by Irene Wall

With traffic jams caused by four-wheeled vehicles getting worse and worse every single day along with the increasingly unbearable levels of pollution that they bring to the nation’s busy streets, you’ve decided to buy yourself a bike and pedal your way to work or an important meeting instead. But while riding a bike gets you to your destination faster without leaving a negative impact on the environment, the likelihood that you’ll become involved in a road accident and then hire a lawyer to help you claim your compensation after you’ve sustained injuries because of it becomes significantly greater. Thus, you would want to read these tips on how you can keep safe while riding a bike on a busy street.

1. Invest in essential bike safety equipment.

Riding a bike may give you more freedom compared to driving a four-wheeled vehicle, but it doesn’t mean that you can skimp on essential safety equipment and bike parts that you should carry with you or wear. Before hitting some busy street with your bike, you should check first if you already have the following safety gear:

●       A helmet to protect your brain from concussions in case you hit your head on top of the pavement

●       A bell or horn to warn other vehicles and pedestrians that you’re approaching towards their path

●       A headlight and taillight mounted on the front and back of your bike, respectively, as well as reflectors installed around its wheels so that drivers of  other vehicles and your fellow bike riders at night can easily see you

2. Don’t do anything else while riding a bike.

As much as you might confidently say right now that you’re quite skilled at juggling two or more tasks at the same time, you wouldn’t want to do that when driving any vehicle, most especially your bike.

●       Thus, you should keep your phone in your pocket while riding a bike as you can lose your sense of balance by holding your bike’s handlebar with one hand and your phone with the other.

●       Instead of listening to music with earphones, you would have to learn to withstand incessant crowd chatter while riding your bike on a busy street so that you can hear any approaching vehicles and pedestrians.

●       If you feel the urgent need to do something other than riding your bike, you should pedal your way to a safe spot where there aren’t any other vehicles or pedestrians passing by and do it there.

3. Follow traffic rules and regulations.

Even if you’re not driving a car, your bike is still technically considered to be a vehicle that you’re riding out on some busy street. Thus, you’re not exempt from the same traffic rules and regulations that everyone who has a vehicle should comply at all times.

●       When a traffic signal turns red, you should still stop and wait for it to turn green instead of beating it and pedaling straight through or making a turn.

●       If a pedestrian crosses a road using a pedestrian lane, you should give way to them instead of trying to pedal faster in the hopes that they’ll avoid you once they see you.

4. Don’t ride your bike against the flow of vehicular traffic.

When you’re running late to work or an important meeting with someone, you might be tempted to ride your bike opposite the direction that vehicle drivers and your fellow bikers are taking so that you can make it in time.

●       However, riding your bike against the flow of vehicular traffic is against the law.

●       As a law-abiding citizen, you should ride your bike along with your fellow bike riders in a single-file formation. If you want to ride your bike side by side with a fellow bike rider, you should check your state’s laws about it first as some states don’t allow it unless in certain situations.

5. When riding your bike at night, wear bright-colored or reflective clothes.

You may have a headlight, taillight, and reflectors on your bike, but if a driver or pedestrian can’t easily see you the rider of the bike itself at night, you might still become involved in a road accident.

●       Thus, whenever riding your bike at night, you should make sure to wear either bright-colored or reflective clothes to make yourself more visible.

●       But if you’re required to wear dark clothing for a certain occasion that you have to attend, you can stick some reflective tape or patches on your shirt and pants instead.

As of March to May 2017, more than 66 million people in the United States have been riding bikes instead of driving cars. After all, most bikes carry a very affordable price tag as you don’t need to spend on gas to make it run which can then help reduce the amount of air pollution in the nation’s busy streets. Besides, if your destination is only a few miles away, you can simply ride your bike there instead of driving a gas-guzzling vehicle. However, riding a bike makes you more vulnerable to road accidents which is why you would want to take note of the above-listed tips on how you can keep safe while doing it on a busy street. IF you need more information on the subject, you may click here.

Irene Wall

Irene Wall has been writing about law for more than a decade. She writes pieces on various law topics that she hopes could help the common reader with their concerns. She enjoys playing basketball with her sons during her free time.