How to ride safely
Regardless of your practice and its regularity, safety must be your primary concern. Whether you drive in the city, in a peri-urban environment or in a rural area, traffic sadly still represents a danger. Signaling and protection elements are therefore essential for the cyclists and their bike to be seen on the road.
Signaling devices on the bike
Lighting
It is compulsory to equip your bike with active lighting: a yellow or white light at the front and a red light at the rear. Even better if it's flashing as it attracts the eye of other road users. By turning them on day or night, you increase your chances of being seen.
There are bulb lamps and diode/LED lamps that are more efficient and powerful with a longer lifetime. The lamps are powered by cells, a battery (the battery is the best solution for cyclists who drive daily), or even by a dynamo on some models that make it impossible to be taken by surprise since the bike's motion fuels the lighting.
It should also be noted that brands are developing more and more efficient safety tools for cyclists such as the Garmin Varia rear which signals vehicles approaching up to 140 meters. The rear light comes on and flashes to alert the vehicle of the cyclist's presence.
Accessories
Finally, you can also use various reflective accessories: pedal reflectors, orange reflectors on the spokes and at the rear if the position light is obscured by a load, reflective strip on the tires and saddlebags equipped with reflective parts.
These reflecting elements will, when illuminated by light, return the light beam in the light's source emitting direction and signal your presence. These reflective elements find their meaning at crossovers, for example.
Signaling of the cyclist
To be well seen by road users and protected against a possible fall, several accessories exist, starting with the helmet .0 You can choose it in a flashy color (for example, fluorescent yellow) to be well seen and/or with reflective strips. Note that brands like Abus offer helmets with an integrated light at the rear for more visibility. You can also equip your helmet with a headlamp.
The rest of the equipment then comes in a fluorescent yellow color like the jacket, not very glamorous but incredibly effective, the armband for the arm or ankle and the gloves. You can even add reflective strips. There are fluorescent yellow covers to put on the backpack too. They will protect your bag from bad weather and will signal your presence to other road users.
Basic rules for safe driving
Finally, for maximum safety by bike, not only do you have to be well-protected and visible but you also have to respect a few rules:
- Go out with a revised bike, lights and brakes that work and well-inflated tires.
- Respect traffic regulations, pay attention to parked cars (the door may open when you arrive), loof out for pedestrians, avoid following a vehicle too closely, and avoid placing yourself in the blind spot.
As you can now attest, we are vulnerable on a bike, but there are many ways to prevent danger: lighting, fluorescent equipment and caution on the road for maximum safety!
