Biking Safety Tips for Neighborhood and City Bikers

**Note: the following tips, advice and suggestions come from the writer's personal experience as a longtime, avid biker who currently resides in a city neighborhood. - With the summertime fast approaching, many Americans are planning beach trips, time away from work and a little more commitment to summer exercise activities. And what better way to stay in shape than to bike through your neighborhood or around a city block? After all, regular cycling has been shown to improve mood, help with weight loss, increase leg strength and overall coordination and maintain heart health. But if you're an avid biker who resides in an urban area, there are several precautions you should take before and during your bike ride. Consider these safety tips before hopping on your favorite bicycle and pedaling your way to fitness:

1. Always Wear a Helmet

While this may seem like a no-brainer, countless cyclists, both in urban and rural areas, bike without helmets every day. Remember that while your body can eventually heal from cuts, nicks, scrapes, bruises and even broken bones, head injuries are often more severe and potentially fatal. Dozens of researches have proven bicycle helmets capable of protecting a cyclist in three out of four possible cycling head injuries. Unfortunately, over 70,000 bikers suffer severe head injuries every year in the United States alone. Do not risk your life by choosing to not wear a helmet. Visit your local sporting goods store and inquire about quality helmets.

2. Obey all Traffic Signs, Signals and Controls

While bikers who reside in rural areas may not have to worry about this tip, those who bike in heavily-trafficked city areas cannot afford to avoid it. Countless bikers are either severely injured or killed every year by motorists who claim not to have seen them. If you plan to bike on neighborhood roads or busy streets and highways, always bike near the right hand side of the road and conform to all traffic laws and regulations.

Remember that your bicycle is a vehicle too, a form of transportation sharing the road with larger forms of transportation, including automobiles, semi-trucks and motorcycles. You are therefore required to adhere to any and all road rules. This means stopping at all stop signs and intersections to check for oncoming traffic and yielding to any pedestrians who may cross your path. Do make the mistake of thinking that because you are a cyclist and have the right of way, you are immune to traffic rules.

3. Use Hand Signals when Turning and/or Stopping

This is a staple element of bicycle safety for bikers in heavily trafficked areas. Before biking in or alongside automobile traffic, take the time to learn the proper hand signals for designating a left turn, right turn, slowing down and stopping. You can perform a simple Google Image Search for "bicycle hand signals" and find several diagrams to aid in the learning of these three essential hand gestures. A motorist who may be following behind you will need to be made aware of your potential movements and turns well in advance so as to avoid a fatal collision.

4. Do not Put two People on a One-Seat Bicycle

This is a common occurrence among cyclists who believe themselves to be experienced enough to handle such an addition of weight to the bike. Unfortunately, adding an extra body to a bicycle made specifically for one rider can often cause unforeseen balance problems. By the time a loss of balance occurs, it is usually too late and both riders wind up plummeting to the ground. When this occurs at high speeds, in traffic and/or on dangerous surfaces such as rocky ground, the results can be physically scarring or even fatal. Invest in a two-seater/rider bike instead.

When it comes to biking, your physical safety is top priority. Do not sacrifice safety for personal comfort or apathy. Keep the aforementioned tips in mind and enjoy your bike ride in the city!