Bicycle safety
- Always wear a properly fitted helmet.
- Adjust your bicycle to fit. There should be 1 to 2 inches between you and the top tube (bar) if using a road bike and 3 to 4 inches if a mountain bicycle. The seat should be level front to back. The seat height should be adjusted to allow a slight bend at the knee when the leg is fully extended. The handlebar height should be at the same level with the seat.
- Check your equipment. Before riding, inflate tires properly and check that your brakes work.
- See and be seen. Always wear neon or other bright colors when riding day or night.
- Control your bicycle. Always ride with at least one hand on the handlebars. Carry items in a bicycle carrier or backpack.
- Watch for and avoid road hazards. Be on the lookout for hazards such as potholes, gravel, puddles, leaves, and dogs.
- Go with the traffic flow. Ride on the right in the same direction as other vehicles. Go with the flow – not against it.
- Obey all traffic laws. A bicycle is a vehicle and you’re a driver. Obey all traffic signs, signals, and lane markings.
- Yield to traffic when appropriate. Almost always, drivers on a smaller road must yield for traffic on a major or larger road. If there is no stop sign or traffic signal and you are coming from a smaller roadway (out of a driveway, from a sidewalk, a bike path, etc.), you must slow down and look to see if the way is clear before proceeding. This also means yielding to pedestrians who have already entered a crosswalk.
- Be predictable. Ride in a straight line, not in and out of cars. Signal your moves to others.
- Watch for parked cars. Ride far enough out from the curb to avoid the unexpected from parked cars (like doors opening, or cars pulling out).
For more information, visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) web site at: www.nhtsa.dot.gov