Bicycle Safety

Safety Tips

We want you to have a safe ride.

Follow these basic safety tips so that you can get to your destination safely.

• Make sure your bicycle is ready
  • Before riding your bicycle, check to make sure all parts are secure and working properly, and that your bicycle is adjusted to fit you.  Check your wheels and any quick release components before every ride.  Consult your owner's manual or a local bicycle shop if you need assistance.
• Wear a helmet
  • Never ride a bicycle without a helmet.  Wearing a helmet can reduce the chane of a head injury by 85 percent.  Select a helmet that fits snugly.  It should sit flat on top of your head and cover your forehead.  Use extra padding that comes with the helmet to ensure a proper fit for children.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends helmets that comply with standards of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) or the Snell Memorial Foundation (SNELL).
• Be seen
  • Wear clothes that make you more visible.  Wear neon, fluorescent, or other bright colors when riding a bicycle during the day.  Wear reflective clothing or a reflective vest at night.
• Stay alert
  • Stay alert at all times.  Watch out for potholes, cracks, loose gravel, expansion joints, railroad tracks, west leaves, drainage grates or anything else that can make you fall.
    • Before going around any object, scan ahead and behind you for a gap in traffic.  Plan your move, signal your intentions and then do what you planned.  Your predictability will help motor vehicles avoid you.
    • If you are unsure, or lack the skill to handle an especially rough area, pull off to the right side of the road and walk your bicycle around the hazard.
    • Be especially careful in wet weather and when there could be ice or frost on your path.  Bridges and other elevated areas are very susceptible to ice patches.  Cross all railroad tracks at a 90 degree angle and proceed slowly.
  • Over 70 percent of car-bicycle accidents occur at driveways or other intersections.  Ride with traffic in a predictable path and check before pulling into traffic.
  • Watch out for cars that are not moving and allow four feet between your bicycle and parked cars in case a door gets opened in your path.
• Take extra care when biking at night
  • It is far more dangerous to bicycle at night.  Try to ride in areas where you are familiar with the terrain.
  • Be certain your bicycle is equipped with reflectors for the front, rear and sides of your bicycle.
  • Both state and municipal laws require bicycles being ridden between sunset and sunrise to be equipped with a front white headlamp visible for at least 500 feet to the front.

Basic Rules of the Road

Here are some quick tips for riding safely and legally with traffic.

Read the Colorado Bicycling Manual for greater detail.  Also refer to the City of Boulder's bicycle code.

• Bicyclists must ride in the right lane, except when passing another vehicle, preparing for a left turn, or avoiding hazards.
• Always ride with the flow of traffic, never against it.
• Ride on the paved shoulder whenever one suitable for bicycle riding is present.  Bicyclists should ride single file.
• Ride two abreast only when no motor vehicle traffic is approaching within 300 feet (front or rear) or when cyclists are all on the shoulder.  On curving canyon roads, play it safe and always ride single file.
• Obey traffic laws, signs and signals.  Use hand signals (left hand) to indicate left and right turns, as well as slowing and stopping.
• Use a headlight, taillight and reflectors at night and make eye contact with drivers when necessary.
• Never assume motorists see you or that you have the right-of-way.  Expect the unexpected.  Your first responsibility is to avoid a crash.
• Always wear a helmet.

Bicycle Registration

The Boulder Police Department has a bicycle registration program to help combat the ongoing problem of bicycle theft in Boulder.

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