Biking is a great way to get an amazing workout while also helping to reduce your own carbon emissions. But while these perks are great, if you’re not careful, you could wind up getting hurt while road biking, especially if you get into an accident with a vehicle.
Although you can’t completely take away the risks of riding your bike along with traffic, there are things you can do to help you stay safe while you’re on the streets. To show you how this can be done, here are three ways to help you stay safe while road biking.
Always Ride With Traffic
One of the best ways you can keep yourself safe while road biking is to learn the rules of the road and follow them with exactness.
According to Madelaine Gearheart, a contributor to SafeWise.com, one of these rules of the road that should be followed in every town or city you cycle in is to always ride with traffic. While it’s often a safer practice to walk the opposite way of traffic so you’re facing the cars going by, when road biking, you want to be going the same way and direction that the rest of traffic is going. This is particularly important because drivers generally only look for oncoming traffic when making turns, which could put you in danger of getting hit if you’re coming from the opposite direction.
Ditch The Headphones
While you might like the idea of listening to some music or catching up on your favorite podcast during your ride, cycling on the road with headphones in your ears is a dangerous practice. Because of this, AAA Exchange advises that you never wear headphones when you’re riding your bike.
Being able to hear what’s going on around you can help to keep you safe from harm that you might otherwise not even know if there. So although you might not love the sound of traffic around you or hearing your own heavy breathing while trekking up a hill, keeping your ears clear could help to save your life in certain situations.
Make It Easy To Be Seen
Another great way to keep yourself safe from an accident while road biking is to make it easy for everyone else on the road to see you.
To best do this, REI recommends that you do things like wear bright colors, put lights on your bike, and use various reflectors on yourself and your gear. Although you might think that all the lights and reflectors on your brightly colored clothes aren’t very flattering, they’ll serve their purpose if they can help to keep you safe from collisions.
If you often bike on the road along with cars and other traffic, consider using the tips mentioned above to help keep yourself safe.
