeside-by-sidesharing.Ridingfarrightinlaneslessthan14feetinwidthisagreatcauseofconflictandconsternationintraffic.Itmakesthecyclistlessconspicuousandinvitesmotoriststotrytosqueezeintothelaneside-by-sidewiththecyclist,causingthemtoeitherpasswithinsufficientsafetymargin,orrealizetoolatethattheyhavetoatleastencroachintheadjacentlanetopasssafely.Alertthemearlyoftheconditionthatlanesharingisnotanoptionbyclearlycontrollingthelanebyridingnearthecenterofthelane,orevenleftofcenter,sotheyhavethetimeandspacetoplanasafelanechangeandpass.

11.11

Sharetheroadwisely.Betweenintersectionswhenfastertrafficispresent,ifthetrafficlaneiswideenoughfortraffictopassyousafelywithinthelane,keeptothesideandmakeiteasierforthedriverstoleaveyouroom.Butduringsignificantlylonggapsintraffic,amoreconspicuouspositionwelloutinthetrafficlanehelpsgrabtheattentionofthenextdriverwhoapproaches,discouragingthemfromchoosingtoattendtoadistractionuntilafteryou'vebeensafelypassed.Arearviewmirrorcanhelpyounoticewhenfastertrafficisapproaching,andtoletyouknownwhentomoveaside,usuallyafterthey'veslowedindicatingthey'venoticedyou,butbeforetheygetirritated.Neverusearearviewmirrorglanceinplaceofahead-turnlookbackpriortomovinglaterallyontheroadway.

12.12

Knowthatmostoftheriskisinfrontofyou,especiallyfromtrafficturningandcrossingacrossyourpath.Asyouapproachanyintersection,junctionorplacewhereturnsmaybemade,regardlessofyourintendeddirection,chooseaconspicuousandpredictablelanep