Be prepared before heading out
- Drive a bike that fits you - if it's too big, it's harder to control the bike.
- Drive a bike that works - it really doesn't matter how well you drive if the brakes don't work.
- Wear equipment to protect you and make you more visible to others, like a bike helmet, bright clothing (during the day), reflective gear, and a white front light and red rear light and reflectors on your bike (at night, or when visibility is poor).
- Plan your route - choose routes with less traffic and slower speeds. Your safest route may be away from traffic altogether, in a bike lane or on a bike path.
- Be serious; don't mess around in traffic. While biking is fun, driving around traffic isn't a game and your bike isn't a toy.
- Ride one per seat, with both hands on the handlebars, unless signaling a turn. Carry all items in a backpack or strapped to the back of the bike.
- Tuck and tie your shoelaces and pant legs so they don't get caught in your bike chain.
- Use your eyes and ears, staying focused at all times.
- No texting, listening to music or using anything that distracts you by taking your eyes and ears or your mind off the road and traffic.
- Be aware of others using the road. Discuss with an adult the dos and don'ts of roadway behavior.
- Look before entering traffic. Look left-right-left for traffic before entering a roadway. This includes coming out of a residential driveway, a commercial driveway (store or parking lot), alleyway or when continuing in traffic from a stop sign or light.
- Learn and follow the rules on the road for your own safety and the safety of others:
- Drive with the flow, in the same direction as traffic.
- Obey street signs, signals and road markings, just like a car.
- Wear reflective material on your body and bike, and use white front lights and red rear lights/reflectors as required by law, if you ride at night or at dusk, dawn, in fog, or rain.
- By driving predictably, motorists get a sense of what you intend to do and can react to avoid a crash.
- Drive where you are expected to be seen, travel in the same direction as traffic: drive in a straight line, not in and out of traffic, and signal and look over your shoulder before changing lane position or turning.
- Avoid or minimize sidewalk riding - it is not predictable behavior. Cars don't expect to see moving traffic on a sidewalk and don't look for you when backing out of a driveway or turning. Sidewalks sometimes end unexpectedly, forcing the bicyclist into the road when a car isn't expecting to look for a bicyclist.
- If you must ride on the sidewalk, remember to:
- Check your local laws to make sure sidewalk riding is legal.
- Watch for pedestrians.
- Pass pedestrians with care by first announcing "on your left" or "passing on your left" or use a bell.
- Ride in the same direction as traffic. This way, if the sidewalk ends, you are already riding with the flow of traffic. If crossing a street, motorists will look left-right-left for traffic. When you are to the driver's left, the driver is more likely to see you.
- Slow and look for traffic (left-right-left and behind) when crossing a street from a sidewalk; be prepared to stop and follow the pedestrian signals.
- Slow down and look for cars backing out of driveways or turning.
