Protect your brain. Wear a helmet.
While head injuries are the leading cause of nearly 70% of all fatal bicycle accidents, only 20-25% of bicyclists wear helmets. Unlike broken bones, head injuries are considered far more serious. Just wearing a helmet may not always be enough- it is critical that your helmet fits correctly. More info...

Be visible. Wear bright or reflective clothing.
Whereas a helmet can save your life once you are involved in an accident, learning the rules of the road can help prevent accidents altogether.  In order to safely share the road with motorists, bicyclists must uphold certain responsibilities. Bicyclists who wear bright, reflective clothing help identify themselves to motorists, during daylight hours as well as after dark. To ensure the safety of yourself and other motorists, make sure your bicycle has reflectors, as well as front and rear lights.

Be visible at Night. Use bike lights.
Just like motorists, bicyclists must also use lights at night. Virginia Law says that between sunset and sunrise, bicycles must have one white headlamp visible 500 feet ahead of the bicyclist, as well as a red reflector on the rear visible at least 600 feet. On roads posted with speed limit of 35 mph or greater, the bicyclist must additionally be equipped with at least one red taillight visible 500 feet from the rear. Taillights may be steady or blinking. More info...

Don’t get caught. Secure your pants.
Avoid accidents by wearing appropriate clothing. Steer clear of loose clothing that can become tangled in bike chains. Securing loose clothing can make all the difference in preventing accidents on the road.

Always ride with the flow of traffic.
Riding with the flow of traffic is one of the most important safety rules. Motorists are naturally inclined to check for traffic on the left. Riding on the wrong side of the road puts bicyclists in a dangerous position.  A high percentage of car/bike collisions results from bicyclists going the wrong way. In general, bicyclists follow the same rules of the road as motorists. Pretend you are driving your car instead of your bike. Riding on the correct side of the road can improve overall safety.

Use hand signals.














Photo Courtesy of www.Virginia.org http://www.virginia.org/site/features.asp?featureid=368

Follow the same rules as motorists including yielding right-of-way and signaling. Although bicyclists don’t have blinkers like cars do, we can still communicate the direction we’re turning or when we’re changing lanes with hand signals.

Share the sidewalk.
A bicyclist has the same rights and duties as a pedestrian when riding on sidewalks or crosswalks. When on the sidewalk, bicyclists must yield to pedestrians. Proper bicycling etiquette suggests announcing you are passing on the left. Here are five suggestions that will greatly reduce your chance of getting a ticket or being involved in an accident.

1. Go slow - You should never ride faster than a relaxed jog. The sidewalk is built for pedestrians, so you should not be going faster than they are. Pedaling fast down the sidewalk is a perfect way to get hurt, or hurt someone else.
2. Yield to pedestrians - If you come up behind people walking, be polite and wait for a good time to ask them to let you pass.
3. Check every cross street and driveway - This is the dangerous part! Drivers are not always aware of bicyclists on residential streets and sidewalks. Make sure when coming up to a driveway or cross street that you slow down and check to make sure a car isn’t coming. Many drivers do not expect fast moving bicyclists; therefore it is important to always be alert while riding.
4. Only cross the street at crosswalks - Many accidents occur when bicyclists dart off the sidewalk unexpectedly. If you’re on the sidewalk and need to cross the street, wait until you get to a crosswalk.
5. Be willing to walk your bike - When encountering a congested sidewalk, it may be necessary to get off your bike and walk.  When there are too many people around that you risk hitting one of them, it is time to walk. 

Ride near the line.
Bicyclists who are not familiar riding with traffic may believe they should ride as far away from the traffic as possible. While this may seem to make sense, bicyclists should actually ride as close to the line as they can. On a road with a paved shoulder, the closer you ride to the outside edge of the roadway, the further you move away from the driver’s line of sight. In addition, the closer you get to the edge of the roadway the more likely you are to run into road debris. Making yourself visible to motorists by riding near the line can help prevent accidents from occurring.

Do not weave in and out of parked cars.
While riding down crowded streets with parked cars, it is important to remember the rules of the road and maintain a predictable riding pattern. Weaving in and out of parked cars can make it impossible for motorists to spot you in time. If there is an obstruction in the road, be sure to carefully maneuver around the object while remaining visible to motorists.

Beware of the door zone.
When approaching a parked car, try and see if there is someone sitting in the car that might open a driver’s side door and hit you as you go by.  People rarely look for bicyclists when they’re getting out of their car and this type of collision happens more often than you might think. We suggest that you keep a three foot distance between you and parked cars.