Bike Riding Safety
Last week a friend was in a group ride when a dog came racing across the road. The bike rider tried to avoid the dog and ended up crashing. The rider ended up being airlifted to the hospital. Fortunately he "only" suffered a mild concussion, losing about two days of memory and has cuts and bruises on his legs and arms. He was wearing a helmet, which obviously saved him from further injuries. Always wear your helmet when riding!
Unfortunately the dog owner did not get beat up by the rest of the riders, as he/she deserved.
Coincidentally the D&C ran an article on 6/25/08 about bicycle safety. It was written by Kevin Williams from the Chicago Tribune. I will summarize his eight tips:
1. Do everything in a safe, defensive manner, obey all traffic laws, use signals, don't rush through the light as soon as it turns green (lots of cars run red lights).
2. Don't zip between cars, ride the wrong way on a one way street, or ride on crowded sidewalks.
3.Be smooth and predictable, ride a straight line with no weaving or swerving.
4. Be a politician, make eye contact, say "good morning", be polite, give friendly waves, thank drivers when they do something nice for you.
5. Motorists don't hate you. They just want to get somewhere quick and feel you are slowing them down. Don't take it personally.
6. Never, ever engage. If an angry driver does something dumb, chill. Even if they are wrong and you are right, you won't win, they have a 2,000lb weapon that goes faster than you can pedal.
7. Manage your space. Define your space in the road.
8. Be vivid. Unnatural colors are highly visible. Use lots of lights/reflective gear at dusk or dawn.
Would any of these rules have helped my friend? No. He did everything correct. This was a freak accident that could have easily been avoided if the dog owner had simply used a leash or invisible fence. My guess is this dog has either chased vehicles, people or bikes in the past.
Here's my two cents on safety. Be an ambassador for the sport. Do I think about throwing the bird when a driver comes to close for my comfort, yells out the window, or exhibits other rude or dangerous behavior? Yes. But I have learned that will probably only make things worse. Now if someone beeps at me in an obvious rude manner I simply ignore it or give a nice friendly wave of my hand.
Admittedly there are occasions when I have yelled at drivers, especially when they cross the white line because they can't steer and text or use a cell phone. But they can't hear me and I'm trying to learn this probably won't help (though it does make me feel a bit better).
Always ride with a helmet! Always. Doesn't matter if you are on a bike path, canal path, backroads in the hills or the roads. If your bare head hits the ground after being tossed from a bike bad things will happen regardless of the surface.
Unfortunately the dog owner did not get beat up by the rest of the riders, as he/she deserved.
Coincidentally the D&C ran an article on 6/25/08 about bicycle safety. It was written by Kevin Williams from the Chicago Tribune. I will summarize his eight tips:
1. Do everything in a safe, defensive manner, obey all traffic laws, use signals, don't rush through the light as soon as it turns green (lots of cars run red lights).
2. Don't zip between cars, ride the wrong way on a one way street, or ride on crowded sidewalks.
3.Be smooth and predictable, ride a straight line with no weaving or swerving.
4. Be a politician, make eye contact, say "good morning", be polite, give friendly waves, thank drivers when they do something nice for you.
5. Motorists don't hate you. They just want to get somewhere quick and feel you are slowing them down. Don't take it personally.
6. Never, ever engage. If an angry driver does something dumb, chill. Even if they are wrong and you are right, you won't win, they have a 2,000lb weapon that goes faster than you can pedal.
7. Manage your space. Define your space in the road.
8. Be vivid. Unnatural colors are highly visible. Use lots of lights/reflective gear at dusk or dawn.
Would any of these rules have helped my friend? No. He did everything correct. This was a freak accident that could have easily been avoided if the dog owner had simply used a leash or invisible fence. My guess is this dog has either chased vehicles, people or bikes in the past.
Here's my two cents on safety. Be an ambassador for the sport. Do I think about throwing the bird when a driver comes to close for my comfort, yells out the window, or exhibits other rude or dangerous behavior? Yes. But I have learned that will probably only make things worse. Now if someone beeps at me in an obvious rude manner I simply ignore it or give a nice friendly wave of my hand.
Admittedly there are occasions when I have yelled at drivers, especially when they cross the white line because they can't steer and text or use a cell phone. But they can't hear me and I'm trying to learn this probably won't help (though it does make me feel a bit better).
Always ride with a helmet! Always. Doesn't matter if you are on a bike path, canal path, backroads in the hills or the roads. If your bare head hits the ground after being tossed from a bike bad things will happen regardless of the surface.
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