Was thinking about this recently and wanted to know what your take on it was. As far as bicycling safety on the road is concerned what are some of the general rules you follow while riding? I have compiled a list of the general things I do while riding at the bottom of this post and I think it might be a neat idea to sort of build a list with everyone's rules so that we can all stay as safe as possible during our commutes.
One rule I've been contemplating doing is moving to sidewalks when going up long steep hills that cause me to drop below 10mph. It seems like it would be a reasonable thing to do if I can, but I'm pretty sure it's illegal to ride a bike on the sidewalk, which means I shouldn't. What is everyone's take on this?
- Stay as close the right side of the road as possible
- Make sure to use proper hand signals when turning and stopping
- Use proper lighting to make yourself as visible as possible, blinking tail light during all hours and headlight in the dark (or during the day if you want extra visibility)
- Wear a helmet at all times while on the bike, you need your brain
- Move into turn lanes if traffic is behind you to allow cars to pass more easily
- Slow down for stop signs, if no cars continue moving through, if cars are present, stop and follow normal stop sign proceedures
- Stop at all red lights
- Don't ride past cars on the shoulder at a light, stop behind the car ahead of you to avoid causing them to have to pass you again.
- Plan routes to stay on low traffic, slow speed limit roads
- Wear bright colors to stay more visible
Let me know what more you guys can think of and I'll add them in