Riding a bicycle becomes second nature quickly. After you ride for years, you may feel like you are safe and have nothing left to learn. But the truth is the riding a bike is always dangerous, especially when you are near motor vehicles.
As a bicyclist, you have the same rights and responsibilities as drivers, but many motorists may view you as a second-class citizen on the road. Plus, you can never trust drivers to be paying attention. If a motorist does not notice you and crashes into you, you can suffer severely. Here are some suggestions on how to share the road with larger and faster vehicles.
Get a headlight
Equipping your bicycle with a headlight is helpful for your safety, even if you mostly ride during a day. One option is to get one that has a constant flashing mode so you can make yourself more visible to drivers. Go for LED headlights which last longer and are brighter than older style lights. You may even want to try a headlamp that mounts to your helmet. This allows you to look directly at drivers to have extra confidence that they see you.
Make eye contact, wave and use a horn
You should try to make eye contact with every driver who may cause an accident. Even if you cannot make eye contact, wave your arm. You may even want to install a horn on your bike that you can use to get the attention of drivers. If it looks like a driver is going to keep going without seeing you, make sure you use at least one of these techniques.
Slow down
Sometimes, the best way to keep yourself safe is to take it slower. This is especially helpful if you cannot make eye contact with a driver. If you feel like you are in a potentially dangerous situation, slow down enough so that you can easily stop if necessary.