Road safety tips for cyclists
Whether you’re a complete cycling novice or the Chris Hoy of commuting by bike, it’s always important to remind yourself of some simple road safety tips to ensure you get from A to B, safe and secure…
Undertake routine healthchecks
Your health is extremely important, and so is your bike’s. It’s best to make sure your bicycle is roadworthy on a regular basis to avoid running into any issues on your journey. Loose nuts and bolts, bent spokes and tired brakes can lead to accidents, so have a quick check every so often to make sure it’s in top condition.
Local bike shops might offer free checks that cover all the key parts that suffer from wear and tear, so there’s no excuse not to!
Optimise your journeys
You know how it is – your regular route becomes second nature after a while. But you can always tweak your journey to make sure you’re avoiding obvious hazards, such as rush hour, narrow roads and busy junctions.
Simple measures, such as taking quieter roads and travelling during less popular hours, can make the world of difference when it comes to staying safe on the roads.
Maintain general awareness
Cycling with your headphones on, checking your mobile phone, or riding too quickly are all easy mistakes to make that could lead to mishaps. Keep both hands on the handlebars at all times and make sure you ride in a steady fashion, maintaining awareness of what’s going on around you.
Riding too fast can also be dangerous — particularly on streets that have a lot of pedestrians — so maintain a safe, constant speed that responds to your surroundings.
Prepare for emergencies
There’s nothing worse than being caught with a flat and no way of getting home or help. Make sure you’ve got a mini emergency kit whenever you’re on your bike to patch up easily-fixed repairs. Additionally, carrying spare cash for an emergency bus fare home is a sensible back-up plan if your bike gives up the ghost.
If you’re unlucky enough to get into an accident, you want to make sure you’ve got all your emergency details saved to your phone. Even better, have important information saved as your lock screen image to ensure anyone who needs to help you can do so easily.
You might now know all you need to about staying safe on your bike, but do you know how to help cyclists stay safe when you’re behind the wheel? Luckily for you, we’ve got you covered, check out our blog on sharing the road with cyclists.
