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As the season turns, keep safety in mind

Posted on March 5, 2009 by Staff

By Margot C. Lester

The promise of warmer weather this weekend is another reminder that bicycle ridership jumps in the spring. Bike shops are getting busy as folks bring in their rides for tune-ups or trade ups. For everyone on the road, it’s time to tune in to bike safety.

Each year, more than 900 Tar Heel bicyclists are involved in crashes with motor vehicles. And that’s just the ones that are reported to the police. More than 60 of those result in serious injury to the rider and 20 are fatal.

If you’ve driven around town, it probably won’t surprise you that most accidents are attributable to riders and drivers overlooking the rules of the road. The most common cyclist errors include passing stopped vehicles at stop signs and traffic lights, riding through red lights or stop signs, and not using hand signals. Drivers often refuse to make way for cyclists and don’t check for bikers before turning.

To keep yourself safe while enjoying your ride, adopt a key tenet of driving: Do it defensively. That means obeying signs and signals, yielding to avoid “near misses,” being careful at intersections, signaling your intentions and avoiding distractions.

Probably the biggest distraction is listening to an MP3 player. A ride might be more entertaining with your favorite podcast or workout tunes playing, but it’s also a lot more dangerous. Another tip: If you’re riding with friends, try to avoid the pack. Riding single file may not be as fun or conversationally practical, but it will help you stay out of harm’s way. It’ll also keep drivers from getting ticked off and responding by speeding past you or not giving you enough space.

Let’s talk helmets. Only one-quarter of North Carolinians wear helmets, but that dorky headgear can save your life. The North Carolina Department of Transportation estimates that bicycle helmets reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 85 percent and the risk of brain injury by as much as 88 percent. Be sure to wear it properly, fitting it securely on your head and resting it one or two fingers over your eyebrows. Pull that chin strap tight.

Bike safety may not be something we think about every day, but, you know, it probably should be.

The DOT has compiled a set of guidelines for cyclists at its website, www.ncdot.org/transit/bicycle/laws/laws_bikelaws.html

1 thought on “As the season turns, keep safety in mind”

  1. Pingback: A weak Feed today « Witch on a Bicycle

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