Bicycling Safely

Night Riding

I only learned a few years ago that in North Carolina, you're required to have a front light and a taillight when bicycling at night, but it is a fairly new law. I thought reflectors were enough.

I bought some really good rechargeable lights for $9 online. I like good deals. These can flash, and AI says it's ok to have flashing lights on a bike, but I'm worried about people thinking it's an emergency if they flash.

Right or Left Side?

In North Carolina, you're supposed to ride on the right side of the road, near the edge. This seems unsafe on some roads when cars are going by mere inches away, and many people don't seem to want to yield to bicycles at all. We have some people around here who should probably be expelled from any good community.

I often like to ride on the left side of the road to avoid this safety hazard, but this means I must get off the road whenever cars are coming - and not just when cars are right in front of me, but when they're still hundreds of feet away so they don't have to slow down too much, risking an accident with other cars behind.

Intersections are tricky. I consider them more dangerous, because you have cars coming from multiple directions. I do several things to be safe. I slow down and shift to a somewhat lower gear so I won't struggle to take off if I need to move fast. If on the left side, I consider moving to the right and passing through as any other vehicle. Either way, I watch the stoplight to see where cars are coming from, and wait until a break, and go through the intersection.

If it's a busy intersection, I'll travel down the side road a few dozen feet and cross there so I know where cars are coming from. Otherwise I often curve my path so that in case someone is turning somewhere that I don't see, we'll be better able to avoid contact.
community.

Sidewalks

I think it's ok to bicycle on sidewalks, and it feels much safer than being on the road, but I always give pedestrians the right-of-way because I'm more mobile on a bicycle.

It's easy to focus on the terrain right in front of you and not see people or obstacles in the distance, so try to glance ahead every few seconds so you don't run up on people like I do. Didn't I hear or read when learning how to drive a car that you're supposed to not just stare ahead but alternate between looking near and far?

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