Bicycle Safety Tips
North Carolina Bicycle Safety Tips is our attempt to help bicyclist across North Carolina safely enjoy the great sporting of bicycling.
Bicycling is healthy way to get around in North Carolina. Traveling by bike also eliminates traffic congestion, reduces gas emissions and best of all, is free!! Choosing to ride your bicycle for your daily commute is the “greenest” form of transportation aside from walking. You are also adding exercise to your daily routine. If you are going to ride, you need to consider the following North Carolina bicycle safety tips so you will have a safe bicycling experience:
- Wear bright or reflective clothing to maximize your visibility at night.
- Wear a DOT, ANSI, OR Snell-approved helmet which are designed with hard outer shells and a retention system to protect the head and the brain in a variety of impacts. In 2006, 41% of bicyclists killed in crashes were not wearing a helmet.
- If your helmet is not equipped with a face shield, wear goggles or glasses with plastic lenses to protect your eyes against insects, wind, dirt, rocks, or other airborne matter.
- Wear elbow and knee pads.
- Wear slip-resistant shoes and avoid wearing sandals, flip-flops or shoes with laces.
- Ride with the flow of traffic.
- Walk your bicycle when you get into traffic situations beyond your cycling abilities.
- Do not ride between two lanes of traffic moving in the same direction unless one lane is a separate or mandatory turn lane.
- Do not wear earphones in both ears while riding a bicycle.
- Bicyclists are not permitted to ride on Interstate and certain other controlled access highways. The restricted sections of the highways are marked with conspicuous signs.
- Bicycles may be ridden on sidewalks unless prohibited by local ordinance or traffic control devices. While on sidewalks and shared use paths, bicyclists must always yield the right of way to pedestrians and give an audible signal before passing a pedestrian.
- Bicyclists pulling onto a sidewalk or highway from a driveway must yield the right of way to pedestrians or vehicles already on the sidewalk or highway.
- When riding at night, apply reflective tape to your bicycle.
People of all ages, from kindergartners to retirees, are riding bicycles for exercise and pleasure. The increase in cycling across North Carolina brings with it an increase in bicycle accidents. No one wants to be involved in an accident of any kind. Unfortunately, however, bicycle accidents, especially those involving motor vehicles, are likely to cause serious injuries to the bicyclist because he is not protected inside an automobile or truck. As a result, traumatic brain injuries are not unusual nor are broken bones.
Recently a friend with cyclingninja.com sent me some more useful information about bicycle safety. Read more about these safety tips.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has published some safety tips to help bicyclists avoid collisions with trucks and large buses.
