01/17/2025
Tips to make your bike ride safer
Whether you’re riding a bicycle for recreation, fitness, commuting, or transportation, keeping a few simple tips in mind will make your ride safer.
Be Seen
Bright-colored clothing makes riders much more visible to vehicle drivers. Yellow, blaze orange, white, and neon green especially stand out. In low-light conditions, reflective clothing, vests, and belts make riders stand out under vehicle lights. At night, front and rear lights and reflectors are a must for safety. (Arizona law requires bikes ridden at night to be equipped with a front light and rear reflector.)
Be predictable
Ride in a manner expected by drivers, keeping within a bike lane or driving lane, avoiding zig-zagging down a street or darting between vehicles.
Be law-abiding
Ride with (not against) traffic and obey traffic signs and signals.
Be alert
Ride defensively and do not assume vehicle drivers see you, especially when they are approaching crosswalks or making turns. Entering streets from sidewalks can be particularly dangerous, since drivers are looking for other vehicles on streets. It is always best to assume drivers do not see you until they indicate they do so by slowing down or stopping.
Use your noggin’ – protect your head
A National Safety Council study revealed that wearing a helmet reduces a bicycle rider’s risk of head injuries by about 60%, providing substantial protection against head injuries, including crashes involving motor vehicles.
Be courteous
On shared use paths, when passing pedestrians or slower riders, announce your presence by voice, such as by calling out “Passing on your left,” or a bell. Keep in mind that many pedestrians wear ear buds or headphones and will not hear you. Maintain a reasonable speed and yield to slower users on the paths.
Always keep in mind when riding your bike, that as the smallest vehicles on the road, you are the hardest to see and the most vulnerable. Be prepared for anything a driver might do – legal or not. “He/She had the right-of-way” makes for a poor epitaph.
This information is provided by the Cochise Bicycle Advocates, a community group promoting bicycling for recreation and transportation and using advocacy and education to achieve a more bicycle-friendly community. Individuals interested in learning about the group are encouraged to attend CBA meetings the second Tuesday of each month at 5 p.m. at the Warrior Healing Center.
