Ride Safe and Don’t be a Jackass

It’s Bike Month – Ride Safe and Don’t be a Jackass

May is national bike month and what a great excuse to get out and ride! Along with the amazing feeling of wind in your face comes the responsibility of safe cycling for yourself, when riding with others, and when in traffic. I know, I know…we’ve all experienced the “idiot in the car” who cut us off, flips us off, or ticks us off. But we have also experienced cyclists who blow through stop signs, swerve unexpectedly across three lanes of traffic, or feel entitled to ignore traffic signs because they are in the middle of a workout. I came across this quote that is funny yet poignant:

“Don’t complain that the roads are unsafe when it’s you riding like a jackass that makes it unsafe.”

Unsafe cycling can be defined as not being in control of your own bicycle, unsafe riding practices in a cycling group, or illegal maneuvers on public roads and in traffic. Review these tips and learn these skills to help keep you safe on the roads*:

1. Bike Control: About half of crashes are single rider falls. If you can skillfully control your bike by starting, stopping, signaling, and maneuvering smoothly, you will avoid falling or running into other cyclists, dogs, cars or pedestrians.

2. Follow Rules: About half of the car/bike crashes are caused by cyclists who make unsafe decisions. Follow traffic laws, obey signs and signals, and use correct lanes for turns and through movements so you don’t cause a collision. Remember – you are a vehicle. Analyses of bicycling accidents and of cyclist fatalities demonstrate that cyclists are most safe when they operate their bicycles as vehicles.

3. Lane Position: Motorist’s unsafe decisions cause about half of the car/bike crashes for adult cyclists. Know when to control the lane or when to share a lane. Use your lane position to tell drivers what you are doing and discourage them from making right hooks, left crosses or other bad movements. Over 90% of the crashes can be avoided with these three actions.**

4. Avoidance: When all else fails and you are faced with a critical situation you need to understand how to maneuver to avoid crashing or at least limit the consequence of a crash.

5. Passive Safety: When you are involved in a crash use passive safety devices that will help you survive. This means a helmet, sunglasses, and gloves.

Being a cyclist means being responsible for yourself. Ride, volunteer, donate, or go to an advocacy meeting so you can contribute to safer roads. Ultimately it’s about safe cycling … and not being a jackass.

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Additional Cycling Resources

*The League of American Bicyclists - www.bikeleague.org

National Bike Month - www.bikeleague.org/programs/bikemonth/

Traffic Skills 101 - www.austincycling.org/classes

**How to Not Get Hit by Cars - Important lessons in Bicycle Safety - www.bicyclesafe.com

Mellow Johnny’s Bike Rides and Classes – www.mellowjohnnys.com

Austin Commuter Challenge - www.austincommuterchallenge.com

Thanks to Eileen Schaubert, Mellow Johnny's Community Outreach person, for contributing to this article.

Article by Susan Farago, M.Ed., USAT L1, USAC L2, NFPT Sports Nutrition. Susan is a multisport coach, athlete, and freelance health and fitness writer in Austin, Texas. She can be reached at coach@susanfarago.com or at www.susanfarago.com.© 2010. Check out her Red Licorice Tweets, “Susan Says”, at http://twitter.com/Red_Licorice.