Bicycle Safety Month

• Always wear an approved bicycle safety helmet. Protect your head from serious injury by always wearing when riding
• Stop and check for traffic before you enter a street from a driveway, parking lot, or sidewalk
• Avoid riding after dark, or if the weather is bad. All cyclists are at risk during the hours of darkness
• Obey traffic signs, signals, and pavement markings. Obeying the law can keep you out of many hazardous driving situations
• Ride on the right-hand side of the street. Move with the flow of traffic
• Be extra careful making a left turn. Vehicles approaching or following you don’t expect you to go left and often don’t see left-turning cyclists
• Slow down when you approach intersections. Stop, look, and listen at "Stop" signs. Walk your bike across busy intersections and streets
• Give cars and pedestrians the right-of-way. Not only is it an act of courtesy, but it’s safer, too
• Avoid broken pavement, litter, loose gravel, mud, or leaves. Any of these can cause you to lose control of your bike
• Help other drivers to see you. Wear light or brightly-colored clothes. A Day-glo flag on a 6-foot flexible staff on your bike warns motorists of your presence.
• On streets where cars are parked, watch for car doors on the roadway side unexpectedly opening
• When riding with a group, form a single line on the right-hand side of the roadway, and ride one bike length apart
• Carry packages in a basket, carrier, or back-pack, and keep both hands on the handlebars
• Keep your bike in good repair. Check tire pressure and adjust loose parts weekly. Clean and lightly oil moving parts regularly. Store your bike indoors if possible
• Don’t take chances. Watch what is going on around you.